“Ditto,” Gemma said, offering him a small, apologetic smile.
Gemma threw her backpack onto the dock, then hopped over the railing after it. She took her chain from Harper, grabbed her bag, and went down to her bike to put her clothes on before she rode home.
“You are a disgusting pervert,” Harper snarled at Daniel and pointed her finger at him. “Gemma is only sixteen years old, and even though you have some sort of Peter Pan complex, you are still a twenty-year-old man. You are too old to be messing around with her. ”
“Oh, please. ” Daniel rolled his eyes. “She’s just a kid. I wasn’t hitting on her. ”
“That is not what it looks like from here. ” Harper crossed her arms. “I should report you for living on this stupid boat and for your abhorrent behavior hanging around with underage girls. ”
“Do what you gotta do, but I’m not a creep. ” He leaned against the railing and looked down at Harper. “Those girls were hassling your sister, and I stepped in to get her away from them. ”
“What girls?” Harper asked.
“Those girls. ” Daniel waved vaguely. “I think the head one is named Penn or something. ”
“The really pretty girls?” Harper tensed up.
She hadn’t thought Daniel had done anything to Gemma, not really, but at the mention of Penn, her stomach tightened.
“I guess. ” Daniel shrugged.
“They were messing with Gemma?” She glanced back at Gemma, who was pulling on her tank top and appeared unharmed. “How?”
“I don’t know exactly. ” He shook his head. “But they had her surrounded, and she looked scared. I just don’t trust them, and I didn’t want them around her. I asked her on my boat to hide out until they left, and you showed up like ten minutes later. That’s all that happened. ”
“Oh. ” Harper felt bad for yelling at him now, but she didn’t want to let on. “Well. Thank you for looking out for my sister. But you shouldn’t have her on your boat. ”
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“I hadn’t planned on making a habit out of it. ”
“Good. ” Harper shifted her weight, still trying to look indignant. “I think she’s seeing someone anyway. ”
“Harper, I already told you, I’m not into your sister. ” Daniel smirked. “But if I didn’t know any better, I would say you were jealous. ”
“Oh, please. ” Harper wrinkled her nose. “Don’t be disgusting. ”
Daniel laughed at her protests, and for some reason, Harper began to blush.
Gemma sped past her on her bike, shouting a good-bye to Daniel as she did. With her sister gone, Harper didn’t really have any reason to wait around on the dock, but she stayed behind for a moment, trying to think of something to snap at Daniel for. When she couldn’t come up with anything, she turned and left, acutely aware that he was watching her walk away.
SEVEN
Picnic
Capri had been founded by Thomas Thermopolis in southeastern Maryland on June 14, 1802, so every fourteenth of June the town held a celebration in his honor. Most of the stores in town closed for it, as they would for any other major holiday. It had become nothing more than a big picnic with a few rides and concessions, but everybody turned out, both the townies and the tourists alike.
Alex had invited Gemma to go with him, and she didn’t know exactly what that meant. Since he had invited just her and not Harper, too, she was inclined to think it meant something, but she was too afraid to ask.
The car ride was awkward, almost comically so. Neither of them really said anything, aside from Alex stammering out a few comments about how he hoped they would have fun.
When they parked, he ran around the car to open the door for her, and that was actually when Gemma started to relax. He’d never opened the door for her before. Something had definitely changed.
The Founder’s Day Picnic took place in the park in the center of town. A couple rides were set up, like the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Zipper. The midway cut through the center, lined with the usual carnival games. Picnic tables and blankets were spread out over the rest of the area, broken up by a few food and drink stands.
“Did you want to play a game?” Alex asked Gemma as they walked down the midway. He gestured to the ring toss next to them. “I could win you a goldfish. ”
“I don’t think that’d be fair to the goldfish,” Gemma said. “I’ve had about a dozen of them, and they all seem to die within days of me getting them. ”
“Oh, yeah. ” Alex smiled crookedly. “I remember you making your dad bury them out in the backyard. ”
“They were my pets, and they deserved a proper burial. ”
“I better be careful around you. ” Alex stepped back from her cautiously, giving her a wide berth. “You’re a goldfish mass murderer. I don’t know what you’re capable of. ”
“Stop!” Gemma laughed. “I didn’t kill them on purpose! I was little. I think I overfed them. Out of love, though. ”
“That’s even scarier,” he teased. “Do you plan to kill me with kindness?”
