19

On Saturday morning, Tia felt torn. The brave side of her wanted to dig in her heels and stick around while the new fire pit was being installed. After all, the boat was sort of like her home for the time being. She had every right to be here. But the chicken side of her wanted to hightail it out and avoid any more interaction with Leo.

The chicken side won. As soon as she heard Leo calling out “Ahoy!” as he boarded the boat, she grabbed her backpack and hurried out. “See you later,” she called as she went down the recently replaced gangway. Instead of the wobbly board, this one was solid and sound. Quite an improvement.

“Where you going?” Leo asked.

“To welcome Roland home,” she explained. “I’m going to do some cleaning and stuff and fix them a welcome home dinner. Lots to do.” She forced a smile as she unlocked her bike. “Thanks for being here for the fire pit installation.” She hopped on the bike and took off. Free as a bird—well, maybe a chicken.

It was true that she wanted to do something special for Roland and Julie. She’d started hatching the plan early this morning. First she’d ride her bike to Whole Foods and pick up some things. Then she’d slip into the house while Julie was gone to the hospital. She’d do some quick cleaning and sprucing up, and she’d put together another cannelloni with instructions for how to heat it, as well as the things to go with it. Then she’d slip back out before they got home, which Julie was predicting would be around 4:00 in the afternoon.

As it turned out, it was a good thing she got an early start, because everything seemed to take longer than she planned. Then when she texted Julie at the hospital to see how it was going, she discovered that Roland was getting released an hour sooner than expected. She threw herself into high gear and managed to get out of the house at a little past 3:00.

By the time she was pedaling back to the docks, the fog had already rolled in. She welcomed its coolness. She imagined spending the remainder of her afternoon curled up in the stateroom with a good book. A chance to just relax. Because she felt bone tired. Not to mention grubby and hungry.

To her dismay, Leo’s red Jeep was still in the parking lot. That meant either the fire pit guys weren’t finished yet or he had decided to stick around and work. Well, fine, she thought as she continued on down the dock. She would politely ignore him, go to the stateroom, take a quick shower and change her clothes, and then, since she hadn’t had a chance to do her own grocery shopping to refill her “larder,” which was actually a small cooler and a cupboard, she would sneak off the boat and run down to the Fish Shack for some fish and chips. It seemed like a good plan.

To her relief, a big yellow truck was parked next to the boat. That meant that Leo should still be occupied. As she slipped onto the boat, she spied him on the foredeck with a couple of guys. At least the fire pit was installed and appeared to be running. As much as she wanted to see it up close, she really wanted to avoid Leo today. She felt she owed it to her heart to steer clear of him. Really, how much could a girl take?

She made it to the stateroom without being noticed. Despite being ravenous, she decided to take her time showering and dressing. Hopefully Leo would be long gone by the time she emerged. Eventually, though, her hunger got the best of her and she ventured out.

She peeked out the main cabin windows to see that the yellow truck was gone. It seemed quiet out on deck. Feeling assured she was alone, she slipped out, locked the main cabin door, and was just heading for the gangway when she heard Leo calling out.

“Hey Leo, I’m just on my—”

“Come check it out,” he said cheerfully.

She reluctantly went over, ready to make a polite excuse, but something about those dancing orange flames and Leo’s welcoming smile made her swallow her words. Instead, she found herself warming her hands by the flickering fire.

“The fire pit looks really nice,” she said quietly. “Such a great idea.”

“Yeah. Perfect for those less than sunny days that are so common in these parts.”

“I’ll bet you could roast hot dogs on this,” she said.

“For sure. The guys even left a metal rack that fits on top.” He pointed to a large flat cardboard box. “They said you can cook on it.” He chuckled. “But probably not enough for fifty guests.”

“Probably not.” Her stomach rumbled noisily.

“Sounds like someone’s hungry.”

She gave a weak smile. “Actually, I was just about to run down to the Fish Shack.”

“Great idea. Mind if I join you? I’m starving.”

