Page 38 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
A goofy grin spread across her face as she texted:Good night, Reid.
A yawn overtook her, and she put down her phone. She couldn’t wait to spend more time with Reid. Surely the trip would inspire her, and then she’d be ready to type up her article and send it to Libby.
Reid jogged up the stairs toward the apartment the following morning. He pushed his hands through his wet hair and then rubbed them down his athletic shorts before checking his phone. It was eight twenty. He promised he wouldn’t knock before eight thirty, but he was only ten minutes early. Ten minutes wasn’t so bad, right?
Truth was, he’d been looking foranyexcuse to hang out with Kaiah. That’s why he’d reached out to her last night. He would’ve read the dictionary to her if she’d have asked him.
He hadn’t felt this way about anybody, especially since Brynn. The past couple of years, his sister and mother had tried to set himup with women. They’d invite him over for supper, only for Reid to discover a blind date sitting by his side. Not surprisingly, nothing had come of the awkward meetings. The women they’d chosen for him were nice, even pretty sometimes. But he’d never felt a spark with any of them.
But Kaiah was different. He couldn’t wait to spend time with her, to ask her questions, to get to know her better. Even though their friendship—relationship?—was destined to be short-lived, he planned to cherish every moment with her.
After raking his hands through his hair one more time, he knocked on the door and then rocked back on his heels.
“Coming!” she called from inside the apartment.
After a few moments, the door opened with awhoosh. The warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee washed over him, along with something flowery—perfume, perhaps?
“You’re early.” Kaiah touched her hair, which was pulled back in a thick braid. She was effortlessly beautiful, clad in a pair of jeans and a light blue top that complemented her eyes. “I need a few minutes.”
“No rush,” he said.
She pointed to the kitchen. “There’s some coffee in the pot. Help yourself.”
“Thanks.”
He pulled a mug from the cabinet and poured a cup before leaning against the counter. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he scrolled through social media while he waited. He heard adingand spotted a phone sitting on the end of the counter. He considered picking it up, but he didn’t want to snoop.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Kaiah called from the bedroom.
He grinned. “No worries.”
Footsteps sounded before the door opened and closed.
“Ugh!” she exclaimed. “I can’t find my phone. I’m positive I left it in here, but I can’t see it.”
The phone dinged again.
“It’s out here,” he called.
“Oh!”
He picked up the phone so he could hand it to her as the screen lit with a text.
Kam: How’s Mr. TDH today?
Reid lifted an eyebrow, wondering what the message meant. Who was Mr. TDH? Surely it was some sister code. Curious, but definitely none of his business.
Kaiah appeared in front of him and reached for the phone. “Thanks. I thought I’d brought it with me to the bathroom, but when I couldn’t find it, I was sure I was losing my mind.” She looked down at the screen, and her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she quickly locked the phone. A flush tinged her cheeks, and his heartbeat thumped as she shouldered her backpack and shoved her phone into her back pocket. “Um, I’m ready.”
He grinned and rubbed his hands together. “All right then. Let’s go.”
“How was work yesterday?” she asked while they drove out of the neighborhood.
“Not too busy,” he said. “We had a couple of medical calls and one minor car accident.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad. What kind of calls do you see most often?”
“Medical. We get calls for people having chest pains or things like that. We help stabilize them, and then they’re transported to the hospital. I’d guess the second most common is car accidents.”
