“We have kayaks at the marina. Come anytime and borrow one. But I’ll have to take you sailing sometime—everyone should go at least once. There’s nothing like it.”
He was being much nicer than she deserved. Guilt pricked hard. “That’s awfully nice of you. Especially given the way I’ve treated you.”
He turned a curious look on her, holding her gaze for a long, intense moment.
“Listen, Connor.” Maddy felt heat rising into her face as the words she needed to say thickened her throat. “I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot, and that’s my fault. I—I think I prejudged you. I know you didn’t bring my sisters and me here under false pretenses. It seems I’m not terribly discerning when it comes to reading people. Men. I thought you were—” She pressed her lips together. If she wasn’t careful she’d make it worse.
“You thought I was...?”
She sighed. “Well, you look... That is, I made some unfair assumptions based on your whole... beachboy vibe, I guess.”
He quirked a brow. “Beachboy vibe?”
“And I noticed you coming home at all hours of the night, and then of course there were all the women.”
He laughed. “All the women?”
She ran her sweaty palms down her shorts as her face went hot. “Your sisters. I didn’t realize who they were until—”
“They showed up at the restaurant.” He shook his head, still chuckling.
It was a nice deep laugh, the smile lighting up his whole face. He took a sip of tea.
“You can stop laughing now,” she said, only partly teasing.
“All the women...,” he repeated. “If you only knew how long it’s been since I’ve even been on a date. Years, Maddy. Years.”
He turned forward, navigating around an incoming boat, the remnants of that laugh lingering around his mouth.
She tried to get a better read on him, but he’d put his sunglasses back down. She let him focus on his driving until the boat had passed and he’d settled back in the seat.
“Thing is,” she continued, “I recently had a bad experience with a man, and it’s thrown me a little off my game. I guess you got painted with the same brush, and that wasn’t fair of me. So I’m sorry.”
He studied her thoughtfully as the boat sliced slowly through the open waters. “I think the judgment might’ve gone both ways, Maddy. I’m sorry as well. I was a little tough on you.”
His lips tipped in a grin as a strand of hair blew across his face, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
It was only a few more minutes before they were pulling alongside a pier that jutted out into the grassy shallows. He maneuvered the boat expertly into the boat lift and cut the engine.
When he helped her out onto the pier, his hand was warm and rough around hers. She stood off to the side holding his drink as he spun the metal wheel. It clicked and clanked as it turned, lifting the boat from the water.
“Okay, that should do it,” he said.
“Do you have to stop in and let them know it’s here?”
“No, they’re not home right now.”
He led her up the grassy slope of their yard and out to the quiet road that ran along the shore. They began walking toward the marina at a brisk pace. Tall trees cast long shadows over the pavement, offering a welcome reprieve from the hot sun.
“So...” He tossed a look her way. “A bad experience with some guy, huh?” He’d perched his sunglasses on his head again. His eyes looked silver in the shadows.
“You could say that. It’s over now, but it was hard, and I’m still a little spooked.”
“How long did you date?”
“About six months. We worked together at the restaurant.”
“That can be a recipe for disaster—no pun intended. Do you still work together?”