“Maybe. ” She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to look menacing, making him laugh.
Alex walked close to her again. His hand brushed against hers, and Gemma took the opportunity to slip her fingers through his. He didn’t comment on it, but he gave her hand the slightest squeeze. Warm tingles swirled inside her, and Gemma tried not to smile too widely at the effect from that simple touch.
“So goldfish are out,” Alex said. “What about teddy bears? Would stuffed animals be safe around you?”
“Probably,” she allowed. “But you don’t need to win me anything. ”
“You want to walk around for a while?” Alex asked, looking down at her.
“Yeah. ” She nodded, and he smiled.
“Okay. But if you want anything, just say the word, and I’m on it. I’ll win you anything your heart desires. ”
Gemma didn’t want him to win her anything because that meant he would have to stop to play a game and let go of her hand. She was content to walk around all day with him. Just being with him delighted her in a way she hadn’t thought possible.
They’d walked a little farther down the midway when they came across Bernie McAllister. He stood in front of the game where the object was to pop balloons with a dart to win a prize. Despite the heat, he wore a sweater, and he squinted at the balloons below his gray eyebrows.
“Mr. McAllister. ” Gemma smiled and stopped when they got close to him. “What brings you here to the mainland?”
“Oh, you know,” he said, his voice lilting with a faded British accent. He pointed to the balloons with his plastic darts. “I’ve been coming to the Founder’s Day Picnic for fifty-four years and winning cheap junk from these games. I wasn’t about to miss this one. ”
“I see. ” Gemma laughed.
“And what about you, Miss Fisher?” Bernie asked, looking at Alex and then back at her. “Does your father know you’re out with a boy?”
“Yeah, he knows,” Gemma assured him and squeezed Alex’s hand.
“He better. ” Bernie gave them a stern look until Alex lowered his eyes. “I still remember when you were this big”—he held his hand up to his knee—“and you thought boys were gross. ” He paused to appraise her and smile. “You kids grow up so fast. ”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. ”
“It’s how it goes. ” He waved his hand, brushing off her apology. “How is your father? Is he here?”
“No, he’s at home today. ” Gemma’s smile faltered. Her father rarely came out to stuff like this anymore, not since her mom’s car accident. “He’s doing good, though. ”
“Good. Your father’s a fine man, a real hard worker. ” Bernie nodded. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen him. ”
“I’ll tell him you said that,” Gemma said. “Maybe he’ll head out to the island and visit you. ”
“I would like that. ” Bernie held her
eyes when he smiled, his own eyes filmy with cataracts and a little sad. Then he shook his head and turned back to the game. “Anyway, I should let you kids get back to your fun. ”
“All right, good luck at your game,” Gemma said as she and Alex started walking away. “It was nice seeing you. ”
When they’d gotten far enough away from him, Alex asked her, “That was Bernie from Bernie’s Island, right?”
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“Sure was. ”
Bernie lived on a small island a few miles off Anthemusa Bay. The only thing on it was the log cabin and boathouse that Bernie had built fifty-some years ago for himself and his wife. His wife had died shortly after that, but Bernie stayed there just the same.
Since the only person who lived on the island was Bernie, the people of Capri had taken to referring to it as Bernie’s Island. That wasn’t the official name, but that was how everyone knew of it.
After Gemma’s mother’s car accident, her dad had a tough time. He used to take Gemma and Harper out to Bernie’s Island, and Bernie would watch them while her dad went off to deal with things on his own.
Bernie was always kind to them, and not in a creepy-old-man way. He was funny, and he let the girls have free run of the island. That was when Gemma had really developed her love of the water. She spent long summer afternoons out at the bay, swimming around the island.
In fact, if it wasn’t for Bernie and his island, she might not have become the swimmer she was today.
* * *
“What’s going on with Alex and your sister?” Marcy asked, and Harper lifted her head to see Gemma and Alex holding hands as they walked down the midway.
“I don’t know. ” Harper shrugged.
