“C’mon, Hershey.” The dog wagged his tail, happy to stretch his legs after sleeping in his usual spot behind the counter for most of the afternoon. “I’ll bet you’re ready for dinner.” His tail wagged into overdrive, and Emma smiled. Easy to make a dog happy when their wants were so simple. Eat, sleep, walk, play…Hershey always seemed content with life.
She wished her own life could be that simple.
On the walk home, her thoughts wandered back to Chase. He’d been crossing her mind on and off all afternoon. How could he think she lied about Tony? Men and women could be roommates without being sexual partners—didn’t that kind of thing happen in New York all the time? Could he really be so old fashioned? And how could he walk away without a word? Not even goodbye.
The dog stopped to sniff around some bushes along the sidewalk, and Emma took a moment to picture those stormy grey eyes, looking serious and sexy at the same time.
Gah, since when did I start liking serious science geeks?
The mapping mission Chase outlined at lunch sounded important. Emma wondered why she’d never even heard about a giant elliptical mass of floating debris in the Atlantic Ocean. Granted, she’d heard of the Pacific gyre from that story about the guy finding the shipment of yellow rubber ducks washing up on California beaches. She had no idea such a thing existed in the Atlantic.
The agency funding Chase’s research needs a better PR team.
She flipped the lights on as she walked through the house. The white of the painted kitchen cabinets reflected the oranges and pinks playing across the sky outside the large picture window. Watching the few wispy clouds move slowly across the sherbet colored backdrop, she thought again about that delicious kiss at lunch. A shiver skittered across her shoulders, her daydream finally chased away by the ringing of the phone.
She’d checked in with her parents from the shop, getting the update from the hospital, so Emma let their machine take what was likely a message for one of them. She opened the cabinet to find a fresh can of dog food before Hershey started whining about dinner. The machine beeped and Tony’s voice filled the kitchen.
“Emma.” He didn’t sound happy. In fact, he sounded downright pissed. She stared at the answering machine, reluctant to reach for the receiver. She’d never heard him angry. Ever. “My cousin Vito was in P-town on business and told me he saw you having lunch all hot and heavy with some stranger. I need to talk to you about this,
now
. This is not how our arrangement works,
goomah
.” An uneasy silence stretched for long minutes before the line clicked dead.
Emma stood frozen at the counter, mouth hanging open, the can of dog food half-open.
What the hell? What arrangement?
Did Tony actually threaten her for eating lunch with another man? That didn’t sound like the nice guy who always opened doors for her, helped close deals with her, offered a spare bedroom with no strings… The guy who told her in no uncertain terms that they would never be more than friends. So why was he suddenly sounding uber-possessive?
She grabbed the phone and hit redial. He picked up immediately.
“Hey, Tony. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to call earlier, but…”
He cut her off. “What the hell is going on, Emma? You’re sneaking behind my back to see some old hometown flame? Tell me his name so I can soften him up a little.” He definitely sounded drunk. Noises in the background indicated he wasn’t alone.
She prickled at his tone and the accusation. “Did you listen to my message? Sean is in the hospital.”
“Babe, I’m sorry about your brother. But Vito said…”
“I don’t even know this Vito guy.”
“He’s, like, my cousin. He covers business in Boston and Provincetown.”
“And this is the first time I’m hearing of him. Forgive me if I’m not quaking in my shoes. So your cousin saw me. I ate lunch with the guy whose phone I broke yesterday.” Silence greeted her confession. “Tony?”
“But I gave him money.”
“Yes, but I needed to give the phone back, too. He spent your money to buy me lunch.”
More silence. “Not an old boyfriend?”
“Not even close. And what if it were? It’s not like you and I are hot and heavy. We’re friends, right? Just friends.”
“Wait a sec.” The background noises faded, and Emma figured he’d left the room to find a quieter place to talk. “You don’t know these guys. In their minds, men are never
just friends
with women. You have sex with them, or you marry them. Or sometimes both.”
She laughed, assuming he was making some kind of stupid joke, but quickly realized he wasn’t laughing along. “Wait, you can’t be serious.”
