Catch of the Day (Gideon's Cove #1)(66)

“You must miss her,” I say.

“Ayuh.”

I stifle a sigh. The subject of his daughter seems closed. “Did you know I went to school with your sister?” I offer.

“Ayuh.”

I wait, but more doesn’t come. “I seem to remember that you guys didn’t have the best childhood,” I venture carefully. It’s not exactly true—Christy’s the one who remembers, not me—but I hope it will open things up a little.

Malone’s arm drops from my shoulders, and he turns to face me. “Maggie—” His mouth becomes a tight line. “Look. You’re right. It wasn’t great. But it was a long time ago, and I took you here so you could have a nice day, all right? Let’s not talk about this shit.”

“Okay, okay. Fine.” The lines between his eyebrows are fierce. All in good time, Maggie. I pick up his hand. “I’m sorry. And I am having a nice day. Very nice.” The lines soften. “You’re being really sweet. In fact, I had no idea you could be such a prince.”

At last he smiles, grudgingly. “Okay. Well, it’s been half an hour since you ate, so you must be starving. Want some chowder?”

“How about some lobster bisque? I want to support the local industry and all.”

He stands up and pulls me to my feet, and we head back for the tents, stopping in front of a sign that says Best Freakin’ Lobstah Bisque Evah. And I have to say, it just might be. As I scrape my bowl, I notice Malone’s amused gaze.

“I don’t really eat that much,” I tell him. “It’s just that you barely eat at all.”

“You mean I don’t eat your food,” he says.

“I have noticed that, yes. Which is your loss, since my cooking skills are incredible.”

He leans in close, his unshaven cheek scratching mine. “I’m more interested in your other skills, Maggie,” he whispers. My knees grow weak, and I toss my empty bowl into a nearby trash can, then wrap my arms around his lean waist. He kisses me, that deliberate, wonderfully intense kiss, his lips warm and silky smooth in contrast to his rasping stubble.

“Come on,” he mutters. “Let’s go back to the boat.”

Malone steers the Ugly Anne out of the cove to the far side of a tiny island, where he teaches me a few more things about a lobster boat—that you can make love standing up in the pilot house, though there’s little room for error. We bang into a few things here and there, and my legs are still shaking when we’re finished, my breath coming in gasps.

“Sorry if I was too loud,” I whisper. Sure, I’m quiet now…two minutes ago, I was—well. Not quiet.

“I thought you sounded just about right,” Malone says, smiling against my neck. A few minutes later, Malone starts the engine once more and steers us out of the maze of lobster buoys.

I zip my jacket and watch Linden Harbor disappear behind us. Some hopeful seagulls follow the Ugly Anne for a while, then, realizing we’re not going to catch anything, give up and wheel toward land.

“Shit,” Malone says from the pilot house.

“What’s the matter?” I ask.

“Oh, the fins on the turbo charger are clogged again. Damn it.”

I go over to the little doorway. “Can we get home okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine for that. I’ll just have to clean it later, see what’s going on.” He glances at me, then stands aside. “Here. Want to be captain for a day?”

We’re already away from the buoys and lines that could become entangled in the propellers, so I’m safe enough. Malone stands behind me, gently correcting my course when he needs to, and I lean against him, his chin resting on my head.

“Do you like lobstering?” I ask.

“Sure,” he says.

“Tough life, though.”

“Great life, too.” He smiles at me. “Okay, look out there, Maggie, we’ve got some porpoises about three o’clock.”

“You know what, Malone?” I ask as we watch the silvery-white flashing of the porpoises.

“What’s that?” he says.

“This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.” I turn away from the wheel to kiss his cheek.

“Watch out there,” he says as the boat veers suddenly. He reaches around me and adjusts us. “Tide’s coming at us pretty strong.” He swings us back around. “Me, too, by the way.”

When we get back to the dock, it’s near dinner time. “Do you want to try out my cooking skills, Malone? Since you’ve sampled my other skills already?” I smile as he makes the boat fast to the mooring.

He straightens up. “I’m sorry, Maggie,” he says. “I need to fix the charger before morning, and it’s an ugly job.”

“Oh. Okay.”

I’m suddenly deflated. Malone climbs into the dinghy and reaches up to help me, and before I know it, we’re back at the dock. Billy Bottoms waves to us from the gangplank, heading for home, but aside from him, no one seems to be around.

“Well, okay. Thanks, Malone. It was, um, a very nice day. Thank you so much.” I feel my cheeks grow hot as we stand there, looking at each other. The old uncertainty about the two of us has returned.

“See you soon,” he says. He pinches my chin. When? I want to ask, but I can tell his mind is on his boat.