“So, how long have you and Oliver been together?” Tessa asks, twirling a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger.
“Um.” A nervous laugh bubbles out of me. “We actually just started dating. This is very new.”
Her eyes widen. “No way. Really? Wow, I would have thought y’all had been together for years. I just assumed you moved here with him.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, taking a sip of my soda.
“I don’t know.” She taps a short, sparkly nail against her chin. “It’s just the way you are with each other. Comfortable.”
I drop my gaze to the table, picking at a piece of the sugar-dusted crust left on my plate. Itdoesfeel like I’ve known Oliver for ages, even though it’s not quite been a month.
“Joe and I were like that,” she says, glancing at her husband, who’s crouched over the pool table, preparing to make his next shot. “You know, I was married before to my high school sweetheart. We were together six years, married for one, and let me tell you, that was one year too long. Thought I’d never get married again in a million years. I spent the rest of my twenties single as a dollar, not looking for change. It wasn’t long after my thirtieth birthday that Joe came into the salon for a haircut, and that was all she wrote. We went down to the courthouse and got married two months later. That was ten years ago.”
“Wow. Two months?” I ask. “Were you nervous at all?”
“Oh yeah.” She chuckles. “I got cold feet and almost called it off the morning of. My mom wasn’t on board with her little girl getting married so fast, especially after what I went through with my ex, and it just got in my head.”
“What made you decide to go through with it?”
“He showed up at my apartment to talk things out about an hour later, and he brought my favorite coffee,” she recalls with a nostalgic smile. “Which may not sound like a big deal, but even after all the years my ex and I were together, hestillcouldn’tremember what I liked. I ordered coffee in front of Joeonce. He paid attention. Hell, he still does. Sometimes that looks like having dinner made when I get home because he could hear in my voice while on the phone that I had a rough day at work. Other times, it looks like him watching my silly reality shows and pretending to be interested simply because I love them.”
“Anyway, we got married, and I never looked back,” she continues. “I think I always knew he was my person. Call it intuition. Or maybe it’s an instinct we have that becomes sharper after being with the wrong people. Maybe it becomes easier to identify the right one. Whatever it was, I think sometimes we just know.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I say.
“Hey, babe,” Joe calls over to Tessa. “You mind closing out our tab? Beckett here just sank the eight ball.”
“Sure thing,” Tessa answers. “Anyway, we should do this again. Maybe we could go on a double date sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
“We’ll set something up for after New Year’s,” she says, rising to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”
Oliver catches my eye from across the room and starts toward me, making everything around us fade.
“I sank that ball on purpose,” he says, sliding into the seat next to me. “I was hoping to have you to myself for a bit before I take you back to your car, if that’s okay. I know it’s a work night.”
“I think I can manage to stay out a little longer before I turn into a pumpkin. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?” I ask, hoping that wherever it is, it’ll be warm. Even with all of my layers, my body is still chilled.
“Actually, there is.” He leans in closer. “Are you afraid of heights?”
I shake my head, but concern is tiptoeing inside my brain. Maybe he wants to take me to a really tall…building?
“Why?”
He reaches for my hand. “There’s something I’d like to show you.”
“The fire hall?”I ask with a laugh as Oliver turns into the lot. “You do know I’m from here, right? A visit to the fire hall was customary every year when I was in elementary school.”
“I promise you’ve never seen this,” he says, pulling to a stop near one of the rigs out front.
He opens the door for me, and I realize someone is waiting by the fire truck. As we get closer, I recognize her as the woman who responded to the call with Martinez when Ron got sick.
“Evening, Beckett,” she says with a smile, and he greets her with a wave. “Nice to see you again, Lindsey.”
I nod, still unsure of what we are seeing her for. “You too.”
“Thanks again for doing this, Helen,” Oliver says. “I know it was kind of short notice.”
