Page 17 of The Sailor

“I’ll give you my brothers’ numbers tomorrow. And my mom’s too. But I warn you, she’s forever misplacing her cell, so if you want to talk to her, you should probably call her landline at the house. Oh, and Walt and Barry too. And I’m sure Britt will want to text you as well. She spends a lot of her time out at Lobster Cove and could probably use some girl talk. My mom is great, but having someone closer to her age would probably be welcome.”

Marit was proud of herself for not freaking out at the thought of having so many people added to her contact list. It was likely they’d never contact her anyway. Zach was just being nice in suggesting they’d want to have her number.

“I had a good time tonight,” Zach said, walking her toward the house. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“Your family’s . . . nice,” she told him.

“Remember that when they’re being pains in my ass,” he teased.

Then he leaned in and kissed her once more. He lingered a bit longer than he had when he’d kissed her after getting out of the car. But it wasn’t nearly as passionate as the kiss they’d shared on that bench by the water. Her belly still did somersaults though.

“See you tomorrow. If you want, text before you head out on the boat. I’ll be up.”

“I will. Good luck with the risotto tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Be safe on the boat.”

“Always.”

This was ridiculous, and Marit couldn’t help but smile. They were both prolonging the goodbye, obviously neither of them ready to part. But she needed some sleep. As did Zach. So she did the adult thing and took a step toward the stairs that led up the side of the house, to the apartment she was renting.

She wasn’t really surprised when she reached the top of the stairs and looked down to see Zach still standing there, watching to make sure she got inside all right. She gave him a small wave, and after he returned it, she slipped into her place and shut the door, locking it behind her. She leaned against the surface and found that she was still smiling. Huge.

Tonight had been nothing like what she’d expected. She’d experienced some pretty intense emotions, but overall it had been . . . awesome.

Moving to Rockville had been the right decision. It was tough to leave Portland and a lobstering community she’d worked so hard to fit into, but Eliot was a great employer and Jonah a hard worker. The other lobstermen in the area were a bit standoffish, but she hoped that would change when they saw she was serious about her profession.

And of course, there was Zach. It was hard to believe she’d just met him, but for once in her life, she was going to go with the flow. Try not to overthink things. Time would tell whether or not they worked out, but she was going to be cautiously optimistic for now.

Still smiling, she pushed off the door and headed to the kitchen to get a cup of water before heading to bed. Sleep came fast for Marit, and she drifted off with the same silly grin on her face.