Authors: Marie Force
Kara hadn’t laughed in a very long time. It felt good. “My ex dumped me for my sister,” she said. Again, the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could take a moment to consider the implications. What was it about him that made her say things she had no intention of saying?
“
Ouch
,” he said with a grimace.
“Yeah. Ouch.”
“Are they still together?”
“Married with a baby on the way.”
“Oh, man. That’s got to be rough.”
“I haven’t spoken to either of them in two years.”
“Can’t say I blame you.”
“I thought he was going to ask me to marry him. Instead, he took me out for a nice dinner to tell me he’d fallen in love with my sister. I think he did it in public so I wouldn’t make a scene.”
“I hope you made one anyway.”
Kara recalled throwing her glass of merlot in his face in the middle of one of Bar Harbor’s nicer restaurants. The town had buzzed over the incident for months afterward. She hadn’t touched a drop of merlot since. “Damn right, I did.”
“Good for you,” he said with another squeeze of her hand. “I caught my fiancée in bed with my best man two days before the wedding.”
“Oh my God!” Without releasing his hand, she turned in her seat so she was looking at him. “What did you do?”
“Made a scene, punched my so-called best friend in the face and thought about kicking him in the junk. I should’ve. When I think back on that day, that’s my biggest regret. Funny, huh?”
Kara smiled. “You so should’ve done it.”
“If I ever run into him again, he’d better hope he’s wearing a cup.”
That drew a genuine laugh from her.
“You are so very pretty, especially when you smile.”
Her smile faded.
“You don’t think so?”
“My self-esteem isn’t quite what it used to be.”
“Let me assure you that any man who’d walk away from you is an idiot.”
“You’re very smooth with the lines.”
“Is that right?”
“Like you didn’t know that.”
“I want you to go with me to Stephanie’s party tomorrow night.”
“Why?”
“Because I really like talking to you, and I want to talk to you some more. Very soon. Actually, tomorrow night is a long time from now. What’re you doing tonight?”
Kara held up her free hand to stop him. “I’ll go with you tomorrow night, but I’m busy tonight.” She wasn’t really, but she felt the need to regain some control over this rapidly evolving situation.
His smile stretched from ear to ear. “Tell me the truth. Was it the Mountain Dew?”
“It didn’t hurt,” she conceded.
“Where do you live?”
She pointed to a white building that abutted the marina property.
“Ah, well, that’s easy.”
“Don’t make me sorry I told you that.”
“You injure me with your lack of faith in me.”
“I’m sure you’ll recover in due time.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Um, excuse me,” a male voice behind them said. “Is the launch running?”
Kara had been so caught up in the conversation she hadn’t planned to have that she’d completely forgotten where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Kara tugged her hand free and jumped up. “Yes, we are. Come aboard.”
While she got the passenger settled and collected the fare, she noticed Dan cleaning up after their picnic and storing the trash in the basket he’d brought. For the next forty-five minutes, she kept her focus on her work as she made multiple runs to and from the Salt Pond. She was acutely aware of Dan watching her every move, but after their conversation, she didn’t mind his attention as much as she had before.
After the third round trip, she pulled up to the floating dock at McCarthy’s and helped the passengers disembark.
Dan waited until everyone was gone before he stood and stretched. “That was a very relaxing way to spend a lunch hour.”
“Glad you enjoyed it,” she said, suddenly nervous to be alone with him. As if she’d been asleep for two long years, she was now fully awake, and every inch of her tingled with awareness of him.
“You’re very good at what you do.”
She shrugged off the compliment. “Been doing it most of my life. I should be good at it by now.”
“Not only running the boat but interacting with the people, too. They’ll remember you after they leave here. They’ll remember that you made them feel welcome, and they’ll come back again because of it.”
Dumbstruck by the unexpected—and insightful—compliment, Kara stared at him, hoping with all her heart that he wasn’t playing a game with her. She wondered if he knew he had the power to crush her. At some point in the last hour, she’d given him that power, and now she had to trust him to use it honorably.
He stepped closer, making her heart pound and her mouth go dry. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, he said, “Your ponytail has sprung a leak.” He leaned in even closer, and for a terrifying second, she thought he might kiss her. “I lied,” he said, so close to her ear that he made her shiver. He smelled really,
really
good. While she usually hated cologne on men, whatever he wore worked for her in a big way.
“About?” Her voice was squeaky and far too high-pitched as he invaded all her senses with his nearness.
“That first night. It was really the freckles that got to me. They’re
so
damned cute.”
Before she could respond to that ridiculous statement, he brushed her cheek with a quick kiss and bounded off the boat. “Pick you up at seven tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder.
For a long time after he walked up the ramp to the main pier, she stood there, frozen. When she defrosted and recovered her wits, she immediately regretted accepting his invitation. “Oh my God,” she said out loud, taking a mental inventory of her limited wardrobe of shorts and polo shirts. “What am I going to
wear
?”
Chapter 10
Tiffany was alone in the store when the bells rang, alerting her to a potential customer. She hustled from the stockroom and stopped short when she saw Linda McCarthy taking a look around.
“Hi, Linda,” Tiffany managed to say, even though her mouth had gone totally dry. “Nice to see you.”
Linda raised her arms to hug Tiffany. “I wanted to come in and see your store and congratulate you on starting a business. I surely remember what that is like.”
