Page 88 of Love By The Falls

“He’s at my parent’s house.”

“Do they babysit often?”

“Not as often as they’d like. If Sage is home, she’ll watch him. But she’s on a date tonight, so I called my parents.”

“Charlie seems like a good kid.”

“He is.”

I look at her empty glass and finish my drink. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“I thought you hadn’t eaten yet.” She looks around the room and her eyes harden. I glance around, too, and notice several people quickly turn away. “Are they staring at us?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it because I’m not from around here or because I’m with you?”

She presses her lips together and narrows her eyes at someone. Then she inhales sharply and sighs. “I do love living here, but sometimes I’m reminded that small towns have their drawbacks.”

“What are those?”

“There’s just not enough entertainment to keep busybodies satisfied.”

She flips her hair to one side, blocking her face from their view. Her fingers pick at the paper napkin beneath her finished drink.

I cover her hand with mine. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

“But you haven’t ordered yet?”

“I’m sure Mrs. Cook can whip something up for us.”

She smiles. “She would probably love that, too. All right, let’s go.”

She pulls out her wallet, but I wave her hand away. “While I’m here, you won’t be needing that.”

She looks away but her cheeks round into a semblance of a smile, and, at the small approval, my chest puffs out a little.

I leave enough for our drinks and a generous tip, although the server didn’t exactly deserve it. But I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s having a bad day. So was I until I saw Charlotte again.

Teoscar hasn’t returned my calls, and while Davina isn’t worried, the other owners are getting jittery. I reminded them it’s all part of the dance with players and their agents.

My car is parked right outside the restaurant. Convenient parking is one thing I enjoy most about small towns. There’s always a parking spot nearby.

I open the car door for Charlotte, and she lets out a whistle. “Nice car. Is it new?”

“Yeah, the latest model.”

“I hadn’t realized they released those yet. How did you score an early edition?”

“I have some connections.”

“I’m thinking you have more than some.”

I play squash with the owner of the dealership. He personally saw that I received one as soon as it became available.

I turn on my car’s GPS and type in the address of the Bed and breakfast.

“Oh, it’s not too far from here,” says Charlotte. “I’ll show you.”

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