He led her off the boat and through the marina. They walked side by side up a small hill until they reached the main street. She had never been to Friday Harbor or any of the other San Juan Islands and was already starting to fall in love with the quaint little town. When they rounded a corner, Graham reached for her hand, and she gave it willingly. They walked a block or two until he stopped and held open a wooden door for her.
“Hi, welcome to the Lavender. How many?”
“Two,” Rennie said to the hostess, who grabbed two menus and asked them to follow her. The restaurant was dimly lit, and she could hear people cheering from the bar. Rennie almost asked Graham if he wanted to sit in there and watch whatever game was on but also thought Graham might want a break from the bar scene. The hostess showed them to their seats and told them their waiter would be by shortly. The tablecloth was purple with a sprig of lavender in a small jar sitting in the middle of it.
“What is with all the lavender?” she asked him.
“Odd as it may sound, lavender grows here. The soil is perfect for it. There are fields everywhere once you leave this area.”
“How did I not know this? I’ve lived in this state my entire life.”
“How much of it have you explored?”
She thought for a minute. “Honestly, not much. I think I need to get out more. Maybe that’ll be my New Year’s resolution: travel Washington more.”
“Sounds like a good one.” Graham opened his menu, and Rennie did the same. She scanned the items available, each one making her mouth water, until she came to the seafood. Internally, she gave herself a fist bump. There would be no more complaining about Theo’s sushi-eating habits or arguing about where they’d go to dinner. She found herself smiling and chanced a look at Graham, only to see him staring at his phone.
“What is it?” she asked. She saw his thumb move on his phone.
“Brooklyn is worried because you’re not answering your phone. She says Theo has been by the house looking for you.”
“Oh” was all she could manage to say at first. “I don’t want him coming here, and I don’t want to see him.”
“I know.” Graham typed out a message and showed her his phone. She’s with me. She’s safe and will call you later. Send Theo packing.
“That’s a lot. Maybe just say she hates Theo and to shoot him?”
Graham shook his head and took his phone back. “If you don’t care about him, why do you care whether he finds you or not?”
Rennie appraised Graham for a moment. He was right. If she didn’t care, why keep her location a secret? Truth was, she needed time before she faced Theo, which she hoped would be the first of never. Graham didn’t wait for a response.
“Theo has no idea where you are, and Bowie and especially Brooklyn won’t tell him. You have nothing to worry about.”
“But when we get back . . .”
“When we get back, we’ll deal with it. I’m sure he’ll be sitting on your steps when you get back to your apartment.”
“So, what you’re saying is, I should move?”
“I’m not saying anything.” He went back to the menu, effectively ending their conversation. Since she’d unloaded everything earlier, he’d been a bit standoffish, and she didn’t like it. He wasn’t acting like himself.
“What’s good?”
“Well, I imagine everything is. This place has a five-star rating, but I’ve only ever had their steak. It’s slow cooked, aged, and all those other fancy buzzwords restaurants like to throw around to make you think you’re getting the absolute best cut of meat possible. Plus, it’s good. Like really, really good. So, when I come out here, it’s always what I order.”
“How often do you come out here?”
“A couple times a year. I normally walk on the ferry.”
“When was the last time?”
He took his eyes off the menu for a brief second, looked at her and then back at the listing. If he only ever ordered the steak, why was he looking? “This past summer. I came out here for a few days.”
She knew precisely when too. Theo was staying with her at the Driftwood Inn, and Graham was conveniently absent that weekend. Rennie looked for him, wanted to touch base, but he was gone, and his bartender wouldn’t tell her where he was. Bowie didn’t know either. She wanted to know why he’d escaped to this island when she and Theo came to town, assuming it was because of them. What did this place do for him, or was there some memory here she wasn’t aware of? The latter she wanted to doubt, but there was a long period of time when they hadn’t spoken. What had happened in those fifteen years?
The waiter came to the table, set two glasses of water down, and introduced himself as Mike. He told them the specials, all of which made Rennie’s mouth water. Afterward, he took their drink orders—vodka and tonic for her, and a local IPA for Graham.
“What’s her name?” Rennie asked as soon as Mike left.
“Who?” Graham picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip.
“The woman who introduced you to this place. There has to be a story behind it.”
Graham fiddled with the glass, and his eyes wandered everywhere but to Rennie. His lips went into a thin line, and it looked as if he was biting the inside of his cheek.
“She must’ve been some woman.”
He smiled or smirked; she couldn’t be sure. Graham sat up straight and leaned slightly toward Rennie. “It’s tough to date in Cape Harbor. I either grew up with them, they’re about ten years younger than me, or they know so much about Grady that they think I’m the same way.”
“So, you came here to look for women?”
“No,” he said. “I came here because I got sick of people telling me how sorry they were about Austin and Grady. Sure, I may have met a few women, but none of them ever became more than a one-night or weekend thing.”
“Graham, are you seriously telling me you haven’t had a real relationship since you moved back?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
Rennie sat there, stunned, and before she could ask him to elaborate, the waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Rennie motioned for Graham to order first. As he said he would, he ordered the steak, which came with mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and a house salad. Rennie ordered the same and handed her menu to the waiter.
“What happened to being able to order for yourself?” Graham asked. He had called her out on her earlier rant on how she wanted someone to accept her independence.
“Your order sounded good.”
“Liar,” he said as he picked up his pint of beer. “You never read the menu because you were too busy grilling me about my lackluster love life.”
“Which I don’t get, Graham. I remember the first time I saw you. B brought me to some party. It was my first time in Cape Harbor, and Bowie suggested I sit down and play spin the bottle with him. I think he had a little crush or thought we’d hook up or something. You and Grady were there but not sitting next to each other. Brooklyn had told me all about the Chamberlain twins beforehand, so I knew who you were. The game leader called out seven minutes in heaven, spun the bottle, and it landed on you. I watched the old Pepsi bottle spin and spin on the board, and when it landed on me . . .” She sat back and smiled. “Girls were pissed, but I didn’t care, because I was heading into the closet with this really hot guy.” Graham blushed as Rennie recounted the way they met.