by Carol Ross
* * *
VICTORIA TOOK A seat on the cooler to change jigs and accepted the reality that it had been way too long since she’d had this much fun. Doing anything. She’d spent months planning and fretting about making the final round. Then, when she’d learned she had, she hadn’t even celebrated. Instead, she’d jumped right into preparing, practicing, creating a workshop to present, developing her strategy. All while trying to keep up with her normal life of helping run the resort, teaching Scarlett, parenting Scarlett and spending time with her family.
The sweet sound of her daughter’s belly laugh drew her attention. Seth was telling a story about his sister Iris casting her pole into the ocean.
“The only reason she was even on the boat in the first place was because Hazel bribed her. She promised to do Iris’s chores for a week. Our dad tried so hard not to be upset. Iris had never been halibut fishing before, and he was thrilled that she’d agreed to come along, so he gave her this brand-new, expensive rod and reel to use. And then she just...” Swinging both hands, he simulated an exaggerated cast. “Heaved the whole thing up toward the sky. It was like a cartoon. Dead silence on the boat while we all watched it fly out of her hands. Up, up and away... And then splash! When I think about it now, I still, I just...” he trailed off with another bout of laughter. “Lose it.”
Scarlett and Quinn joined in, and Vic couldn’t help but admire how he treated the kids. She already knew he had a way with Scarlett, but he was every bit as good with Quinn. They all spent nearly as much time laughing as they did fishing. A world of difference from Austin who... Enough thinking about her ex and whatever affliction had taken hold of him. Why in the world would she be comparing the two men anyway? She and Seth might be closing in on a friendship, but they couldn’t be more than that, could they?
“I want to meet them,” Scarlett said. “Iris and Hazel. And your other sisters—Shay and Hannah, right? And your big brother, Tag.”
“I would love for you to meet them, and my cousins, too, and my parents. You can meet everybody when you guys come up to Alaska.”
What would he do if she took him up on this trip that he kept offering? Although she knew what he would do, didn’t she? Just like his generous spirit, his invitation—the one she’d initially taken with suspicion and skepticism—was completely sincere. Longing hit her fast and hard, and for a moment, she indulged in a good old-fashioned daydream of what that trip might look like. Seth showing them around, taking them fishing, introducing them to his family.
He spun around then as if he could feel her eyes boring into him. The smile he turned on her felt different. It held the same bold self-assurance and lighthearted humor she’d become familiar with, but there was also affection there and what might be...heat? As if to confirm the suspicion, his gaze dipped to her mouth and back up again to her eyes.
Then something happened that Victoria hadn’t experienced in years. In fact, she’d done her level best to avoid anything even remotely like it. Her heart leaped. Like an actual, literal shock zapping the inside of her ribcage. The sensation prompted her to raise one hand and lightly rub her breastbone as if she could calm the agitation now raging there. Except, it wasn’t only agitation, and there was a part of her that didn’t want it to stop. Another vision materialized: her and Seth standing toe-to-toe, his arms coming up to embrace her, dancing brown eyes staring into hers, him leaning close to press his lips to hers...
“Vic?” he said, in a low voice tinged with concern and curiosity, and she wondered, despaired, about how many of those thoughts had shown on her face. “You okay?”
Inhaling deeply, she became aware of the rapid pace of her pulse and how her skin felt funny. Tingly. And overheated. Bringing her chin up, she stared back at him, right into his eyes, desperately searching for... There was no need. She could see he felt it, too. This charge between them, electric and heavy and alive, like the way the air feels during a thunderstorm. If she reached out a hand and touched him, she knew, irrational as it might be, that she’d get a jolt.
At that moment, she realized that she no longer wanted just his friendship. What she wanted would be so much better. And the revelation made the wanting so much worse.
Somehow, she managed a weak smile. “Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I’m, uh, I’m fine.” Pivoting around, she flipped her line toward the bank. “Just a little heart...burn or something.”
“What a coincidence,” he said, and then added so softly she could barely hear him, “Something fishy going on with mine, too.”
* * *
“WINNER, WINNER, SAC-A-LAIT DINNER!” Seth made a fist and punched the air as Quinn’s line stretched tight.
“Pass the tartar sauce!” Quinn confirmed, smoothly reeling in the final fish of the evening. Under the rules they had agreed upon, whoever had the most sac-a-lait in two hours would be victorious. Collectively, they’d already caught and kept enough for dinner, so Quinn quickly released his prize.
“Well, Quinn, looks like we managed to make it a contest after all.”
Quinn nodded solemnly. “Not much of one. I almost feel bad about it, but, you know, what did they expect when they allowed the two best fishermen to be on the same team?”
“Truth.”
Scarlett sighed and lowered her pole. She looked at Victoria, a helpless expression stamped across her face. “I want to say something about what bad sports they’re being, but I know that if we would have won—”
“We’d be even worse?” Victoria finished while Scarlett nodded. “I know it, Scarlett. I was thinking the same thing. Well, at least we don’t have to worry about them destroying our dinner.”
