Page 31 of Into the Shadows

For now, I’m going to bask in his attention and question everything later.

“Kavanagh, party of two?” the host calls out. Teddy and I follow him to a table in the middle of the room. This little Irish pub has become a popular place for comfort food. I thought it was perfect for our first date. It’s not toofancy or too casual. Plus, they don’t take reservations, so I figured it would make Teddy feel better.

Teddy’s eyes scan the room as he holds my chair out for me. When he sits down, his eyebrows furrow. “What?”

I smirk. “Nothing. Just wondering why you thought you weren’t very good at this. So far, you’re doing better than the majority of men I’ve dated.”

His frown deepens. “What kind of men have you dated? Idiots?”

“Oh, there he is. Good. I was beginning to worry you’d been body-swapped.”

“What?” His frustration makes me laugh.

“I’ve been trying to figure out what caused the change in you. A few weeks ago, you’d have bitten my head off for asking you to go to dinner with me. Now you’re bringing me flowers and being a gentleman.”

A look of understanding crosses his face. He doesn’t say anything for a second, taking his time to get his thoughts in order. He starts to open his mouth at the same time the waitress comes to our table.

“Hey there.” She shines a wide smile at Teddy. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Water, please.”

“Sweet tea for me.” The waitress doesn’t look at me as I give her my order. “We’d also like to start with an order of pretzel bites.”

“Sure.” She turns away from the table without another word.

“Was it something I said?” I tease.

Teddy smirks and shakes his head. “What’s good to eat?”

I describe my favorite dishes on the menu with the enthusiasm of a kid talking about their birthday party. Teddy laughs at me, but instead of making me self-conscious, it emboldensme. While he may find me silly, he’s genuinely interested in what I have to say.

Our conversation bounces back and forth about different foods we’ve tried. Teddy’s traveled extensively, and listening to his stories has given me the travel bug. Gia, Ginny, and I went to Mexico once during college—my dad was a nervous wreck about it—but otherwise, I’ve stayed in the US. I’d love to explore the world. It would be even better with Teddy as my tour guide.

The waitress brings our drinks and food as we continue to talk. I preen a little when Teddy ignores her flirty smiles.

When I started emailing him all those years ago, I never imagined we’d be sitting across the table from each other, sharing all our likes and dislikes. I want to know everything about him, even the unimportant things, like how he takes his coffee or his favorite food.

He’s softer on the inside than I ever thought he’d be. There’s always been a tough exterior shell surrounding him, and while it’s still there, he’s let me in just the smallest bit tonight. It makes me curious to see how far he’ll let me go.

Chapter 19

To: Charlotte Jackson

From: William Kavanagh

Subject: Always Thinking of You [unsent draft]

Sparkles,

The funniest thinghappened on base today. Kyle was going for a PR in the gym, but he made the unfortunate decision to try to show off for one of the girls. I tried to warn him that she was too cool to pay attention to him, but he wouldn’t listen.

Instead, he asked her to spot him on the bench before he got to his PR weight. She agreed because she’s nice. The rest of us then watched Kyle fall flat on his face while walking to the squat racks.

He literally trippedover his own feet.

But because the guy is too smooth for his own good, he said, “Look at you. So gorgeous, you got me falling in love already.”

She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she wanted to smile. Kyle asked her out afterward, of course, and she told him no. I was proud of her for resisting Kyle’s charms.

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