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Aware of how close we were standing to one another, I took a step back. “Yeah, okay. I think I might have time.”
“Cool,” he said, grinning at me. “Okay then. Do you know how to get back to your room, or do you want me to walk you?”
I had a feeling all of those declarations I’d made earlier about not wanting to seem like I was there for romantic reasons might go down the drain if I let him walk me back to my room. “I can find it.”
“All right then. Goodnight, Georgia.”
Swallowing hard, I managed to say, “Goodnight, Beau,” turn around, and walk away.
9
BEAU
Sleeping was challenging. This was the first time I’d met a woman I found interesting, and now she was in my house. Putting her on the other side of the house had been meant to make her feel more comfortable, but it didn’t keep me from lying awake for hours, staring up at the ceiling, wondering about her.
Georgia was captivating in many ways. From her dazzling smile to the sound of her laughter, she made me feel some kind of way I hadn’t in a really long time. I tried to shake it off, to tell myself it didn’t matter. After all, she lived in Seattle, and clearly, she wasn’t interested in sticking around in “Sticka” any longer than she had to. Still, that didn’t keep my mind from wondering about her life back in Washington. It was the middle of the night before I finally drifted off, wondering if I’d dream of her soft brown eyes.
The next morning, I woke up early, as usual. The thought of going back to sleep was tempting, but the fish were more likely to bite earlier in the morning, so I hauled myself out of bed, got ready for the day, and headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. I didn’t have one of those fancy one-cup coffeemakers. Since I drank a lot of coffee and was usually the only one drinking from the pot, it just made more sense to make a bigger container of it.
With my cup in hand, I went to the refrigerator, debating whether or not I should start some breakfast. I did want to hurry and get to the boat, but I didn’t want to press Georgia to get up if she wasn’t ready. I’d planned a full day out on the water anyway, so if I missed the morning hours when the fish would be more likely to bite, I’d still have plenty of chances to reel in the big one later.
A knock on the back door had me pulling my head out of the refrigerator. Only one person would come to the kitchen door. Grumbling, I headed over to confront the man who had stood me up the day before.
Ryan stood in the doorway, his hands full of fishing gear, a bright smile on his face. “Good morning, buddy.” He was wearing the expression he managed to slip into whenever he knew I was pissed at him and thought I shouldn’t be.
“Ryan.” I glared at him, waiting for him to explain himself. He did not. “What’s all of this?”
“What? Aren’t we going out on the boat today? I got the day off from the bait shop.” He started to step through the door, but I put my arm across the opening, blocking his way. “What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?” I barked at him. “Are you shitting me? Ryan, you totally stood me up last night at West Wharf.”
“What?” His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. Thank goodness for the bait shop because if Ryan tried to rely on his acting skills to make a living, he’d be destitute. “Was that last night?”
“Oh, fuck off,” I told him, stepping away. I walked back to the kitchen island and set my cup down, still wondering about breakfast.
Ryan followed me inside, still holding his small tackle box and his pole. “Seriously, it totally slipped my mind.”
“Whatever,” I told him. “I know you probably hooked up with some chick, and that’s why you didn’t come. You could’ve at least called.”
“Dude, you know I would never choose some random chick over you. You’re my best friend!” Ryan feigned hurt, looking at me with puppy dog eyes. “Come on, let’s go catch that one that got away.”
“You’re not coming with me today, man. I’m pissed at you.” He thought he could weasel his way into my good side, but I was not going to be so easily manipulated.
“But, Beau, I’m your best friend. Why would you want to go out there all alone when you could be there with me?” he argued.
I was about to open my mouth to tell him where he could go when we heard a chipper high-pitched voice from the other side of the room. “Good morning.”
Georgia stood there wearing the clothes I’d brought her the day before. She looked adorable in one of Kaylee’s sweaters and a pair of leggings. I’d gotten rid of most of my wife’s belongings that might’ve benefited someone else, but I’d found those in the back of the closet and was glad I hadn’t quite made my way through everything because Georgia looked much more comfortable now that she’d had a chance to take a shower and get cleaned up.
“Well, hello there,” Ryan said. His eyes cut to me, and a questioning, accusatory expression took over. “I guess now I know why you were so quick to assume I’d met someone,” he said out of the side of his mouth.
“Ryan, this is Georgia… I’m sorry. I never caught your last name,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat from embarrassment.
“That’s okay. Georgia Mattingly,” she supplied, coming over to offer Ryan her hand. He juggled the fishing gear and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Ryan Greene,” he said, polite as always. “Totally awesome to meet you as well, Georgia.” Again, he was grinning like he’d caught me in some sort of a lie. Either that, or he was just happy because he thought I’d taken his advice and gotten laid. I’d have to burst his bubble on that one later, in private.
“Georgia’s cruise ship left port yesterday while we were having a drink at West Wharf. You know, that bar not far from the bait shop where you work?” I glared at him, trying to make him feel bad about standing me up.
