“This looks like a lot of clothes for one night.”
“I’m not taking it all. I’m still trying to figure out what to bring.”
Those were the magic words that kicked Rhylee into gear, and by the time Kenzie had changed from the towels into clothes, her cousin had things sorted into several piles.
“Do you know where you’re going to dinner? Should you take a dress?”
“It’s Concord, not Manhattan. I’m not bringing a dress.”
“Okay, but you want to look sexy.”
“I donotneed to look sexy to have dinner with a friend,” she insisted.
Rhylee put her hands on her hips. “Lace underwear?”
“Lacetrimmed.” She looked over the piles before pulling out black leggings and the soft tunic sweater she liked to wear with them. “I think these, with my black boots. I’ll look nice enough for a restaurant, but comfortable at the same time.”
Rhylee heaved an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. “You do look nice in this outfit. I mean, it’s not a sexy little black dress, but you’ll wear your hair down, right? Maybe a little makeup?”
Kenzie was afraid most of her makeup had expired quite a while ago, but she nodded so Rhylee would leave it alone. “I’ll finish this later. Let’s go shopping.”
She hoped that was the end of it, but once they were in the car—with Rhylee driving this time—her cousin brought up the trip again.
“Did you tell Uncle Frank you were going?”
“Of course. I told him before he left forhistrip.”
“How did he take it?”
Kenzie laughed. “What does that even mean? I’m not a teenager, trying to run off with a boy. He told me to make sure you knew where I was. I mean, he’s not thrilled about it because, let’s be honest, me having a personal life isn’t great for him, but there’s not much he can do about it.”
When her cousin turned a pointed look her way, she groaned.
“Yes, I heard myself. Of course I have a little bit of resentment. Who wouldn’t? But I love my dad. And I love Corinne’s Kitchen more than most people think I do. Even without Dad factored in, giving up the restaurant wouldn’t be easy for me to do.”
“There’s a lot of space between giving it up and not letting it be the entirety of your life, you know.” Rhylee looked away from the road long enough to grin at her. “But I’m glad you’re going away for the night with your lace-trimmed underwear and freshly shaved legs. You deserve it.”
Kenzie’s phone rang, saving her from the conversation, but her heart pounded as she rummaged in her bag for it. Outside of suppliers and random sales calls, the only person who regularly called her was sitting next to her in the car, and all she could think of was her dad. They weren’t going out on the boat until tomorrow, but so many other things could happen. They’d learned that the hard way with her mom.
“It’s Danny,” she said, instantly regretting saying it out loud because her heart sank when she saw his number on the screen. He’d never called her before, and she could only imagine he wanted to tell her something had come up and the trip was off.
“You have to answer it,” Rhylee said. “Put it on speakerphone.”
“I’m not putting it on speaker,” she snapped. But she did answer it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Kenzie. Just wanted to check in and make sure we’re still on for tomorrow.”
“We are,” she said, relief coursing through her. She looked out her window, hoping Rhylee wouldn’t see the smile she couldn’t hold back.
“Does nine o’clock work? I don’t want to be too rushed because I have that appointment.”
“It’s fine. Do you want to meet me at the restaurant?”
“That’s up to you. I don’t mind picking you up, though, so you don’t have to leave your car in the parking lot. Knowing this town, people will assume it died and you’ll come back to a bunch of your friendly neighbors trying to fix a car that didn’t break down.”
Kenzie laughed because he probably wasn’t wrong. “I’m not far off the main road, so picking me up there would be great. I’ll text you the address.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
