Page 17 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

With a sigh, he finished checking the last item on his checklist. The Salty Spoon was in great condition and well-run, as usual, but he did want to give them a warning about one of the lightbulbs in the back hallway, which was flickering and would need to be replaced soon.

He went back out to the front of the restaurant to go over his results with the owner. She was a friendly woman who immediately made a note about the lightbulb and offered him a complimentary Reuben sandwich.

Terrence accepted the sandwich gratefully, along with a portion of fries, and he ate his meal at one of the little tables near the front of the restaurant. Even then, his thoughts kept hovering around Vivian and the kiss that they had shared.

Once he’d left The Salty Spoon, he made his way over to the general store to pick up a few things. Since he’d run into Vivian there a few times before, he couldn’t help hoping to run into her again. He kept telling himself that was silly and to not get his hopes up, but he involuntarily looked for her around every corner as he made his way to the general store.

Once he stepped inside the familiar, sweet-smelling building, he was delighted to see that the general store had started carrying his favorite pastry, snowballs. He used to have to walk to a nearby convenience store to buy them, but now he would be able to buy them there along with his usual groceries and tools.

He paused for a moment in front of the display of baked goods and smiled. Snowballs always made him think of a nightat The Lighthouse Grill that he’d shared with Vivian, when Jacob Dorsey was fixing an emergency issue with the air vents and he and Vivian had wanted to be on hand in case something went wrong. He’d offered her snowballs, since he’d just gone to pick some up, and it had been a fun time of talking with her and getting to know her. That was when he’d first begun to get a sense of how worthy of admiration she was, and when she’d begun to wear down his persnickety shell with her friendly, vulnerable attitude.

He realized, as he stood there reliving the memory, that he missed her. It had only been a couple of days since he’d seen her, but he felt a strong desire to talk with her and see her face.

I’ll need to speak to her at some point,he thought, shaking his head.I want to ask her what that kiss meant. But I need to go into that conversation without the expectation of being anything more than friends.

He continued to look for Vivian as he walked around the general store, purchasing a few other items in addition to the box of snowballs. He didn’t see her inside, however, and as soon as he’d left the general store, he considered making his way over to The Lighthouse Grill.

He hesitated on the street corner for a few moments, feeling torn. Finally, he decided against it. He and Vivian were friends, and they lived in a small town together. They would talk eventually about what had happened between them, but he didn’t want to rush her into the conversation before she was ready for it.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Faith tapped her fingers against her chin as she stared at her computer screen. She was sitting at a table in Ocean Breeze Café doing some of her legal work, and she was managing to focus decently that day. She’d given up on focusing in her own office, at least for the moment, and she found that the cheerful atmosphere of the café gave her a much-needed energy boost.

This coffee doesn’t hurt either,she thought, taking a sip of the mocha she’d been savoring.Neither did that blackberry grilled cheese sandwich or the potato soup.

It had all been delicious, creamy comfort food, and she’d come to the conclusion that Alexis had been right about food helping to prevent overthinking, at least a little bit.

She was in the middle of rapidly typing up some notes when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped a little, startled, but her face lit up with a smile as soon as she turned to see who it was.

“Ryan! Oh my gosh, hi.” She was thrilled to see him, despite the fact that he’d been the source of her worries. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to bring you this orange cream milkshake,” he told her, grinning as he set it down in front of her and sat down in thechair opposite hers. “I remember you telling me once how much you like orange cream. As soon as I saw that they had this as a special today, I knew I needed to buy you one. And then I saw you sitting over here. It was perfect.”

“Thanks.” She laughed breathlessly, pleasantly surprised and delighted by how sweet he’d been to think of her like that. “But I already ate, see?” She gestured to the empty plate and soup cup in front of her.

He shrugged. “But you need a dessert, right? I know I didn’t make it myself like you made me lunch the other day, but I wanted to do something in exchange for what you did for me. I wanted to pay you back for it.”

He smiled at her warmly, and she smiled back, but inside her stomach flopped a little. She couldn’t help feeling a little anxious about the way he felt a need for an “exchange.” Pay her back? For what, her love? It made her feel as though he didn’t want to owe her anything, which made her feel as if he looked at their relationship as more of a mutual business transaction than a deep, lasting romance. He didn’t owe her anything for bringing him food—she’d done it because she loved him. She wanted to keep on loving him, and giving to him, and she never wanted to stop doing those things. Did he want to stop someday?

She knew she was starting to spiral, and she told herself that she needed to stay positive. She had a feeling that Ryan hadn’t meant his words that way at all, and she guessed that her brain was too much in the habit of worrying at the moment, and too quick to jump to negative conclusions.

“Hey,” Ryan said gently, tapping her hand. She blinked at him and realized that he was watching her with some concern. “Are you all right? You look upset about something.”

“I—I’m not upset, I’m just—” Faith wavered. She felt in her gut that this could be a perfect time to bring up her concerns with Ryan. She should tell him that she was worried that hedidn’t take their relationship as seriously as she did, and that she definitely wanted marriage and ideally children someday. She was wondering how on earth she should phrase all that when a waitress stepped up to their table.

“Hi, sir, can I get you anything?”

As Ryan was politely telling the waitress that he’d already eaten, Faith felt herself chicken out completely. She just didn’t feel ready to bring those things up with Ryan yet. After all, didn’t she just realize that she had no idea how to phrase any of her concerns? She needed to be able to clearly express how important they were to her without making him feel as though she was slamming an ultimatum down in front of him.

“What were you saying, sweetheart?” he asked, turning back to her.

She shook her head, smiling. “It’s nothing. I probably just have resting worried face after doing all this legal work. Share this milkshake with me?”

“Hmm, that doesn’t seem fair but okay.” He laughed and took a sip of the milkshake as she offered it to him.

They continued to chat for a while, and as always, he made her laugh a great deal. Faith had a wonderful time sitting and talking with her boyfriend, but she was reminded of how much she cared about him and how much she didn’t want to lose him.

I’ve got to have that conversation with him soon,she told herself firmly.He needs to know where I’m coming from, and I definitely need to know where he’s coming from too.

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