Page 29 of Secrets at Seaside
“When you said you were going out with Tony, I remembered you gave them to me the summer after our first year in college. Remember? I’ve had them in the drawer of my jewelry box ever since. Didn’t he give you these?”
“Yeah. He bought them in P-town.” She picked up the tiny surfboards, remembering when he’d given them to her in front of their friends and the way they’d both tried to laugh it off like she was his surfing groupie. Amy had been shocked that none of their friends had noticed the way the world spun when they were together, or the way the air sizzled and popped around them.
She put on the earrings, and the ache she’d tried to escape slowly returned. She remembered when she’d given Bella the earrings to hold for her the summer after she and Tony had broken up. She couldn’t bear to see them, but she didn’t want to get rid of them, either. Now she felt guilty for trusting Bella with the earrings and not trusting her with her secret.
Leanna put her arm around Amy and whispered, “Your date is here.” She pointed to the bedroom window as Tony passed by. She tucked away the ache of guilt, unable to deal with it before leaving with Tony, and promised herself she’d tell them the next chance she had.
“He has flowers!” Jenna whispered loudly.
“I’m swooning already.” Leanna sighed and scooted past Amy toward the bedroom door.
“Oh, Amy. Yousodeserve this.” Bella hugged her, then motioned for the girls to follow her out the back door, but by the time they’d scurried out of the bedroom, Tony was already standing at the glass doors to the deck—and waving with a smile that made Amy forget that she was nervous or feeling guilty.
Bella opened the door, and Tony’s eyes never left Amy’s as he crossed the floor looking mouth-wateringly handsome in a pair of dark linen pants that tied at the waist and a V-neck T-shirt that hugged his arms like Amy wanted to.
“Wow. You look incredible, babe.” He kissed her cheek.
Amy heard Jenna whisper too loudly to Leanna, “He called herbabe!”
She and Tony both chuckled.
“You guys weren’t trying to sneak out the back, were you?” Tony raised his brows in Bella’s direction.
“Us? No. We were, um…” Bella rolled her eyes. “Of course we were. It’s your first date.”
“It wouldn’t be a perfect first date for Amy if you guys weren’t here to help her get ready, right?” Tony smiled at Amy.
First date. Wow, she loved how that sounded. They hadn’t been able to date when they were younger. This felt even bigger because of that.
She knew the moment he noticed the earrings, because his eyes narrowed and met hers with an expression of disbelief.
“Well, we’ll be going. You kids have fun.” Leanna tugged Jenna toward the door.
“Not that we have high expectations for this date or anything, but…I wish I had my camera so I could remember this moment forever.” Bella’s eyes moved from Amy to Tony and back again. “Seeing two of my best friends together makes me wish I was the kind of girl who cried when she was happy.” She waved on her way out the door.
Tony’s eyes warmed as he reached beneath Amy’s hair and touched the surfboard earrings. “You kept them.”
“Not exactly.” She cringed. The truth wasn’t always easy, but with Tony she knew it was important. “I wasn’t able to think of you for the longest time without falling to pieces. The summer after our…when we got together, I gave them to Bella and asked her to hold them for me. I never thought she would hold on to them for this long, but I’m glad she did.”
“So am I. It’s funny how something so small can carry so many memories.” Tony held her hand as they walked down to his car. “Remember sneaking under the pier in P-town and kissing when they were at Purple Feather getting gelato?”
“How could I ever forget? That was the best summer—and the worst—of my life.”
Tony didn’t respond as he drove out of the complex, keeping his serious eyes trained on the road. Amy reached for his hand. She’d wanted to be able to freely touch him like a girlfriend for so many years that it didn’t take much to persuade herself to go for it. He glanced over and smiled, but tension still hovered between them. She wasn’t sure if it was because she mentioned that the summer was the best and worst of her life, or if it was because they had yet to discuss it in detail, but the reason didn’t matter. The fact was, she hated the tension and wanted to slice it up and toss it out the window.
“I don’t want our first date to have a black cloud over it,” she said.
“I don’t want any part of our lives to have a black cloud over it.” He squeezed her hand, and she knew he understood what she was trying to say. She had matured enough over the years to realize that even if she fell apart, he’d be there to help her put the pieces back together. That didn’t make it any easier to get from where she was to where they needed to be, but she wanted to try.
“So, here’s the thing. It’s hard for me to talk about what happened, but I know we have to deal with it.” She paused to gauge his unspoken thoughts, but he wasn’t giving anything away. His facial expression didn’t change, but when she opened her mouth to continue, he interrupted her.
“I think we talked about that stuff enough today, don’t you?” He stopped at a light and leaned across the console to kiss her.
Relief swept through her. “Thank you.”
“I told you I’m going to be the guy you need. Your well-being is my priority.”
“I sound like a patient.”