Seth scoffed and looked at Quinn. “Did I hear that correctly? Are they now trash-talking our cooking skills? After we annihilated them in this fishing competition?”
“That is what I’m hearing, Seth.”
“Can you think of anything worse than a sore loser?”
Quinn slowly tipped his head one way and then the other as if considering the question. “An obnoxious winner, maybe?”
“Yeah. Good thing we’re not that.”
“Gracious is what we are,” Quinn agreed with mock seriousness. “I didn’t even point out how we won by four fish. Four, Seth. Four is a lot. But I would never mention that and make them feel worse.”
“Restraint is another sign of good sportsmanship, Quinn. You are an inspiration to would-be gloaters everywhere.”
Seth made a dramatic show of turning toward Victoria and Scarlett. “Do you ladies have any idea what day it is today?”
Victoria, trying not to laugh, shook her head in the negative.
“What day is it, Mr. James?” Scarlett replied, drawing out the words like someone who knew she was about to be on the receiving end of a bad joke. Victoria could not have been prouder.
“I do believe it is, wait for it... Fish-fry-day!”
“And, ladies,” Quinn added, only containing his laughter enough to throw Victoria’s earlier taunt back at them, “Please remember that Seth and I do not care for our sac-a-lait either overbattered or overcooked.”
Seth and Quinn bumped fists and then howled with laughter.
Victoria and Scarlett exchanged gloomy, amused headshakes and began storing the gear. Then, with the boat full of laughter and happy chatter, Victoria set a course for home.
* * *
WHEN THEY RETURNED to Bayou Doré, Victoria said, “Scarlett, why don’t you and Quinn go on ahead and get these fish to Gram and Mémé and help them start frying. Gram texted and said they’ve got everything else about ready. Seth can help me clean up here.”
Seth agreed, thrilled to have a few minutes alone with Victoria. To explore this...whatever was happening between them. He didn’t know exactly, but he wasn’t ready for it to end.
“Sounds good,” Scarlett answered. “I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Quinn repli
ed, hoisting the cooler up and securing the strap over his shoulder. With his other hand, he grabbed a tackle box. “I hope your gram made corn bread.”
“Oh, I can guarantee you she did,” Scarlett said, gathering up another tackle box and two fishing poles. Seth liked how the kids did their part without having to be asked. It reminded him of his own family. “No fish fry would be complete without it...” Scarlett and Quinn continued the conversation as they headed for the house, speculating about what other culinary delights might be in store for them. Seth couldn’t help but share their enthusiasm. Corinne had mentioned something about bread pudding for dessert. Made with real vanilla bean.
Working in tandem, like they’d been performing the chore forever, he and Victoria set about unloading and tidying the boat.
A few minutes of companionable silence passed before Seth asked, “I have to know. Did you and Scarlett let us win?”
“What? Absolutely not!” Victoria whipped around to face him. “Let’s get something straight here, Alaska, I do not let anyone win. Especially when it comes to fishing. You can ask Scarlett for confirmation on that one. I fall into the ‘kids need to learn to lose gracefully’ camp. I stopped letting her win every game we played when she was about five years old.” Stepping toward the boat, she checked the lines a final time.
“That’s probably wise seeing as how she doesn’t have a bunch of siblings to lose to. In our house, we also learned to lose at a very early age.” Seth walked across the dock and deposited the remaining items on the pile of provisions to pack into the storage room, which he knew was located in the small supply building next to the restrooms.
Victoria joined him. “Exactly. I remember losing to Mémé at checkers when I was so tiny that I still had to sit on the big dictionary at the dining room table to see the checkerboard.”
“Oh, we lost a lot at checkers—and other games, too. Our sister, Hannah, is next above us in age, and she’s good at everything. Like freakishly good. She beat our older siblings, too. Even when we teamed up, we were rarely a match for her. And she showed us no mercy.”
Mouth curling at the corners, she crossed her arms and looked him over.
Good naturedly, he threw his hands up. “What? Are you wondering how big of a loser I am right now?”
Grinning outright now, she shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I just... I like how you talk about your family. You almost always say ‘us’ when you mention your childhood, are you aware of that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Other people usually say when I was a kid, or when I was younger, but you say us and we. When we were younger, Hazel and I did this, or the three of us played that. It’s really sweet. And it tells me that you’re very connected to your sisters.”
“Yeah, well, I like to joke that when you spend eight months in a tiny cramped womb space together, your perspective is forever altered. It’s like they’re a part of me.”
“That makes sense. I sound like Scarlett now, but I’d love to meet them. I bet I could learn everything I want to know about you.”
Surprised by her assertion, Seth didn’t move. Warmth unfurled right in the center of his chest. She wanted to know stuff about him? Did that mean she wanted to get to know him, too? He wanted to encourage her to ask anything she wanted. But he didn’t want to lose this connection they’d forged. It felt wispy and fragile as if one wrong move could cause her to bolt.
So, he kept it light. “Ha. Good luck with that. We are very loyal to each other. They would never tell my secrets.”
“Maybe not—” Victoria drawled, pulling one shoulder up into a little shrug “—on purpose.”
