When I dug into my burger, I forgot all about how unfriendly the waitress was being. The food really was delicious.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Connor
Dare tosseda wad of cash on the table and stood, grabbing his jacket. The waitress eyed us both suspiciously from the other side of the diner, her blue eyes cutting across the space.
I slipped into my jacket, feeling disquieted. Although she’d been perfectly polite, there had been an undercurrent of tension throughout our interactions. The way she’d looked at me, as if she’dknownwho I was, had unsettled me. Dare might normally entice that kind of reaction from people, but I certainly didn’t. Not yet, anyway.
Nobody else in the diner seemed to pay any attention to us. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, I exhaled deeply, trying to let go of the uneasy sensation that had settled in my spine when the waitress had first glanced at me.
Sensing my discord, Dare reached for my hand. The street was empty, and I felt safe enough. I let him hold my hand as we walked back to his rental.
Dare opened the door for me, and I climbed into the passenger seat, buckling up. He walked around the front of the car and opened the driver’s side, climbing in.
Before he started the car, he pulled his phone out and fired out a text message. “Just need to let the fellas know not to make plans Monday morning,” he explained, catching me watching him.
“It’s cool,” I assured him. Once he’d finished texting, he started the car and drove us to the parking lot near Westhaver’s Beach. He parked the car and we got out. The wind whipped my hair across my face. I could taste the salty air on my tongue.
We walked toward the water, the backs of our hands brushing against one another. I surveyed the beach, finding it near deserted apart from a couple walking a dog down on the far side of the beach. They were heading in the opposite direction too.
I looped my finger around Dare’s, wanting the contact.
Dare took my hand, his larger one encompassing my smaller one. “I’ve missed the beach. Lake Ontario just isn’t the same as the ocean.”
“Yeah, I bet. I love it here. I want to travel, but I always want to come home here,” I confessed, taking in the Atlantic Ocean in front of me. It stretched out endlessly before me, full of possibilities.
“I don’t mind making our home base here again,” Dare said, but his eyes weren’t on the view of the ocean. They were on me. The way he looked at me ignited something in my chest—something connected to the very core of me. “Everything important is here anyway.”
* * *
Gettingout of the house for the day was exactly what I needed. We spent hours walking around the beach, talking about music and life and everything in between. By the time we were done our walk and had returned to Dare’s rental, I was exhausted and in far better spirits.
I even let him hold my hand as we walked along the beach, and it felt great not hiding. I didn’t withdraw, even when we passed other people. Nobody seemed to know who we were anyway.
Not that it mattered. Dare McKenzie was the king of stolen kisses and carved out moments.
When we’d first hooked up, Dare had been worried just as much as I was my brother would take the news badly, and that could affect their friendship and the success of their band. But lately, something had changed. I sensed a restlessness in him that I found in myself.
Dare was tired of hiding, and if I was being perfectly honest…so was I.
I wanted to come clean, especially now they were home and planning on staying. I didn’t want to hide my relationship anymore, I just wanted to be in it. But to me, coming clean about Dare meant coming clean aboutallthe things connected to him. It meant coming clean about my intentions as a musician.
When Dare dropped me off after our outing, I’d had him stop at the end of our driveway—but it was in vain. Mom and Dad weren’t home, and neither was Calum for that matter.
In fact, I’d had the house to myself for almost three hours before people started coming home, and by then…my bravado had faded.
My phone buzzed, alerting me to an incoming text. I put my brush down and grabbed it, seeing Lara’s name flash on my screen.Almost there! See you soon,she’d texted.
I replied, telling her I’d be ready and waiting, then tossed my phone into my clutch and grabbed my leather jacket. In the hallway, I slipped on my black dress boots before popping my head in the living room.
My parents were sitting on the couch, watching the news. They looked up when I poked my head in.
“Where are you off to?” Dad asked with surprise. I’d dressed up a little for the occasion. His eyes narrowed at the septum piercing, but he opted to keep his mouth shut.
“You know my friend, Lara, from Dalhousie?” He nodded. “She’s coming out this evening. We’re going to have dinner at The Wharf.”
“I think that’s a great idea! Have a good time, sweetie,” Mom said, nudging Dad with her arm.
