Inner Harbor Read Online Free

got some work to do on that dog.” But the mild annoyance faded instantly. He could smell Anna’s red sauce simmering, like ambrosia on the air. “God bless us, every one,” he murmured.
    â€œManicotti,” Seth informed him.
    â€œYeah? I’ve got a Chianti I’ve been saving just for this moment.” He tossed his briefcase aside. “We’ll hit the books after dinner.”
    He found his sister-in-law in the kitchen, filling pasta tubes with cheese. The sleeves of the crisp white shirt she’d worn to the office were rolled up, and a white butcher’s apron covered her navy skirt. She’d taken off her heels and tapped a bare foot to the beat of the aria she was humming. Carmen , Phillip recognized. Her wonderful mass of curling black hair was still pinned up.
    With a wink at Seth, Phillip came up behind her, caughther around the waist, and pressed a noisy kiss onto the top of her head. “Run away with me. We’ll change our names. You can be Sophia and I’ll be Carlo. Let me take you to paradise where you can cook for me and me alone. None of these peasants appreciate you like I do.”
    â€œLet me just finish this tube, Carlo, and I’ll go pack.” She turned her head, her dark Italian eyes laughing. “Dinner in thirty minutes.”
    â€œI’ll open the wine.”
    â€œDon’t we have anything to eat now?” Seth wanted to know.
    â€œThere’s antipasto in the fridge,” she told him. “Go ahead and get it out.”
    â€œIt’s just vegetables and junk,” Seth complained when he pulled out the platter.
    â€œYep.”
    â€œJeez.”
    â€œWash the dog off your hands before you start on that.”
    â€œDog spit’s cleaner than people spit,” Seth informed her. “I read how if you get bit by another guy it’s worse than getting bit by a dog.”
    â€œI’m thrilled to have that fascinating tidbit of information. Wash the dog spit off your hands anyway.”
    â€œMan.” Disgusted, Seth clomped out, with Foolish slinking after him.
    Phillip chose the wine from the small supply he kept in the pantry. Fine wines were one of his passions, and his palate was extremely discriminating. His apartment in Baltimore boasted an extensive and carefully chosen selection, which he kept in a closet he’d remodeled specifically for that purpose.
    At the Shore, his beloved bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundy kept company with Rice Krispies and boxes of Jell-O Instant Pudding.
    He’d learned to live with it.
    â€œSo how was your week?” he asked Anna.
    â€œBusy. Whoever said women can have everything should be shot. Handling a career and a family is grueling.” Then she looked up with a brilliant smile. “I’m loving it.”
    â€œIt shows.” He drew the cork expertly, sniffed it and approved, then set the bottle on the counter to breathe. “Where’s Cam?”
    â€œShould be on his way home from the boatyard. He and Ethan wanted to put in an extra hour. The first Boat by Quinn is finished. The owner’s coming in tomorrow. It’s finished, Phillip.” Her smile flashed, brilliant and glowing with pride. “At dock, seaworthy and just gorgeous.”
    He felt a little tug of disappointment that he hadn’t been in on the last day. “We should be having champagne.”
    Anna lifted a brow as she studied the label on the wine. “A bottle of Folonari, Ruffino?”
    He considered one of Anna’s finest traits to be her appreciation for good wine. “Seventy-five,” he said with a broad grin.
    â€œYou won’t hear any complaints from me. Congratulations, Mr. Quinn, on your first boat.”
    â€œIt’s not my deal. I just handle the details and pass for slave labor.”
    â€œOf course it’s your deal. Details are necessary, and neither Cam nor Ethan could handle them with the finesse you do.”
    â€œI