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Making her laugh, seeing her smile, that was rapidly becoming my favorite pastime. Well, OK, of course my favorite pastime was fucking her like a ravenous beast. But that was a close second.
Third came planning my new bar. Through Liam, of course, I’d hooked up with two interested and well-funded guys wanting to go in on the joint. The way I saw it, Naugatuck needed a casual, laid-back alternative to all the wine bars and themed, upscale nightclubs. It needed a tavern, plain and simple, that served great brews and hearty food. A place to unwind and relax.
The historical society loved the concept, especially since we used the word “tavern.” That had been my idea, thank you very much. The whole island had such a historic feel, it seemed like a no-brainer. We’d do burgers and comfort food, including some local favorites like clam chowder and fish ‘n chips. I wanted the whole place to feel comfortable, like a home away from home.
“How about ‘Ye Olde Tavern’,” Ace suggested one night as I Skyped with him. A new nurse’s aide had set it up for him on his computer and he’d become a Skyping madman, ready to chat at all hours of the day and night. The time zone difference didn’t seem to register so much. I’d had to turn off the wifi connection on my phone overnight so he wouldn’t wake us up at five a.m.
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.” I cleared my throat. I wanted to get serious, tell him something I had on my mind. Only speaking my heart wasn’t always that easy.
“Spit it out, son.”
I chuckled. Ace always knew me even better than I knew myself. “With everything going so good in my life, I just want to, you know, thank you. For taking me in when I was 16. And believing in me.”
“Aw, you don’t have to thank me. I’d do it all over again.”
“I know I gave you a hard time. I was so angry.
“And I kept yapping at you about hard work, perseverance, and delayed gratification.”
I could hear him rattling all that off at me, drilling it into my head that living that way might not be that satisfying in the short term, but ultimately working hard and staying straight led to a better life. Back then, I’d rolled my eyes, but I’d listened. “I’m glad you did.”
“Well, look at you now.
“I have you to thank.”
“Be sure to call and thank me when half your wait staff quits on opening day.” He gave a hearty laugh, knowing the kinds of headaches and long hours it took to make a restaurant successful. But I loved doing it. And now I had the chance to run another place, on my own terms. “Now where is she?” he demanded.
I laughed. It wasn’t me he wanted to Skype with, anyway, it was Sky. I understood. She was much prettier to look at, and nicer to talk to, too.
“I know what we have to call Jax’s new tavern!” The woman in question entered the room, joining in the conversation. “Ace’s Place!”
“It’s got a ring to it!” Ace agreed.
“Now you’ve got to promise to come out for the grand opening.” She visited her favorite topic, trying to get Ace to come out and visit. We both wanted him to consider moving to Naugatuck. We talked up its considerable charms, but Ace always responded with a, “It snows there, doesn’t it?” So far, he wasn’t interested, but we’d keep at him.
“My friend Sophie has a new student in her senior dance class,” Sky teased him. “She’s quite the dish.” I loved how well Sky and Sophie got along. It made it so fun to hang out with Liam when the four of us could all just relax and crack up together. I’d say I missed that, but I’d never really had it. Back in Cavallo, Zeke had been my oldest friend and I knew I could trust him with my life, but he wasn’t exactly on the same path as me. Liam and Sophie? They were exactly our speed.
“Tell her to Insta-square me,” Ace teased Sky right back. “I’ll take a look and decide if I should swipe.”
“Insta-square?” Sky mouthed to me. I shook my head, letting her know she shouldn’t bother trying to sort out the nuances of social media to Ace. He was having fun mucking around with it. From what it sounded like, the man had at least heard of Tinder.
Personally, I was glad I didn’t need to bother with any of that. Not that I ever had, really. I’d never had trouble finding women to spend time with, even before I’d owned a bar.
But Sky was so much more than someone to spend time with. She was as amazing to wake up to in the morning as she was to take to bed at night. The last time Liam and I had grabbed a beer, just the two of us, he’d elbowed me.
“She’s the one, you know that, right?” he’d asked, looking at me expectantly.
I didn’t even try to play it cool. “She’s the one.” I’d known it for a long time, way before it had been anywhere near appropriate to feel that way. There had been a connection between us right from the start, with physical attraction, of course, but something so much deeper than that as well.
“So? Want to make it a double wedding?”
I nearly spit the beer out of my mouth. He and Sophie were getting married around the holidays. “Sky just got out of a really bad marriage. I don’t think now’s exactly the time to pop the question.”
“Don’t you want her to know how you feel?”
Huh. Liam had a point. I didn’t answer him then, though. We got to talking about other things, conversation turning as it often did to Ian, wondering what he was up to, what we could do to help him. I hadn’t talked to Ian in almost two years, even though I thought about him almost every day. He’d stopped answering texts, never picked up calls, and it wasn’t just with me, it was with all of us. Even if he was holed up in that crumbling castle in Scotland, I hoped he wasn’t completely alone.
Because now I knew, you couldn’t lone-wolf it through all of life. You might need to do it to get through a tough time, but, ultimately, it would never make you happy. People weren’t meant to live in isolation. Now that I’d found Sky and felt what it was like to have a true partner, I knew I never wanted to let her go. Liam’s question stayed with me—didn’t I want to tell her how I felt? I didn’t want to rush her into anything. But I wondered if I could talk about the future, tell her what I hoped for between us, while also letting her know that I’d wait as long as it took.
A couple days before Liam’s huge Fourth of July party, I took Sky out for a nice dinner. Again, Liam knew a guy who worked at a swanky waterfront place where it was damn hard to get a table. But drop Liam’s name and suddenly we had ourselves a seven o’clock reservation and—look—no charge for the second entrée!
We took a stroll afterward, hand in hand. She had on a pretty little colorful sundress, her hair curling in the ocean air. Undeniably, she had more bounce in her step, more pink in her cheeks day after day.
“You like it on Naugatuck?” I asked, wrapping my hand around her waist.
“It’s like a theme park, it’s so pretty!” She laughed, gesturing around the picturesque street. “Does anyone even litter on this island?”
“I think if they do they’re immediately air-lifted off,” I joked, but then asked, more seriously, “So, you can see yourself living here? For a while?”
“Absolutely.” She reached up and kissed me. “And maybe take over for Maple when she retires.” Fingers crossed, she looked up, excited. The woman who owned my favorite bakery on the island had taken a liking not just to Sky’s baking, but to Sky, herself. Sky had started working for her and, more and more as the days passed, she’d picked up on Maple’s desire to pass the baton on the entire business.
But instead of wanting to discuss that exciting development, Sky turned her attention back to me, concerned about how I was doing. She was as unselfish as people came. “Is it ever strange for you? Being back here where you all nearly died out on that boat? I don’t mean to bring up such a bad memory. But every now and then, I wonder.”
“You know, that was the worst night of my life, don’t get me wrong. But that night didn’t happen because this is a bad place. It happened because I was a stupid 14-year-old.”
“And the other guys, too.
” She stuck up for me, like she always did. I didn’t mind having her in my corner.
“Sure, all of us were stupid, no question. Heading out right before it got dark, not knowing how to operate the boat, no idea about the forecast. I still can’t believe we did it.”
“But you’re wiser now.” She returned me to the present, wrapping her hand around my bicep, smiling up at me.
“A little,” I grudgingly agreed.
“And it’s not strange for you, being back?”
“Not at all. I could see myself settling down here. Having a family. Could you?”
She pinked up, closing her eyes, pressing herself against my chest in a hug. “Yes,” she exhaled, seeming to feel the answer through her whole body.
