“How do I defend myself?”
“You’ll answer the claim in court, but before that happens, Jefferson, myself, and my private detective will know everything. When we face the judge, and they present their case, we’ll prove them otherwise.”
“Not gonna lie, Ren. I’m scared.”
She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. “I know you are. Part of me thinks I should’ve waited to tell you, but I wanted you to be prepared.”
“I mean, I’m glad you did, but also I can’t believe you have a private detective.”
She laughed. “Yes. I use him a lot with my divorce cases.”
“Why?”
“Because spouses lie. They hide things that they shouldn’t.”
“You must see a lot of ugly in your world.”
Rennie shrugged. “I do.”
“Maybe this is why you’re so nonchalant about Theo?”
Rennie scooted a bit closer and placed her hand under her head and left her other one in between her and Graham. “I wouldn’t say I’m nonchalant about Theo, Graham. What you witnessed—that was me losing it because of what he did. However, when I think about him and why I’m not more upset, it’s because I fell out of love with him months ago and didn’t realize it. I’m hurt because he lied to me, and I don’t like liars. I’m angry because of the situation he put me in. But I’m not sad, because there is someone out there for me.”
Is that someone me? They had missed their chance years ago, and while there could be another opportunity now, he wouldn’t feel comfortable starting a relationship with her when her breakup was still so fresh.
“You’ll find the right guy, Ren. I’m sure of it.”
“I know I will, Graham Cracker.” Rennie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Graham studied her until his own lids closed, and sleep took over.
When Graham woke, Rennie lay sprawled out on her stomach, with her hair fanned out. He had never spent any time looking at a woman’s hair and wondered what color Rennie classified her hair as. Growing up, she was blonde or dirty blonde, as he remembered her saying. Now, she had a variety of colors mixed in with her natural color. He saw some brown, a hint of red, and some shade between brown and blonde, which he was sure had some fancy name for it.
Graham felt around for his phone and found it down by his knee. They had been asleep for a couple of hours. It was clear after last night that Rennie needed it. Had Graham’s presence offered her some sort of peace? He liked to think it had.
He slowly rose and snuck out of the bedroom. Later, in the evening, they would head out to the bar and have a good time. Rennie had been right earlier when she said if they were in Cape Harbor, he would’ve called her and asked her to keep him company at the Whale Spout. That was how well she knew him.
Graham wanted to try and make New Year’s Eve special for Rennie. Regardless of their situation, she was still his best girl, and she deserved to have a special night. He left the boat, locking the door as he slid it shut, and jogged up the dock toward the store. He had an idea in mind but was also aware he was very late in the game to try and implement it. When he walked into the small market, there were a few other patrons in there. Thankfully and much to his surprise, he found exactly what he wanted, made his purchase, and headed back to the boat.
The boat showed no signs of life, which was a great relief to Graham. His goal was to pull this surprise off before Rennie woke. He unlocked and opened the door slowly, trying to remain as quiet as possible, which, given where they were located, was a tricky task. Birds squawked overhead, eager and demanding morsels of food.
He worked quickly and quietly in the galley. Graham opened the presliced meats and cheeses, filled the sink with the bag of ice for the bottle of champagne, and pulled crackers from their plastic sleeves. After preparing a plateful of snacks, he set it on the table. He stepped back and admired his work. The presentation wasn’t great, but it was something they could share while they got ready for the evening.
Now, to wake her up.
Graham had so many thoughts of how to do this. He could go down and tickle her feet. She hated it, but it made her laugh, and he loved hearing that sound come out of her. He could yell her name, but that seemed cold and impersonal. He could crawl back into bed with her, gently move her hair away from her face . . . and he would want to kiss her. The yearning to press his lips to hers started in the bookstore and increased tenfold by the time they sat down for ice cream. There had been numerous times throughout the day when he could’ve tilted her chin toward him and leaned down to kiss her. Any other time, and not days after her breakup, he might have done it.
Maybe it was time he started listening to her.
He pulled his phone out, brought it to life, and pressed the icon for his music app. He opted for some soft jazz and set his phone down on the table. Graham inhaled deeply and took the steps down to the bedrooms. He paused before he came to Rennie’s open door and gave himself a pep talk.
She’s hinted. Now it’s your turn.
He stepped in and found her sitting up. She would never know how much this upset him, how his heart fell from his chest, and how he wanted to weep because he had finally found the courage to find out if he had read her correctly.
Graham smiled and motioned toward the galley. “While you were sleeping, I stepped out and picked up some light snacks. I figured we’d eat at the bar or whatever.”
Rennie slid off the bed and came toward Graham. Her messy hair was now in a ponytail, which tempted Graham to tug on it. “I’m excited to go out.”
He laughed. “I know you are,” he said as he shook his head. “I have a feeling tonight is going to be crazy.”
“Duh, crazy fun.”
Her enthusiasm made him feel young and carefree. At least for the night, they’d be the Graham and Rennie of old. He followed her up the stairs and went to the champagne bottle. “Bowie doesn’t have much for flutes or anything, so plastic cup or tumbler?”
“How about we save the champagne for later? We can toast the new year or something when we come back from the bar.”
Graham had no qualms with her suggestion and set the bottle back into the makeshift bucket of ice. He sat down across from Rennie and helped himself to the food. “You know, I only eat this type of food on holidays, and it only seems to be in the winter. I’m sure Brooklyn will have a plate of these types of snacks for their Super Bowl party.” His attempt at small talk seemed trivial and awkward.
You’ve known this woman half your life; stop being weird.
“Yes, but hers will be cut into little footballs,” Rennie pointed out. “I don’t even know what she uses to make her platters look so . . . festive?”
“Beats me,” Graham added. “I’m the guy you call for a keg. Beer, I can do. Maybe a few bottles of alcohol, chicken wings, or something off the menu.”
“I haven’t had beer and wings in a long time.”
“Six months is a long time to you?” he asked. When she made her grand reentrance to Cape Harbor and came into the Whale Spout, the group of them sat around and drank beer and ate everything off the menu, wings included.
“Now that you’ve said it, no. But it seems like a lifetime ago. Coming back to town, I fell into such an easy routine. Once we all caught up, it was like Brooklyn never left, and I had always been around.”