Best Beach Ever by Wendy Wax

Author:Wendy Wax
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-05-22T00:00:00+00:00

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When Maddie arrived at Bud n’ Mary’s Marina that afternoon, Hudson Power was waiting for her. She smiled as he walked over to give her a hug and take her suitcase, but she was unable to stop herself from looking around him.

“Will’s back at Mermaid Point making himself presentable.”

“Presentable?”

“Yeah. We went out to Cape Sable early Monday morning for an impromptu camping and fishing trip. We just got back about thirty minutes ago.” Hud handed her into the boat he’d taught her to drive, stowed her suitcase, and started up the engine.

“Did you have a good time?”

“It wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had, no,” he said as he backed the boat out of the slip then putted out of the marina. “He couldn’t finish the damned song he was working on. Got all grumpy-assed. He was lucky I didn’t leave him out there.”

With the marina behind them Hud increased their speed. Within minutes they were skimming across the turquoise water, the wind whipping Maddie’s hair. She smiled as she inhaled the salt air. The lack of cell service on and around the isolated beach they’d camped on explained why Will hadn’t returned her call. What it didn’t explain was if he’d be glad to see her.

As they rounded the mangrove-shrouded island and approached the Mermaid Point dock, the nerves she’d been shoving aside during the drive down from Pass-a-Grille reasserted themselves. She’d turned tail and run like some deer startled out of the bush without thinking why she was running, where she was headed, or what consequences she might face when she returned. And now she was about to find out what kind of damage she’d done.

Hud walked her into the foyer of the main house and set her suitcase beside her feet. There was a sound at the top of the stairs and she looked up to see Will. As always, her heart swelled at the sight of him. His dark hair hung damp to his broad shoulders, which were encased in a plain white T-shirt. The sharp planes and angles of his face stretched beneath newly bronzed skin. His dark eyes gave nothing away as he came down to join them.

“So, a fishing trip, huh?” Maddie hoped her smile didn’t look as uncertain as she felt. “How was the catch?”

Will’s smile was friendly enough as he greeted her, but his eyes remained guarded and his hug was nothing like the one he’d bestowed the last time she’d arrived. Nor did he seem inclined to drag her upstairs for a “nap.”

“It would have been better if Hud had ever stopped talking,” he said. “I keep waiting for him to realize that fishing guides are men of few words. But Hud here feels compelled to spout all kinds of nonsense. Scared away most of the fish. The ones we caught threw themselves on the hook just to get him to shut up.”

“Ha!” Hud replied. “I wouldn’t have had to talk so much if you would’ve stopped moping.

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