“Like the plague, babe.”
“But that’s ridiculous. We aren’t dating. You’ve already told me plenty of times how I’m not your type.”
His words slurred and she heard the ice clinking against his glass. “But for Vito to throw down the gauntlet like that was bad. Taunting me in public. It undermines respect. Business is all about respect. I can’t show weakness, not right now.”
“I think your problem’s with Vito, not with me.”
“You might be right about that.” Tony sighed, his breath heavy in her ears. “I’ll take care of my cousin, soften his head a little. But I have to ask you to be more circumspect, at least until the Eco Dawn project reaches full funding. You should be focused on that. I don’t need to be worrying about this right now, when there are important contracts on the line.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Wait, are you telling me I can’t date?”
“Something like that. It’s important to me, babe.”
“Because your family thinks I’m your girlfriend?”
His laugh sounded raw. “We’re moving in together, aren’t we? They think that means something more than roommates.”
“Tony, you and I both know there’s nothing remotely sexual going on between us. I’m not Catholic or Italian, or…your type.” She was about to add “male,” but they’d never talked openly about Tony’s preferences. Emma had assumed. Now was probably not a good time to broach that subject.
He paused, putting a dash of honey in his Jack Daniel’s voice. “Haven’t I helped you rack up a ton of support for the mayor’s recycling project? I’m always there for you, babe. Help me on this. No old boyfriends.”
She huffed out the breath she’d been holding. It’s not like guys were beating down her door asking her out. Chase’s face flitted through her mind but she squelched that thought. He already walked away. “Fine, Tony. No old boyfriends. But you owe me.”
“Whatever you want, babe.”
“I’m also thinking I should find a different place to live. Having everyone think I’m more than your roommate is a little more than I bargained for.”
“We can talk about it when you return to New York. You have your apartment until the end of August, right?”
“True. Hopefully I’ll be back Friday night…” Her words trailed off when a door somewhere in Tony’s apartment banged open and the background noise increased. It sounded like a party in full swing. “Tony, what’s going on there?”
“Sal and the guys showed up, unexpected-like. We wrapped up a big deal tonight. I mean, today.”
She’d heard him talk about Sal before, a co-worker with a penchant for burning the midnight oil to get deals done. “Congrats on that. Enjoy your party.”
“Listen, Em, I hope your brother is home soon. There’s nothing more important than family.” The background noise increased in volume. “Shit, I gotta go. Someone, uh, ordered takeout and it’s my turn to pay.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you—” The line went dead before Emma could finish her sentence. She stared at the receiver wondering what happened. Were they disconnected? She hit redial.
“Hello?” The high-pitched, giggling voice answering the phone definitely did not belong to Tony Lenzi. Or his co-worker named Sal.
“Can I speak to Tony? It’s Emma.”
“He’s a little busy right now. I’ll tell him you called.” Click.
Too stunned to speak, Emma returned the phone to its cradle, staring at it.
What the hell? Who’s the girl answering the phone?
Did Tony actually have a girlfriend she didn’t know about?
After a quick dinner scavenged from refrigerator leftovers, she watched some mindless television and gave up on the idea of Tony returning her call. She put the dog out for one last time and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. The lacy purple curtains were the same ones she’d hung at the end of eighth grade. The double bed strewn with stuffed animals and throw pillows reminded her of the many times she’d escaped into this refuge to avoid her mother’s nagging or her brother’s annoying friends. Or the melancholy that overtook the end of her high school senior year.
The day’s events played through her mind while she drifted off to sleep. One of Chase’s questions haunted her. Did she find what she was looking for in New York?
She used to think so, but now she wasn’t sure.
Emma had succeeded in escaping the memories and guilt that plagued her every time she thought about Daniel. Such a cliché—to become part of the well-known statistic of eighteen-year-olds who died in car accidents on prom night. For a long time, part of her wished she’d died in the accident along with her friends.
Moving to New York City helped. The anonymity acted like a balm to her guilty conscience.
Survivor guilt
, they called it, like labeling it would make it go away.
Carpe diem
, she decided, and began living her life day-to-day, trying new things and exploring options. Getting serious with a guy wasn’t on her to-do list.