She and Marcy were playing beanbag toss next to a picnic table, until Marcy had gotten distracted.
“You don’t know?” Marcy turned back to Harper.
“No, Gemma’s being really vague on details. ” Harper threw her beanbag at the goal, intent on continuing the game even if Marcy was hung up on something else. “I know they kissed the other day because Dad saw them, but when I asked Gemma about it, she wouldn’t tell me anything. I think they might be dating. ”
“Your sister is dating your best friend, and you don’t know what’s going on?” Marcy asked.
“Gemma never wants to tell me about her boyfriends. ” Harper sighed. Gemma had had all of two of them before, but she was always secretive about her crushes. “And I haven’t really asked Alex about it. I feel a little weird bringing it up. ”
“Because you have a thing for him,” Marcy said.
“For the millionth time, I don’t like Alex that way. ” Harper rolled her eyes. “It’s your turn, by the way. ”
“Don’t change the subject. ”
“I’m not. ” Harper sat back on the picnic table behind them, since Marcy clearly didn’t plan on playing until they discussed things. “I’ve never had anything other than platonic feelings for Alex. He’s geeky and awkward and just a friend. ”
“Guys and girls can’t be friends,” Marcy insisted. “You really need to watch When Harry Met Sally. ”
“Brothers and sisters can be just friends, and Alex is like a brother to me,” Harper explained. “Which is the only reason why this is weird for me. Because a guy that’s like my brother is dating my actual sister. ”
“That’s gross. ”
“Thanks. Can we get back to the game now?” Harper asked.
“No, this game is boring, and I’m starving. ” Marcy had a beanbag in her hand, and she gave it a half-assed toss to the side. “Let’s get some cheese curds. ”
“You’re the one who wanted to play this,” Harper said as she got off the picnic table.
“I know. But I didn’t realize how boring it was. ”
Marcy walked through the park, pushing people if they were in her way. Harper followed more slowly behind her, glancing back over her shoulder to see if she could catch a glimpse of Gemma and Alex together.
Originally, Gemma was going to go with Marcy and Harper to the picnic, but this morning Alex had called over to invite her to go with him. That was when Harper had tried to talk to Gemma about him, but Gemma had refused to give her any details.
Harper was so busy looking for them that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and she bumped right into someone, knocking an ice-cream cone out of his hand and smashing it all over his shirt.
“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Harper said hurriedly, trying to wipe the chocolate ice cream off his T-shirt.
“You really do hate me, don’t you?” Daniel asked, and Harper realized with dismay that he was the one she’d covered in ice cream. “I mean, destroying someone’s ice-cream cone? That’s vicious. ”
Her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t see you there. Honestly. ” She wiped at his shirt more frantically, as if she could prevent it from staining if she rubbed hard enough.
“Oh, now I see your plan, and it’s far more devious than I thought. ” Daniel smirked. “You were looking for an excuse to grope me. ”
“I was not!” Harper instantly stopped touching him and took a step back.
“Good. Because you need to buy me dinner first. ”
“I was only…” She gestured to his shirt and sighed. “I am sorry. ”
“I’m covered in chocolate. Why don’t you apologize while we go get some napkins?” Daniel suggested.
Harper went with him over to a concession stand, where he grabbed a stack of napkins. Taking a handful from him, she walked to a drinking fountain, and Daniel followed her.
“I am sorry,” Harper repeated. She wet her napkins under the fountain as he wiped at his shirt.
“I didn’t actually mean for you to keep apologizing. I know it was an accident. ”
“I know, but…” She shook her head. “I didn’t even properly thank you for helping out my sister, and then I attacked you with your own ice cream. ”
“That’s true. You are a menace and must be stopped. ”
“I know you’re teasing, but I feel bad. ”
“No, I’m dead serious. I should report you for your abhorrent behavior,” Daniel said with a straight face, telling her the same thing she’d told him the day before.
“Now you’re making me feel worse. ” Harper looked down at her shoes and balled up the wet napkins in her hands.
“That’s my plan,” Daniel said. “I like to guilt pretty girls into going out with me. ”
“Smooth. ” Harper narrowed her eyes at him, unsure if he was kidding or not.
