Fish Perfume (Cozy Harbor Marina Series) (13 page)

“Did you stay for dinner?”

“Oh yeah, and then the fun really started. He took me to a karaoke bar so I could hear him sing.”

“How was he?”

“I’ll give him credit, he was great. He sang ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ and when I closed my eyes, I almost believed it was the real Elvis himself up there singin’. Well, when the song was over and I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t that lonesome. I thanked him for dinner and high-tailed it out of that bar.”

“Oh, Mo. I knew if anyone could make me laugh today, it would be you. You’re amazing.”

She looked at me seriously and said, “Honey, Ian is a good guy, and I think he really cares about you. You get yourself all gussied up and have fun tonight. What will be, will be.”

“Thanks for the pep talk and the quiche Mo; it was great.”

As I was walking out the door, she said, “Hey, how was your friend’s date with the Stallion?”

I laughed. “I made her promise me she would come over and tell you all about it. She should get up in a little while.”

She rubbed her hands together in excitement. “That gives me somethin’ to look forward to. Have a great time tonight.”

I nodded. “I promise.”

I went over to the cottage on my lunch break and found Helen and Tony sunning on the deck.

Helen was concerned. “How are the bites?”

I groaned. “They don’t itch as much, but they still look bad.”

Tony lifted his head up off the deck chair and said, “Let me see, they can’t be that bad.”

I figured, what the hell, and lifted up my shorts.

He took a good long look and asked, “You want me to kiss them and make them better?”

Helen gave him a light smack on his arm.

I told him, “Tony, if I thought it would work, I’d let you have a go at it.”

Helen said to Tony, “Meggie doesn’t think she’s sexy.”

Tony winked at me. “Hey, I didn’t call you Red Hot for nothing. Believe me, you’re smoking hot. All men have an internal hotometer, and the first time I saw you, mine went off like a shot.”

Helen arched her brow. “How about me?”

He shook his head. “Princess, you broke it. It’ll never be the same again.”

I was convinced. “Well, nothing will probably happen tonight anyway, so I’m not going to worry about it. Ian doesn’t seem too interested.”

Tony disagreed. “He’s interested. He’s just taking his time with you because of the code.”

I asked, “What’s the code?”

Tony whispered, “It’s a secret code guys have.”

Helen narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay, Maroni, spill.”

He put up his hands. “Okay, but in order for me to tell you, you have to promise not to divulge this information to anyone. I need you both to cross your hearts, promise, and then lift up your shirts and show me your breasts.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “God, I haven’t heard that one since the sixth grade.”

Tony said, “Okay, just cross your hearts.”

We humored him.

He continued. “Well, the code is, you never date a friend’s sister unless you really mean business. Meggie, you said Ian hung around with your brothers in the summer and went to school with one of them.”

“Yes,” I answered.

He said, “Well, Ian isn’t going to make any moves on you unless he is absolutely sure he’s in for the long haul.”

Helen agreed. “That makes sense.”

I thought about what he said for a minute. “I can buy that. None of Jack’s or Charlie’s friends ever asked me out, and I’ve been around a bunch of them over the years. I would’ve even said yes to a few of them.”

Tony said, “As far as the bites are concerned, don’t give it another thought. A guy could have a hell of a lot of fun connecting the dots.”

We all laughed.

I asked them, “What have you two got planned for the afternoon?”

Tony said, “Well, I worked this morning, and this afternoon I’m gonna repair the bilge pump on my boat. I want to take my Princess to Block Island tomorrow.”

“I’ll help you,” Helen offered.

Tony looked surprised. “Really?”

Helen said, “Sure, I’m an engineer. I can fix anything. Bring it on.”

He took her hand and said, “Baby, you’re turning me on again.”

“Well have fun,” I told them.

Helen said, “I’ll help you get ready later for your date.”

They walked down to the boat, and I went back to work.

CHAPTER TEN

Helen kept her word and helped me primp for my big date. She’s great with hair and makeup. I never felt comfortable wearing a lot of cosmetics. Helen doesn’t wear too much either, but she always knows just the right way to apply enough so that it looks good, but not overdone. Thank God the mosquitoes only went for my thighs. The bites were well hidden underneath my dress. I looked at myself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised. The dress looked great, and I must say, I felt pretty.

