Maddy chuckled at the obvious dread on his face. “You’re just a big softie, aren’t you?”
“Don’t you be telling anyone now,” he said, all Southern charm.
“Are you sure you’ve given her a fair chance? It was only one date. Maybe it was just an off night.”
“No, she was great, but there was just—no connection. We could be friends, I think. Except I got the feeling she might want more than that.”
Maddy winced. “Awkward.”
“Very.”
They shared a commiserating smile.
“In that case, I think you can just let it die quietly unless she persists. At that point you really should say something.”
He made a face, sticking his hands into his back pockets. “Ugh.”
“Hey, I didn’t say it’d be fun. But the only other option would be ducking her calls, and that’s unkind. It’s not really fair to let her waste her time and energy if you’re not interested.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” He tucked in the corner of his mouth, shaking his head. “Why exactly did I jump back into the dating pool again? I’m having trouble remembering.”
“I’d say the water’s warm, but that’d be a big fat lie.”
His low chuckle stirred something inside her, as did the way his eyes warmed as they studied her for a long, breath-stealing moment. His gaze drifted over her face with a flicker of male appreciation.
“I enjoyed talking to you yesterday, Maddy,” he said softly.
“Me too.” She kept a casual tone, though her pulse fluttered at his words.
She was attracted to him, she’d admit that much to herself. She thought he was a good guy. And she believed him when he said he hadn’t lied to her.
But this couldn’t go anywhere. The misunderstanding tonight had brought it all back, a stark reminder of her recent heartbreak and all the reasons she had boundaries in place. She wasn’t ready to go there again just yet.
“Maybe we should set up a time to go sailing soon. I think it’d be a lot of fun.”
She reached for an excuse. “I don’t know when we’d go, with our schedules.”
A look of surprise came over his face. “Oh. I meant to tell you. Cheryl called this afternoon. Her dad is faring better than expected, so she’s planning to come back later this week. Sorry... I should’ve called you right away.”
She deflated a little at the thought of losing the job at the Landing. “Oh. No, that’s fine. I’m glad he’s going to be all right.”
The restaurant had kept her mind off of what had happened back home and given her a break from the tension here at the beach cottage. It was fun to do something she was skilled at. It gave her purpose. She was going to miss that.
Maddy forced a smile. “I’m sure you’ll be glad to have her back.”
“You’ve done a great job; Cheryl’s going to be thrilled to see it all in one piece when she gets back. It was falling apart under my leadership, I can tell you that much.”
Maddy hitched a shoulder. “We all have our gifts. I’m sure your marina would be a disaster under my direction.”
“Speaking of the marina...” He gave her a charming smile. “How about that sail?”
She laughed. “Nice segue.”
“Wasn’t it? I can finagle a Saturday off with a little advance notice. The boat belongs to a friend of mine, but he doesn’t use it much.”
Maddy was more tempted than she wanted to admit. She made the mistake of meeting his gaze. The storm clouds were gone. Now the gray looked as soft as kitten’s fur, and that bracketed smile coerced.
Darn her fickle heart.
