means we are going to be drinking. We’ll call a taxi.”
“No thanks. I’ll hire a car.”
He laughed. “We both know you are going to cut out early and leave me. I’ll be taking a cab.”
I wasn’t going to deny it. “All right. I better get out of here. I’ll talk to you before Saturday.”
“I know where you live,” he warned. “Don’t try and hide. I’ll climb that fence.”
I knew he would. “I won’t stand you up.”
I walked out of the massive warehouse and headed to my car in the parking lot that housed the cars of the many employees. I checked the time and pointed my car toward town. I didn’t necessarily need the business to build a single boat, but I was looking forward to a new challenge.
I thought about the upcoming party. I really wasn’t looking forward to it. It was hard for an extrovert to understand an introvert. I considered myself an introvert. I had always been a loner. In college, I did party a little. I did date and I did have fun. After I graduated, I began to become more closed off. Mostly, I was closed off because I was always working on the design for the ship. It took a couple years to fine tune the idea I had come up with during the last year in college.
Every day I stayed alone in my own little bubble, the easier it got to stay in that bubble. The few women I dated were not right for me. They didn’t like being cooped up. They wanted to go out and hit the clubs. They wanted to be seen on my arm. I knew I was wealthy, and a lot of the women thought they were getting a real catch. Then they got to know me.
Sometimes, they made the excuse to leave. Sometimes, I made the excuse. None of the relationships had necessarily ended badly but they did end. I couldn’t ever remember being sad about them ending. I supposed that was part of the problem. I should have been sad. I should have cared a little more than I actually did.
I convinced myself some years ago I was meant to be single. I was going to be a bachelor all the rest of my days.
The worst part about it—I didn’t care. I wasn’t worried about being alone.
Chapter 4
Evie
I parked my car in front of the small antique store. I often shopped at the place when I was looking for that little something special to make a party theme complete. I had a good relationship with the owner and appreciated the many stories he had about the old days.
I walked in, the bells on the door alerting him to my presence. The bells were a necessity. The shop was packed, wall to wall. In some places, things were stacked so high one couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of them.
I walked inside, being careful not to knock anything over with my purse. “Bob!” I called out the owner’s name.
I heard a muffled reply. “Back here.”
I followed the sound of his voice. He was kneeling on the floor, unpacking a box of what looked like skeleton keys.
“Those are awesome!” I exclaimed.
He softly chuckled. “These are trendy right now,” he commented. “The rustier, the better. I’ll sell these in no time.”
“They are very cool,” I agreed. I considered buying some just to have them. I was thinking they could be great for a Halloween party or a steampunk party. I pushed the thoughts aside. I was there for the shipping party. Skeleton keys were not that hard to find.
He very slowly got to his feet, brushing off his knees. “You’re here for the boat stuff, right?”
“I am. What do you have for me?”
He walked me around a pile of stuff to an area where there were some thick ropes piled on the floor. “Check out this anchor,” he said.
I grimaced and shook my head. “I think that is a little on the large side,” I told him. The anchor was a hair shorter than I was. “I was thinking of something a little smaller. I do like the ropes. I’ll take those.”
“I’ve got this old wheel,” he said, moving around to point out the carved-wood piece.
I wasn’t an expert, but I didn’t believe it was an authentic wheel. It looked close enough for my needs though. “I’ll take that as well. What else?”
He looked thoughtful before he put a finger in the air. “Ah, the old