When she joined him on the corner, Caleb huffed. “He’s trying to buy the Main Street initiative. What was it he said? ‘The return is quite generous.’ Definegenerous. A dime on the dollar?” He started toward Sea Blue Way as a soft, misty rain swirled around them.
“He’s a man used to getting his way, Caleb. He’s wooing you,” Emery said softly as she hurried alongside him.
“I resisted him this time. But, uh, from what I could tell, Em, he Mr. Pottered you. ‘How’s theGazettegoing, Emery? Did you enjoy the Beach Boys concert? My golf course could be your largest advertiser.’ You were his Mary Bailey.”
“Excuse me, I was not wooed by him. I’ve interviewed hundreds of Mac Diamonds in my day. The trick is to let them think they are wooing you, then you put the truth in print. Trust me, eventually they get their due. Mary Bailey, my eye. Ha.”
“Okay, fine. I just wish he could be a stand-up guy and help us restore the East End.”
“Why can’t you understand Mac Diamond’s agenda is Mac Diamond? However, I do recall someone asking me to dinner before orafterthe Main Street meeting, but since he consumed a large pile of chicken casserole—”
Caleb stopped short. “Em, whoa, I forgot.” He reached for her hand. “I was demoing the pharmacy and lost track of time. Why didn’t you text me?”
“Don’t apologize.” She dusted his work shirt. “I like this look. Rugged construction guy. Very blue-collar sexy.”
Caleb slipped his arms around her waist. “Are you trying to make me fall in love with you, Quinn?”
“Now why would I want to do that, Ransom?”
The dampness of the cool rain that doused his ire over Diamond, along with the soft, hazy glow of the Victorian lampstands refracting through the mist and surrounding Emery that roused his feelings for her.
“If I say I’ve missed you, will you call me a liar?”
“Have you? Missed me?”
“I didn’t know until just now. But yes, very much.”
She lowered her gaze. “Are you trying to make me fall in love with you?”
“Maybe.” He didn’t know what he was saying, really, or doing, only that every instinct shouteddon’tlet her go.
“We’re not sixteen, Caleb.”
“I know,” he said, holding her closer, tipping up her chin to see her eyes. “But I’d like to find out who we are now.”
The elements of the night were in her eyes. “I’m scared,” she said so softly he barely heard.
“Of what? Me?” he said, sensing an unseen boundary.
“Of losing someone I love.” She stepped out of his arms. “I-I can’t do it, Caleb. I can’t. It seems to me all good things end. Dad and me, the dynamic duo. My job at theFree Voice. I’ve never said this out loud, but I feel so...” She glanced toward the dark shore. “Fragile.”
“Shhh, it’s all right.” He brought her close again, and she rested her head against his chest. In the same place she fit sixteen years ago. In the place she fit now.
The winter air chilled the mist as it continued to swirl around them, and Emery shivered.
“Come on.” Caleb gently steered her across the street. “I’ll buy you dinner.”
The atmosphere of the Blue Plate Diner was welcoming, warm, and cozy, like walking into your grandma’s living room. At nine o’clock, the place was quiet, with a few late-nighters eating the last of the day’s special or claiming the final slice from one of Paige’s pies. Standards from the forties and fifties played from the speakers.
Stars shining bright aboveyou ... Dream a little dream of me...
They sat in the booth in the back, the same one where Caleb stuck Emery with the bill. Life had a way of coming around in big and little circles. They ordered hot chocolates, and Emery, the grilled chicken plate. Small talk ensued, probably because it was safe, recapping the Main Street meeting and speculating about Mac Diamond’s motivations.
When the server set down Emery’s dinner, Caleb said, “Em, what you said tonight ... about things ending. I never told you about the night I was supposed to meet you. The night your family left Sea Blue Beach.”
She glanced at him over the rim of her mug. “Caleb, it was a long time ago. Things happen.”
“I was on my way, I promise. When you texted you needed me, I was already on my way to—”
