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“Not tonight,” she said.
He waited while the waiter took their plates. He looked into her eyes, stirring her affection despite her train of thought. There had never been anyone else for her but Aidan.
“Are you sure? What about lemon gelato? It’s your favorite.”
He can remember my favorite dessert but not understand how I feel about his infidelity.
Did he have any idea how much he’d hurt her? He was sorry, and repentant, but was that all? Would he have felt as she did if the situation had been reversed, if she’d been unfaithful?
There was an awkward moment after he convinced her to order dessert. Even though there was a lot going on inside her, she couldn’t seem to think of anything to say. At least, anything that wouldn’t lead to what was really uppermost in her mind.
They were supposed to be on a date, but it didn’t feel that way. It felt more like being suspended in a bad dream, unable to wake up. Every time she tried to rein in her thoughts, her mind circled the pain of the past few weeks.
Aidan watched her, a pleading look in his eyes. “Grace, I would give everything I have if you would come home with me this evening. I love you, and I miss you in a way I’ve never missed anyone in my life.” He smoothed his hand over his hair, a sign he was nervous. “I’m well aware that we have issues to work out, but it’s lonely without you. I miss our early morning talks. It’s hard to get up and head out to work without saying one word to you.” He blinked rapidly. “Do you suppose we could go for a walk, somewhere more private so we can talk?”
She wanted that more than anything. “It’s impossible the way it is,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“We can’t ignore or gloss over what’s going on between us.”
“Let’s drive out to Foley Beach and watch the waves. We always loved doing that,” he said.
His suggestion called to mind the days when they had no money and went to the ice cream shop near the pier. More bittersweet memories. Still, a walk on the beach would be pleasant and distracting. “Why not?”
“Will you let me drive?” he asked.
“Why would you want to drive my car? Aren’t you the one who claims that it drives like a grocery cart?” she asked, slipping easily into their teasing banter.
“I’m doing my good deed for the day by saving all the oncoming traffic from my wife, the centerline hugger.”
“While Mario Andretti, here, thinks that the speed limit is for turtles,” she said, laughing for the first time this evening. It freed her.
He shifted in his chair, his smile warm, his gaze intense. “You look gorgeous,” he said. “I love the sound of your laughter…the way your nose crinkles when you grin.”
I love you was on her lips, but she held back. Her laughter was one of the first things he’d complimented her on when they’d started dating, and something he never failed to remark on. Funny, how he’d always been able to make her laugh. And she’d always said she loved him when he did; a habit honed from years of loving the same man.
They arranged to take their desserts and coffee with them, then headed out onto the highway to the beach, the windows down, the air ripe with scents of tidal water and muddy inlets. The street leading to the beach was lined with shops selling trinkets, and restaurants with patrons spilling onto the sidewalk.
“I love this town,” Aidan said as he pulled into the parking lot next to the pier, searching for a space.
“It’s certainly busy tonight,” Grace said as she watched him maneuver her car into a narrow parking place.
“Do you want to take our desserts out to the boardwalk or eat here?” he asked, turning off the engine.
