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He scoffed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Yup, she was a gift, all right. The realization prompted him to ask the question he’d been toying around with all weekend. “That reminds me, I’ve come up with an idea for our next excursion.”
“Let me guess.” She tapped her chin, feigning a look of deep contemplation. “Parasailing off the back of your boat.”
“No, although that’s an interesting idea.”
“Surfing lessons in twenty-foot barrel waves.”
“First of all, we don’t have twenty-foot waves around here. And second, I’m not a great surfer.”
Molly pretended to look shocked. “What? There’s something beach-related that the mighty Grant Torres can’t do?”
“Hold up a second.” Grant held up his hand. “I said I’m not great at it. I never said I couldn’t do it.”
Molly let out a sigh, her shoulders sagging as if she was thoroughly disappointed. “Since we can’t go surfing, what’s your next proposed activity?”
“Be my date to my sister’s wedding.” As soon as the words left his mouth, a flurry of nerves scurried through him like a high school freshman who’d just asked the most beautiful senior out on a date, which he wasn’t expecting. They were friends—he’d even venture to say good friends—and they did things together all the time.
But the truth was, this ask felt different. It felt bigger. He wasn’t asking her to hang out with him on his boat or go to a turtle conference. He was asking her to stand by his side at the most significant event he would attend all year. And he was asking her because there was no one he’d rather have with him than her.
Molly hesitated more than a few beats longer than he felt was normal. “Oh. I, um…” An expression flashed across her face. He didn’t know quite how to describe it, but it was the same one she’d had when she’d boarded his boat for the first time, and then again when she’d stood at the base of the lighthouse. It was vulnerable and hesitant and determined and strong all rolled into one. And he got it. He tried to avoid relationships too. There was way too much risk with not enough reward. But this…this was different. This felt right.
“The thing is—” He started to dive a little deeper into his feelings, but before he could get out anything else, the entire world instantly lit up like someone had suddenly transported them to the surface of the sun. The sudden brightness against the unusually dark night was shocking. Disoriented, he looked up, drawing his attention away from Molly as he searched for the source of the light. “What in the world?”
The floodlight over the dock gleamed with the intensity of a supernova. He’d never liked that light. It’d been installed many, many years ago for the rare occasions they needed to do something with a boat or at the dock at night. They used it so infrequently, he’d often forgotten it was there.
“Good grief, that’s bright.” Molly shielded her eyes with her hand.
Grant couldn’t have agreed more. He jumped out of his chair, squinting against the light, to look for the off switch. Most of the time the floodlight stayed on manual mode, which allowed it to remain off until they needed it. But when the power was out for extended periods of time, it always reverted to its default setting. Which apparently was to light up the night with the vigor of the sun. “I guess the good news is the electricity’s back on.”
The bad news was that the light changed everything. Whatever magic had been hovering somewhere between the glow of the candlelight and the twinkling stars had vanished. What had seemed like a cozy dinner spot was now an old dock littered with storm debris and a beat-up card table. And where romance had once been swirling now sat a friend. A friend, he reminded himself, who would disappear from his life in a matter of weeks.
He found the manual switch for the floodlight and cut it off, making a mental note to reprogram the settings later. “Sorry about that.” He returned to his seat, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. “Where were we?”
“Something about your sister’s wedding.”
“Right.” He picked up his fork to finish off his dinner, which didn’t seem quite as flavorful as before. “I was saying, for your next adventure, would you care to join me as my non-date plus-one to my sister’s wedding? If you’re up for it, of course.”
A pang of regret stabbed at him, but he disregarded it. It might not have been the question he’d wanted to ask, but it was the right question. Since she was leaving soon, it was safer this way. Less chance for either of them to get hurt. With the limited time they had left, the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the great thing they had going with a bunch of complicated relationship titles.
“If I’m up for it, huh?” Almost instantly, the hesitation he’d seen creep up a moment ago faded away, and her playful grin returned.
“Not that it’s much of a decision. For starters, I’ll be there, which could be enough enticement on its own. Plus, you’ll already know most of the people.”
“And there will be cake,” Molly added.
“Exactly. And since I helped pick it out, it’s guaranteed to be great.”
“Cake and your company. How can I say no to that?” she joked.
“You can’t.” He switched to a more serious tone. “Claire would love for you to be there, and I’d be honored to have you accompany me. What do you say?”
“I’d love to.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You’re going with him tohis sister’s wedding, but it’s not a date?” Hadley asked as she laid on Molly’s bed, watching her get ready for Claire’s wedding.
“Yup.” Molly held up two dresses. “Which one?”
