Page 6 of Shallow Remains

“I’m glad you came. Haven’t seen you around lately,” was all he said.

“No, I’ve been busy.”

“With what?”

“Work.”

“What kind of work?”

She lifted a shoulder. At this point, she must have had the photos memorized, but she kept looking at them anyway. “Some things for Blaine, and trying to solve the mystery of the orca strandings at Cedar Point.”

Interesting. “Find anything yet?”

“Still digging. But there’s a particular working theory I’m looking into.”

“And what’s that?”

She paused for a moment. “I don’t really want to say until I know more.”

Wow, she really sucked at making conversation. Unless it was just talking with him she objected to. “Okay. Anything else you want to talk about instead? Because I’m running out of ideas to get a conversation going.”

She sighed. “It’s not you,” she said, still avoiding looking at him. “I’m socially awkward.”

He grinned, charmed by her honesty. It was endearing and made him even more curious about her. Xanthe hadn’t said much about her, and he didn’t want to tip his hand by asking. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t take it personally.”

“Exactly.” The hint of a smile tugged at her mouth.

And now all he wanted was for her to turn around and smile for real. Just for him.

“Okay. So we’re good on the whole nothing happened between us that night thing?”

She finally turned to him, frowned a little. “Are you socially awkward too?”

A startled laugh escaped him. “Not usually.” Maybe he was a bit rusty where women were concerned though. It had been a while.

“You sure?”

“Mostly. Why, what’s Xanthe said about me?”

Dimples flashed in her fair cheeks with the hint of a grin. Now he wanted to see them for real too. “Nothing.”

“Nothing at all?”

“I mean nothing much. But she definitely hasn’t said anything bad.”

“Good to know. I’ll give her a bonus later.” There. That was almost a grin. He’d keep working until he got a real one. “If she likes me, I can’t be all that bad, right?”

Maddy searched his eyes for a moment, seeming to consider that. And he didn’t miss the trace of wariness in her deep blue stare. “Maybe. And you did risk your life to go rescue her and Blaine.”

“So did you.”

She waved that away with a disparaging sound. “I wasn’t the one in danger. I stayed on the boat the entire time.”

“In gale-force winds and high seas. Most people wouldn’t go out in those conditions.” Let alone a civilian woman unused to being on the water. She had guts.

“Blaine’s my best friend, and he and Xanthe were in danger. I had to go.”

He nodded, wondering about the first part with Blaine. What was the story there? He’d bet it was interesting. “And you did. But like I told you before, you have nothing to be embarrassed about anything that happened that night.”