Page 8 of The Sailor

He drove slowly, letting Marit take in everything as he approached the house. He tried to see it all through her eyes, but he had no idea what she was thinking as she looked around.

There was the auto body building, with cars parked neatly around the bays. The now-empty boat storage facility and yard, the two small rental houses in the distance, and of course, the main house. The sun hadn’t set yet, and it currently glinted off the water in the cove. Every time he came home, Zach was struck once more by the beauty of the property. He’d grown up here, and he knew he was a lucky son of a bitch.

Then his stomach rolled as he took in the number of cars parked in front of the house. He’d told Marit that his brothers most likely wouldn’t be here, but he’d been wrong. Both Knox’s truck and Linc’s SUV were here.

“Before we go in, I have to tell you something,” Zach said seriously, after he’d turned off the engine. It was likely he had about a minute to talk to her before someone came to the door to welcome him home. There were sensors around the property letting his mom know if someone came down the driveway, so she knew he was there by now.

“Yeah?” Marit asked with a small tilt of her head.

Ignoring how adorable that was, Zach went on. “My brothers are here. I didn’t know, I swear. And I have a feeling something about them makes you nervous. So we can leave right now if you want. This is our first date . . . at least, I hope that’s what this is . . . and the last thing I want is to do something that makes you reconsider agreeing to a second date. Do you want to leave?”

The fear he thought he’d seen in her eyes earlier flared bright and strong now, before she controlled her emotions. She bit her lip and looked toward the house. Zach held his breath. He was curious as to why everyone was there, but he’d leave with Marit in a heartbeat if that was what she wanted . . . needed.

“It’s okay,” she said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Are you sure?”

“No. But yes. I . . . I had two brothers.”

She didn’t elaborate, and Zach said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Her gaze whipped back to his in surprise. “Oh, they aren’t dead. They’re just dead to me. I don’t talk to them. Don’t want to talk to them. Would prefer to pretend I don’t have any siblings.”

It was Zach’s turn to be taken aback. “Okay.”

Marit sighed. “It’s a long story. I’m sure your brothers are good. Cool. Fine.”

“They are,” Zach reassured her, making a mental note to have a word with Knox, Linc, and Chad to tell them to go easy, give Marit space. He didn’t know her story, why she had such a bad relationship with her own flesh and blood, but he wasn’t naïve enough to think that everyone got along with their family. Hell, Britt’s mother was the devil incarnate, so he understood that sometimes families weren’t as close as his own.

“Zach! We were about to call you to come over. Get in here! Who’s that with you?” Knox stood on the porch, hollering.

“You can change your mind at any time,” Zach told her quickly. “I mean it. No matter what’s going on, say the word and we’re out of here. No questions asked.”

She looked at him with a startled expression on her face. “So if we get to the porch and I change my mind, you’d turn around and leave?”

“Absolutely.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Because I want to get to know you better. Because my family can be overwhelming at times. Because seeing that look of uncertainty on your face makes me want to do whatever I can to wipe it away and see you smile again. Because there’s something about you, Marit Phillips, that’s different from any other woman I’ve taken on a date.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Shall we do this?”

“What are you guys doing in there? You aren’t making out, are you?” Knox yelled across the yard, laughing hysterically at his own words.

Zach opened his door at the same time Marit did, and he heard his mom call out from inside the house, “Knox Young, behave! And stop yelling like a heathen!”

He chuckled, and when he looked over at Marit, he saw her lips quirk upward a tiny amount. Seeing that small smile made him feel a little better.

After grabbing the risotto, he met Marit at the front of his SUV and they walked toward the porch together. Zach ached to put his hand on the small of her back but resisted the urge. It was too soon. Too soon for a lot of things—like meeting his entire fucking family, but that was what it was at this point.

“Hey! I’m Knox. I’m the smart one of the Young brothers. What are you doing with this reprobate? You’re much too pretty for Zach.”

Zach could’ve sworn Marit inched closer to him at Knox’s greeting, before visibly relaxing her shoulders and lifting her chin.

“He makes a mean lobster roll,” she retorted.