“Have to.” Molly nodded and did her best to pretend she was thinking about scent tracking and sea turtle egg chambers instead of things she definitely shouldn’t be contemplating, like kissing her full-time boss/part-time nemesis under the pier while the moon drew the tide in like magic.
She was just caught up in the thrill of the moment, that’s all. She wasn’treallybeginning to think she had feelings for Max. Her mind was playing tricks on her, elated by Ursula’s triumph.
That’s what she thought was going on, anyway.
The Salty Dog was almost deserted when Max chugged the Jeep into the parking lot. Only the die-hard fishermen were still clustered at the far end of the pier, hoping for some late-night action. They stayed eerily still beneath the soft glow of the curved antique lamp lights, making quiet conversation.
Molly walked Ursula on the leash she usually used at the aquarium. It was beach-glass blue with little sea turtles printed on it, which seemed rather poignant now that her special talent had beenunleashed, so to speak. The Cavalier pranced ahead of her, and Max walked alongside, carrying the supplies they’d need if they located another sea turtle nest.
Once they’d descended the weathered wooden steps of the pier and made their way beneath the jetty, Ursula started straining at the end of her leash. Her nose twitched, and her ears swiveled to the tiptop of her head.
Molly was awash with anticipation, heart pounding as her puppy led her back to the place where she and Max had stood on the morning of the pancake breakfast. Ursula pressed her nose to the ground, running in circles until she found the exact spot she was looking for and pawed frantically at the sand.
“Good girl, Ursula!” Molly showered the puppy with praise and gave her a bit of chicken she’d set aside from the picnic.
“She’s done it again,” Max said, shaking his head. “That’sfivenests today.”
“I think you owe Ursula a major apology.” Molly gathered the Cavalier in her arms while Max went to work locating the egg chamber.
He pushed his glasses farther up on his nose and pressed the rod gently into the sand. “An apology?”
“For all of those mean things you said back when you fired her,” Molly prompted.
“I guess I was hoping you might have forgotten about that.” Max shot her a crooked smile.
“Never.” Molly rested against one of the wooden posts nearby to watch Max work. The feeling of the rough pine against her skin took her straight back to the moment when Max had leaned close and brushed his lips against hers. It had beenright here.“I remember everything.”
Every little thing…the salty taste of him, the breathy sigh that had escaped her, the way her knees had gone weak—like she’d been a character in a swoony mermaid story instead of a real person.
It had been real, though, not a story. And not pretend, no matter how many times she’d tried to tell herself otherwise.
I remember everything.
Max paused and studied Molly as if he were trying to commit the moment to memory. Or perhaps he was just trying to see inside her head, to see if her recollection of what had almost happened there matched his.
She licked her lips. The only thing that stood between her and Max and the kiss she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about was Ursula, snuggled tight in Molly’s arms. Molly told herself to put the puppy down, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move.
Max’s eyes blazed in the moonlight. “Have I ever told you how much I love it when you look at me like that?”
Warmth pooled deep inside her. “Like what?”
“Like you want to call me Wilson.”
Heaven help her, she did. The word had been right there on the tip of her tongue.
“It’s kind of cute how much you enjoy being compared to a volleyball,” she joked, but she didn’t laugh.
Neither of them did. It wasn’t a moment for laughter. It was a moment for quickened heartbeats and apologies. For honesty.
I’m sorry I keep pushing you away. I just don’t know how to do this anymore.
Things were so much easier back when she’d been mad at him. She didn’t know what she was going to do now that he would no longer be reprimanding Ursula at every turn.
“Max, I…” she started to say, but then a thought came crashing into her consciousness—a thought that was too important, too urgent to ignore.
She gasped as everything clicked neatly into place. Ursula, the sea turtles, the aquarium…
“Molly?” The easy grin on Max’s face faded away. “What is it?”