Page 6 of Unspoken Love

Faye offered a polite smile, clearly reading the moment for what it was.

“Cute,” Vanessa said, clearly not referring to the food. Her attention swung back to Nate. “We should catch up sometime. I’ve been thinking about you lately.”

“Have you?” he said dryly.

Vanessa winked. “You know where to find me.” She gave Faye another once-over before strutting away toward the bar.

Nate let out a low breath and ran a hand down his face.

Faye sipped her water calmly. “So, that was…”

“Vanessa,” Nate said with a grimace. “We dated last year. It didn’t end well.”

Faye arched a brow but stayed quiet.

“She cheated,” he added flatly. “Turns out I wasn’t the only one getting flirty little visits.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Small-town perks—you get to relive all your bad decisions every few weeks when you run into them buying oat milk or waving at you from across the post office.” He gave Vanessa a sideways glance and noticed she was hanging on someone else at the bar, as if she’d forgotten that she’d just offered herself to him moments before. “Sorry you had to witness that.”

“I’ve had worse dinner interruptions,” she said, flashing a dry smile. “One time, my boyfriend’s mother sat down at our table mid-date and told me I wasn’t good enough for him. That Brian needed a woman that was”—she shifted slightly—“complete.”

His eyes widened as his anger grew. “Okay, you win.”

They shared a laugh, the tension easing as quickly as it had built. The rest of their conversation was filled with terrible stories about relationships and bad situations. Somehow, laughing with someone else about it made it all seem so small.

Later, he pulled into the driveway beside the lighthouse and parked next to her car. The light from the lighthouse flashed across the sky every so often, briefly lighting the darkness around them.

As he walked Faye up to the porch, he could hear the faint sound of waves crashing far below.

“Thanks for dinner,” she said, brushing a windblown strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

“Anytime.” He gave her a mock-serious look. “Five a.m., remember.”

She nodded dramatically. “The bacon burger was well worth whatever you can throw at me in the morning.”

“I’ll keep you accountable. It’s a brother-in-law’s duty.” He laughed.

“Technically, I don’t think that is how it works,” she teased. “You’re my brother’s brother-in-law.” She nudged him on the arm.

“Right, well,” He grinned and took a step back toward his truck, suddenly feeling stupid. “See you at sunrise.”

Faye nodded, still smiling as she unlocked the door and slipped inside. He waited a beat, watching the lights turn on in the windows, then headed back toward his truck.

The drive to the cabin he was renting along the beach was short.

He replayed the evening in his head—not just the laughs or what he considered casual flirting, but the ease of it all. How simple it had been to just be himself. No charming persona. No need to perform. He hadn’t tried to impress her. He hadn’t even thought about it.

And she’d still smiled. Still laughed at his dumb jokes and stories. She had still leaned in like she actually was listening and that she wanted to be there.

For the first time in, well, ever, really, dinner with a woman hadn’t left him drained or second-guessing everything he had said.

It had left him… full. Not just from the burger but something else. Something… more real.

And as he pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine, one thought stayed with him.

He liked who he was around Faye.