Page 30 of The Glass Dolphin

“I’ll stay all night,” Ben said. “Whatever you need.” He gave her one last look, then bent down and gently touched his lips to hers. For the thrill-seeking, fast-moving, motorcycle-riding Coast Guard Captain, that simple, elegant, gentle touch told her how much he loved her.

Maddy let herself bask in that instead of the negativity of uncertainty and fear. She invited those feelings in, hoping they’d attack the others and drive them out.

Ben pulled away and said, “Let’s finish up the back wall, okay?”

In that moment, Maddy realized she hadn’t allowed herself to work by the windows yet. She looked that way, saw all the bright afternoon sunlight pouring in through the glass, and bravely nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Let’s finish up.”

* * *

Hours,a hundred and fifty tickets, and two ferry rides later, Maddy sank into bed. She’d set the text messages from all the women here in the cove to silent, so she could focus on dinner service at The Glass Dolphin.

Ben breezed into the room wearing only his boxers. He brushed his teeth as he looked at her, and Maddy gave him a smile. He tried to return it with his foamy mouth and that made her giggle.

Simple things, she told herself.Quiet moments.She needed to find them and appreciate them more. Not everything had to be big and grandiose to be worth having. Ben went back into the bathroom, and Maddy faced her phone.

That text string had over a hundred messages on it, and she finally found the strength to tap it open.

Good luck tonight, Maddy!Alice had said.I’m sure the re-opening will go well.

Thinking of you, AJ had said, which meant a lot, as Maddy had spent minimal time with AJ.

Aaron’s got officers nearby, Eloise had assured them all. She hadn’t had anything to say on the items retrieved from the ground near The Glass Dolphin. Maddy had read a dozen articles, all of them speculating on what those items meant, who they belonged to, and how they’d gotten to be where they’d been discovered.

It seemed no one had any answers, even two weeks later. No answers they were sharing anyway.

Every message of well-wishes made her heart lift, and eventually the conversation turned to the young adults who’d gone back to college, Robin’s mother who’d returned from her cruise, and then a luncheon that Kristen had invited everyone to this upcoming Wednesday.

Maddy knew some of the women got together in smaller groups. She lived out on Rocky Ridge, and she didn’t feel the need to ferry in to go walking for an hour, and she usually worked the day shift, so lunches were out.

Ben returned to the bedroom, and he sank onto the mattress beside her. “You’re not working, are you?”

“No,” she said. “But I do need to do the schedule for the rest of the week and next week.” She hadn’t been sure how dinner would go tonight. Neither she nor Teresa had wanted to commit, but they both wanted the restaurant open again.

She looked over to Ben and then handed him her phone. “What do you think? Should I go to lunch with everyone?”

He took a few moments to read through the last several texts, and when he looked up, he wore a light in his eyes that Maddy loved. “Honey, I think you want friends here, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I have Julia.”

“Yeah, and from the things you’ve said about her, she’ll be married before us.”

Maddy smiled and took her phone back. “She won’t, because Julia is cautious, but yeah.” She set her device on her nightstand and looked at the selfie she’d put in a picture frame in front of the lamp. “She sure does like Liam, and he’s treating her right.”

“Yeah?” Ben slid his hand down Maddy’s leg. “Like, treating her right the way I treat you right? Or…”

Maddy ducked her head and wove her fingers through his. “Julia is tight-lipped about Liam.” She turned into him and pressed her lips to his. “Just like I am about you. You don’t want me talking about how you…treat me right, do you?”

“Absolutely not,” he growled as he laid her back and kissed her. He didn’t linger long before he broke the kiss and whispered, “You should go to that lunch, sweetheart. I think you want to, and I think youneedto.”

Maddy let his words sink in, and then she nodded. “I’m going to go.”

“Good,” he said. “Now, let me take care of you, okay?”

And all Maddy had to say was, “Okay.”

ChapterThirteen

Robin Grover hesitated in her office, the white binder with the sketched-out plans for Maddy and Ben’s wedding accusing her from the corner of her desk. Maddy would be at lunch today, and Robin could just pass her the binder afterward.

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