Page 19 of Our Little Secret
You can do this!
She marched across the uneven lot, where only a smattering of vehicles were parked—pickups and vans mostly and, of course, Gideon’s monster of a motorcycle. It was parked in its usual space, next to a shed where seagulls perched on the spine of the roof.
She held his gaze.
Her heart was pounding, her nerves tight as bow strings as she strode along the dock and up the gangway to his sailboat.
She was determined to end this. Now.
While driving to the marina she’d considered what she was going to say and had decided it best to get onto the boat, away from the eyes and ears of anyone who was hanging out on the docks. Now, seeing his hair catching in the breeze, she felt a clutch in her heart and reminded herself of the reason she was there.
A smile stretched over his jaw at her approach, and though his eyes were hidden by sunglasses, she saw the corners crinkle—a sincere smile. “Hey,” he said and reached for her.
“Stop!” She held up a hand and took a step back, every muscle in her body tense. “What the hell were you doing delivering the pizza to my house last night?”
He chuckled. “I thought you’d appreciate that.”
“Appreciate it? Are you insane? We had a deal,” she reminded him, churning inside. “My house was off-limits. My family is off-limits. Mydaughteris definitely off-limits!”
“Your daughter?” he repeated, amused.
“Don’t go there, Gideon,” she warned, balancing against the rail as the boat gently rocked. “You tried to flirt with her.”
“Oh, right. Come on, she’s just a kid.” He sounded dismissive. Shaded eyes continued to stare at her. “But you sound a little jealous.”
Jealous? Was he kidding? She scoffed, “How did you know? About the pizza? How did you find out what we were doing and how . . . how on earth did you manage it?”
His lips twitched. “I have my ways.”
“This is not a game!”
“Isn’t it?”
“It’s harassment.”
“Harassment?” he spat out.
“I’m serious. Leave us the hell alone.”
“Or you’ll do what?” His smile faded. He tossed the dregs of his coffee over the side of the boat. “What could you possibly do to me?”
“Don’t try me,” she said between locked teeth.
Setting his empty cup on a small folding chair, he said, “You reneged.”
“I reneged?” she repeated. “No—”
“You left here yesterday and everything was fine. And then, not even a couple of hours later, you called with a message that I assumed was a joke.”
“No joke.”
“So you’re serious?”
“As serious as I’ve ever been in my life.” The wind blew a strand of hair over her eyes and she pushed it aside and glared at him. “It’s over, Gideon, just like I said.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
