Page 68 of Summer Reading

My eyebrows rose. So eager! Wasn’t that flattering?

“Listening to my brother torture the neighborhood with his music while he practices his sick dance moves,” I said. “Why? Do you have a better offer?”

“Yes,” he said. He held up the papers. “I came in early this morning and went through the digital archives. I made a list of restaurants that were open on the island in 1989. I then checked to see which ones were still open, and it’s a much shorter list, but still, I’m going to stop at each one and ask if they have any record of my mother being a waitress there. Come with me?”

“Yes!” I cried. My inner sleuth was loving this. “However, I am going to require compensation for my time.”

It was his turn for the eyebrow lift. “Okay.” He dragged out the word. He studied my face as if trying to figure out what I was thinking. “How much?”

“Two chapters,” I said. “And no quitting in the middle of them.”

“Two?” he scoffed. Then he grinned, and it made my head spin. “You could have gotten three.”

“Ack!” I cried in mock dismay. “I knew I should have asked for more.”

A couple of patrons came up the walkway, and Ben took me by the arm and said, “I’ll walk you to your car. Please tell me you parked out of sight of the building.”

“I am in the far corner,” I said. “Why?”

“Because I’m planning to kiss you, and I need to know if I have to drag you behind the book drop or not,” he said.

His voice was that gruff growl that made my heart bang around in my chest as if looking for an escapehatch to get to him. I laughed but the intensity in his gaze clued me in that he meant business.

“Well then.” I glanced at the Gale family SUV. “I think if you walk me to my car, we’ll be all right.”

He fell into step beside me and put his hand on the small of my back as if he just had to touch me. I wasn’t used to that, to being the object of someone’s desire so blatantly. It was intoxicating stuff but also terrifying.

I was afraid I was falling too fast for a guy with whom I likely had no future. I had no idea where I was going when summer ended. I might have to pull up stakes and move to another city for a restaurant job, and I definitely did not want to have to drag a broken heart along with me. I had thought I could keep this just a summer fling, but I could tell my feelings were beginning to get engaged. This was not good.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as we stopped beside my car. “I can practically hear the cogs in your brain churning.”

“Honestly?” I asked. I leaned against the car and gazed up at him.

“Preferably,” he said.

“I want to be clear that this”—I paused to gesture between us—“is only for the summer.” I bit my lip. I felt stupid saying it out loud, but I needed to be clear that these weeks were all I had to offer. I was trying to protect myself, obviously, but him, too.

He nodded. “Is there any particular reason this came up right now?”

“Maybe.”

He leaned down until his face was level with mine and he met my gaze. “Care to share?”

“No,” I said. I tipped my head back and stared at the big beautiful blue sky. Why had I decided this was the moment to have this chat?

“Is this because the balance in our relationship, excuse me, our summer situation is off?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’re my friend and you’re helping me find my dad,” he said. “But I’m not really helping you with anything, so the scale is unbalanced.”

Friend?Really? I tried not to dwell.

“I didn’t really think of this as a transactional relationship,” I said.

“No, just a short one.” He grinned at me to let me know he was teasing. He leaned beside me and said, “What’s something you want?”

You.The answer in my mind was swift and sure. Thankfully, I did not say it out loud. Instead, I said, “A job.”

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