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“It doesn’t seem like you have a lot of fun at your job,” Alissa said softly.
Dane sipped his beer, looking out on the horizon. It was dark now, but the lights around the outdoor seating area lit up the startling green of his eyes. The table was small, so she was close enough to see the freckles across his cheekbones and nose. They made him look a little bit boyish in a way that was a nice contrast to his gruff attitude.
“It’s complicated,” he finally said, an edge to his voice. “I never expected this little town to be the place where I’d start my first sole-owned newspaper. It’s not exactly the center of the world.”
“It doesn’t have to be the center of the world to be worthwhile or exciting.” Alissa shrugged, looking out onto the horizon too. “There’s beauty to be found here, right? Look around. It’s special in its own way.”
She looked over her shoulder at all of the people gathered on the patio, laughing like old friends. This wasn’t something she’d ever see back in Denver, or any other city where she’d visited.
When she looked back at Dane, he was studying her, an inscrutable look in his eye.
“Yeah, sure,” he said, taking a swig of his drink. The edge in his voice had softened, just a touch.
CHAPTERTEN
“Morning!” the perky teenager behind the counter said to Dane when he walked into Tidal Wave Coffee Monday morning. “The regular?”
“Yes, please.”
He gave the barista exact change, plus tip. Even though he had gone to the same big coffee chain day after day back in New York and he knew that they knew him, none of the baristas there ever greeted him as a regular.
To his surprise, he was starting to like it. Just a little, though. He hadn’t tackled making small talk with them, but he was more comfortable with their attention and warmth than he was when he first moved to town.
The barista finished his latte and slid it across the bar. Dane thanked her again and took his coffee, plus a copy ofThe Outlet, to a table under a heat lamp at the corner of the outdoor patio.
He sipped his latte—good as always—and opened up the paper. Alissa’s article on the new surf shop was front page. Even though he had read it and edited the article, Dane reread it. Her words were even better in print. He wasn’t afraid to admit that, at least to himself. She was an amazing writer.
Dane reread some other articles, getting so absorbed in them that he was startled by Michael’s presence in front of him.
“Hey there,” Michael said, running a hand through his wavy dark hair, which was loose around his shoulders today.
“Morning.”
Michael sat down across from him with his coffee. This was still a little weird for him—having people come up to you in places like this. People in New York City ignored each other unless something dire was happening in front of them.
But Michael was treating him like he was a part of this town, not a guy from the big city who had just moved there. Dane appreciated it. As friendly as everyone was, sometimes he felt as if they were looking at him as Dane Taylor, the New Yorker with the newspaper instead of just Dane Taylor.
Alissa popped into Dane’s head against his will. She had been welcomed in like a local right away. Was it because of her warm attitude? Probably.
“I trust that latte’s still as good as ever?” Michael asked.
“It is. It never fails to wake me up.”
“Good.” Michael smiled. “The paper is selling well.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” And Dane was glad that Michael wasn’t just exaggerating. The sales numbers that Josie had put together showed that they didn’t have to worry about shutting down at all.
“The article on that surf shop opening reminded me of something.” Michael paused to drink his coffee. “I’d love for the newspaper to cover surfing events in the area. It would mean a lot. Some people don’t even know there’s surfing around here, much less events.”
“Of course. That sounds great.” Dane chuckled. “And no offense, but not a whole lot goes on here that qualifies as news, so I’d be happy to have something real to cover.”
“No offense taken.” Michael held up his hand. “Though to be fair, it seems like Alissa has done a great job at making news around here exciting. I read her articles and she did such a good job.”
Michael spoke about her like they were old friends, not like Alissa was someone who had come to town for a vacation and ended up getting a job.
“I agree,” Dane said. “She brings out the charm in the area and knows how to talk to people.”
“She does. One of the people she interviewed is my surf buddy and he had nothing but good things to say about her. And he’s usually not the kind of guy to be a talker in general. I almost want to ask her how she managed to get so much out of him,” Michael said with a chuckle. His phone buzzed in his pocket. “Ah, I should probably get going. You should come catch some waves with me one of these days.”
