“Aww, thanks.”Xanthe looked straight at him, the edge of her mouth quirking in a way that told him she’d been watching him and Willow closely.He didn’t mind one bit.“And you?Did you have a good time?”
“I had a great time.”
“Yeah, I think you did too.”She shot a meaningful glance at Willow when she wasn’t looking, then winked at him in encouragement.“Don’t be strangers.Love to get together for drinks sometime soon.”
“Definitely,” Willow said.“See you around.”
Their footsteps sounded hollow on the wooden dock as they walked side by side toward the waterfront together.“Thank you for taking me out today,” Willow said.“I loved it.”
“Me too.”Getting to spend time with her doing something fun had been a much-needed dose of medicine for him.
His dad was right.He’d become too isolated since he’d returned to the island, and it wasn’t good for his mental state.Being around Willow was like stepping out of the darkness and turning his face up to the warmth of the sun.
He wasn’t remotely ready for their time together to end.“You hungry?”
“Starving.What do you feel like?”
Pinning her up against a private wall with his body and kissing her until she was wrapped around him and ready to come unglued.But that was going to have to remain a fantasy.
“Seafood?”he said.
“Good idea.Ooh, let’s go to Breakers.”
“Sounds good.”
They got a table on the patio along the boardwalk, perusing the menus while the smell of tar and saltwater drifted on the air.She checked her phone as soon as they sat, the quiet punctuated by the occasional cry of a seagull.
“Anything from Rafe yet?”he asked.
“He called while we were on the water, then texted later to say he’s in meetings the rest of the day.He’ll get back to me as soon as he can.”
Rafe had a small force to work with here, and all his deputies would already be stretched thin with it being peak tourist season.“You okay?”
She looked up at him, gave a smile that was just a bit forced.“Yeah, I’m fine.”
He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her.
“Okay, I’m a bit rattled that a huge container of ammo is buried in the forest close behind my house.That’s not normal, right?Not even for here, no matter how quirky the people on the island are.”
No.It bothered him too, but he kept his answer neutral.“It’ll be all right.Rafe’ll get to the bottom of it.”
She nodded, her smile easier this time.“Yeah.So, what looks good?”
“The prawns and scallops are the best on the island.”
“I’m tempted, but I think the macadamia-crusted halibut is calling my name.”
They talked over dinner, reminiscing about old times.Both of them carefully avoided talking about Carson and Peyton, until the omission became painfully awkward.
When she flipped her hair over her shoulder a third time, the way she did when she was feeling nervous, cleared her throat and tried to start a new conversation to fill the void, he reached out and caught her hand across the table.
She stilled, her gaze darting up to collide with his.Beautiful, wide brown eyes he could fall into.
“You can talk about him in front of me.I don’t mind.”
She blinked.Then blinked faster, pressing her lips together.She withdrew her hand, snatching her napkin from her lap to dab at her eyes.“Thank you.I’m sorry.I don’t know why that hit me so hard,” she whispered, her voice rough.
He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and make the hurt stop.For both of them.“Don’t be sorry.You loved him.We both did.You don’t need to avoid talking about him with me.”It wasn’t fair or right for her to hide her feelings for fear of upsetting him.He just hoped she wouldn’t ask questions he didn’t want to answer.
