Page 64 of Say Uncle

I’d once jokingly called him the wise sex god of theseas. But every time he opened his mouth, he proved me right. It wasn’t just a joke. I drank his wisdom like a thirsty, dehydrated man. “And I can because you helped make me strong.”

He swallowed the last bite of his pasta and laid his fork on his plate, signaling he was finished. “Come on, if you want to spend your money on something, I have just the thing in mind.”

Not far from the Italian restaurant was a strip mall. According to Sam, they had everything we needed. First, we ducked into a toy store, heading straight to the toddler section where they had a variety of stuffed animals.

“Are you looking for a seahorse?” I asked.

“Nope. A certain kind of fish.” He chucked several aside, digging through the bin until he found one suited for his purpose. “This will do nicely.”

The fish was pale yellow and chunky, overstuffed with filling and covered in tiny, plush nubs. It had the thickest lips I’d ever seen on a fish, and big, googly eyes.

“What the fuck is it? It barely looks like a fish.”

Sam gave me the most devilish smirk. “It’s ablowfish.”

I had no idea what he had planned for Nicky, but I knew it was going to be good.

“Come on, I saw an adult toy store at the end of the plaza.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

In the middle of greeting our guests, my phone rang.Again. I waited until we were out of earshot before complaining, “What the hell is going on?”

Cass sighed wearily. “I don’t know, but that’s the fourth call today. My damn phone is ringing off the hook.”

“I’m about to chuck mine overboard.”

“It better be about business because if I find out the boys signed us up for a dating app to prank us, I’m gonna throwthemoverboard instead of my phone,” Cass threatened.

Nicky brushed by me, balancing a tray of drinks and appetizers for our guests. “Hey, do you know anything about this?”

“About what, Uncle Sam?”

“About why my phone is ringing off the hook.”

“It’s probably that article that came out thisweekend in the travel blog. Mattie mentioned our business name. He also put it in Salt Life magazine, but it doesn’t get published until later this week.”

“Holy shit,” I breathed. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” It was never too early in the day for aJawsquote.

The calls kept coming, one after the next, people inquiring about our rates and charter packages. We were booked solid, even several weeks out after our usual September deadline when the tourist season usually came to an end.

As we crossed the Atlantic on our way to Bimini, Cass and I talked shop, spitballing ideas to expand the business.

“We’re gonna have to buy another boat. Hire some more crew.”

“We have enough in savings for a down payment,” Cass pointed out.

Now was a great time to test the waters. “We do. Or…I could sell my house.”

“And then what?”

“You could sell yours.”

“They’re nearly paid off; why would we do that?”

“So we could buy a place together that’s big enough for the boys. Two primary bedrooms. A huge walk-in shower. A massive sectional.”

Cass’s eyes got big. “Damn, that’s a beautiful dream.”

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