by Laina Turner
3
Evan made it back to work with his takeout order, but instead of looking forward to Claire’s amazing meatloaf, something that he usually anticipated every week, he couldn’t stop thinking about the women he’d just met. Rachel. When he’d touched her hand, he’d felt something that he hadn’t experienced in years, a feeling that he’d never thought he’d have again, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she’d felt it too. Though, admittedly, his skills in feelings were rusty. After Lisa, he’d shut down his emotions, permanently, or so he’d thought. He’d felt determined that that part of his life would forever be over. In the ten years he’d been in Moonshire Bay, a handful of ladies had tried to pursue him, but he’d never been interested. He hadn’t even cared or thought about what, as they put it, he’d been missing. But this woman was different. He shook his head at his own stupidity. How in the hell could he even say that? He’d met her for all of five minutes. He hadn’t learned anything about her that actually indicated that she was different. Chances were, she was probably visiting with her husband and kids, like most of the people who came to town in the summer. Not that being married always stopped people from engaging in the kinds of activities that were currently on his mind, but it certainly stopped him from doing so. Marriage vows were something that he took seriously, even when they weren’t his own.
He took a bite of his meatloaf, not savoring it like he normally did because his mind couldn’t stop focusing on Rachel. He threw down his fork in frustration that the highlight of his week was ruined. The fact that this was a sad state of affairs didn’t escape him. He was barely over fifty; he wasn’t dead yet. Maybe he did need to change up his life a little, but a relationship was still not something he was willing to pursue. He wasn’t good for anyone emotionally, but he’d also never been one for flings, so that left him at an impasse.
“Hey, man, where do you want these?”
Evan was startled by Rob, the beer distributor, who had arrived with his weekly shipment. “The usual. Back to the storage room.”
Rob nodded and headed in that direction with his dolly stacked with cases of beer. Evan shook his head. He needed to get a grip. He scarfed down the rest of his meatloaf, not even tasting it, and went to help Rob unload. Rob was a great guy, but tended to put stuff wherever it was convenient, and if Evan didn’t help, he wouldn’t be able to find things.
By the time he’d finished helping Rob unload and had organized everything the way he wanted it, Celeste, one of his three employees, had arrived for her shift.
“You could have left that for me, boss.”
“Nah. It’s been slow. You can check the reach-in behind the bar to see what we need and get that ready for the evening crowd. Should be busy tonight since it’s trivia night.”
Celeste nodded and started writing down what needed to be restocked. Evan looked up and saw Laura walk through the door. He sighed. He knew what her stopping by meant; she’d noticed the attraction between him and Rachel. Nothing got by that woman.
He leaned against the bar, and she took a seat on a stool, looking at him with a smile on her face.
“What?” he asked, knowing full well what, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for her. He had a great relationship with Laura and her husband. Over the years, they’d become friends, and he’d often go to dinner at their house. So, she felt comfortable harassing him about his love life, or lack thereof, and he didn’t mind. She never pushed too hard. She knew what he’d been through.
“You like her,” Laura said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t even know her,” he scoffed.
“That doesn’t matter. I saw you two. There was a spark.”
“You’re crazy, lady. You know how I feel about that.”
“And you know how I feel. How all of your friends here feel. You need to stop punishing yourself, Evan. You deserve a life.”
“No, I don’t. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do. Go boss someone else around,” he said good-naturedly, knowing that Laura felt she had his best interest at heart, though he was still not willing to bend.
“Sure, hide in work,” she scoffed as she slid off the stool. “But mark my words. You might not stand a chance of keeping yourself closed off from this one.”
Laura turned and walked out of the bar, and though he didn’t want to believe her, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she was right. And that maybe, he wanted her to be right.
4
Rachel meandered up and down the aisles of the one grocery store in the town, amazed at the wide selection of brands they offered, considering it was such a small town. They even had her favorite creamer. Sometimes, it was the small things that made you happy.
She made her way to the produce aisle and was trying to decide between Pink Lady apples and Macintosh, when she heard someone call out her name. She looked up to see that it was Evan, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face.
“Pink Lady,” he said, and she raised her eyebrows questioningly. “The apples in your hands. I assume you’re trying to decide which ones to get?”
Rachel laughed. “A man who knows his apples; impressive. You caught me. It’s a very hard decision.”
“Absolutely. It’s hard to tell now what kind of apple you’ll be in the mood for later,” he said with a straight face, like they were discussing something serious, which Rachel couldn’t help but find endearing. “Maybe you should get a couple of both, you know, to cover all your bases.”
“Good plan. I like a strategic thinker.” She bagged up her apples and put them in her cart, before looking back up to him. She found that she didn’t want to stop their conversation, but she didn’t know what to say next. The apple conversation could only be taken so far. “What are you out shopping for?” she asked, and immediately regretted it. What a stupid question, she thought. They were in a grocery store, after all. It was pretty obvious that she was reaching for something to talk about.
