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I frowned out the window as he headed toward the edge of town. “We’re not staying in Crescent Cove?”
“No. We’re going somewhere special.”
I gave him a side eye. “Crescent Cove is special.”
“There are things beyond the Cove, my ginger fairy.”
My belly flipped at him using the shortened version of the town name that few people used other than residents. I opened my mouth to dissuade him from using his nickname for me, but it just didn’t seem worth it at this point.
Not if I was sitting here next to him on a damn date.
Suddenly, the idea of things beyond Crescent Cove became a little more daunting. Because that was where my life was. Where I wanted to raise my child—our child. But it wasn’t exactly the best place for someone like Rory. It wasn’t a hub for musicians. Sure, Ian and Kellan were close by, but they were a little different.
They were in a band, not locked in to working with others. Not scheduling around musicians.
Scheduling around me.
“You’re thinking mighty loud.”
“Have you thought about what this means?”
“This?”
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“Us. Me and you. Even if you wanted to make this work.”
“If we do?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. But my life is here. Yours is so big, so much more than what I can offer you.” It nearly killed me to say it, but it was the truth. I only had an ice cream truck and a baby to offer him. Even if my truck took off, it would be a seasonal staple in town.
And the baby was going to change everything.
“I’ve never cared about anything enough to want roots. I got out of Ireland as soon as humanly possible. I’ve split my time between New York and Los Angeles for most of my career.”
I swallowed. “I understand.”
“You misunderstand, Ivy Rose. I was speaking in past tense. Now there’s a whole world I need to figure out. You and the baby are only part of that. You may have believed that my absence was all about running. I won’t lie, some of it was. But only because what was happening between us rocked me. It obliterated my foundation.”
I turned in my seat a little. “We’ve only known each other for a short time.”
“That’s the heart of it, isn’t it? Why do you think it well and truly fucked me up?”
His accent was so thick I almost couldn’t follow him. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, dammit.” He blew out a breath and pulled off the side of the road onto the wide shoulder. It also happened to be near one of the walking paths that led to the lake.
I gave him a startled glance. “Don’t we have reservations to get to?”
“Fuck the reservations.” He pushed open his door.
I looked over my shoulder at the road. “Okay then.” I opened my door and followed him to the stone wall at the far edge of the shoulder. When I got to him, I tugged on his shirt to keep him walking. “There’s a path this way.”
He frowned. “You make me crazy.”
“Feeling is mutual. Let’s take a walk. This conversation obviously shouldn’t take place in a restaurant.”
“So you can toss me into the sea?”
