McKenna shrugged. “Only if you’ve got a direct line up to heaven.”
“Oh.” Had she mentioned that to him before? He didn’t think so. “Sorry. I had no idea.”
She shrugged again, dropping her wadded napkin onto her empty plate. “It’s okay.”
Nate finished his last bite of steak, then reached for his lemonade to wash it down. “What about your dad?”
“He’s gone too. That’s the short version.”
“And the long version?”
“I doubt you want to get into all of that.”
A chicken wandered past, fluttering and clucking her displeasure over all the new puddles. As McKenna smiled over the chicken’s antics, Nate took advantage of her distraction to study her face and how the sunset highlighted every one of her freckles and set her copper curls on fire.
He pushed his empty plate back and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I do, actually.”
“What?”
“Want to get into all of that with you.”
“Why?”
“Because...” Oh why not just admit it? “I like you.”
His candidness must’ve caught her by surprise. She froze with her lemonade glass in front of her mouth as a pretty blush stained her cheeks pink. But it was the soft smile that encouraged him to keep going.
“And the truth is I don’t really have a great relationship with my dad.” Nate breathed out a humorless laugh. “What am I saying? I don’thavea relationship with my dad. Period. So... yeah. I’m actually really curious to hear what your relationship is like with your dad. I mean, that is if you want to talk about it. I understand if maybe that’s not something you like talking about.”
It sure wasn’t something Nate usually liked talking about.
“I don’t mind talking about it.” She finished her drink and lowered her empty glass to the table. “With you, at least.”
Nate held her gaze, not sure why her soft disclaimer made him feel like he’d just won the lottery. But it did.
“Because the truth is I’ve never really had a relationship with my dad, either. Biological or adopted.”
Nate leaned closer. “You’re adopted?”
McKenna nodded, refilling her lemonade. “Since I never knew my biological parents, I like to tell people I’m the tall, redheaded daughter of Jamie Frasier that Diana Gabaldon forgot to include in herOutlanderbooks.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
He’d look that up later. “So was your sister, the one I met at the river, also adopted?”
“Bobbi? No. She was my adopted parents’ biological daughter. Which is why losing that ring is such a big deal. I mean, it’d be a big deal anyway, but this ring also happens to be a family heirloom on her dad’s side. It was the ring he gave to our mom when he proposed. My mom made me promise right before she died to keep it safe so that Bobbi could receive it for her own proposal someday.”
“I see now why you wanted to puke over losing it.”
“And that’s not even counting the ridiculously expensive diamond Oliver added to it.”
“Right. So... tell me again why you decided to hide it in my pants?”
“Hey.” She tossed her wadded-up napkin at him with a smirk. “Can we please not rehash my poor decision-making skills from that day on the bridge?”
“Remember when you kissed me?”
