He had no idea what was right anymore. The only thing he was sure of was that he would do whatever it took to keep Samira in his life. She wanted to leave the past in the past. He wasn’t going to argue. It was possible that he only had until she finished tying up all the loose ends with her inheritance before she disappeared from his life again. He was willing to take that risk, if it meant getting her back.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her mouth felt on his. The way she tasted. All they had done was share one kiss under the stars, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way she had responded to him, he was certain she had to be thinking about it too. He wanted to do more than kiss her. He wanted to feel her body pressed against his.
They worked in silence for the rest of the day. Eddy knew to give him space to think, and for that Andy was grateful. There was something peaceful about the open water that soothed him no matter what was bothering him. He had thought about hernonstop since he left her at her car the night before, and he had gotten nowhere with figuring out what to do.
When they arrived back at the crab shanty, Andy could see someone waiting by the building. He was surprised to see it was Samira. She walked closer as they began gathering their catch to bring in.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked.
“Yeah. Let me finish getting everything off the boat, and then I’m all yours.”
Andy ignored Eddy’s snort and continued into the shanty. It only took a few trips to bring in the catch and gather the rest of their things off the boat. He waved Eddy off before making his way over to his truck where Samira was waiting. He set his cooler on the bed of the truck then walked around to the driver’s side.
“Long time no see,” he said in greeting.
Samira looked down before smiling. “I thought maybe we should talk.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Okay. Did you want to go somewhere?”
“Here is fine. It’s not a big deal,” she answered, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her denim shorts.
“Listen, I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“I wanted you to. That’s the problem,” she admitted.
Andy moved toward the rear of his truck and flipped down the tailgate. He climbed up and patted the space next to him.
“So, are you going to tell me why it’s a problem? I enjoyed it; you wanted it, and we’re both adults who live on our own.”
“It’s not that simple,” she said after hesitating a moment.
“Seems simple enough.”
“There’s too much baggage for any of this to be simple,” Samira explained. “Let’s move forward as friends. We can’t erasethe past, but maybe if we get to a good place, the past won’t hang over us. I’ve told myself and everyone else that I’ve moved on. But I haven’t.”
Andy ran a hand through his hair as he thought about what she said. She was right about the baggage. It was crazy to assume getting along for one night and sharing one kiss meant they could just carry on as if nothing had ever happened. He studied her while she looked out over the water. She wore a plain back t-shirt and jean shorts. Her face was free of makeup, and she had her hair pulled into a ponytail. She was beautiful.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “So, friend, are you busy the rest of the week?”
She let out a sigh, and he could see the tension begin to melt away. “Tomorrow, I am. I have to meet with Aunt Mary’s lawyer and hopefully get everything signed.”
“And if you do, are you going to head back early?”
“No. My boss was pretty adamant about me taking the week off and spending time here. She was right. I need to at least make peace with this place before I leave,” Samira answered before she hopped off the tailgate and stood.
Andy followed suit. “Maybe we can hang out again. As friends, of course.”
Samira smiled. “Maybe. Well, I’ll leave you to whatever it was you were about to do before I came here and interrupted everything.”
“You could never be an interruption. I mean it.”
Samira said an awkward goodbye before going to her car. She hadn’t been gone a full minute before Andy’s mom pulled in and occupied the space Samira had just vacated. Elizabeth came every afternoon to take care of what needed done in the shanty. She had a major part in selling the daily catch, and during peeler season, when the soft-shell crabs had to be fished up several times a day, she took care of a lot of that as well.
“Did I see Samira heading out?” she asked.
“Yes. She came by to talk.”
Elizabeth studied him for a moment. “Nice to see you two getting along.”
