“I remember that night clearly.”
“You were my first kiss. Hell, you were my first everything, and there was a time when my mother thought we were going to get married.”
“Really?”
“Yeah . . .” Rennie paused when the waiter came to the table with their salads. She and Graham both took their napkins and placed them on their laps and picked up their forks. He dug in immediately, but she waited. She wanted to finish telling him about her mom. “When we went off to college, she told me to be careful, that she always heard the women were a bit wild down there because so much sun made them do crazy things. I remember laughing her off and thinking she had no idea about her daughter. I couldn’t wait to party. But as she was helping me pack, she put her hand on mine and said, ‘Graham is a good guy and is going to be a great man.’ At first, I had no idea what she was talking about until I told her about Theo. Her first question was, ‘Whatever happened to Graham? I always liked him.’ So, what did happen?”
Graham put his fork down, finished chewing, and used his napkin to wipe his lips. “Nothing happened. I fell in love with someone, Austin died, and then she left me because I felt I had a duty to come home and help Grady and my dad. It was like some perverse life cycle I couldn’t control.”
They were only halfway through their salads when dinner arrived. Graham seemed lost in thought each time Rennie would glance at him. They made small talk, mostly about the area they were in and how long they were going to stay.
“My vacation is over on the third,” she told him. She needed to talk to distract herself from her thoughts.
“I don’t know if I can be gone that long, but I’ll check with Krista.”
“Ask her if it’s okay if you’re gone until the first. I do feel bad keeping you away from work. We can go back tomorrow, if you want. I know you have a life, and I’ve completely interrupted it. I’m sorry, Graham.”
“I’ll call her tomorrow and see how she feels working through the holiday.”
“You need more staff.”
Graham chuckled. “We need more people in Cape Harbor. There are times when I look at the books and ask myself how the bar has stayed open as long as it has, and then I remember the regulars. They come in every day or every other day because they’re loyal. Things are great in the summer, but winter hits us hard.”
“If Krista is okay with you being gone, I can come work at the bar for a few days before I have to head back to Seattle.”
“You want to work in the bar?”
Rennie shrugged and smiled brightly. “Why not? I had a lot of fun when I did it earlier.” She stuck her lower lip out in a pout.
Graham shook his head slowly and started to laugh. “You’re crazy, but if you want to work, you can. I just don’t want to hear you complain about your feet hurting or the lousy tips you’re getting.”
She clapped her hands in delight. “Perfect. Now I feel like I’m not hogging all your time.”
“Why’d you throw your phone in the water?” Graham asked, breaking the silence between them.
Rennie set her fork down and pushed her plate away. “Because the only person I wanted to speak with was with me. Everyone else, including Brooklyn, would coddle me, treat me like I’m fragile. I didn’t want to answer a million texts asking how I’m doing or see Theo’s name pop up on the screen. I know I could’ve blocked him, but he’d just call from a different number, and I didn’t want to deal with it. I’m also on vacation and shouldn’t have to deal with work.”
“You only wanted to be with me?”
“When that shit went down, you were the only person I wanted to come to my rescue.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Graham, it’s like you make breathing easy for me. When I’m around you, I can be myself. I’m not Renee, but Rennie, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life—you’re not going to make me feel like I’m less of a person or force an opinion. You listen to what I have to say. You respect my feelings. You care about me in a way no one else ever has. You’re my best friend, and there isn’t any place I’d rather be right now other than here with you, enjoying a delicious dinner and exploring a place I’ve never been.”
She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Graham grimace. When the waiter walked by, he asked for the check.
“No dessert?”
“We still need to go to the grocery store,” he reminded her. “We can get some ice cream or whatever it is you want there.”
“Booze,” she said. “Lots and lots of booze.”
“No booze,” Graham told her. “We’re docked, and the boat will sway more. I don’t want you getting seasick.”
“Graham Cracker, you’re such a buzzkill.”
He laughed. “You whine enough as is, Ren. I’m not going to hold your hair back because you decided to drink yourself into a stupor. Believe me; you’ll thank me later.”
When the check came, Graham threw down a wad of cash and got up from the table. He reached for Rennie’s hand, and their fingers intertwined. “Come on—let’s go get gallons of ice cream and tell stories all night long.”
Rennie slapped his chest, and he recoiled. “Only if I can paint your toes and do your hair.”
He shook his head. “Never gonna happen. I will sit outside with you, though, and watch the stars.”
She liked that idea, mostly because that was how they spent their first night together when they were teens, under the stars.
TWENTY-TWO
Graham rolled onto his side, wrapped himself up in his weighted blanket, and readjusted his pillow to cover his ear. Whatever animal had decided to take refuge on the dock after nightfall moaned incredibly loud. Coupled with the constant sway of the boat from the choppy water, Graham was restless. There wasn’t much he could do about the boat, but in the morning, he would talk to the marina manager and see if the animal could find a new place to serenade. Although, that was unlikely as well.
He sighed heavily and rolled onto his back and spread his arms out wide. All he wanted was a couple hours of sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t going to happen. There was too much going on for his mind to shut off, and when it finally started to, images of Rennie popped up, keeping him wide awake.
“Rennie,” he said her name aloud and sat up straight in his bed. The lights from the docks crept through his curtains, giving his room a natural night-light. His heart raced as the sound of the animal grew closer. Only, it wasn’t some sea creature taking refuge on the dock or on the boat; it was Rennie. Graham listened for a moment before getting out of bed. He dressed quickly in sweats and a long-sleeved T-shirt and sweatshirt and pulled his weighted blanket off his bed. When he stepped out into the small hallway, he noticed her door was open. He didn’t need to peer in to verify she wasn’t in her room. Her cries were enough to tell him where she was.
On the deck, Rennie sat at the bow, with her back facing the helm. As Graham approached, the sounds that had kept him awake came from her. His steps faltered as he heard his friend wail. He walked faster along the starboard side of the yacht, and when he reached her, Graham draped his blanket over the front of her. He sat down and pulled her between his legs.