“Dinner. I just got off work and felt like grilling. You? Are you here for more than apples? I recommend the fresh baked baguettes in the bakery.”
“Also dinner, though I hadn’t been planning to grill. Although, that does sound good. Since I just came into town yesterday, I need to stock up so I don’t starve to death. Not that there’s any real chance of that,” she said ruefully, self-consciously glancing down at herself before looking back up at him.
“You look great,” he said, more forceful than he’d intended.
She was a little taken aback by his tone.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But you do look great, really. I hate seeing beautiful women cut themselves down.”
“It’s fine.” His comment had surprised her, but it also made her feel good that a stranger who owed her nothing had been complimentary toward her. It made her realized that while Richard had been a kind man, he had stopped complimenting how she looked years ago. She hadn’t really considered it a bad thing; she and Richard had been together so long, those things somehow fell by the wayside over the years. She’d assumed that that was just the way things went, but maybe she’d been wrong. Was that why Richard had left her, because she’d also stopped giving compliments and doing sweet things for him, just as he’d stopped for her. Had she been more at fault than she’d realized?
“Would you like to join me for dinner? Nothing fancy, just steaks on the grill and maybe a baked potato?” he offered impulsively, surprising himself that the invitation had come out of his mouth.
Her eyes grew wide and she started to stammer.
“No pressure. I know I’m essentially a stranger, but I promise I do grill a mean steak, and Laura can vouch for me.” He smiled as he said it and Rachel couldn’t help but think about what a nice smile he had.
“Sure,” she responded, before she could chicken out.
“Great. What’s your number?”
“My number?”
“Your phone number, so I can send you my address.”
“Oh, yea
h right.” She felt foolish and gave him her number. He quickly texted her directions.
They stood there for a second in a kind of awkward silence until he finally spoke up. “I better finish my shopping if I’m going to have food to grill. See you about seven?”
“Sounds good.”
They went in separate directions, and Rachel hurried up to the front to check out, grabbing a bottle of wine along the way that she thought would pair well with a steak. She didn’t want to show up empty-handed. She hadn’t yet gotten everything on her list, but she didn’t want to run into him in the store again. She needed time to process what she’d just agreed to. It wasn’t like her to accept a date from a stranger. Was it even a date, she wondered. She looked at her watch on the way out to her car and it was just a few minutes before five. So, she had almost two hours to figure out what to wear and to freak out about going to the house of a man, whom she hardly knew, for dinner.
Thirty minutes later, she was looking at her closet, armed with a glass of red wine. It was a small glass, because she’d been so anxious when she’d gotten home that she’d felt she needed some liquid courage and had poured herself just a little. As she viewed her closet, she wondered if she should even bother changing. This was a casual thing; it didn’t require her going all out. Doing so might make the evening seem more date-like, and this wasn’t a date, right? She questioned herself again.
She almost felt like calling Laura for advice, but had the feeling that Laura would be ecstatic that the two of them were having dinner. Better to keep it to herself, Rachel thought, since, as Laura had said several times, this was a small town, and she didn’t want any gossip to start up—certainly not on her second day in Moonshire Bay.
About fifteen minutes before seven, she backed out of her driveway. The GPS told her that Evan’s place was twelve minutes away, so as long as the GPS was right, she would be there just a couple of minutes early. She was so nervous, which seemed silly. Evan was just a potential friend. There was no reason to let that make her nervous. Dinner with a friend should be nothing to fret over, even if the friend was handsome and single.
5
She quickly pulled up to the address that he’d given her. The GPS had been right about the drive taking twelve minutes. Evan’s house was a pretty two-story that looked like it had been built back in the twenties. It didn’t fit in with the cottage look of the other houses in the area. Rachel walked up to the door and was raising her hand to knock when a dog barked and she just about jumped out of her skin.
“Quiet, Duke,” she heard Evan’s muffled call from behind the door.
“Sorry about that. I hope he didn’t scare you,” Evan said when he opened the door, Duke sitting patiently by his side.
“Not at all. I love dogs.” Rachel walked in and immediately petted Duke, a gorgeous German Shepherd. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you,” she whispered, and Duke lay down and rolled over so she could scratch his stomach.
“Some guard dog you are,” Evan said sarcastically to the animal, but Rachel could tell that he was joking. “Do you have pets? I mean, most people are scared of Duke when they first meet him. Not that he’s got a mean bone in his body, as you can tell, but he is intimidating if you’re not used to dogs.”
“I grew up with dogs but haven’t had my own in years.”
“Well, he certainly likes you. Come on in. Can I offer you a glass of wine?”
“Darn it. I bought a bottle of wine to bring and left it at home.”
“Don’t worry about it. Save it for some other time.”
“Well, in that case, I would love a glass,” she said, following him into the kitchen. It wasn’t as big as the one in her rental, but it was spacious and looked new.
