ten.”
“I see.”
She grinned. “Still want to take me on?”
“More than ever,” he said with heartfelt enthusiasm that wasn’t entirely based on her self-proclaimed poker-playing ability.
“Then get the chowder,” she said. “I need stamina.”
“Is the chowder going to do it?”
“If Molly made an apple pie today, a slice of that would help, too.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “And maybe some chocolate. Molly keeps a stash of Hershey bars behind the counter. Two ought to do it.”
Patrick chuckled. Everyone in town knew about Molly’s cache of chocolate. When she ran out, it was best to steer clear until she’d replenished her supply. Toughened seamen tended to slip extra candy bars into the box just to assure a pleasant Molly who wouldn’t take offense at some slip of the tongue and dump a beer over their heads.
“Should I risk asking or just steal the candy?” Patrick inquired.
“Ask,” she said. “And do it politely. It’s too late to get any chocolate from the drugstore. It closes at five.”
“Aye, aye,” Patrick said. “Shall I grab a couple of beers, too?”
She shuddered. “With chocolate? Are you crazy?”
Patrick grinned. “Coffee, then. There’s some below deck. You can make it while I’m gone.”
“Well, hell,” she muttered with a pretty little pout. “I was counting on that time to stack the cards.”
He laughed, not entirely sure she wasn’t totally serious. “Keep your hands off the cards. And just in case you lose control and don’t, I’ll be shuffling and dealing the first hand.”
“I’ll still win.”
“We’ll see.”
“And I won’t have to cheat to do it,” she added.
“I’m thrilled at your level of self-confidence,” he assured her. “The higher you climb, the harder you’ll fall.”
“You wish,” she hollered after him, laughter threading through her voice.
Damn, but teachers had changed a lot since his school days. If he’d had a teacher like Alice, he’d have fallen in love on the first day of school and never recovered.
Chapter Seven
T he salty air had sharpened Alice’s appetite and dulled her brain. She almost fell asleep waiting for Patrick to get back from Jess’s with their dinner. Only a strong cup of coffee revived her. Okay, that and the prospect of beating the pants off Patrick at cards.
She hadn’t been lying about her skill with a poker hand. Jess had taught her and Molly not only how to gauge their own cards, but how to read their opponents’ faces. Alice could spot someone trying to bluff a mile away, while concealing her own reactions with stoic control. She’d earned a good bit of her college tuition money playing cards with unsuspecting classmates in Boston.
Because of her pretty face and naive questions, she’d suckered more than one big-talking rich boy into coughing up a healthy chunk of his allowance from home. She’d socked away several thousand dollars beforeword had gotten around that playing cards with Alice Newberry was as risky as investing in junk bonds. Even then there had been takers, men with big egos who’d wanted to prove that they had the card sense all the other guys had lacked. Those weekly poker games had nicely supplemented the money she earned in tips at a local bar near Boston College.
She grinned at the memory. Patrick had no idea what he was in for.
When he finally got back to the boat, he was carrying two huge sacks. He set one on the galley counter, then upended the other one in her lap. Chocolate bars spilled all over, dozens of them.
Eyes wide, she gathered up as many of them as she could reach. “Oh, my, you didn’t steal all of Molly’s, did you?”
He seemed to sense her ambivalence about that. “You going to give them back if I did?” he taunted.
Just the faint scent of chocolate wafting through the wrappers tempted her. “Probably not,” she confessed with total honesty. When it came to chocolate, she had few scruples.
“Then it’s a good thing
“I see.”
She grinned. “Still want to take me on?”
“More than ever,” he said with heartfelt enthusiasm that wasn’t entirely based on her self-proclaimed poker-playing ability.
“Then get the chowder,” she said. “I need stamina.”
“Is the chowder going to do it?”
“If Molly made an apple pie today, a slice of that would help, too.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “And maybe some chocolate. Molly keeps a stash of Hershey bars behind the counter. Two ought to do it.”
Patrick chuckled. Everyone in town knew about Molly’s cache of chocolate. When she ran out, it was best to steer clear until she’d replenished her supply. Toughened seamen tended to slip extra candy bars into the box just to assure a pleasant Molly who wouldn’t take offense at some slip of the tongue and dump a beer over their heads.
“Should I risk asking or just steal the candy?” Patrick inquired.
“Ask,” she said. “And do it politely. It’s too late to get any chocolate from the drugstore. It closes at five.”
“Aye, aye,” Patrick said. “Shall I grab a couple of beers, too?”
She shuddered. “With chocolate? Are you crazy?”
Patrick grinned. “Coffee, then. There’s some below deck. You can make it while I’m gone.”
“Well, hell,” she muttered with a pretty little pout. “I was counting on that time to stack the cards.”
He laughed, not entirely sure she wasn’t totally serious. “Keep your hands off the cards. And just in case you lose control and don’t, I’ll be shuffling and dealing the first hand.”
“I’ll still win.”
“We’ll see.”
“And I won’t have to cheat to do it,” she added.
“I’m thrilled at your level of self-confidence,” he assured her. “The higher you climb, the harder you’ll fall.”
“You wish,” she hollered after him, laughter threading through her voice.
Damn, but teachers had changed a lot since his school days. If he’d had a teacher like Alice, he’d have fallen in love on the first day of school and never recovered.
Chapter Seven
T he salty air had sharpened Alice’s appetite and dulled her brain. She almost fell asleep waiting for Patrick to get back from Jess’s with their dinner. Only a strong cup of coffee revived her. Okay, that and the prospect of beating the pants off Patrick at cards.
She hadn’t been lying about her skill with a poker hand. Jess had taught her and Molly not only how to gauge their own cards, but how to read their opponents’ faces. Alice could spot someone trying to bluff a mile away, while concealing her own reactions with stoic control. She’d earned a good bit of her college tuition money playing cards with unsuspecting classmates in Boston.
Because of her pretty face and naive questions, she’d suckered more than one big-talking rich boy into coughing up a healthy chunk of his allowance from home. She’d socked away several thousand dollars beforeword had gotten around that playing cards with Alice Newberry was as risky as investing in junk bonds. Even then there had been takers, men with big egos who’d wanted to prove that they had the card sense all the other guys had lacked. Those weekly poker games had nicely supplemented the money she earned in tips at a local bar near Boston College.
She grinned at the memory. Patrick had no idea what he was in for.
When he finally got back to the boat, he was carrying two huge sacks. He set one on the galley counter, then upended the other one in her lap. Chocolate bars spilled all over, dozens of them.
Eyes wide, she gathered up as many of them as she could reach. “Oh, my, you didn’t steal all of Molly’s, did you?”
He seemed to sense her ambivalence about that. “You going to give them back if I did?” he taunted.
Just the faint scent of chocolate wafting through the wrappers tempted her. “Probably not,” she confessed with total honesty. When it came to chocolate, she had few scruples.
“Then it’s a good thing
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