“You know, I’m enjoying having work,” he said thoughtfully. “I definitely needed some time away from the relentless pace of my old job, but I also learned that too much time away wasn’t the answer either. I wasn’tbored, exactly, but I guess I felt a little restless.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “I like taking time away, but I’m also the kind of person who loves to have a project when I’m on vacation.” She chuckled. “I get possibly very intense about crafts when I take time away from work.”
Shane laughed at the mental image of Winnie doing needlepoint with a furious expression on her face.
“Yeah, I think I’m the same,” Shane said. “I just never realized it until now because… I guess it’s because I never took any time off work.”
He felt pretty uncool, admitting that. He hadn’t exactly been thinking himself as a hip young thing or anything like that. If nothing else, his years in San Francisco had shown him how far he was from the trendsetters of the world. But he hadn’t ever thought of himself as a guy who had nothing but work in his life.
But maybe he was.
And yet Winnie wasn’t looking at him like she thought he was a snooze who had nothing exciting going on. She looked understanding.
“Trust me,” she said, “Icompletelyget how easily you can get sucked into something that feels like it doesn’t quite fit right, but that you still don’t know exactly how to get out of it.”
“How do you justgetthings so easily?”
The words had just popped out of him. Winnie beamed like it was the greatest compliment.
“Nobodythinks about me that way,” she said, but she sounded happy, not dismayed. “We just must be on the same radio frequency or something.”
He liked the sound of that. He grinned at her… then refocused. They were just standing in the street. And he was getting hungry too.
“Right, so I guess our original dinner plan is out,” he said, jerking a thumb at the closed restaurant behind them. “The other place my sister recommended was Riverstone Kitchen. Have you been there?”
“I actually haven’t!” she said.
It was one more quick ride over to Riverstone Kitchen, which had a pleasant view of the shore from out over a hill. Before they went inside, Shane remembered the bag from Magnolia Boutique and snagged it.
The ambiance in Riverstone Kitchen was a bit more relaxed than that of Captain’s Crest, and Winnie and Shane stuck out more than a little in their fancier attire.
“You know,” Winnie said as she perused the menu, “when I was a kid, my parents took me to this anniversary party for one of their friends. It was a fancy, grown-up party, and I got to wear thisveryfancy dress.” She sketched the shape of a puffy skirt with her hands. “And then, there was fancy, grown-up food, and Ihatedit.” She laughed. “So my parents took me out for burgers in our party clothes. This feels a little like that.”
“You always find a way to put a happy spin on things.”
“Again,” she said pointedly, “I think you might bring it out in me. That’s not how most people think about me, alas.”
“Well, they just haven’t seen the full Winnie Burnett yet.”
She ducked her head against her smile.
They both ended up being sufficiently inspired by Winnie’s story and ordered burgers and fries. Shane’s was a mushroom burger with roasted mushrooms and melted Swiss cheese on top, while Winnie went for more of a classic burger with a fat slice of ripe tomato and crisp lettuce atop it. They debated the best condiments for their meals.
“Winnie, I think you are great, but if you think that any condiment is better than ketchup when it comes to burgers and fries, you arenuts.”
“Try,” she said, pushing a French fry dipped in mayonnaise in his direction. “It will change your life.”
He blocked his face like he was afraid she was going to attack.
“Never! I am loyal!”
He ate a ketchup-covered fry defiantly. She rolled her eyes and ate her own fry with the same energy. Then, they both had to avoid choking as they laughed with their mouths full.
“So,” he said when they’d both chased down the bites with their drinks, a Coke for him, and a lemonade for Winnie. “We are celebrating our victories.”
“Yeah!” she said with an adorably dorky enthusiasm. “We are crushing it.”
She held up her drink for a toast, and he clinked his glass gently against hers.
