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Oliver hid a grin as he shook his head. His youngest was a firecracker for sure and he loved her spirit. He just hoped he was up to the challenge of helping her channel the passion and determination into something productive and safe. “I’m sure it will indeed be badass.” He hadn’t seen the design yet, but Carly’s store floats were always the best ones in the parade. She poured her heart into everything she did and it showed.
“Where is Carly, anyway? I tried texting her a few times about an idea I had for teaching Sealena School next week, but she hasn’t responded,” Tess said, gathering the discarded ends of wrapping paper and ribbon.
So, she was ignoring her phone. That didn’t mean anything other than she was being polite. Still, he couldn’t stop the image of her and Sebastian gazing longingly at one another over a shared milkshake with two straws from appearing in his mind. Apparently, his idea of modern dating looked like something out of an Archie comic.
He sighed. “Ah... I think she had a business dinner.”
“With that Sebastian guy?” Tess asked, wrinkling her nose.
He immediately felt justified in his own dislike of the guy. Tess had an impeccably accurate sense about people. “Yeah. He’s the new tourism manager and they are going to be working together.”
“He wears pants that are too short and no socks with his dress shoes,” Tess said.
Oliver hid a grin. “You met him?”
“He was leaving the store when I arrived for Sealena School today,” Tess said.
“Other than his questionable fashion sense, what did you think?”
Tess thought for a moment. “Well, in fairness, he was carrying a lot of books about the community and Carly seemed different...”
His gut twisted. “Different? Different how?”
Tess shrugged. “Happier or something. I don’t know.”
Happier or something. Carly deserved to be happier or something, so why did that make Oliver definitely not happier...or something?
CHAPTER FIVE
SHEWASFORGETTINGSOMETHING.
The next morning, as Carly hurried through the restocking and store opening procedures, the nagging feeling that she’d forgotten to do something important weighed on her.
All the new stock was brought out and displayed. She’d placed a new order for all of the items they were getting low on. She’d Windexed all the tourist fingerprints from all the glass display cases... She scanned the store. Then, spotting the bag from the diner with her breakfast in it from the day before, she sighed.
That must be it. She’d forgotten to eat her bacon-and-egg sandwich with double bacon. It probably wasn’t the best idea to eat it now after it’d sat out all day. She picked it up and opened it. She took the sandwich out and sniffed. Then gagged.
Nope. Can’t eat that.
She tossed it back into the bag and noticed writing on the back of the receipt. Taking it out, she read the note in Oliver’s handwriting.
Two mai tais on the beach sounds perfect right about now...
Still dreaming of running away. She smiled and sighed simultaneously.
This, they could do. This game of make-believe. Dreaming of a vacation they’d never take and hiding behind texts and diner receipt messages to talk about the impossible possibility. In person, they never talked about things like this. They never flirted or joked or toyed with the idea of doing something crazy together—like running away to a secluded beach, abandoning their responsibilities, forgetting the past, enjoying the moment together.
Only from behind the security of messages did Oliver ever go along with her playful teasing that hid a secret lingering hope...
Pulling out her cell phone, she texted:
I may need more than one.
Knowing he’d understand.
That was the thing. They did understand one another. Without having to say it, he understood she’d be there for him in any capacity he needed and she knew without him saying it that he’d only ever need her friendship.
Some days, she wished for less understanding. With less understanding, there could be a harmless mistake, like an ill-timed, impulsive kiss or a touching of hands... But the way their relationship stood, there was no room to fantasize in real life. Only in messages.
