“That’s exciting for sure. Good luck to her and you.” I raise my water and Posey pretends to clink her glass with the bottle.
“Enough about me, tell me about you. I don’t like that you said shitty son earlier. Is the first date too early for me to dig into your issues?” She chuckles.
I like that she’s a talker and so open about who she is. It’s a welcome change from the women in LA, who are so eager to morph into whoever they think I want them to be. I don’t want to sink this ship before it’s sailed, so I decide that I’ll tell her as soon as we’re back on land.
Gavin’s body tenses at my request to find out more about him. He was clear earlier that he didn’t want me to talk about his acting, but this is a first date and I’ve already rambled on enough. I want to know more about him and he’s the one who mentioned not being a good son.
“I don’t call or visit enough. I don’t take the roles they think I should.” He gulps down some of his water. “My mom guilt-trips me.”
“Where do they live?”
“They’re back in California. Probably will never leave.”
“And you’re an only child?”
He nods, sipping his water again, clearly uncomfortable talking about his parents.
I touch his arm. He doesn’t retract like I did in the truck. “I want you to know that I’m not going to tell anyone anything you tell me. I’m not a gossipy person. You can trust me.”
“Thanks. But it’s not that. There isn’t much about me that isn’t printed in a magazine or spread around the Internet. You could probably find out anything you wanted about me with a quick Google search.”
The smell of the ocean wafts up to my nose and I glance around the kind of boat I never thought I’d step foot on.
“I’ll admit I knew your favorite ice cream and what you got on your pizza when I was a kid, but other than that, I haven’t checked up on you.” It’s mostly truth. Sure, when he came to town, Chevelle and I did a quick search to see if he was here for an acting job, but that’s it.
“Well, you can rest assured you know two things about me that I don’t know about you.”
“You mean you still eat cookie dough ice cream, and you only eat cheese pizza?” I recite the facts that stuck with me, since those were my favorite at the time too.
He chuckles. “My palate has become more refined as far as my pizza toppings go, and these days, I’m addicted to Half Baked by Ben and Jerry’s. Especially on crap days.”
I press my lips together, not wanting to ask too many more questions. My mom’s always told me I need to respect people’s privacy more. To keep my questions to myself and wait for the person to share on their own time.
Serena returns, all smiles. “Dinner is ready inside.” She steps aside like a trained model and holds her arm toward the inside of the boat.
“Oh good, I was getting a little chilly.” I stand with my wineglass in hand.
“After dinner and dessert, if you two want to come back outside, we have warm blankets and a heating lamp we’ll set up in the back of the boat.”
We follow Serena along the side of the boat to the back, where we walk up one flight of stairs and through sliding glass doors.
“This is beautiful.” I take in the tablecloth with a sprinkle of rose petals. Silverware is positioned on either side of the fine china. The napkins are twisted into an elegant shape, and there’s a centerpiece of gorgeous white flowers in the middle.
Gavin comes up to the back of my chair, sliding it out for me. “Thank you, Serena,” he says.
I slide between the table and the chair, and he pushes me toward the table as if he’s done this his entire life.
“I have a feeling I’m not the first woman you’ve wooed with something like this.” I should’ve bitten my tongue.
He positions himself in his chair, unleashing the napkin from its intricate design and laying it across his lap. When our eyes meet, he holds my gaze for a moment. “Posey, I can honestly say that I’ve never wanted to date a woman as much as I’ve wanted this date with you. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’m extremely nervous.”
I feel the apples of my cheeks rising, unable to contain my grin. “I’ve never been on a date like this before.” I refrain from comparing it to a fairy tale out loud, even though it’s what I’m thinking. “And I’m nervous too.”
He blows out a breath. “I never would’ve guessed.”
“Really?”
Serena comes by and refills my wine while another server brings us some soup.
“You handle your nerves well.” The expression on Gavin’s face makes me think he’s impressed by this too.
For the rest of the meal, we discuss Sunrise Bay. I fill him in on all the townie secrets, like the hidden beach spots on the bay that tourists rarely find, and give him the names and locations of all the best trails. I tell him about the bakery in Lake Starlight that’s a must for donuts if you have a craving, and how Tad at Two Brothers and an Egg will memorize your order and have it in front of you in a matter of minutes. And lastly, I explain about the duo nights for the downtown businesses.
“Duo nights?” He spears some of his veggies and brings the fork to his mouth.
“The town council puts two businesses together to run an event that incorporates both businesses. It’s how my brother Cade and Presley got shoved together.”
“Doesn’t Presley own the bookstore?” he asks.
I nod until I finish chewing my tilapia.
“And Cade’s part owner of the brewery…” His forehead wrinkles.
I swallow before I laugh and sprinkle him with chewed-up fish. That would be a mood-killer for sure. “Yeah, they did a books and beer night. It was cute, and hey, it worked out. Now they’re married and Presley’s seven months pregnant.”
“Another Greene on the way, huh?” His nerves seem to be fizzling out. He’s becoming more of the man I see around Logan.
“As if there aren’t enough of us already.”
“What was that like? Growing up in Sunrise Bay?”
I widen my eyes and sip my wine because where do I even start? “I was eight when my mom moved us up here. My brother and Nikki got the brunt of the backlash. Kids my age didn’t care that my mom was hooking up with my dad’s cousin. But my grandparents on my dad’s side and Hank’s parents don’t care for one another. They see Ethel as the woman who tore two brothers apart.”
His jaw hangs open. “All this gossip about breakfast orders and where to go for a hike and you’ve been keeping a story like that all to yourself?”
I laugh and nod. “God, I’m as bad as Nikki.”
“What’s that like for your dad? I mean, how does he handle his cousin being married to his ex-wife?”
I feel the vault door of my heart closing. “He doesn’t. My dad doesn’t contact us much. He’s not that close to any of us. You know, he’s got the new family and everything. But it’s okay because Hank’s a great stepdad.”
“He’s definitely protective.”
We both laugh, remembering how Hank tried to intimidate Gavin. I think he was successful, not that Gavin will admit it.