Seal With a Kiss Read Online Free Page A

togetherness for you and Smitty. I care about
both of you-"
    Violet snickered, but she had to force it past a
sudden lump in her throat.
    Maddy shook her head. "No, it's true. Smitty has
been wonderful to me all along. He's kind and funny
and sensitive-"
    "A real prince," Violet murmured, earning a warning look that made her feel mean.
    "He is, though, and you know it. You just don't
want to admit it. And then there's you."
    Violet waited, curious what positive thing Maddy
would find to say about her. There couldn't be much.
She hadn't been at her best lately. The changes
within Dolphin Friendly had unsettled her. Brody's marriage had removed him from the triangle of
friends and put her in closer contact with Smitty.

    Contact that made her yearn for things that could
never work.
    "You've been a member of Dolphin Friendly since
the beginning. Sure, you're prickly," Maddy said,
and Violet grinned at the description. She'd worked
long and hard to earn it, because it made the men
take her seriously. She might be five-foot-nothing,
but she held her own. Maddy continued, "But you're
also the best underwater photographer I've seen in a
long while, your sonar and acoustic skills are second
to none, and you're the only person on the boat who
can beat Ishmael at taxonomy." Maddy paused and
touched her hair, which was less of a frizzy mess
now that she was using the right conditioner. "And
you helped me with my hair, even if you don't want
anyone to know about it."
    "Why do I get the feeling there's a `but' coming
up next?" Violet abandoned her packing and ran a
piece of clothing between her fingers while she stared
at Maddy. She'd never been entirely comfortable
with `girl talk,' but she couldn't quite bring herself
to end the conversation. It was starting to get interesting.
    "Not so much a `but.' More like an observation."
Maddy twisted her fingers again as if unsure how
Violet would react. "I don't think you're happy."

    Violet snorted even as her shoulders did that tense,
tightening thing they'd been doing more often lately.
"What's not to be happy about? I love my work; you
said yourself I'm good at it. We've gotten half our
grant, the stranding center opens in a week, and we
should get the other half of the money. In the time
we've stayed in Smugglers Cove I've dived with
more marine mammals than I've seen since we left
Monterey Bay." She looked around the room, trying
to think of another reason she was happy. "And I've
finally got my own closet," she finished, waving at
the room.
    Oddly enough, she realized it was true. She loved
her closet. And part of her was happy, for all the
reasons she'd mentioned, including the closet.
    Personal space had been in short supply on
Streaker, and until they had taken up residence in the
Smugglers Cove Inn, the crew had lived out of suitcases and rented rooms. Violet enjoyed knowing she
was coming back to the same bed after each trip and
it didn't even bother her anymore that she had Maddy
to thank for it.
    It shouldn't matter that Smitty slept just down the
hall. It wouldn't matter, she assured herself, because
there was nothing more than friendship between
them, and sometimes not even that.
    Maddy flashed a smile. The inn had belonged to her grandparents and she was justifiably proud of it.
"I'm glad you like the closet. However, Brody and I
feel that neither you nor Smitty are happy right now
with the current state of affairs."

    Was it Violet's imagination, or had Maddy
stressed the last word?
    "Have you-" Violet paused and swallowed, hating herself for needing to know. "Have you asked
Smitty about it?"
    Maddy wrinkled her nose. "Yes. He just told a
joke and changed the subject."
    "Typical," Violet muttered, hastening to add, "not
that there's anything he should have told you, of
course. We just get on each other's nerves. That's
all."
    "Of course," Maddy replied, reaching to take a
blouse out of the carryall and refold it more