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She couldn’t quite believe she was dating someone at all, and she hadn’t given much thought to her clothes in a while. She thought she always looked nice, but she’d found herself wanting more than that since she and Theo had started walking together a few weeks ago.
He’d taken her to dinner a few times now too, and sometimes they met at the activities here at the condo that were happening for people their age.
He was six feet tall, a widower with three children who all lived off-island, and retired from a career in engineering. He and his wife had lived in Maryland for a lot of their marriage, but they’d started vacationing in Five Island Cove about a decade ago. When she’d died six years ago, Theo had moved here permanently.
Kristen retrieved a bottle of water from her fridge. “Do you want one?”
“It’s pretty warm out there.”
She grabbed another one and turned to face him. He wore a pair of blue shorts that hung to his knee, and his white polo had an American flag stitched into it right above his heart. It couldn’t be more than an inch tall, and Kristen liked the understated nature of his patriotism.
“Ready for the balloon festival?” she asked, handing him the water.
He uncapped it, his dark blue eyes sparkling like fireworks themselves. “I suppose,” he said. “I’m more excited for the funnel cakes.”
She laughed with him, thinking that he was just like a little boy—always wanting the sweets. “I can’t believe you’ve never been,” she said.
“Not a people person,” he said. He’d told her that before, but Kristen didn’t really believe him. He’d charmed all of her girls. He showed up to every activity here in their community. He worked in the office sometimes, and that ensured he’d see and talk to people.
She gave him a side-eyed look and stepped outside. He pulled the door closed behind them. “How’s the inn coming?”
Kristen exhaled, trying to find the words. “It’s…not going as well as Clara would like.” That about summed it up. Kristen didn’t like talking ill of her daughter, though sometimes her thoughts wandered that way. Clara had a tendency to jump into things with both feet before testing the waters.
Not only that, but she was just as stubborn as Joel, and it would take an act of God before she’d admit defeat. In Kristen’s opinion, Friendship Inn couldn’t be restored, not to the level it had been previously, at least.
“She’s trying hard.”
“Did she get Will to agree to do the ferry service?” He opened the passenger door for her, and Kristen put one palm against his chest as she slid by. She did like talking to Theo. She enjoyed having a friend and partner to attend activities with. She loved walking the beach in the morning with him.
They didn’t go everyday, but often enough for her to feel connected to him. They’d be gone all day today, first to Bell Island for their balloon festival and fair at the Kaleidoscope Café, and then to Robin’s for a backyard barbecue and fireworks. The girls had gone in together on a huge bin of fireworks, and Kristen didn’t expect to be home until nearly midnight.
Theo pressed in closer to her, and Kristen looked up at him. He hadn’t kissed her yet, and she honestly felt too old to be kissing at all. He smiled at her. “I ran and got you some breakfast.”
Her heart pounded, and it took a moment for her ears to register and make sense of what he’d said. “You did?”
“It’s one of those sausage and egg rolls you were talking about.”
“Wonderful.” She sat in the passenger seat and let him close the door behind her. She watched him round the SUV, wondering why she thought he’d kiss her in broad daylight, in the parking lot. That wasn’t terribly romantic, was it?
“You don’t need romantic at all,” she muttered under her breath. Eloise, Kelli, and Jean had taken her to lunch a few days ago, and they’d put the idea in her head about how “romantic” it was for Kristen to be dating Theo. There had been sighing, along with laughter, good conversation, and excellent food.
Some of the new restaurants going in on Five Island Cove were fantastic, but they’d gone back to Mort’s, one of their oldest, most favorite joints. Nothing could beat good soft-shell crab and good friends, and Kristen was lucky enough to have access to both.
Theo got behind the wheel, and the trip to Bell Island was easy and quick. A ferry ride. A quick RideShare to the festival, and before Kristen knew it, he’d taken her hand again, mostly to keep from getting separated.
She’d lived in Five Island Cove for her entire life, and it had been a quiet affair. Everyone knew the Shields ran the lighthouse, as they had for decades. Generations. She felt eyes landing on her and Theo, and she kept tilting her head left and right to avoid eye contact.
She could look at the balloons that had lifted into the sky that way, and she pointed to one and said, “There’s the watermelon I told you about.”
Theo chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “I like that one.” He pointed out a beehive, which she’d never seen before, and they wandered around what was usually a sandy area. Booths had been set up, and plenty of people had gotten up early to watch the balloon launch and then spend the day at the festival.
Since they’d gone walking first, they’d missed the launch. Kristen didn’t care. She wasn’t hungry, thanks to the delicious breakfast roll Theo had gotten her, but when the bands started playing at noon, Theo leaned closer to her and asked, “Can we get that funnel cake now?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. They had to walk the length of the beach again to do so, and they’d just reached the stand when someone called her name.
She recognized the voice and turned toward it. “AJ,” she said. She came closer with her step-daughter, Lisa, at her side. On Lisa’s other side walked her dad, Matt Hymas. Kristen didn’t see him often, because he ran the golf course on Diamond Island. They had an extension on Rocky Ridge too, and the job definitely kept him busy.
He carried Asher in his arms, and the baby flailed as Kristen smiled at him and said, “Hello, baby. Did you see the balloons?”