Helen looked me over and exclaimed, “Meggie, you’re beautiful. You’ve always had the most beautiful skin. You have the classic peaches-and-cream complexion.”

Being Irish, I always burned. Basking on the beach was never an option for me unless I applied three tubes of sunscreen. I guess I’ll be thankful for that when I get older. I’m always jealous when I see a beautiful woman with a great tan, though.

“Thanks Hel,” I said and gave her a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Meggie, in all the years we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen you this worked up about a guy. You were never this excited about a date with Jimmy.”

I laughed and said, “Well, it’s not like I dated a lot. But no, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. For the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to a first date. Maybe it’s because I’ve known him for years. It’s strange. I feel comfortable with him, but he also makes me a nervous wreck. I’m so attracted to him. He literally makes me weak in the knees. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

Ian showed up at 7:30 on the dot. He knocked on the screen door, and I went to let him in. He looked so handsome. He had on a pair of creased khaki pants and a sage-colored, short-sleeved silk shirt, which made his gorgeous green eyes smolder. In his right hand, he held a beautiful bouquet of summer flowers. Helen was behind me, and I kept my eyes fixed on Ian’s smiling face. If he briefly looked at me, then stared at Helen, I knew that would be a sign that he wasn’t really into me.

He didn’t let me down. Ian only had eyes for me. He looked me up and down and back again. This outfit was worth every plastic penny it cost. He said, “Meggie, you look beautiful.”

He handed me the flowers, and I could feel the blood rush to my face.

I finally found my voice and said, “These are beautiful. Thank you.”

I then turned to Helen and introduced them.

Ian smiled. “Helen, it’s great to meet you. Meggie was looking forward to your visit.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ian, and I have to say, I love Rhode Island.”

He said, “It’s a great place. I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself.”

“I’ve been having a great time. The people here are fantastic,” exclaimed Helen.

“You’re absolutely right,” said Ian. “We’re a lucky bunch around this marina.”

Helen offered to put the flowers in a vase for me and started waving us out of the cottage. As Ian and I walked away, I looked back at Helen who gave me a two-thumbs-up.

I had only seen Ian in his truck, so I was surprised when he escorted me over to a beautiful, classic, silver Mercedes coupe.

Excited, I asked, “Ian, is this yours? It’s beautiful!”

“It’s a toy. You know guys; we have to have our toys. I don’t take it out often, but I wanted tonight to be special.”

I gave him a warm smile and said, “I feel honored.”

He opened the door for me, and I got in the car. I was careful to make sure I held my dress down so he wouldn’t see my bites and run for the hills.

I asked him, “Where are we going?”

“I made reservations for us in Newport.”

“Oh, that’s great. I haven’t been to Newport since I got here.”

He said, “It’s always packed over there in the summer, but during the week it usually isn’t too bad. I never go over there on the weekends; it’s a zoo.”

“I told Helen she needs to visit there before she leaves. I want her to tour the mansions and see the wharf area.”

Ian suggested, “Maybe we could all go over some night before she leaves.”

“She’d love that.”

Ian put some soft rock on the radio, and I settled back to enjoy the ride over. You have to go over the Jamestown and Newport bridges to get to Newport. The views of Narragansett Bay from those vantage points are breath-taking. We lucked out and found a parking space across the street from Bowen’s Wharf. We walked hand in hand across the street and down a cobblestone street to a nice restaurant situated at the end of the wharf.

The restaurant had great ambience with handsome, dark wood paneling and large windows to maximize the views. The host showed us to an intimate table for two by a window overlooking the docks and water. The table was set with beautiful, crisp white linens, china, silver, and crystal. In the center of the table sat a candle and a small vase of roses with petals of pure white, penciled with pink at the edges. Newport is the sailing capital of the world, and there were several large, sleek sailboats docked at the wharf. I was definitely impressed. So far this is the best date I’ve ever had and the night is young.