“Kind of stressful,” Tiffany said, relieved that this would be a friendly visit from her sister’s mother-in-law.
“Do you mind if I poke around a bit?”
“Of course not.” Knowing Linda’s approval and endorsement could be critical to the success—or failure—of her store, butterflies stormed in Tiffany’s stomach. “Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“I certainly will. Everything is so pretty.” Linda held up a floral silk robe and glanced at the price tag.
Tiffany had to hold herself back from recommending items that might interest Linda. Maybe, if she got very lucky, Linda wouldn’t notice the smaller room behind the beaded curtain. The idea of Linda McCarthy in a room full of dildos and vibrators had Tiffany on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
While keeping half an eye on Linda as she perused the racks, Tiffany sorted a stack of invoices and made note of which ones had to be paid sooner rather than later.
“Could I try this on, Tiffany?” Linda asked, holding up a pink floral silk nightgown and robe.
“Of course. Let me get a fitting room ready for you.”
“Would also you mind offering an opinion?” Linda asked almost shyly, which was interesting. Tiffany had never known her to be shy.
“I’d love to.”
“Great, thanks.” Linda stepped into the dressing room. “Okay,” she said a few minutes later. “Here goes nothing.” She opened the door tentatively. “What do you think?”
“It looks wonderful on you—and I’m not just saying that because I want you to buy it.”
“I quite like it myself.” Linda took a closer look in the mirror. “I wonder what my husband would think of it?”
“Venturing a guess here, but I’ll bet he approves wholeheartedly.”
Linda smiled at Tiffany in the mirror. “I bet he will, too. Sold!”
“I’m so glad you found something you love.”
“I do love it.”
Linda changed and brought her purchases to the register. As Tiffany was ringing up the sale, Linda pointed to the beaded curtain. “What’re you hiding back there?”
“Oh, nothing. Just this. And that.”
Linda raised an eyebrow. “This and that, huh? Mind if I take a look?”
Tiffany wanted to die on the spot. “Um, well, ah…”
Linda surprised her by giggling. “Must be some pretty good this and that if your face turns bright red.”
“It’s pretty good, all right.”
As she watched Linda walk over to the curtain, Tiffany’s heart pounded.
Linda parted the curtain and took a good long look before glancing back at Tiffany with a scandalized expression on her face. “Oh. My.”
“I told you—this and that.”
“Where does one begin to know where to start with…items…such as this…and that?”
“I recommend starting simply.” Tiffany forced her legs to carry her across the room. “May I?”
Linda stepped aside to admit Tiffany into the room. “By all means.”
Tiffany reached for an egg-shaped vibrator and handed it to Linda, all the while telling herself to treat her sister’s mother-in-law the way she would any other customer who had questions about her inventory. As long as she kept up that pretense, she might get through this without suffering a stroke.
“And what does this little number do?”
“It vibrates.”
“
Oh
.”
Watching Linda McCarthy examine the vibrator from every angle made Tiffany want to giggle like a child, but somehow she managed to maintain her professional demeanor.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with this.”
Images of what Blaine had done to her with theirs flashed through Tiffany’s mind like an X-rated movie. “You place it against your, um, pleasure points.”
“I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Well, you don’t have to do it. Your, ah…your husband could do it for you.”
“
Oh
. Oh.” Linda’s face turned bright red. “I don’t know if he could do it, either.”
“I bet he’d love to try.”
“You think so?”
“I’d almost guarantee it.”
“I’m trying to imagine how I’d broach the subject with him…”
“You could say that you stopped into my shop today, and I talked you into trying something new.”
“That’d be one way to introduce the idea.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Tiffany said. “Take that one on the house. If you discover you like it, come back and get another one to try.”
“I couldn’t do that! You’re in business to make money. Not to give things away.”
“I’m also in business to help people try new things and to spice up their love lives.”
“Not that my love life needs much spicing, but I have to admit I’m curious. I’ll take it.”
Tiffany smiled all the way to the register, where Linda insisted on paying for the vibrator.
“You’re very good at this,” Linda said as she accepted the red-striped bag from Tiffany. “I predict you’ll be a smashing success.”
“That’d be very nice.”
“Congratulations on your new venture. I’ll be sure to tell my friends they need to stop in and check out what you’ve got.”
“That’d be great. Thank you. I, um, I also want to say that I appreciate how good you’ve been to my sister. She’s quite fond of you, and I can see why, after spending some time with you.”
“Thank you, honey. I love her very much. She’s made my son so happy.”
“They are some kind of happy,” Tiffany said wistfully.
She was surprised when Linda reached for her hand. “You’ll have your turn one of these days. Don’t let what happened with Jim make you bitter about love. You can do better.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“Well, I must be off. Thanks again.”
“Thank
you
. I appreciate the business.”
Linda was almost to the door when she stopped and turned back to Tiffany. “You won’t tell anyone what I bought, will you?”
“Absolutely not. It’s our secret. But I’d love to know what your hubby has to say about it, if you feel like dishing.”
Linda flashed a bright smile. “You got it.”
As the bells chimed to announce Linda’s departure, Tiffany clapped her hands and did a little jig. The bells chimed again when Patty came into the store.
“Was that Linda
McCarthy
?” Patty asked, wide-eyed.
“The one and only!”
“And she bought something!”