wasn’t going to find it anywhere near Trillium Bay.
Too bad for me because I liked Leo. I’d started this evening with a chest full of nervous anticipation, yet as we talked, I’d relaxed. My defenses had lowered as my optimism rose. I was enjoying myself, and something about him seemed . . . trustworthy, and that wasn’t something I automatically attributed to someone. But none of that mattered because his visit here was a short-term gig. I made a note of that and stuck it to my heart as a reminder.
We finished our second round of beers, and as Leo paid the bill, I realized I’d been paying very close attention to him and zero attention to the time. When we left Stella’s, it was already eight o’clock, and as we speed-walked toward the dock, the horn sounded, indicating the ferry was about to pull away.
“Uh-oh. I think we’d better sprint,” Leo said. He glanced down at my shoes, and although I was wearing a pair of relatively practical boots, they were not made for running. “Here, jump on.” He halted in front of me and bent forward.
“Oh hell no. I am not riding on your back. I’m too full for that. Plus, I’m the mayor, for goodness’ sake!”
“If you don’t, we’re going to miss that boat, and as much as I’d like an excuse for us to rent a hotel room over here, I’m guessing you won’t go for that. Hop on.”
If I’d had a moment to ponder his comment, I would have surely enjoyed the suggestion, but given that we were about to miss our ride, I was just going to have to tuck that comment away in my memory bank to pull out later. The boat horn blew again, spurring me to chuck my embarrassment, and dignity, and leap onto his back. Leo caught my legs behind my knees, and my embarrassment quickly gave way to a serious case of the giggles as he started to jog.
“You know, for such a little thing, you’re kind of hard to carry if you won’t hold on,” he said, his breath coming out in short puffs of exertion.
No one had ever called me a little thing. I wasn’t big. I was totally and completely average. And normal, apparently, because bouncing along with my vahooch rubbing up and down his back was triggering all sorts of delicious tingles along every nerve ending in my body. Clinging to his shoulders wasn’t doing my self-restraint any favors, either. So much for trying to remain immune to his charm/muscles/personality/chivalry etcetera. Damn it.
With seconds to spare, Leo sprinted over the short metal plank and onto the ferry, where we collapsed onto a leather-cushioned bench inside and laughed like idiots all the way back to the island.
Chapter 11
“So . . . this is your place?” Leo asked as I strolled from the sidewalk and up the little gravel path that led to my porch. Our walk from the ferry dock had taken us just a few minutes, and now we were right in front of my home.
“Yep, all mine.” I reached the steps and halted, turning back to face him. It was already dark, but the sounds of downtown still echoed all around. The general murmur of people talking on the street, the clip-clop of horses on their way back to the barns for the night, and the ever-present caress of waves on the shore. This was my favorite time of day, as the business of the island quieted down to the hushed sounds of evening.
“You live here by yourself?” Leo asked, eyeing my blue two-story house before setting a foot on the bottom step.
“Yep, just me.” I hid my smile. I knew where this was going.
“Living alone is nice,” he said slowly. “All that peace and quiet, but sometimes there are some distinct disadvantages.”
“Such as?” I crossed my arms and leaned back against the post.
“Well,” he said, tapping his foot, “I mean it’s nice for when you feel like being alone, but sometimes there’s stuff you want to do that, you know, requires two people.”
“Such as?” I asked again, as if I didn’t know.
“Parcheesi.”
My laugh echoed into the air, and he smiled.
“I mean, sure, you’ll win, but it’s just no fun playing Parcheesi by yourself.” He moved closer. “Ping-Pong. Synchronized swimming. Arguing. You definitely need another person for that.”
Oh, I don’t know. There was a pretty feisty argument going on inside of me right then between my head and my heart. Well, maybe not so