Thats what family does. She winked.
Lets drive over. I want to get to the boat and get things set up. Im picking her up at six.
He opened the door of his car for her, and she got in.
He wasnt stupid with his money, but he loved cars and had a special garage built at his place for his collection. Hed decided to take the Shelby fastback. Hed had it restored up in Seattle the year before, and he loved the summertime when he could drive it often.
It was a sexy car. And yes, he was showing off. A little.
Damien was out front when they arrived at his and Marys house, just down the road from the main house their parents lived in. His brothers face lit when he caught sight of Mary. Hey, there, Curly. Have you been keeping Paddy out of trouble? Damien kissed his wife soundly.
Impossible to keep the Hurley boys out of trouble. Only your mother has the fortitude for that. But hes got a date, and Ive got stuff for him.
Damien slung an arm around his wifes shoulders as he took Paddy in. Dont give him those potatoes. Well, you cant, anyway, because I ate them about ten minutes ago.
Damien! Those were for dinner.
He laughed and Paddy rolled his eyes at his bottomless pit of a brother.
I was hungry. How can I resist? They didnt even have a sticky note on them saying not to eat them like the other stuff does.
You ignore those, too. I figured if I put the potatoes behind the beets youd never see them. She looked back over her shoulder. Come on in. Lets see whats left after Hurricane Damien has gone through my kitchen like a plague of locusts. Mary poked Damiens side. Where do you even put it all? How fair is that, anyway?
Paddy did what he was told, sitting at the bar while she put together a tote of food for him. Her colored-cotton totes were famous in his family. She had several, each with colored stripes indicating which of them got what bounty. His was blue, and she handed him three, one of which was insulated.
Balsamic strawberries. Theyll be awesome for dessert. Wild strawberries, even. Theres a pint of vanilla ice cream in case she wants some to go with the strawberries. The balsamic is good on that, too.
He used to question her weird food combos. After three years of her cooking, he no longer doubted that whatever she gave him would taste good.
She rattled off a bunch of directions for how to deal with this or that, and he just nodded and kissed her cheek when she finished up. Thank you.
Damien finally roused. Hed been watching his wife through hooded eyes and Paddy tried not to think about whatever nasty stuff was going on in his brothers head. Wait, date? Oh! This is the librarian?
You knew about this and didnt tell me? Mary looked to her husband.
Believe me, most of what I dont share youd be scandalized by, anyway.
She rolled her eyes. Come to breakfast tomorrow and tell us how it went. I may need to check some books out, anyway. I havent been down there in some time.
Dont meddle, Curly. Damien pulled on one of the long dark curls that were the source of her nickname.
Pfft. Its not meddling when its family.
Paddy grabbed the totes. It totally is. Shes skittish. If you poke around, just be discreet. I like this woman.
Mary smiled up at him, patting his arm. I can handle it. Now go. Have a good time and use a condom!
He found himself blushing and felt better when Damien cracked up.
* * *
NATALIE GAVE HERSELF one last look in the mirror in the staff bathroom. The earrings made her smile. Like a little bit of Tuesday was going on the date with her.
Date. With Paddy Hurley. She was so stupid.
And yet there she was, freshening her lipstick and finger-combing her hair. Time to go, she told herself in the mirror before she waved goodbye to her coworkers and headed out to the sidewalk.
Where she heard the purr of an engine and knew it was him before the deep green classic car pulled into view.
He pulled up and shook his head so hard when she moved to open her door that she drew back as he got out.
Wait! He came around.
Is it broken?
Paddy snorted. No. But my manners arent, either. First things first. He took a long look up and down, and she was glad shed worn the heels. You look pretty. I want to say more, but I dont know if I should.
Well, now you have me nervous.
He kissed her then. Nothing really untoward, a quick peck smack-dab on the lips. But those traitorous lips tingled and his scent was in her by that point. He wore cologne, which seemed odd, but it was nice. Sexy and masculine without being overwhelming.
He hadnt had a beard all those years before. She liked the slight scratch of it.
Paddy opened the door and indicated she get in. She managed to do so without showing her underpants or looking too ungraceful.
