“And I’m sorry I called you a butthead,” Chloe adds, squeezing a lemon wedge over her crab cakes.
“You can call me whatever you want.”I don’t care either way.The truth is, Ihavebeen a bit of a butthead to her.
“Well, you bought me dinner, so the least I can do is call you by your real name.Which is?”
I pick up a crab leg and snap it into two pieces.“Ethan Davis.”
“Ethan,” she echoes, like she’s testing it.“So, what is it you do for work?Terrorize children?”
Isn’t she funny?I lick butter sauce off my fingertips.“I’m a construction foreman back in Philly.”
“A foreman, huh?”She sticks her fork into a crab cake.“Does that mean you like being in control?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”I’d rather be the one giving orders than taking them.“What’s your story?”
“I’m an Inner Shores girl, born and bred.This place is heaven on earth.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“No?”She holds out her hand, tapping each fingertip.“We have surfing, beach campfires, an awesome bar right on the sand, kite surfing, deep-sea fishing, kayaking, and so much more.What do you think about that, city boy?”
“I think it sounds like a bunch of stuff I’d hate.”
“How do you know you’d hate it if you’ve never tried it?”
“Because I’m a thirty-two-year-old man who thrives on routine.”There’s safety in predictability.
“Maybe if you worked a little adventure into your routine, you wouldn’t be so scowly.You might even enjoy yourself.”
What is she, my therapist now?
It’s hard to enjoy yourself when the weight of the world is on your shoulders.When you look at something new and all you can see is all the shit that could go wrong.
Leo on a stretcher.Flashing red lights.
She nudges my leg with hers, dragging me away from those terrible memories.“I tell you what.When you’re finished with whatever little householdy things you’re working on next door, let me know, and I’ll help you.”
“Help me what?”
“Find adventure.”
“There won’t be time for that.I’m only here for a few weeks.”
Her blue eyes sparkle in the fading sun.“Come on, Ethan.There’s always time for adventure.”
CHAPTEREIGHT
CHLOE
My teeth diginto my thumb as I pace from my sink to the window and back again, doing my best not to look outside.It’s my day off, and usually I’d be lounging in the hammock with the latest alien romance or spending the day on the beach, but instead, I’m wearing a hole in the linoleum.
I glance at the clock on the wall before checking my phone for the hundredth time.They should be here by now.What the heck is taking them so long?
The front door swings wide, and Willow and Lola burst into the living room.
Relief spills through my chest until I notice what Lola’s holding.
Where in the world did she get a freaking baseball bat?
