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“See you tomorrow,” I tell Charlotte and Caroline, waving as she starts the car and starts to back out of the drive.
Charlotte grins, waving back at me as they drive off and I grin, waving back until the car disappears from view.
I head back inside, cleaning up the cabin and locking it down before I head back into town myself. I pass by the Virgin Street Diner, smiling to myself as I think about how different everything feels now that I’m back in town.
I think things are finally starting to go my way.
ChapterSeven
Caroline
I hadn’t even thought about getting a babysitter for tonight, so I’m lucky that Gracie stopped into the diner today for lunch and volunteered to watch Charlotte for me tonight. She’s the town florist and had promised that closing a little early wouldn’t be a problem.
I never really dated much growing up, and I’m so used to hanging out with Charlotte that I hadn’t thought about not taking her on our date, but I agreed with Heath that I needed some ‘me time’, so taking her with us would have defeated the purpose.
“So, she can have macaroni and cheese or I left some money on the kitchen counter if you want to order a pizza or something,” I tell Gracie as I grab my purse from the hook by the door.
“We’ll be fine!” Gracie promises, her ever-present smile on her face. “Won’t we, Charlotte?”
“Yeah!” Charlotte yells and the dogs start barking with her.
Heath knocks on the door a second later and I have to sidestep the dogs to answer it.
“Hey,” I greet him, blushing slightly as he passes me a bouquet of flowers that I’m sure he bought from Gracie earlier today.
“Hey,” he says, handing me the flowers and grabbing Remy and Rory before the dogs can make it out the door.
“Alright, be good, bunny. I’ll be back in a little bit,” I promise as I scoop down and grab Charlotte.
She giggles as I hug her, peppering her face with kisses.
“Have fun you two!” Gracie says, waving as she closes the door behind us.
“Ready?” Heath asks, holding his hand out to me and I smile, slipping my hand into his as he leads me over to his truck.
He helps me up and I breathe in deep. His truck smells just like him. Outdoorsy with just a hint of some kind of cologne. It drives me wild.
He buckles up and we start down the quiet streets of Cherry Falls. He heads toward Kissme Bay and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“What?” he asks with a low laugh, one that rumbles along my skin.
“Just surprised that we weren’t staying in Cherry Falls.”
“Where would we go? The diner for dinner?” he asks with another laugh and I join him.
Cherry Falls is pretty small and the only real date options are the Fireside Bar and Grill, Virgin Street Diner, or the Cherry on Top Ice Cream Parlor.
I try to relax as we head out of town but I’m still a bundle of nerves. Part of me is still worried about leaving Charlotte for the first time that wasn’t school. I know Gracie has it covered, though. She’s awesome with kids and I wonder when she’ll find someone and settle down.
The bigger part of me is worried that I’m going to embarrass myself and will never be able to show my face around Heath again.
It doesn’t take long to reach Kissme Bay since it’s the next town over. Heath slows as we enter the town and I look out the window, taking in the different storefronts.
I’ve haven’t been to Kissme Bay before but it’s been on my list of places to take Charlotte for a while.
“Mini golf!” I say excitedly as we drive past a place called Dimpled Balls.
“Want to play?” Heath asks and I nod, but he’s already pulling into the parking lot.
