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“Fish is ready,” he said with a nod toward the wharf.
“I’ll be right down.” I gave him my signature grin, but he turned away, unfazed. “Good morning, Tony. It’s nice to see you. You look good today. Did you have fun on the water? Of course you did.”
I continued shouting out ridiculous things, but he only huffed. Or maybe it was a grunt. I couldn’t really tell, but no words followed any of his annoyed sounds. This was part of my morning routine; one of the fishermen would let me know they were ready, and then I would walk down and hand-select the pieces I’d use that day. The guys always gave me first access to their catch. I wasn’t really sure why, but I appreciated it all the same.
I always bought my seafood fresh, local from the ocean right outside the window, and rarely stocked for more than one day at a time. If there were any leftovers after we closed for the night, they would get incorporated into a dish the very next day. Just like any fresh food or produce, fish was better when it was cooked quickly. Plus, the last thing I needed was someone getting sick and claiming it was my restaurant that had done it to them.
Social media these days could be brutal if someone posted the wrong thing regardless of how accurate it was or not. People usually didn’t take the time to seek out the facts anymore. They simply bought into whatever they read, depending on who had said it. So, in all fairness, the opposite was also true. And those complimentary posts had brought in tons of new people to my restaurant over the last year and a half. I knew because they had told me.
We saw it online. So and so posted how much she loved the desserts here. I read this is the best place for lobster rolls and fish cakes.
I walked over to my couch and reached for my shoes before sitting down and pulling them on. Snickers hopped up next to me, pushing her head into my arm as I tried to work at tying them.
“Okay, okay,” I said, giving her some extra love before standing tall with a grin. “How do I look?” I asked, and she meowed her approval. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
Snickers meowed again, and I pretended like I knew exactly what she was saying.
“Of course I’ll bring you a treat.”
As I headed toward the front door, Snickers moved from the couch and hopped up onto the kitchen counter, taking her place at the window, where she could watch me the whole time, her tail wagging like she was up to something devious. I wondered what she did when I wasn’t around. Rolling my eyes, I silently cursed at myself for the crazy cat woman I’d suddenly become. I really needed to get out more.
SOLITUDE & PUNISHMENT
TONY
Iwasn’t immune to the charms of Ava Starling, which was why I did my best to limit my contact with the woman. She was stunning in an unexpected manner. And I only meant that she didn’t go out of her way to make sure she waspresentablewhenever she was in public.
I couldn’t count on both hands the number of times I’d seen her without a stitch of makeup on—it had been so many times. Not that she needed any—I wasn’t saying that. It was refreshing, the way she naturally glowed and danced around in her kitchen, creating meals that the men out here drooled over… and constantly talked about. She was a talented chef, although she scoffed whenever anyone called her that.
And she wasalways. So. Happy.
Which was another reason why I stayed away from her. Happiness was the last thing I deserved. Not after what I’d done. After everything I’d destroyed. I planned on punishing myself until the day I died, avoiding people who were the epitome of sunshine and goodness, like Ava, no matter how attracted I was to her or how jealous I got when the other guys talked about trying to get her into bed. My feelings toward her were irrational and illogical… and had to be ignored.
I would never deserve someone as sweet as her. Not ever again.
I spotted Ava walking down the pathway toward the group of us, a huge grin on her face, like usual, as she pulled two rolling coolers behind her frame, like she always did.
Fishing in other cities was highly regulated, and you had to go through middlemen in order to sell your catch once it was off your boat. There were unions and all sorts of people with their hands in our pockets, sharing in our profits without doing any of the actual hard work. Selling directly to restaurants and businesses was typically forbidden, but this town had established their own rules back in the 1800s, and it had never been overturned, no matter how many times someone had tried. As long as the population stayed under a certain number, we were allowed to continue selling directly without any real regulatory fees or overlords.
“Morning, Rory.” Ava’s voice echoed through the crisp morning air as she stopped at his table, doling out compliments and inspecting his latest haul.
She always came to my station last, and I knew she did it on purpose. It was her way of torturing me, of making me watch her flirt with and charm every man on this dock until it was my turn for a sliver of her attention. I’d never let her know how much she got to me though.I couldn’t.If I let my guard down even once around her, I’d fall in two seconds flat, and that wasn’t part of my new life plan here. A plan that basically consisted of two words—solitude and punishment.
When Ava walked away from Rory’s table, he started wrapping up her purchases. He’d deliver them to her restaurant, just like he did every morning, never letting her carry them herself.
Kiss-ass.
I hated how much he wanted her, but she never seemed to give him a second thought, treating him the same way she treated all of us fishermen.
Rory loved to throw it in my face that they had dated once in junior high school, but that was a hundred years ago, so who gave a shit about that? Not me. And clearly not Ava either, or they’d still be dating. At least, that was what I kept trying to tell myself.
Rory looked up, his eyes meeting mine before he opened his big, fat mouth.
“I’m gonna do it soon,” he yelled, and I knew exactly what he was referring to.
“So you keep saying,” I challenged, hating myself for pushing him to do the one thing I wouldn’t be able to handle watching and wouldn’t be able to avoid seeing.
“Just wait.” He grinned, and I wanted to walk right over to his table and sock him in the jaw.
