Page 10 of The Selkie Santa

As she teetered over the narrow gangplank, he didn’t come and help her across.

The way he’d helped Dina.

And that almost broke her heart.

CHAPTER 3

The month of December

Noah stared at the lights of Motham City through jaded eyes. The Christmas tree on the quay twinkled invitingly, the colored lights strung up along the water’s edge dancing in the icy breeze. As the trawler got closer to shore, he could see folks promenading, rugged up against the cold as light snowflakes fell. It would be quite magical, except…

Except, there would be no deep blue eyes below a mane of golden hair, no sweet smile to greet him as they docked. No slender arms to hug him.

There would be no Harper to welcome him home.

Noah’s hands curled into fists in his thick gloves. Everything he’d hoped would happen between him and Harper had been ruined the night before he left. He winced, remembering the total debacle of two months ago. And sure, it had looked suspicious, the scene Harper had witnessed, but if he’d had more time, they could have talked it through, he’d have explained himself better.

But so what if he had?

She’d made it brutally clear she didn’t want what he wanted, hadn’t she?

Joe, the sea serpent who owned the trawler gathered the team on board. “Alright lads, job well done. We brought in enough catch to allow us all to take a well-deserved break over Christmas.”

Noah tried to take cheer from the money that would be in his bank account. Yeah, it would be good to tell his mom he’d paid for Wyatt’s rehab.

As they moored the boat, his eyes scanned over to Sweet Clams café. Would he dare go and show his face?

He’d thought through what he’d say to Harper so often out at sea in his little bunk bed. Because even if Harper didn’t feel the same way, heck, he still loved her with all his heart. At the very least he wanted them to be friends again.

And maybe, yeah, maybe he still held onto a sliver of hope that she hadn’t been totally honest that night. That she’d been hurt and upset at seeing him with Dina. And sure, he’d handled it badly, but talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place! It kept going round inside his head like a rat in a maze. Not much else to think about out at sea, not much to do at all, except play cards, and drink.

And drinking wasn’t his thing.

Worse, his fucking cell barely picked up a signal, and when he did get to send a text or place a call, she stubbornly refused to answer.

Gods, what a mess, Noah thought—and then there was no more thinking time. It was all hands on deck to bring the boat in.

Once the trawler was moored, washed down, and everything to the owner’s liking, the crew all said their farewells. Joe slapped Noah on the back, shook his hand heartily.

“Great job. Anytime you want work, contact me, okay?”

“Thanks.”

“Got a sweetheart waiting?”

Noah shrugged. “I’ve a friend who works at Sweet Clams, might stroll over, get me a bowl of chowder and say howdy,” he said casually.

“You do that. I hope she’s happy to see you,” Joe called out as Noah jumped onto dry land.

Noah doubted that very much.

Even so, after he’d dumped his bags, taken a hot shower and changed his clothes, he found himself being pulled like a magnet across the cobbled quay, his heart in his mouth. How could a big guy like him, all brawn and muscle, be reduced to a quivering wreck by a woman, he wondered.

Just before he reached Sweet Clams he stopped, dug his fists into his dungaree pockets, and then, whistling nonchalantly to hide his abject terror, he sauntered through the door.

As his eyes scanned the counter, a sense of panic filled him. There was no sign of Harper. There was, however, a new staff member, a faun with a goatee and his hair tied back in a ponytail. Mal came out from the kitchen, took one look at Noah standing sheepishly at the counter and let out a guffaw.

“Well, look who the cat dragged in. Back from the high seas then?”

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