He got in just a second or two later and pulled away from the curb.
You have great legs and cute toes.
He said this as his attention was on the road, so he didnt catch her blush.
Um. Thanks. God, did he have a foot fetish or something weird? She thought back on their time and flushed, a sweat breaking out. Okay, so that was unwise because he was really supergood at sexy stuff. But he hadnt seemed unnaturally interested in her feet.
Where are we headed?
My boat. I figured we could have dinner out on the deck. Its such a nice night and itll be light until so late. Ill take us away from the marina. I know a nice little stretch just east of here. Deserted, so well be able to see the sunset and Ill have you all to myself. But not in an it rubs the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again way.
She burst out laughing. Did you just quote Silence of the Lambs at me? Serial killer dialogue meant to reassure me?
He cursed under his breath, and she reached out to pat his arm to reassure him. I know it was a joke. Really. Im more concerned you have a foot fetish than with you being a serial killer.
Foot fetish?
The toes comment? I mean, look, if it floats someones boat, more power to them. But I cant even get a pedicure because people touching my feet weirds me out.
Note to self, dont try to paint Nats toenails. He turned with a grin on his face. Were both being way more nervous than we need to be.
Yeah. Probably.
I like cute toes when theyre painted and looking great in nice high heels. I dont want to lick them or anything. Yours would probably be worth it. But I can control my baser urges.
He parked at the marina, which was less than five minutes from the library, and walked her down the row, heading to a rather impressive boat.
So, whats that? Fifty-footer? Nice.
Someone knows her way around boats. I like to go fishing with my brothers and our friends. In the summer, if were here and not out on tour, we can watch fireworks from the water. Have dinner out here. Its a good thing to have. Youre okay with boats, right? No seasickness or anything?
I love being out on the water. My grandparents had a boat. Sometimes, as I was growing up, wed go out on it. They lived on Lake Washington.
Oh, Seattle locals?
Medina. Her grandparents had lived in a mansion with a sloping lawn to the lake where their yacht had been moored. Too bad they paid more attention to the lawn and their things than what their spoiled son got up to.
Medina. Her grandparents had lived in a mansion with a sloping lawn to the lake where their yacht had been moored. Too bad they paid more attention to the lawn and their things than what their spoiled son got up to.
He held her forearm as she got on the boat.
Oooh, swanky. What brought a rich girl from Medina to a shithole bar in Portland?
Theyre the rich ones. She blew it off, not wanting to get into it. She was rich, too, but it was their house and their lifestyle. The guilt would start if she thought about it too long. Guilt and anger and all the stuff she knew didnt belong to her, but she felt it, anyway.
He let her avoid the topic. Come on, then. Let me get ready. Have a seat up there. Once were away from the marina, Ill crack open some champagne.
She watched him, the sun behind his head highlighting him like a freaking angel. He was confident there at the wheel. Hands steady, sunglasses shielding his eyes and rendering him even more attractive.
* * *
THE TIME IT took to get away from the marina to the cove where they finally ended up had allowed her to get herself together and shove all that stuff about her family far away.
He handed her a glass. Now, what should we toast to? New beginnings? Old times?
Dinner.
He smirked and clinked his glass to hers. Thats a good start. Come on over and sit while I work.
She managed to climb down and finally just bent to undo the shoes. Yes, they had been cute and sexy but walking barefoot was easier on a boat than in heels. Hope you dont mind, she said when she caught him looking at her.
I dont mind at all. Theyre sexy heels, I cant lie. But I like you making yourself comfortable on my boat even more. Im hoping your skirt blows up enough for me to see if youve still got those bows on the backs of your thighs.
Hed licked her tattoos a time or three, if she remembered correctly. And she knew she did because it would be impossible to forget a man like Paddy Hurley licking the skin at the top of your thighs and then giving your ass cheeks a sharp nip. She shivered and was proud of the way her voice didnt betray how breathless he rendered her. Thosed be some powerful gusts. The breeze isnt that strong and the dress is long enough to defeat what weve got now.
He looked back over his shoulder at her. So, the bright red bows are still there?
