Eyes front, still he saw her head turn toward the door handle. But the lounging dog in her lap kept Tessa from fleeing. That, and Liam possessing her luggage in the truck bed; including her almighty chef’s knives. She was smarter than to let him hold those hostage. “I didn’t agree to that.”
He wasn’t ready to let her out of his sight. Tessa was good at hiding when she didn’t want to be found. “I can send you the tow bill instead.” Liam’s heart pounded in his chest, waiting to see whether she’d call his bluff. If it wasn’t for Ed, the sly devil, he might never have been alerted she was in Sunset Ridge.
“How much?”
“Two-fifty.” He took a chance and continued toward Warren’s Sea Shack. There was a to-go order waiting for him. It was more than enough to share, food he’d planned to last him two meals, maybe three. Liam expected to work through dinner on a boat motor and had planned ahead.
“Twohundredand fifty?”
“I’m sure your insurance will cover it.”
Tessa got awfully quiet after that, and Liam didn’t have to guess. “Didn’t take out insurance on that rental, did you?”
“Didn’t think I’d need it.”
The chips were stacking in Liam’s favor the longer this conversation went on. If Tessa didn’t have insurance, she’d have to cover repairs out-of-pocket or the rental company would send her a major bill.
“Why were you on that road anyway?” he asked, though he wasn’t any more willing to answer the same question more than she likely was. The dirt road, hardly wide enough for two vehicles to squeeze past one another, was private. Though it did lead into town, not many people risked upsetting Old Man Franks by traveling down it. Certainly no one in a Mustang.
“I was trying to slip into town. Quietly.”
Liam let out a hearty laugh. “You thought you would sneak into Sunset Ridge driving a cherry-red GTO Mustang convertible?”
“I wasn’t trying tosneak,” she retorted. “I just don’t want the media to find me.”
More dangled bait.Media?Though harder to resist this time around, Liam fought his urge to ask what that could possibly mean. To the best of his knowledge, the show hadn’t finished airing. Not according to the timeline Sophie mentioned to him. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to believe it was popular enough—especially in this remote Alaskan town—for anyone to recognize her, let alone have paparazzi follow. “So, you thought a red convertible would be just the ticket.”
“I had the top up.”
“Could’ve driven a tank for as discreet as that car is.” He’d missed their bantering, maybe more than he missed anything else. They pushed each other’s buttons, and nothing excited him more. The way they riled themselves up made for the best kisses. As consequence to his thought, his gaze dropped to her lips.
“Okay, so maybe it wasn’t thebestchoice,” Tessa admitted.
He almost made a comment about the flashy car being a consolation prize fromOrder Up, but Liam didn’t want her to know he knew anything about it. Certainly not that he’d watched every episode so far. “What’s with the secrecy anyway?”
“I’m surprising my sisters.”
Liam didn’t buy that answer—not a chance that was all there was to it. He did believe Cadence and Sophie had no idea their oldest sister was in Alaska, but he wouldn’t press. Liam shifted his hand on the wheel. “I’ll get the truth out of you sooner or later.”
Tessa didn’t have anything to say to that, for once, and instead let her head to fall against the window. He gave her the rest of the drive through town to take in everything—all that had changed, and all that had stayed the same.
Liam pulled into a spot outside Warren’s Sea Shack. Nodding to the snoozing dog in her lap, he asked, “Watch Raven?”
Confusion lingered in those crystal-blue eyes. Eyes that had haunted his dreams for more years than he could count. “I thought—”
He gave her a wink before he shut the door, saying through the open window, “We’re not eating here.”
Liam’s feet couldn’t carry himself inside fast enough. A cool blast of air conditioning hit him, making him realize his shirt had started to stick to his skin. Tessa always made him a little nervous. More so now that she was all grown up, and a very attractive woman. More attractive even, he suspected, if she got rid of that face full of makeup.
“Warm day out there,” Jett, Warren’s main host, said about the air conditioning running. It was an usually warm day for Sunset Ridge. Mostly A/C was in the bank and Freeman’s Grocery. Most homes didn’t have it, and few businesses did either. Liam felt relieved to be in one of the rare restaurant establishments that did.
“Supposed to be warmer tomorrow, I heard,” said Liam.
Jett nodded. “Think your tacos are just about ready. Let me grab ’em.”
“Thanks.” Liam ducked off to the side to avoid anyone he might know. Usually he was a social creature, happy to chat with anyone.Not today. He studied the announcements pinned to the bulletin board in hopes of slowing his thundering heart. Some were old, like the flyer for the Alaskan Woodsman competition that he and his buddy Ford won last month. It was the reason Liam now owned a Super Cub.
He saw another flyer for the upcoming Blueberry Festival.Sunset Ridge sure does like their summer festivals,he mused. “Clam chowder contest. That’s new,” he mumbled under his breath.
