“Still standing in doorways,” she counters.
“Seems to be working for me.”
Her mouth twitches, just barely.
And another unnamed part of me falls even further.
“Come on,” I say.
Because if I don’t say it now—If I give myself another second to think about it—I might not. And that’s not something I’m willing to risk anymore.
She frowns slightly. “Come on where?”
“Dinner.”
She blinks. “That wasn’t a suggestion, was it?”
“No.”
“That’s bold of you.”
“Yeah, but I figured you probably haven’t eaten at all today. And I’d like to spend some time with you.”
She studies me for a second, as if she’s trying to decide something.
“Okay.”
That simple. That easy. And it eases all the tension of the day.
The Sweet Gum Café smells like grease and coffee and something sweet that’s been sitting too long on a heated rack. It’s a different atmosphere than the small diner we ate at before, the day Nolan burst into Coral Bell Cove.
It’s loud. Chaotic. Just… alive. The kind of place where no one really pays attention to you unless you give them a reason to.
Lark slides into the booth across from me, glancing around like she’s cataloging everything at once.
“This feels very… you,” she says.
“Should I be concerned?”
“You probably should be.”
I huff a quiet laugh. And just like that, the edge of the day softens. Something I’m afraid only Lark could do.
We place our order with the server, and I study Lark while she studies everything around the room. As the server drops off our drinks, Lark’s eyes connect with mine.
“Tell me something about yourself. Something I can’t find out by asking any person in this room.”
Her inquiry should have been expected, but panic rushes through me at the same time.
“The me you know now wasn’t alwaysme,” I say.
Her brows rise in that way that asks me to continue without saying a single word.
“What changed?”
I hesitate, afraid to show her that part of myself, then answer anyway.
“I was the town goofball for a long time. In my large family, it was a way to guarantee I got some attention. Funny T-shirts, silly slogans, things like that. I just wanted to make people laugh.”