The waiter came, and I ordered a cup of lobster bisque and the roasted striped bass with braised fennel. I love the licorice flavor of fennel. Ian ordered a cup of chowder, and mahi mahi with avocado melon salsa. He also ordered us a nice bottle of Chardonnay to go with the meal.

When the waiter left, Ian asked me how things were going for me at the marina.

“Good. There is something I wanted to talk to you about, though. About five marina customers have come up to me in the past several weeks, and they’re all missing things from their boats.”

He frowned, “You’re kidding. That’s unusual. People have always been able to leave their boats unlocked and nothing ever gets stolen. What’s been taken?”

“Well, just small stuff like sunglasses, a flashlight, a bucket. Things like that. What do you think I should do?”

“Well, I would keep an eye on it. If more stuff goes missing, then you should probably call the police and get it on record. There’s probably nothing they can do about it, though. You should also call a meeting of the marina customers on a Saturday when most of them are down on their boats. Let them know what’s been going on so they can start locking up and tell them to keep an eye out for people wandering around the marina who don’t belong there.”

“That’s a good idea. I hope it won’t come to that.”

He said, “I’m glad you told me. I have a lot of expensive equipment on my boats. I’m going to tell my guys to start buttoning the boats up at night. Do you leave the cottage open when you’re in the store?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, you should start locking it. When you’re home at night, if you have the door open, make sure that screen door is locked. If there isn’t a lock on it, let me know, and I’ll install one for you. It’s probably just some kids stealing small stuff, but better to be on the safe side.” He winked at me and said, “I don’t want anything happening to my girl.”

His concern for me warmed my heart and his last comment made my face turn red.

I told him, “I’ll let you know if anything else goes missing.”

He said, “By the way, you’re quite the hero at the marina.”

“What do you mean?” I said cautiously. I had no idea what he was talking about.

He laughed and said, “All the guys are talking about how you jumped in the water to save Diesel. Don’t be surprised if you’re on the dock and a couple of guys jump in the water and start thrashing around.”

“I could get my picture posted on the pilings again.”

He smiled and said, “When I saw you with that lobster bait all over you, I knew you were going to be trouble.”

“What do you mean—trouble?”

“The good kind.”

Our food was served, and we enjoyed a great meal. Ian’s a foodie, too, and we had fun sampling each other’s dishes. Between courses, Ian reached across the table and held my hand. An elderly couple walked by us, and the woman said to her husband, “Isn’t that romantic, George; they’re holding hands.” I blushed, and Ian smiled at them. I’ve got to get a grip on my blushing.

We skipped dessert since we were both full. Afterward, Ian suggested taking a walk around the dock since it was such a nice night. It had gotten dark and the wharf was all lit up with twinkle lights. It was beautiful. With a full belly and enough wine to be a little fuzzy, I felt I was in a romantic wonderland. This was the perfect night. One of the restaurants had an outdoor seating area, and they had a three-piece band playing. People sat enjoying their meals and some couples on the wharf were dancing to the music. They started to play an old slow song, “You Belong to Me.” Ian took me in his arms and started to dance with me. It was the most romantic moment of my life. He held me close, and we swayed to the music. When the song was over and we drew apart, I felt a little dizzy. He pulled me back to him and gave me a little peck on the lips, then took my hand, and we continued our stroll around the wharf.

After a while, we passed by an ice cream store.

He asked, “Are you ready for dessert?”

“I’ve never been known to pass up ice cream.”

He ordered himself a cup of coffee ice cream, and for me, my favorite, strawberry ice cream in a sugar cone.

I told him, “When I die, I want to be buried in a vat of strawberry ice cream.”

“My mom used to say something like that. Whenever we went out for breakfast, and they had Eggs Benedict on the menu, she had to have it. Then she’d say she wanted to be buried in a vat of hollandaise sauce.”

“Hollandaise would work for me, too.”

We finished off our ice cream on the way to the car. I was proud of myself. Not one drop landed on my new dress.

When we got back to the cottage, Ian came around to open the car door for me. As we walked up to the cottage, Ian said, “Let me know what night Helen and Tony want to go to Newport. Or, if you would all like to come to my house for dinner, we could do that instead. Has she had a lobster yet?”

“I don’t think so. That would be fun.”