“That’s what the ladies tell me. ” He grinned at her, and his hazel eyes had a gleam to them.
“I’m sure they do,” she said skeptically.
“You do owe me an ice cream, you know. ”
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“Oh, right, of course. ” She dug in her pocket for some money. “How much was that? I can give you the cash for it. ”
“No, no. ” He waved his hand, stopping her when she pulled out a few crumpled-up dollar bills. “I don’t want your money. I want you to have an ice cream with me. ”
“I, uh…” Harper fumbled for a reason not to.
“I see how it is. ” His eyes flashed with something that might’ve been hurt, but he lowered them before she could be sure. His smile disappeared, though, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“No, no, it’s not that I don’t want to,” Harper said quickly, and she was surprised to find that she meant it.
Between his being gracious in the face of her verbal assaults and helping out her sister, Daniel had begun to grow on her. And that was precisely why she couldn’t take him up on his offer.
Despite his charms, he still lived on a boat, and from the scruff on his chin, it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. He was immature and probably lazy, and she was leaving for school in a couple of months. She didn’t need to get mixed up with a
slacker on a boat just because he was kinda funny and cute in a grungy sorta way.
“My friend is waiting for me, somewhere,” Harper continued to explain and gestured vaguely out at the crowd. Marcy was probably somewhere eating cheese curds. “I was following her when I bumped into you. She doesn’t even know where I’m at. So … I should go find her. ”
“I understand. ” Daniel nodded, and his smile had returned. “I’ll take an IOU, then. ”
“An IOU?” She raised an eyebrow. “For ice cream?”
“Or any meal of equal value. ” He squinted, thinking about what that would be. “Maybe a smoothie. Or a large coffee. But not like a full meal with fries and a salad. ” He snapped his fingers as he thought of something. “Soup! A cup of soup would work, too. ”
“So I owe you one food offering that’s equal to ice cream?” Harper asked.
“Yes. And the repayment can happen at your earliest convenience,” Daniel said. “Tomorrow or the next day or even next week. Whenever works for you. ”
“Okay. That sounds like a … deal. ”
“Good,” he said as she started walking away from him. “I’ll hold you to it. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I do,” Harper said, and part of her actually hoped he would.
She weaved her way through the picnic, and it didn’t take her long to find Marcy. She was sitting at a picnic table with Gemma and Alex, which would’ve been nice if Alex’s friend Luke Benfield hadn’t joined them.
Harper actually slowed down when she saw Luke. And not just because things were weird between them. Whenever Luke and Alex got together, they tended to go into computer-geek mode, talking only in tech terms that Harper didn’t understand.
“So when are you gonna make an honest woman out of Gemma here and win her a prize?” Marcy was asking Alex when Harper reached the table.
“Um…” Alex’s cheeks darkened a little at the question, and he rubbed his hands together nervously.
“I told him not to win me a prize,” Gemma cut in, rescuing him from embarrassment. “I’m a modern girl. I can win my own prizes. ”
“You probably stand a better chance since you’re the athlete,” Marcy said, popping a cheese curd in her mouth. “Alex looks like he throws like a girl. ”
Luke chuckled at that, as if he stood any chance of throwing better than Alex. He twisted the huge Green Lantern ring he wore on his finger and laughed so hard he snorted a little.
“Like you can talk, Marcy,” Harper said and sat down on the bench next to her, across from Luke. “I saw the way you tossed a beanbag. Alex could probably kick your butt. ”
Gemma gave her a grateful smile for coming to Alex’s aid. Harper noticed that she’d put her hand on his leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Where were you, by the way?” Marcy looked over at Harper, unfazed by her comments. “You just disappeared. ”
“I ran into someone I know. ” Harper evaded the question and turned her attention to Gemma and Alex. “How is the picnic treating you guys?”
“Good,” Luke said. “Except I should’ve worn more sunscreen. ” His pale skin seemed to reflect the light, and the red curls on his head were frizzing out. “I’m not used to this much sun. ”
“Do you live in a dungeon, Luke?” Marcy asked. “I’m only asking since you’re skinny and pale, and it looks like your parents might keep you chained in a basement. ”