‘Did I do something wrong in there? Was it too much… touching? I’m sorry about your hair and I think I got a little carried away and maybe held you too… close?’ His cheeks were flushed red again, and it was too adorable, and she was having a hard time keeping it together.
‘That was all totally fine.’ She cleared her throat. ‘It was really… good, actually. I mean, it felt nice.’ She flicked her gaze up to his and watched the smile bloom across his face.
‘Oh. Good.’
‘Yeah, good.’
‘Really good.’
Her smile matched his, and she didn’t realize they were just standing there beaming at each other until she caught the book club staring at them through the window of the bookstore. As soon as she turned and saw, they all lifted their books and pretended to be reading.
Mac’s was upside down.
She shook her head with a laugh.
‘Should we continue with our date?’ she asked, and Elliot grinned.
‘I’d love to.’
Daisy refused to acknowledge that the excitement she felt about spending the rest of the day with Elliot was not fake at all.
ChapterSixteen
‘So where did you grow up?’ Daisy asked before taking a bite of one of the massive burgers they’d gotten from Mac’s pub. They were sitting at a picnic table in the sun at the public beach. Daisy told him there were more private spots along the shore, but they were sticking with their goal of being seen today.
There were more people on the beach and at the surrounding tables than Elliot had expected, considering it was only April, but it was unseasonably warm today, and there were plenty of townsfolk out soaking in the sun.
Elliot finished his mouthful of fries before answering. ‘Not too far from here, really. I grew up in North Bedingfield.’
‘Just a few towns over! Does your mom still live there?’
‘No, she moved south a few years ago. Said she couldn’t stand another winter.’
‘I get that,’ Daisy said, tipping her face up to the sun. ‘I feel like I’m finally defrosting.’
Elliot chuckled.
‘I went to school at Cornell, though, so I lived in New York for a while.’
‘That’s where you lived with your wife?’
‘Yep.’
‘And your dog?’
Elliot sighed. ‘Yep.’
And his brother, but he didn’t feel like bringing that up.
‘Dream Harbor is a big change from New York.’
‘I needed a change, I think. I kept running into Leigh in our old neighborhood. It wasn’t… healthy for me to stay there.’
That and Caleb was driving him crazy.
‘That makes sense. That’s how I ended up back here. I needed to not be in all our old places. Well, and I had nowhere else to go.’ She gave him a rueful smile as she popped another fry in her mouth.
‘On the plus side, these burgers are delicious.’
