If for Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,25
and fries,” she said.
He glanced at her. “You don’t have to do that.”
Her forehead puckered. “Do what?”
“I have money to take you to a real restaurant.” He didn’t like feeling this way, like he wasn’t good enough. Maybe this was a bad idea.
She groaned. “Maybe I’m tired of ‘real’ restaurants,” she said.
He watched her as she looked away.
“I don’t want to be a stuffy little rich girl anymore, okay?”
He slid onto the bench next to her.
She steeled her jaw as she stared out in front of her. A toddler ran by, naked, his mom chasing him, waving a tiny bathing suit over her head.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t have a great day.”
He tried not to stare at her, but she had him in a sort of trance. Her jaw twitched, only slightly and barely noticeable, and in that moment he realized that just because a person had money, that didn’t automatically mean their life was easy.
“You know what?” he said. “If you’re looking to escape your world for the night, I think I can help.”
He reached over and took one of her folded hands in his. She stared at his hand wrapped around hers but didn’t pull away. He decided he liked the way her skin felt and hoped he could hold on to her hand for the rest of the night.
He stood, tugged her to her feet, and planted himself directly in front of her, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you, do you think you can forget about it for a couple of hours?”
She shrugged softly. “You don’t know my mother.” The wind pulled a strand of hair from her braid, and without thinking, he reached out and tucked it behind her ear. She didn’t shrink under his touch, but her breath caught and she looked away.
In that moment, he knew Isabelle was special. She was precious—untouched. He’d be surprised if she’d ever had a boyfriend or even kissed anyone. He wouldn’t take advantage of that. He was more experienced, sure, but that meant he knew the difference between a fling and something real.
He didn’t need another moment with her to know this could be something real.
And as they walked away from Children’s Beach, excitement welled up inside him at the prospect of discovering Isabelle for himself.
When JD didn’t let go of her hand, Isabelle felt her stomach flip-flop, and she wondered if this was what it felt like to have a boyfriend. No wonder her friends acted so goofy about boys they liked. Isabelle had never understood before because she’d never found a boy who looked at her the way JD did.
The fight with her mother that afternoon might as well have been her life stuck on repeat. She never seemed to live up to her mom’s standards. Why it still bothered her so much was something of a mystery.
Mom wanted her to be the perfect high society daughter, and Isabelle wanted to be herself. She didn’t like the way her parents and their friends treated people, and she didn’t want to put on an Eliza-approved dress and go to a luncheon the following day. Her mother didn’t understand why not.
And Isabelle hadn’t figured out how to explain herself without everything turning into a giant argument, which was exactly what had happened on the way out the door to meet JD.
The effects of that still hung around now. She hadn’t meant to blurt out anything about her family, but it was out, and he didn’t seem to mind.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He met her eyes and grinned, looking a bit like a kid with a secret.
They walked down Beach Street, over to Water Street, and finally landed on Main, then turned to find themselves standing in front of Nantucket Pharmacy, an old-school soda fountain with sandwiches, hot dogs, milk shakes, and everything her mother forbade her to eat.
“You ever been here?” he asked.
She grinned. “Once, for an egg cream.”
“And?”
“It was amazing.”
“Then let’s get that.”
“And a grilled cheese?” she asked.
“Definitely.”
They went inside and stood in the line leading to the counter, still holding hands like two people who’d known each other for months, not hours.
They stepped forward and JD ordered, leaving Isabelle to glance around the space, suddenly aware that at any moment she could be spotted by someone who knew her parents. She pulled her hand from JD’s, and he stopped midsentence to look at her.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded and smiled.
The girl behind the counter looked at him, clearly annoyed