Page 46 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Hey.” There was a big dopey grin on his face that he knew he wouldn’t be able to get rid of even if he tried. He wanted to be able to see her face too, but he was content with being ableto hear her voice. He almost felt as though he’d missed her, although he told himself that was impossible because he barely knew her. “How’s your day going so far?”

“Oh, pretty good.”

“Sounds pretty good. What have you been up to?”

“Nothing much.” Her tone was light, almost teasing even though she wasn’t poking fun at him in any way. “Ate some breakfast, and I’ve been reading for a while. Eating and sleeping at this bed and breakfast makes me feel like some kind of spoiled little princess. I just have to roll out of bed and walk downstairs and there’s food.”

He laughed. “Good.” He wanted to add, “You are a princess,” but he held back. Maybe he would get the opportunity to spoil her as much as he wanted to. He felt that she needed some spoiling, since she’d spent so many years pushing herself so hard.

“How’s your day?” she asked.

“About the same.” He laughed. “I made myself some toaster waffles and bacon and eggs, and read the newspaper. I’ve got the house to myself since my dad is in love with his brewery and never wants to be away from it.”

She laughed. “Hmm, toaster waffles. Sounds delicious. You sound like a good cook.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not!” She chuckled. “I mean, you also made bacon and eggs like it was no big deal.”

“I can cook a few things. Bacon and eggs are on that list.”

“Mm, the essentials. You know you should fry the eggs in some of the bacon grease after you’ve cooked the bacon? They taste amazing.”

“Oh, of course. I would never want to pass up on that good greasy, smokey flavor.”

They continued to make sweet small talk for a while, and then Ryan cleared his throat, getting ready to ask her out on a second date.

“So, did you enjoy the museum?”

There was a pause, which went on so long that Ryan began to frown in confusion.

“Faith?”

“It… well, it got me thinking. It wasn’t how I expected to feel.”

His heart gave a jolt, and he felt totally shocked. She was telling him that she hadn’t enjoyed the museum. His mind raced as he began to wonder if this was the end, and they were about to end their budding relationship after one date.

He cleared his throat again. “What do you mean?”

She was quiet again, for so long that his stomach tightened into a knot. He expected her to say, “I’m sorry, Ryan, but I just don’t think this is going to work.”

“I want to talk to you about it,” she said finally, speaking slowly. He wished that he could see her face, because he couldn’t read her tone. “Can we meet up this evening to talk about it?”

He swallowed, relieved that she hadn’t told him she didn’t want to go out with him again but still feeling worried. Maybe she just wanted to see him in order to let him down more easily in person.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Where would you like to meet?”

“You want to come over to the bed and breakfast again? Maybe we could go for a walk or something.”

“Sure.” He forced a smile onto his face so that his tone would be light. “That sounds good.”

“Great. Well, I should go. You want to come by around six tonight?”

“Sure. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”

She sounds happy, he thought.That’s got to be a good sign, right?

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