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Dane saw Alissa cringe at her own tone as she talked, her cheeks reddening.
Johanna glanced at Alissa’s retreating form, then around the cocktail bar. She was thoroughly unimpressed. A stinging bubble expanded in Dane’s chest. Out of all the places in Blueberry Bay, The Ocean Breeze looked exactly like a bar in New York City. Not the most sophisticated one, but it had enough of a city feel for Dane to think she’d enjoy it.
Apparently not.
They sat in uncomfortable silence while waiting for Alissa. On one hand, Dane wanted to talk with her. But on the other, he had the feeling that nothing good was going to come out of it. Being at home with her was the only place that felt “safe.” They could talk about whatever period drama she loved at the moment and not the fact that Dane lived in a place she found inferior.
Then again, it was just like it was when she first arrived. She didn’t have to say much to get her point across. She’d looked at his house with skepticism, even though he’d taken care to make it look nice both inside and out. And she didn’t seem to notice that he’d splurged on fancy sheets for the guest bedroom either.
He held back a sigh. He wished they had visited her in the city instead of her coming to Blueberry Bay. At least on her home turf, she had less to judge. And maybe Alissa would have felt more comfortable.
It was too late now. All three of them were stuck in an awkward pit and wouldn’t be able to climb out until Johanna went home.
“Here we are,” Alissa said. She held all three glasses together with ease and placed them down. “I’m glad those semesters of waitressing in college came in handy.”
Johanna picked up one of the drinks and examined it with narrowed eyes. She took a sip and to Dane’s relief, she didn’t make a face.
“Where are you from?” Johanna asked Alissa. It sounded like she was asking Alissa the question during a big job interview, not a relaxing drink with her future daughter-in-law.
“Denver,” Alissa said, taking a big gulp of her drink. Her cheeks were still flushed. “I ended up here after coming here on a whim. It all fell into place.”
“I see.”
“Alissa used to work for Epic News, one of the biggest papers in Denver,” Dane said because he had no idea what else to talk about. He refused to let an awkward silence fall on the table. Letting that happen would have shaken his confidence even more.
“Oh,” Johanna said, a tone of surprise in her voice. “That’s impressive.”
“Thank you. But I’ve found that the stories here are more of my strength.” Alissa twisted her glass around on the table. “More down to earth.”
“Would you ever move back to the city?” Johanna asked.
“Definitely not.” The answer came to Alissa quickly. “I love it here.”
Johanna didn’t love that answer. Dane’s heart sank as his brain scrambled for a way to save this conversation.
“Alissa’s sister, Caitlin, is putting together a dinner cruise business,” Dane said. “It should be opening soon.”
“We’re all really excited for her,” Alissa said, folding her hands together in her lap. “She’s a talented chef and ran a restaurant back in Chicago.”
“What made her come here, then?” Johanna looked more confused than ever.
“She needed a fresh start after her divorce. She fell in love with the place when she visited me and decided to live here with her daughter.” Alissa’s expression was guarded, as if she were waiting for Johanna to say something about her twin.
“Something about Blueberry Bay seems to attract people,” Johanna said, leaving off the implied for whatever reason that Dane could practically hear.
He took in a deep breath and let it out. If he called out his mother now, she’d get upset at him accusing her of being rude when she was just being standoffish. But if he left the conversation to develop on its own, who knew where they’d end up?
“There’s going to be a new adaptation of Northanger Abbey,” Dane said. “It comes out at the end of the summer.”
“Is there?” Johanna’s face finally brightened and relaxed, which calmed Dane as well. “Where did you find out about it?”
Dane told her everything he knew and tried to keep the conversation on things Johanna liked. And it worked. But as much as Alissa tried to jump into the conversation, Johanna iced her out. It was as if Alissa was hardly there, and when she was, she was a fly buzzing in Johanna’s ear.
By the time they finished their drinks, Dane was exhausted. He had no idea what he was going to do. He was going to marry Alissa and Johanna was always going to be his mother. But how could he bridge the gap between them? He was starting to fear that he couldn’t.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Alissa sat down at her desk at The Outlet, taking a deep breath and letting it out for the first time in what felt like ages. The comforting routine of sipping her latte from Tidal Wave Coffee and looking through her tasks for the day steadied her, even though her to-do list for the day was long. It had been so stressful having Johanna around that even the thought of a day filled with deadlines sounded better.
