Page 54 of Worth the Trip

“It was gloating.”

“Semantics.”

She took another bite. “It’s good.”

“Respectable?”

“Better than respectable.”

“Say it right.”

“It’s excellent.”

I nodded. “Appreciate your integrity.”

“You are aggravating.”

“You keep rewarding the behavior.”

We shared the rest slowly while conversation wandered wherever it wanted. Childhood summers. Bad recipes. Books we’d quit halfway through because life was too short to keep negotiating with an author who had lost us. Somewhere in the middle, Nolani told me she reread favorites when life got heavy because knowing how something ended allowed her to enjoy the middle differently.

I filed that away.

By the time the check came, most of the lunch crowd had cleared out.

Nolani reached for her purse.

I put my card over the bill. “I asked you to lunch.”

“And I accepted lunch, not financial custody.”

I almost laughed. “Paying for your snapper ain’t financial custody.”

“I can pay my half.”

“I know.” She waited. I met her eyes. “Capability don’t cancel consideration, Nolani. I know you can pay. I still want to.”

Her hand stayed on the purse for another second before she released it.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

And we moved on.

No debate to establish she was independent. I already knew that. No victory lap because she let me pay. She’d accepted something I offered.

That was it.

I liked how simple it could be when nobody turned care into a power struggle.

We left Willow Point Bistro and followed the waterfront without either of us officially suggesting an extension to lunch. Neither of us headed toward a parking lot either, so I considered continued participation established.

The afternoon had cooled enough for the breeze to actually help. Dockhands called across slips, boats eased back into the marina, and gulls circled overhead like they had outstanding invoices to collect.

A bookseller had set up paperbacks and handmade journals beneath a striped canopy near the pier. Nolani changed direction without breaking conversation and immediately started running her fingers over embossed covers.

I followed.