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“That’s a good point,” Caitlin said. “I’ve always thought of my big plans for life as stretching out of my comfort zone when in reality, they’re very much within it.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, the porch swing rocking them back and forth
“Josie has this quote on her desk that says, ‘life begins outside of your comfort zone’.” Alissa sipped her wine. “And it’s true. Like with Dane, especially. Coming here was totally not a thing he would have done in normal circumstances, so that was a leap, but ever since we started working on the idea for the magazine, he’s come alive. It’s been great. I’m sure the same thing is waiting for you after you talk to James.”
Caitlin swallowed. “I hope so. I’m going to go call James now and get ready to go home.”
“Good. I’m proud of you, Caitlin.” Alissa squeezed her sister’s hand again.
“Thanks.” Caitlin pulled Alissa into a hug. “I promise I’ll be back for your book signing. And maybe I’ll be a different person then.”
“I know you will be. Everything will be okay.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Alissa unraveled her scarf as she walked into The Crab, looking around for Dane. The combination of meeting with him and eating delicious food had propelled her throughout her day.
Her nerves and her excitement mingled inside of her, one big ball of energy that she could hardly suppress. This meet-up was definitely a date, but Dane also told her he had some concrete ideas for the magazine that he wanted to show her. They had been throwing ideas around for a while, but Dane had taken the most potent ones and consolidated them into what he was going to show her tonight.
Alissa glanced around The Crab and spotted Dane at a table by himself in the corner, his tablet in front of him. She called his name and he looked up, his face lighting up. Dane’s smile brightened Alissa from the inside out. He was even more handsome like this, his expression warm and open.
“Hey,” Alissa said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Have you ordered yet?”
“No, I was waiting for you. Let’s go.”
They put their coats down at the table Dane had chosen and went up to the front, their fingers clasped together. Hannah was at the register, and she grinned from ear to ear when she saw them together.
“Hey, guys!” Hannah said. “What can I get for you?”
Alissa looked to Dane, who gestured for her to go first. At this point, she had tried everything on the menu, and it was all equally good. Even the special sounded good, but she couldn’t decide. She was so excited about getting down to work that she said, “Can you surprise me?”
“Surprise you?” Hannah’s hand hovered over the register’s touch screen. “With anything on the menu? Or even something on the fly?”
“Sure, why not?” Alissa looked to Dane. “I’ve never had anything that was less than amazing, so I know I won’t be disappointed.”
“Dad is going to have fun with your order.” Hannah tapped on the screen, laughing. “What about you, Dane?”
“You know what? Surprise me too,” Dane said.
“All right, then.” Hannah took their drink orders as well and told them the total. After some back and forth about who should pay, Dane finally passed his card over to Hannah. “I’ll have your mystery orders right out to you!”
Dane and Alissa went back to their table.
“I’d say I’m shocked that you asked to be surprised too, but it feels like you’ve been embracing the unexpected,” Alissa said, sitting down.
“I am. But also, you’re right—everything here is delicious and I might as well try something new.” He opened the cover on his tablet and woke it up. “Plus this plan I have is really ambitious, so I’m already taking leaps in other areas.”
“I’m excited to see what you’ve put together.” Alissa rested her forearms on the table and leaned forward. “I’ve been so nervous about it all day.”
“Nervous?” Dane glanced up at her, one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Should I be nervous that you’re nervous?””
“No, not at all! It’s just a huge deal and I’m so excited, but I’m not sure of what to be excited about.” Alissa bit her bottom lip. “Is that silly? And does it make sense?”
“Sort of. I’m just glad you’re excited.” He tapped around on his screen and turned it so they could both do it. “I got a little bit overeager and put together a PowerPoint late last night.”
“Ah, so that’s why you came into the office this morning holding one hot coffee and one iced.” Alissa nudged him with her knee.
“Yup. I’m not sure how I managed to pull all-nighters back in the early days of my career. Then again, it’s been a little over ten years.” Dane opened up his first slide. “Here we go. We threw around a lot of titles, but one really stuck with me—Coastal Views.”
