“No.”Her hands tighten lightly at my waist.“Good insane.”
I grin and roll us through the night.
By the time we pull in at the little seafood place over the state line in Florida, she’s flushed from the ride and bright-eyed in a way I haven’t seen before.It’s a quiet spot with string lights on the deck and enough distance from town to feel like its own pocket of night.
I hold the bike steady while she gets off, then take her helmet and set both ours on the seat.
She pushes her hair back from her face, still smiling.“That was,” she pauses looking for a word to describe what she’s feeling.
“Insane?”I offer.
She laughs again.“A little.”
“But?”
Her smile softens.“But exhilarating in the best way.”
Yeah.That lands somewhere deep.
Inside, we get seated on the deck overlooking the dark water.The tables are scattered enough for privacy, the air warm enough that the salt breeze feels good instead of sticky.A couple at the far end of the deck is sharing oysters.
Lucy folds her menu closed almost immediately.“You know what’s good here?”
“Everything fried.”I reply with the truth.
“That is an alarming amount of confidence.”
“I’ve eaten my way through half this county.”
She smiles.“Okay, then.Order for me.”
“You trust me with that too?”
She holds my gaze over the candle flickering between us.“Yes.”
There’s that confidence again.Dangerous to a man like me every single time.
I order shrimp for her, blackened fish for me, hush puppies, coleslaw, and a basket of fries because I’ve seen Quinn enough to know Lucy’s a woman who steals fries whether she means to or not.
When the waitress leaves, a quiet settles over us.Not awkward.Natural and expectant.Lucy traces one finger around the base of her water glass.
“This is nice.”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know what to expect.”
“That good or bad?”
“Undecided.”She smiles softly.
I huff a laugh.“Fair.”
She looks out toward the water for a second, then back at me.“How long have you lived in Freedom Falls?”
“Off and on a while.For good?Last ten years or so.”
“You said something about traveling before that.”
