“She’s just about the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”He glanced at me.“Not your cup of tea though, right?”There was the slightest mocking tone in his voice.
“No, but neither are you.”
He looked surprised for a minute, and then he let out a bark of a laugh, and he slapped my arm.“I’m sorry.I didn’t mean any harm.I’m not homophobic or anything.I’m just drunk and stupid.”
“Right.”I sipped my beer.
He got unsteadily off his stool.“Gotta take a leak.I’ll be right back.”
I was beginning to regret my decision to come talk to Gil.Not only was it depressing, but if he was going to start taking jabs at me, this was going to be a long night.
Gil was gone a while, and when he returned, he had a smear of lip gloss on his mouth.Shockingly, it was the same shade that Tess happened to be wearing.
Imagine that.
Other fishermen came over and chatted with Gil.I ordered another beer and bided my time, hoping for an opening.But Gil knew a lot of people, so I ordered fish and chips and yet another beer while I waited for him to be alone again.Eventually, the other men drifted off to their own tables, leaving him by himself.I tried to figure out how to bring up his attempt to buy the Pacific Lady without making it obvious I was fishing for information.
Luckily, the longer Gil sat there drinking, the drunker he was getting.At one point, a commercial came on showing the big open sea and fishing boats, and he lifted his glass toward the TV.“A toast to the best damn job in the world,” he mumbled, taking a long pull of whiskey.
I raised my glass just so I could be a part of whatever he was doing.He noticed and moved over to sit beside me on the vacant stool.
“Do you like your job?”he asked, his eyes bloodshot.
I nodded.“Uh, yeah.I love my job.”
“That’s good.You should love your job.”He leaned on the bar.“I loved fishing, man.”
I smiled, excited that he’d given me an opening.“It must be nice to be out on the open sea and have that be your job.”
“It is,” he agreed, turning to meet my gaze.“Best fucking job in the world.”
“You must miss being out on the Pacific Lady.”
Tess walked by, and she hesitated.“Gil, can I get you a burger?You haven’t eaten anything.”
He smiled at her.“That would be amazing, beautiful.”
She smiled back and went off to get his food, shooting a little worried glance over her shoulder at us.Gil was wasted, and I assumed she was getting worried he might slip up and admit they were sleeping together.I’m not sure why she thought it was a secret at this point.I think Craig and Declan were the only two people in Coral Cove who didn’t know, and I’d clued Declan in last night.
“She’s the best,” he said, resting his chin on his hand.“Not sure what she sees in me.”
I almost choked on my beer when he said that last part.He had to be absolutely plastered to say something that telling.My heart was racing, but I didn’t acknowledge what he’d said.I doubted he even knew half of what he was saying at this point.He wasn’t falling-down drunk, but he was very inebriated.
I mulled over what to do next.He was smashed, so this might be the perfect time to ask him about buying the Pacific Lady.And if I waited too long to ask him, he might eventually pass out, although he wasn’t that far gone yet.But a couple more whiskeys and he might be.
I decided to just go for it.What did I have to lose?If I didn’t ask him, I’d regret it later.And I’d probably never have such a perfect opportunity to talk to him.I cleared my throat.“Hey, I heard a rumor you made Rosa an offer on the Pacific Lady.”I tried to sound casual.“Is that true?”
He looked at me with bleary eyes.“Where’d you hear that?”
I didn’t want to admit Tess had told me.I wasn’t sure if he’d be mad at her for saying something, so I decided to keep that to myself.“I forget.But it’s a small town.Word gets around.”
He grunted and took a sip of his drink.“Yeah, I made her an offer.”
“Commercial fishing boats are pretty expensive, aren’t they?”I worried any second he’d wake up and realize I was pumping him for information.“I sure as hell couldn’t afford one.”
He smirked and put his finger up to his lips in a shushing gesture.“I figured out a way.”
“Did you get a loan or something?”I asked just as Tess returned with his food.