He laughed. “Well, I know where we can get some.”

He put his hands on my upper arms, and pulled me in for a kiss. He gave me a long, delicious ice-cream-flavored kiss.

We took a breath and I softly whispered, “Would you like to come in?”

He bent down and touched his forehead to mine. “Meggie, if I come in, I won’t want to leave. I want to make love to you in the worst way, but I want to do this right. I want us to get to know each other a little better. I knew you years ago as a child, but I want to get to know the grownup Meggie. I feel it’s important that we don’t rush into anything. I would like to wait a little bit before we go to the next step.”

I took a deep breath and said, “I’m so relieved.”

“Why? You didn’t really want me to stay?”

“No, I definitely want you to. It’s not that. I’m allergic to mosquitoes.”

He looked confused. “What’s does that have to do with sleeping with me?”

“The other night Helen and I sat out on the deck talking for a couple of hours, and I forgot to put my bug repellent on. I have huge bites on my thighs.”

He started laughing. “You know, I think I changed my mind. I want to see those bites,” he teased.

“No, I like your idea better.”

He shook his head. “Meggie, you’re a mess.”

“Yeah. I guess it’s a good thing you’re finding that out now.”

He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a warm, sensual kiss. Then, softly whispered in my ear, “I like messes.”

I murmured, “I’m glad.”

He said, “I’d better get going or I’ll never leave. I’ll stop by and see you after work tomorrow.”

I looked up at him. “Ian, I had a great time tonight. Thank you.”

He winked at me and said, “Me, too, Meggie the mess. Goodnight.”

I watched him walk away, and then I went into the cottage. I undressed, put some cortisone cream on the bites, and went to bed smiling.

When I got up in the morning, I checked Helen’s room. She was MIA again, so I left a note on her bed to stop by and see me when she got back. Since I had a few minutes, I decided to check my e-mails. There was one from my parents, and one from Laura. I checked the one from my mom first.

Hi, Meggie:

Have you heard from your grandmother again? She’s been on my mind a lot. Your father and I are having fun, but I’m getting a little homesick. Our flight home is all set for August 5
th
and I can’t wait to see you. Maybe Dad and I will come up for a little visit while you’re still there. I hope things are going well at the marina. We’re very proud of our special girl.

Love, Mom

Ah! I answered her back.

Hi, Mom:

Everything here is going okay. Helen is here for a week and we’ve been having fun. The last time I talked to Gram she sounded really happy, so I think this vacation has been a good thing for her; I’m sure she’s fine. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you.

Love, Meggie

Laura wrote:

Hi, Meggie:

What have you and Helen been up to? Have you been out with that guy yet? Has Helen met anyone? A cop showed up at the door the other day and wanted to know who called 911. Aidan was standing beside me and said Eddie did it and ran down the hallway. The cop asked me who Eddie was and I shook my head and told him it was the dog. So, while my four-year-old is calling 911, I’ve been very busy potty training Danny. Thank God it’s summer and I can let him run around naked half the time. Throwing Cheerios in the toilet seems to help, too. It gives him something to aim at. Such is my exciting life. Hope all is well.

Love, Laura

I replied
.

Dear Laura:

I have so much to tell you. First of all, Jimmy showed up late one night and begged me to take him back. He even went so far as to ask me to marry him. Can you believe that one? I told him no, of course. I actually was nice to him, even though he didn’t deserve it after the way he treated me. Whatever feelings I had for him are long gone, I’m happy to say.

After a rocky start with Ian, that’s the guy I told you about, he and I had our first real date last night. It couldn’t have gone better. He’s the whole package. He’s handsome, fun, romantic, and he’s a great kisser. That’s as far as we got, but I’m hoping things will progress. I’m developing feelings for him, but I’m trying to hold back. My track record with men, as you know, hasn’t been the greatest. My head tells me what the smart thing to do is, and then my heart and body tell me something entirely different.

Things at the marina are going well enough. There have been some thefts I’m worried about, but so far they’ve been minor. I heard from Gram. She said she’s having a great time, but I’m still worried about her. I probably won’t stop worrying until she is standing in front of me and I can see her with my own two eyes.