She shrugged. “Sure, but I’m going right now.”

“Me too.”

“Do you need to turn that off?”

“The guys said to let it run for an hour to ‘season’ it.”

“Oh. Is it okay to leave it unsupervised?” She nodded toward the bay. “It feels like a breeze is kicking up. It won’t catch the boat on fire, will it?”

“I know. You stay here and keep an eye on things, and I’ll run and get our food. We can eat by the fire.”

She agreed, telling him what to get her and handing him her money. He started to refuse, but she gave him a stern look, and to her relief, he didn’t argue. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” Relieved to be away from him for a few minutes, she pulled a deck chair up to the fire and sat down facing the bay.

She sighed as she leaned back. Really, she couldn’t think of a better place to be right now. Even if she did have to share it with Leo. Besides, she reminded herself, they were just friends. She needed to beat that into her brain. Just friends. She decided that when he returned, she would play the role of a friend. She would ask him how Natalie was doing and whether they’d agreed on a wedding date . . . or location . . . or settled on a ring.

Okay, she knew that her questions were dual-purposed. First of all, she was simply curious—as any friend would be. Second, she wanted to put him on the spot a little. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she felt he deserved to be put on the spot. Because unless it was her imagination, Leo was dragging his feet. And if he was dragging his feet, perhaps he needed to talk about it with someone.

By the time Leo returned with two bags of scrumptious-smelling fish and chips, Tia was ready for him. Instead of jumping right in, she focused on her food and small talk. As they were finishing up, she tossed out her first question.

“How is Natalie doing today? Did her headache go away?”

“Yeah. She just called an hour ago. She sounds fine.”

“Oh, that’s good. Are you guys going to get together to solidify your wedding plans?”

“Natalie’s parents are having us for dinner tonight.” He made a slight grimace.

Tia pointed at the big chunk of fish in his hand. “And you’re eating that now? How will you be hungry in a couple hours?”

“You’ve never tasted Natalie’s mom’s cooking, have you?”

Tia laughed. Apparently it was a case of like mother, like daughter.

“But the purpose of this dinner isn’t food,” he confessed. “I’m pretty sure Nat’s mom wants us to nail down a date. Apparently she’s found several reception venues that are available in August.”

“August . . . That’s not far off.” As Tia bit into a fry, she gazed at the bay and reminded herself she was talking to her friend . . . not her crush.

“I know. For some reason Nat is not backing down. She’s determined to be married this summer.”

“And you’re good with that?” Tia turned to look at him.

Leo didn’t answer as he slowly chewed.

“Sorry,” Tia backpedaled. “I’m probably being too nosy.”

“It’s okay.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “That’s a good question. Probably the kind of question Nat’s parents want to ask.”

“You’re still planning to have the wedding on the boat?” she asked.

He nodded firmly. “That’s what I want.”

“And Natalie?”

He frowned. “She’s agreed to it . . . but reluctantly.”

Tia knew she was on shaky ground now. To attempt to dissuade him from a boat wedding could tip her hand. Besides, Natalie could always drug herself with Dramamine. To change the direction of the conversation, she asked about the ring.

“Yeah, I still need to figure that one out.” He shook his head. “I know you said that a girl should love her engagement ring. And I get that. But shouldn’t a guy like it too?”

She considered this. “That seems fair enough.”

He wadded up his bag with a frustrated expression. “I just don’t think weddings are meant for the guys.”

She chuckled. “It probably seems that way.”

“I’m half tempted to just throw up my hands . . .” He held up his hands as if someone was holding a gun on him.

“What do you mean?” Tia was almost afraid to ask—afraid to hope. Was he having second thoughts about marrying Natalie? Did she really want to be the one to make him admit it?

“I don’t know.” He lowered his hands. “I guess it would be easier to just let them do it how they want. They tell me when and where and I’ll show up. You know?”

Her spirits sank. “Yeah. I know.”

He looked at his watch. “Well, that’s been about an hour. Guess I can turn it off now.”

