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When their server left, Shaye grinned.
“Still not a margarita kind of guy? You mentioned yesterday that they weren’t your thing.”
“They’re not. I’ve tried them, though.”
“So it’s a taste thing and not because you don’t think they’re macho?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I don’t worry about having my manhood questioned.”
She suspected that was true. Lawson was the kind of guy who wouldn’t worry about that sort of thing.
She looked around. “This is nice. The weather is perfect.”
“It gets cool when the sun goes down, but we’re only a couple of weeks after the summer solstice, so sunset isn’t until nine.”
“That’s crazy.”
“It is. Unfortunately, in the winter, it’s dark around four in the afternoon. That’s what it’s like here in north country.”
She laughed. “Is that what we call it?”
“Sometimes.”
Their drinks arrived, along with the chips and guacamole. He picked up his beer and held out his glass. “Thank you for staying in Wishing Tree.”
She touched her glass to his. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”
She took a sip. The drink was perfect—not too sweet with a little bite from the tequila. “This is good.”
“I’m glad.” He reached for a chip, then waved it. “You have to admire the commitment to the color.”
“They are seriously red and green.” She took a red one and dipped it in the guacamole, then sighed. “That is so good.”
“Told you.”
“Yes, you did.”
He sampled as well, then looked at her. “So what’s waiting for you in Seattle?”
“Not a specific thing,” she admitted, not sure how to explain. “Once I knew I couldn’t stay in Iowa, I had to figure out where to move. My parents never had a lot of money, so a vacation that involved travel was rare. We drove out here one summer because my dad always wanted to see the Pacific Northwest. He’d done tons of research, and everything was planned out so perfectly.” She smiled at the memories. “We had the best time. When I was looking for where to go, Seattle seemed an obvious choice.”
He nodded. “I get that. You’d feel connected to your folks. That makes sense.”
“I’m not sure it does, but I appreciate the support.”
They smiled at each other. Their server came by and told them about the specials. Shaye chose the taco plate with three kinds of tacos, while Lawson ordered a combo plate.
When they were alone again, he leaned toward her. “Why move now?”
A reasonable question. Why this month and not six months ago? As she wasn’t a very good liar, her choices were limited. She could either not answer the question or tell him the truth.
Lawson lightly touched her hand. “Sorry. I’m getting too personal. You don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s okay.” She faked a smile. “Confession is good for the soul, right?” She drew in a breath. “After my mom died, I was kind of a wreck. I couldn’t stop crying, I couldn’t deal with managing her estate. I wasn’t functional. And in the middle of that, I met a guy.”
Lawson sipped his beer. “I already don’t like him.”
“You and me both. Anyway, at first he was great, helping me figure out what I needed to do. Things progressed. We were involved, but the relationship didn’t seem to be going anywhere, which was about all I could handle then. One night about four months ago, he said he wanted to move to LA. He thought he could make it as an actor and did I want to come with him.”