Since graduating from college, she knew she wanted to make a difference in the world. Emma tried to believe that her job helped the planet in some small way, raising political money and awareness for a good ecological cause. But so much of her current position was politics and media relations, and very little of it was about saving the earth.
On the other hand, she harbored no doubts that Chase made a concrete difference every day with his research. So obviously intelligent and well versed in ocean ecology, she appreciated the way he spoke at lunch about his work without dumbing it down. On top of which, there was that kiss. Her lips tingled at the memory of the sizzling kiss that left her craving more like some sort of addict, breathless in anticipation of her next fix.
And then there was Tony. While she was glad to have a friend like him in her life, there were parts of his life she didn’t understand, like what his job entailed, beyond his title of corporate insurance salesman. How did he benefit from helping her with the mayor’s corporate donors? And why did he need her to pretend to be something more than simply a friend?
Men make life complicated
. She hugged her pillow. Her lips tingled again and she sighed.
Although some complications might be worth the effort
.
Chapter Eight
“So, what did you think of the captain?”
Todd’s question caught Chase off guard. He’d been daydreaming about a certain blonde with turquoise eyes and a zest for trying new things, not thinking about the boat captain with the whiskey breath. He cleared his throat, regrouping his thoughts. “As long as Captain Wilbur’s sober when we arrive at the pier in the morning, I think it’ll work out fine. He seemed familiar enough with the general area we need to check out.”
Todd nodded, not looking at all convinced. “You know the guy’s a drunk, right?”
They walked down MacMillan Wharf, back toward the spot in front of the pub where Chase first ran into Emma. He half expected to see the captain slinking into the bar ahead of them.
Who am I kidding? That guy whipped a whiskey bottle from of his desk drawer the minute we walked out the office door.
“He won’t show up impaired at dawn. Not when we’ve told him the importance of this mission.”
And how much we’re willing to pay for a few easy boat rides
, he added, although he didn’t give voice to that particular cynicism. The captain’s eyes shone bright when he realized he wouldn’t have to hire any mates to haul bait or fillet fish. He’d get to keep the whole fee, which would most likely translate straight into more whiskey.
Luckily, Chase stipulated none of the payment would be rendered until the project was complete. He couldn’t risk losing even one more day to illness, whether appendicitis or simple drunkenness. They needed to map the size of the gyre and take samples back to New York quickly. Not even Todd fully understood the importance of this mission, but Chase didn’t want to scare the grad student.
Keep focused
.
“Okay then. What’s your next move with klutzy phone girl?” They came to a halt in front of the bar. “Are you meeting her again tonight?”
“She has a boyfriend.” Which was just as well. He needed to stay focused.
“So?”
He stared at the grad student. “I’m not some kind of asshole.”
“But you like her. As in,
really like
her.” He stated it as a fact, not a question.
“She’s taken.”
“As that awful pop song says, if he loved her he should’ve put a ring on it.” When Chase looked puzzled, Todd shrugged. “What? No Beyoncé in your music library? Never mind. Let me put it a different way, one that someone your age can understand. Remember your Shakespeare?” Todd stopped outside the bar and put a hand on Chase’s arm. “All’s fair in love and war.”
“Actually, that’s a misquote from Miguel Cervantes’
Don Quixote
, when he wrote ‘Love and war are all one—’”
“You’re missing the point, dude. The girl’s not married or even engaged. She met you for lunch, right?”
“To give me back my broken cell phone.”
Todd waved off the excuse. “She could’ve dropped it on the table and been outta there. She stayed. She chatted. She took you to her favorite ice cream joint, for crying out loud.”
Chase remembered the ice cream dripping down her leg, the dog lapping at her soft skin. He shifted uncomfortably, his pants suddenly feeling a little too tight. “So?”
“She likes you.”
“But…”
“She has a boyfriend, I know. So you said. Where is he?”
“New York City.”
“And where are you?”
“Todd, I’m not having this discussion with you any more. I don’t know how things are on campus these days, but when a woman tells you to go away, you’re supposed to leave her alone.”