Page 76 of At First Catch

“He informed me I’m apparently buying matching patio furniture next.”

Her titters echo through the bookstore. “I’d pay money to see your face when he said that.”

“It wasn’t my best moment.”

“No?”

“No.”

A flicker of amusement dances on her lips, only to be replaced by a more pensive stillness that settles on her features. “I’ve been thinking about something.”

That gets my attention. “Yeah?”

She studies the lid on her cup instead of looking at me.

“I feel like we’re always...”

She searches for the right word.

“...almost.”

I stay very still.

“We’re always getting interrupted.”

Walter.

Holt.

Tourists.

Contractors.

Work.

Timing.

Six months of bad timing.

Hadley finally looks back up.

“I don’t mean just kissing.”

My chest tightens—not from surprise this time, but from recognition.

“I mean...” she says, “every time it feels like we’re about to be more, something happens.”

She’s right. I reflect on the barn. The marina. The dock. The coffee. Every conversation that stopped one sentence too early.

She gives me the smallest smile.

“I’m just...” She shrugs. “...tired of almost.”

Bailey eventually wanders back downstairs carrying a stack of books she absolutely hasn’t been organizing.

She looks between us once, then smiles far too knowingly.

“I assume everyone behaves while I’m gone?”