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He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing the top of her hat. “I need to get the cooler from the car. Grab us a patch of grass.”
* * *
Elizabeth watched him jog away,and when he returned a few moments later, she helped him spread out the blanket. Her coworkers were staring again, so she purposely chose a spot a little removed so they could have some privacy. Once seated, Will opened the cooler and handed her a lobster roll.
“I hope this is okay. There’s a restaurant near my house that supposedly makes the best on the Cape. I couldn't resist.”
“I didn’t know what to expect, but this is a treat.”
“Did you think I'd show up with peanut butter sandwiches?”
She shrugged and smiled. “That would have been fine too.”
They were quiet as they ate, sitting shoulder to shoulder. She started to ask him about his day, but when she turned to him, she was completely transfixed by a tiny dollop of mayonnaise at the corner of his mouth.
He frowned. “You’re staring again. You're going to give me a complex about eating with you.”
She grinned and bit her lip. “Sorry, you just–you have…a little…right there.”
“Oh great, this time I reallydohave food stuck to my face.” He swiped at his mouth with a napkin. “Better?”
“Mm. Better,” she echoed, still staring at his lips.
He leaned in and kissed her, and as much as she would have liked to continue, she didn't want to provide a show for her coworkers. She reluctantly pulled away, and he grinned.
“Mm.That'sbetter.”
Conversation flowed easily while they finished eating, and when Will was done, he stretched out on the blanket and closed his eyes.
“I’m stuffed. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”
She jumped to her feet and held out her hand. “That’s why I only ate half of mine. Come on, get up.”
He took hold of her hand and stood, and she led him down the lane, away from the ball field.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked.
“To see the Bell Tower. It's not very big, and we can't go inside, but there's a nice park with a view of the harbor and the houseboats. I thought you might like to see it.”
When he opened the high wooden gate that marked the entrance to the park, it groaned noisily. It was a small area but well taken care of, bordered on three sides by high hedges. The fourth side was lined with a steel railing that ran along the wall of the harbor. Beautiful flower gardens were in bloom all around them, and massive trees stood on either side of the short stone tower.
The sun had dropped lower in the sky, and as they walked around she told him stories about when she and her friends used to come here to try and figure out ways to scale the tower and get inside through the openings in the walls, up at the top.
“No one thought to bring a ladder?” he asked.
She sighed dramatically. “Where’s your sense of adventure? A ladder would have been entirely too easy.”
“Mm-hmm. And what else happened in this park?”
She laughed. “Oh,lotsof things happened in this park...” She paused and looked at him coyly. “Or so I've been told.”
He chuckled. “What happens at the park stays at the park?”
“Something like that. It's very private, but the gate squeaks, as you heard. It’s like an alarm, warning anyone inside that they’re about to be disturbed...or caught, depending on what’s happening.”
She walked around to the side of the tower that faced the harbor, and leaned back against it to admire the view. She nodded toward the water. “Do you see the houseboats?”
“Mm-hmm.”