“White or red?”
“You said you were grilling steak, right?”
“Yep, so red?”
She nodded, and he poured her a glass and handed it to her.
“Your kitchen is beautiful.”
“Thank you. I remodeled it myself over the winter.”
“Wow, that takes a lot of talent and hard work.”
“Hard work, most definitely. Talent, not so sure about that. I did watch a lot of YouTube videos to figure stuff out, though. Let’s go out back.”
She followed him through the living room to a set of French doors opening out to a stone-paved patio. While his home didn’t have direct access to the beach like hers, you could still see the water, and it was a beautiful view.
“The steaks won’t take long. How do you like yours cooked?”
“Medium is fine. Whatever, really. I’m easy,” she replied, and then almost choked on her wine when she realized how that had sounded like a double entendre. She was thankful that he hadn’t seemed to notice what she’d said.
“Please have a seat at the table there, and I’ll have dinner on in a minute.”
She wandered over to the wood-slatted patio table nestled underneath an umbrella. He had the table set with pink and white striped plastic dishes, with matching water tumblers and napkins.
“So, you like pink, I take it?”
“What? Oh, the table décor?” He started laughing. “That’s compliments of my niece who stayed with me for her spring break. She said that my stuff was too boyish. She’s six,” he added, which explained why her comment made sense.
“Well, I think she made a good choice. I love the colors. Does she live close?”
“Not that close, but not too far either. Four hours away, just outside Columbus.” He came over and set the steaks and baked potatoes on the table. “Please, help yourself.”
“It smells wonderful. Everything tastes better on the grill.”
“I completely agree. I sometimes even grill outdoors in the middle of winter. It’s worth freezing to death for a good steak.”
Rachel cut into her steak and took a bite. “It’s delicious.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“So, Columbus? Is that where your family is from?” She hoped he didn’t feel that she was asking too many questions, but she found herself wanting to get to know him, so she’d thought of several she wanted to ask.
He nodded. “Yep. Grew up there, and my two sisters still live there with their husbands and five kids between them. Then I went out west. Lived in Oregon for a while before coming here.”
“What made you decide to move here?” she asked. It was an innocent enough question, but she saw his face darken briefly before he pasted a smile back on, making her wonder what her comment had caused him to think about.
“Long and boring story,” he replied, and changed the subject. “Hope you like blueberry pie. I got it at the café for dessert. Claire makes the best pies.”
“I had a piece of peach yesterday when I was in with Laura, and I would have to agree.” She didn’t comment on his abrupt change of topic. If he didn’t want to talk about that part of his past, who was she to pry?
“Do you need help?” she asked as he started clearing plates to bring out dessert.
“Sure. If you could grab those platters and follow me, we’ll dump them in the kitchen, and you can help me bring the pie back out.”
They made quick work of cleaning up from dinner and were soon back out on the deck with pie and another glass of wine, this time sitting on the deck swing, balancing their plates on their laps.
“What brought you to our beautiful, cozy, little town?” he asked as they started eating their pie.
“Divorce,” she said bluntly. It hurt to say it every time, like ripping off a Band-Aid, but she knew that it would eventually get easier. At least, that’s what she hoped.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s life,” she shrugged.
“Were you together long?”
“Yep. Over twenty years. But it ended amicably, well, as much so as could be expected, and that’s why I’m here. To take some time for me to relax and, I don’t know, find myself,” she said shyly. “You probably think that sounds stupid.”
But instead of judgment or skepticism in his eyes, there was understanding. “Not at all. Life is hard, and we need to know when to take a step back and recharge, to figure out what we need and want.”
He sounded like he’d experienced the need to regroup before. “Is that what also brought you here?” she asked, even though when she’d asked a similar question earlier, he had shut her down.
“Kind of,” he said, but left it at that.
They finished their pie, set the plates on the table in front of them, and just sat in silence. She was surprised at how easy it felt. It wasn’t the awkward silence one often experienced with someone they’d just met. Even more surprising was that fact that she felt attracted to him, which made her nervous and confused.
She looked at her watch and realized that it was almost ten o’clock. “I should probably get going.”
“Are you going to turn into a pumpkin?” he teased.
No, but I want to kiss you, so staying here probably isn’t a great idea, she thought. “It’s just been a long day.”
“I understand. Let me walk you out.”
“I had a great time. You’re a wonderful griller, if that’s even a word,” she said as they walked to her car.
“Why, thank you. It was nice to have someone to cook for.”
They reached her car and she opened the door to get in. She turned back toward him to say thank you again, and his face was right there. His lips were mere inches from hers, and her breath caught. She found herself hoping that he would kiss her. Even though she hadn’t said it aloud, it must have been evident on her face, because he leaned closer and touched his lips to hers. The soft pressure and the feel of his lips made her legs weak as she returned his kiss. After a few seconds, he pulled back.
“I hope that was okay,” he said huskily.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.