“Great.” She tried to sound cheerful as she stood. “I want to see how it works so I can turn it off and on too.”

He bent down to show her the mechanism, turning off the flame and then the pilot light. “Simple.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“Thanks for listening to me.” He looked into her eyes. “It helps to talk about these things. With someone who’s uninvolved, you know?”

“Sure.” She nodded stupidly as the word uninvolved kept reverberating through her head. “That makes sense.”

Despite her earlier longing for solitude, she now felt sad and lonely watching him leave. Still, she knew she’d gotten just what she deserved. She kicked her toe at the stone fire pit. People who play with fire should expect to get burned.

The next week felt like a three-ring circus on the Pacific Pearl. Craftsmen that Julie had scheduled weeks ago started to arrive. Electricians, painters, plumbers, carpenters, floor installers, cabinetmakers, and so on—some showing up when they had promised, and some showing up when they liked. It was Tia’s job to make sure the workmen didn’t step on each others’ toes as well as to ensure they got their tasks done.

Although Leo was usually on hand to help, it seemed their paths were crossing much less than usual. Probably because they were both so busy, but possibly because they were both avoiding each other. Tia suspected that their last personal conversation, when she had grilled him about his wedding plans with Natalie, had left him cold. She had probably crossed some invisible line. But for that, she was grateful.

At the end of each day, after the workers and Leo were gone, Tia would walk around and take pictures of everything and send them to Julie. A little later, she’d call her aunt to discuss the day’s accomplishments and go over tomorrow’s work schedule.

Another project that was taking off was the creation of the Pacific Pearl website. Although Melinda was responsible for building the site and taking photos, she called Tia in the middle of the week for help with food photos.

“I could use stock photos, but wouldn’t it be cool if the website had pics of real food that you actually prepared, served on the same kind of plates and things that you plan to use on the Pacific Pearl?”

“This is a pretty busy week,” Tia told her. “The galley isn’t even close to being ready for cooking yet, and the dining room tables aren’t scheduled to arrive for another week.” She remembered the boxes she’d stored along one wall of her stateroom. “Although the monogrammed plates and linens just got here yesterday.”

“I knew your kitchen wasn’t ready yet, but I figured you could come over here to cook at my parents’ house. Then we could set up a table and cover it with your dishes and linens and flowers or candles or whatever. We could set it outside for really good light, and take some really enticing food photos. The shots would only have the tablecloth in the background, so no one would know they weren’t taken on the boat.”

“That does sound like a good idea.” Tia looked over to where Leo was conversing with a carpenter. “I suppose I could ask Leo to cover for me. He’s here most of the time anyway.”

“Great! Is tomorrow afternoon too soon?”

Tia checked the work schedule to see that it was only electricians and plumbers tomorrow. She could probably go over everything with them in the morning, and if Leo was around he could follow up at the end of the day. “Okay,” she agreed. “It should be fun. I’ll have to do some grocery shopping first.”

“I’ll pick you up at the boat and we can make a stop at Whole Foods again,” Melinda told her. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll ask my mom to cover the food cost, and you can just leave it here when you’re done.” She laughed. “I’m sure no one would complain.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”

That evening Tia went over the menus she’d been working on, selecting several dishes that she felt were photogenic, and made a shopping list. She was actually looking forward to some time off from playing contractor. It would be fun to put on her chef’s hat again.

The next day, she didn’t mention her plans to Leo when she asked him to cover for her in the afternoon. Why should she? But when Melinda arrived to pick her up, Leo got curious. “What’re you girls up to?” he asked as they were leaving with a couple boxes containing place settings and linens.

“Tia’s cooking for me,” Melinda told him.

“Cooking for you?” Leo’s brow creased.

“Actually it’s for the website.” She explained about the photos. “But we get to keep the food at our house.”

Leo’s eyes lit up. “Tell Mom I’ll stop by for dinner.”

“Leo!” Melinda shook a finger at him.

“Hey, Mom has been bugging me for a week to come for dinner. Tonight’s as good as anytime.”

