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“You don’t. I promise.”
“So, do you want to tell me what this is all about?”
She dropped her arms and then bit her lip, a move I was quickly learning was common for her. “Well, it’s just that … I don’t want to be with a Marine.”
Understanding washed over me. The boots. That made sense. She’d been completely fine right up until that moment.
“Why not? Do you have a Marine in your past who did you wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. But you’re temporary, right? How long are you even in town?”
“I’ll be stationed in Beaufort for another two years.”
“I see. And do you even know where you’re going after that?”
I shook my head. “I won’t know for another year. Maybe more.”
“Exactly.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know, I can’t help but think we’re jumping the gun here. We just met. For all you know, we won’t even click, so this whole conversation will be irrelevant.”
It was complete bull. In my mind, we’d clicked within the first five minutes.
But still, there was something to be said about not worrying about forever on the first freaking date.
The look in Hattie’s eyes told me she felt the same way about the clicking part, which actually made me feel good, despite the rest of the conversation. At least I knew it wasn’t all in my head. Or one-sided. That would just be sad.
“Fine. Let’s enjoy the wedding then. If we don’t click, it will be easy to walk away.”
“And if we do?”
“You just have to promise me you won’t be too sad when I say I don’t want to see you again.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. “Wow.”
“Promise me.”
“Sure. I promise I won’t be too sad. Just as long as you promise you won’t regret it too much.”
Whoa. Who said that? Did Ireallyjust say that?
She gave me a begrudging smile, shaking her head. “See? This is a problem. We’re already clicking.”
“And I’m already sad.” My words were teasing, but there was a hint of truth to them.
And I couldn’t fathom why she wouldn’t want to give us a shot just because I’d eventually leave. It wasn’t like she couldn’t come with me if we meant that much to each other.
“Very funny,” she replied dryly, though her blue eyes held mine.
Wordlessly, I held my arm out for her again, and she only hesitated for a second before she took it. We stepped into the Post, and I took in the cramped space.
I’d dropped my mom off early so I could pick up Hattie without worrying about my mother being the third wheel. This whole thing may have been a little unorthodox, but to me, it was still a date.
I found my mom standing with the bride’s mom and gave her a wave. Her eyes brightened when she saw us, and she promptly excused herself to come over and say hi.
It took everything I had not to steer Hattie to the opposite side of the room. My mom had zero filter, and as much as I loved her, she tended to embarrass me every time she opened her mouth.
“Thatcher,” Mom said with a wide smile when she reached us, kissing my cheek. “Who do we have here?”