“Unfortunately,” he rushed forward with the lie, “I already asked them. And neither of them wants to meet you. Ever. So, too bad for you because they are pretty cool.”
That made her laugh hard. “We’ll see about that. I think they’ll want to meet the woman who aces their brother out of the job as Romeo Reels spokesperson.”
Seth followed Vic to the outdoor sink, where they washed their hands before walking back to the pile of gear.
Before she could begin to collect it, before he could talk himself out of it, he said, “Can I ask you another question?”
“Sure,” she said.
“What changed?”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you know what I mean, but I’ll go ahead and say it. Why are you being nice to me now? Genuinely nice. Not for the sake of this job nice. Don’t get me wrong—I’m enjoying it. I just... You’re hard to read, and I want to know that this change is for real.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
VICTORIA’S FACE SETTLED into a frown as she looked away. Seth almost regretted the question and pondered how to take it back or soften it somehow.
But then she caught his gaze again and held it. “I do know what you mean, Seth, and I owe you an apology. I’m sorry about what I said that first night. It was just that you seemed too...” She exhaled on the word as if thinking. “Nice. You were so nice. And I didn’t trust you.”
“That part I picked up on. What I don’t understand is why. What did I do?”
“Nothing. It wasn’t you. You were perfect. Believe it or not, that was the problem. I’ve had trouble where men are concerned. Nice guys who...aren’t. Specifically, a bad marriage that turned...” Trailing off, she searched for a word. “Ugly might work.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, even as he pondered all the implications of the word ugly. The thought of someone mistreating her made him angrier than he probably had a right to be, and brought up questions he knew he didn’t have a right to ask.
“Me too. My ex-husband, Scarlett’s dad, he broke...” Trailing off she shook her head.
“It’s okay.” He took a step closer. “You don’t need to talk about it now. I’ve had one of those myself.”
“You’ve been divorced?”
“No, sorry, I meant heartbreak. I thought you were going to say he broke your heart.”
“Oh...”
“Victoria.” Tentatively, he reached out a hand and tangled his fingers lightly with hers. She curled her hand into his, and he relished the sensation. Like he’d captured a moonbeam or calmed a skittish butterfly. “I know it’s not the same. Divorce is painful in ways I could never understand. And I know the fact that you have a daughter changes everything.”
“My ex, he... I actually wasn’t going to say that he broke my heart. What he did was way worse. I was going to say that he broke his promises. So many promises. I married him for the wrong reasons. I was pregnant, and there were false pretenses...
“But I was committed. We were just married. I hadn’t even had Scarlett yet when I found out he was cheating, had been cheating the entire time we’d dated. With the exception of Scarlett, our relationship was a disaster. And all these years later, I still can’t understand how he could be so different than what I thought. He shattered my trust. I resent him for so many things, but the biggest one is how he changed me. I’m leery of people, of relationships. I can’t help it. Normally, I’m good at hiding it. But you were so... You seemed too good to be true. I think I wanted to believe you had some hidden motive. You know, to protect myself.”
What was she saying here? Because it sounded like she was afraid of liking him too much. “Well, if there’s one thing I can assure you of where I am concerned, what you see is what you get. Always. I will never pretend to be something I’m not.” He thought about his own heartbreak, about Ashley, and how she’d made him feel bad about who he was, tempted him to try and be someone different. Eventually, painfully, he’d realized that he could never be what she wanted.
“I believe that,” she whispered. “I can be distrustful and suspicious.” She tried to smile, but he could see it hurt her to say the words. “Just know that I don’t want to be like this. I wasn’t until him. I was...”
&nbs
p; “I think you’re pretty amazing just the way you are.” Stepping closer, he lowered his chin to brush the top of her head. “And under the circumstances, being cautious is completely understandable.”
She nodded.
Slowly, he brought his arms up, wrapping one around her waist and pressing the other lightly to her upper back. He half expected her to push him away, so he was surprised and so very pleased when her hands came up and gently gripped his shoulders instead. Emboldened, he tightened his hold and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.
She stretched her arms around him, hugged him. Nice and tight, and for a moment, Seth couldn’t move. He was...dazed. Overwhelmed. Her warmth, the smell of her hair, the feel of her hands lightly gripping his back. How could anything be better? Thoughts and emotions collided inside of him, unprecedented ones that he couldn’t quite get a grip on.
His heart felt full and exposed at the same time, which was both exhilarating and terrifying. He wanted to kiss her. Too soon for that, he decided, because he needed her to trust him. He wanted to be the one she trusted.
Was that even possible when they were competing for the same job? And not just any job, but a career-making opportunity of a lifetime that only one of them would be granted. Could they reconcile that? He needed to consider all of this. But it was too late for that, wasn’t it? He couldn’t unfeel any of this. And he knew she felt something, too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here in his arms.
With a soft shake of her head, she pulled back slightly like she might be dazed, too, which was oddly reassuring. Reaching out, he took one of her hands and turned it palm up, and rested it in his other hand. Using one finger, he lightly traced a twisted pattern on her palm.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked.