“Opportunist!” she called out at him as they left.

“Guess I better get extra food,” Tia said as they walked down the dock.

“I can’t blame him.” Melinda laughed. “He doesn’t cook much for himself. And Nat’s not much of a cook.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“What do you think of Leo and Natalie?” Melinda asked unexpectedly.

“Huh?” Tia turned to look at her.

“You know, what do you think of them as a couple? You know them both pretty well now. At least you know Leo. According to Nat, you guys are pretty good friends too. By the way, did you know Nat is going to ask you to be a bridesmaid in her wedding?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell her I mentioned it. I just thought you might need a heads-up.”

“That’s for sure.”

“Natalie is a little short on female friends. I’m her maid of honor, but the truth is, I’ve never been really close to her. Not like that, anyway. It’s all a little awkward.”

“Oh.” Tia felt slightly sick at the idea of being in Leo’s wedding, wearing some silly gown. No, she would have to decline politely.

“But really, what do you think of them as a couple, Tia? I’ve told you before that I have my concerns. I’m curious to hear your take.”

“I, uh, I’m not sure.” Tia tried to think of a good response as they got into Melinda’s car. “To be honest, I was taken aback when I heard they were getting married—I mean, because they seemed so different from each other. But opposites attract . . . so I suppose that’s my answer.”

“But you can’t wrap your head around it either,” Melinda declared.

“Well, not exactly. I mean, Natalie is sweet and gorgeous and smart. Any guy would probably feel lucky—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re preaching to the choir, sister. I’ve heard that over and over these past few years. Ever since Nat graduated from law school and went to work at the firm, my dad’s been singing her praises. So much so that I’ve actually been jealous at times. But I’m over that now. I’m glad Dad loves her. But lately . . . it’s made me wonder about something.”

“What?”

“I wonder if Leo got engaged just to make my dad happy.”

“Seriously?”

“You know that our dad’s an attorney—a senior partner with Natalie’s dad. Did you know that their dads—our grandfathers—founded Morgan and Parker, Attorneys at Law?”

“I thought your grandfather was a captain on a ship?”

“That’s on Mom’s side. Grandpa McAllister.”

“Oh.”

“It was pretty important to Dad that Leo follow in their footsteps. He expected Leo to finish his law degree and join the practice to make it third generation. The same way Natalie has done.”

“I didn’t realize the law firm was third generation.” Tia thought about D’Amico’s back in Norton and how important it was to her family that the restaurant stay in the family. She got that.

“When Leo gave up law school to become a boat captain, of all things, well, you can imagine how Dad took it.”

“Not so good?”

“Not at all.”

“Leo has kind of hinted at that.”

“Right . . . Leo has been a little on the outside where Dad’s concerned.” Melinda gave an ironic laugh. “In fact, our dad went after me for a while, certain that I was the one meant to carry on the name. But I put my foot down. Anyway, I’ve been thinking that Leo might be doing this to appease our dad. If he won’t be an attorney, why not marry one? Dad is certainly pleased about it. Sometimes he seems happier than Leo.”

“Are you suggesting Leo doesn’t love Natalie?”

“No, I’m sure he loves her. We all love her. I’m just not certain he loves her enough to be happily married for the rest of his life. I’m not even sure that he really intended to marry her. I happen to know that she’s the one who pushed for it.”

“Do you honestly believe your brother would allow someone to make him do something he didn’t want to do?”

“No, probably not. He obviously didn’t care to placate Dad by finishing law school. I guess it makes no sense he’d placate him by marrying someone he doesn’t really love.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m making too much of it. But something about this whole thing is disturbing. I’d never tell Leo, but I have a bad feeling about it.”

Tia wanted to know why Melinda was confiding all this to her. Did she have any idea of what Natalie had shared with Tia? Or was this just a coincidence? Probably more likely she was just being open with Tia because they were friends. How could she possibly know how frustrating this conversation was to Tia? How torturous . . . how futile?