Page 37 of Kiss Me at Midnight
“No more deals. Just bait my hook.” Jud frowned at his opponent. “And then show me what to do.”
“Jud’s a fishing virgin.” Dotty chuckled. “You’ll have to show him how to cast a line, Paulo.”
“Not that it will help him.” Paulo demonstrated, casting gracefully, letting out more line when his hook was in the water.
Jud’s cast wasn’t as graceful, but it did the trick since he didn’t hook anything in or on the boat.
“And now we wait.” Grandma Dotty slid on a pair of pink flamingo-framed sunglasses.
“I’m surprised you haven’t put deep sea fishing on your bucket list,” Lily said.
“Why would I do that? It’s boring.”
“It is zen.” Paulo smiled at them over his shoulder.
Grandma Dotty tsked, not to be swayed. “Boring. Dull. A test of one’s ability to stay awake.” And then she leaned back and closed her eyes. “Wake me up if anything happens.”
Nothing happened.
After a few minutes of the fishermen shifting their feet and fiddling with their poles, the porter returned with a plate. He extended it toward Grandma Dotty. “Ma’am, your sandwich.”
Grandma Dotty blinked sleepy eyes before sitting up. “Ew. What is that? Egg salad isn’t red.”
“The chef blended it with ground beets and chopped pimento.” The porter held the plate closer to her.
Grandma Dotty shooed him away. “Try again.”
The porter swallowed thickly, staring at the sandwich. “Don’t make me return it. The chef will be livid.”
“He won’t be mad if you eat it,” Lily suggested to the porter, trying to make peace. “We won’t tell.”
“But I still want a good old, plain egg salad sandwich.” Grandma Dotty slid her sunglasses lower on her nose and fixed the porter with a hard look. “Don’t make me put that on my bucket list.”
The porter retreated, looking none too happy with his options.
The ocean was calm. The sky a rich blue. And two handsome men stood holding their fishing poles. Lily supposed there were worse views, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had another surprise in store for her today. It didn’t help that Rachel was off doing what she pleased. And if attacking Lily was what pleased her under the guise of intervention, Paulo wasn’t in a position to protect Lily.
“This is like watching paint dry.” Grandma Dotty got to her feet. “I loved riding a jet ski this morning. But do you know what else is on my bucket list? Driving a yacht.”
“I’m sure you can go up and ask the captain if you can take the wheel.” Lily was confident the captain wouldn’t let her.
“I bet I can have a turn at steering the boat and get back here before our gentlemen catch a fish.”
“Don’t take that bet,” Jud advised Lily. “I felt something strike my line.”
“Ha! Challenge accepted.” Grandma Dotty hurried off toward the stairs.
Lily’s phone pinged. Someone had tagged her on social media. She clicked on the app and... “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Jud said without turning around.
“Rachel just posted a“Who wore it better?”meme featuring herself and me.” Lily’s photo was a bit grainy and of her wearing the white cocktail dress from last night. Rachel’s photo was of her in the same dress, but she was on the red carpet and glammed up with a matching handbag and dangly earrings. “Jud, you need to catch a big fish.” Lily got up and showed both men the post. “Or I’m getting off in Charleston.” She was being hit with an all-out media blitz. The only thing stopping Lily from confronting Rachel was the deal she’d made with Abe.
“How juvenile,” Jud said with a significant look toward Paulo. “You and your fiancée are testing my patience.” His pole jerked and then the line unfurled quickly with a high pitched whine. “Hey, I’ve got one!”
Almost immediately, Paulo’s pole did the same thing. “I have one and it is bigger than yours.”
“How can you tell?” Lily backed away.