I hear tattoo removal is pretty painful.
Shame. Maybe I can see them later. Or next date you can wear a shorter skirt.
Dont get your hopes up. I have to bend and kneel all the time at work. Parents in Hood River tend to frown upon librarians flashing their panties at the library.
He groaned. Youre a wicked tease, Natalie.
He made her laugh. She hadnt expected to feel so relaxed with him. But she did. This was dangerous ground, but she couldnt help herself. Flirting with him was fun. And...it was easy because things just flowed between them.
He shook his head at her, still smiling. Be right back. I need to put something in the oven and the microwave. He dashed down to the galley, and she contented herself looking out over the water. She loved being out on the water, but it had been years since shed been on a boat. The last time had been when Tuesday had scattered Erics ashes.
He popped back up a few minutes later. Need a refill? I have juice and sparkling water, too, if you prefer.
Champagne was one of her favorite things, so on the rare occasions she did drink, she loved it. However, she needed to go easy because Paddy was like three glasses on an empty stomach just by existing.
Ill have more when we eat.
He put a platter out on the low table in front of her. Some snacky things. I considered taking credit. Once you taste them, youre going to love them and think Im awesome. Im all about that. However, it wouldnt be nice of me, and eventually youd find out that my sister-in-law, Mary, is an amazing cook and gives us all food on a regular basis. She made all those little things and gave them to me. I was going to do cheese and crackers or chips. I particularly like those there. The ones that look like little sacks. They have cheese and spinach and other stuff in them. He pointed.
Natalie popped one of the phyllo bundles into her mouth. Oh. Yeah, these are really good. She ate two more and then made herself try the other stuff. Dates stuffed with blue cheese, spiced nuts, cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto.
After Paddy grabbed a few appetizers, he turned and got to work, oiling the grill as she settled on the rather comfortable couch on the deck to watch. He was at ease with himself, clearly at home in his skin.
This should be done in like five minutes. You dont need to cook it very long.
Want help? Not with cooking because Id set something on fire. But I can lay out plates and that sort of thing.
Nope. Table is set. If you want, you can take the pilaf out of the microwave. Theres stuff in the cooler, but Ill bring it and the salmon in a minute.
She made her way down to the galley, guessingcorrectlyat its whereabouts and grabbed the stuff hed asked for and headed to the table on the main deck.
CHAPTER FIVE
PADDY BROUGHT THE salmon and the other things from the galley on a big tray but paused at the sight of her, the breeze playing with the hem of her dress and the hair at the nape of her neck. He wondered if she had any ink beneath the material of her dress.
Wanted pretty badly to see it as the sun rose, as she woke up in his bed.
Hope youre hungry.
She turned, and it was a punch to his gut. The pleased smile, the ease on her face. She was so damned beautiful. Open in that moment, and he craved more with such longing, it alarmed him. There was something so alluring about her manner. Not when she was closed off, that sucked, and he hated it. Natalie was...elegant. Strong, sure, but she moved with a lithe grace.
Natalie padded over in her bare feet. And no, he wasnt a foot fetishist, but damn, she did have sexy feet, and he liked the way she looked. A little casual, rumpled by the wind. Distracting him with his nonstop imaginings of what was under her clothes. He had been with her before, sure. But that was over a dozen years past.
I really am. I had a microwave burrito for lunch.
Snapping away from wondering what color her panties were, he pulled her chair out, and she sat. I hope this is better than that.
She laughed, sipping her champagne. The appetizers alone were better than that.
Music. We need some music. He got up.
Ill get started on dinner. You know, take one for the team and all.
Laughing, he found the remote for his dock and turned it on as he went back to join her.
Wow, so you just go from zero to John Legend?
Ill take all the help I can get. He dished up some of the tomato salad.
Natalie had this way of pausing, hed noticed. She considered her answers so carefully sometimes. Made him want to know more.
Finally, she finished her champagne and locked her gaze on his. God save me, Patrick Hurley, but you dont need any help.
Oh, yes, that felt good. Yeah?
She sighed. Yeah.
Is that a good sigh? A bad sigh?