Until Then (Cape Harbor #2) - Heidi McLaughlin Page 0,89

you get back to your apartment.”

“So, what you’re saying is, I should move?”

“I’m not saying anything.” He went back to the menu, effectively ending their conversation. Since she’d unloaded everything earlier, he’d been a bit standoffish, and she didn’t like it. He wasn’t acting like himself.

“What’s good?”

“Well, I imagine everything is. This place has a five-star rating, but I’ve only ever had their steak. It’s slow cooked, aged, and all those other fancy buzzwords restaurants like to throw around to make you think you’re getting the absolute best cut of meat possible. Plus, it’s good. Like really, really good. So, when I come out here, it’s always what I order.”

“How often do you come out here?”

“A couple times a year. I normally walk on the ferry.”

“When was the last time?”

He took his eyes off the menu for a brief second, looked at her and then back at the listing. If he only ever ordered the steak, why was he looking? “This past summer. I came out here for a few days.”

She knew precisely when too. Theo was staying with her at the Driftwood Inn, and Graham was conveniently absent that weekend. Rennie looked for him, wanted to touch base, but he was gone, and his bartender wouldn’t tell her where he was. Bowie didn’t know either. She wanted to know why he’d escaped to this island when she and Theo came to town, assuming it was because of them. What did this place do for him, or was there some memory here she wasn’t aware of? The latter she wanted to doubt, but there was a long period of time when they hadn’t spoken. What had happened in those fifteen years?

The waiter came to the table, set two glasses of water down, and introduced himself as Mike. He told them the specials, all of which made Rennie’s mouth water. Afterward, he took their drink orders—vodka and tonic for her, and a local IPA for Graham.

“What’s her name?” Rennie asked as soon as Mike left.

“Who?” Graham picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip.

“The woman who introduced you to this place. There has to be a story behind it.”

Graham fiddled with the glass, and his eyes wandered everywhere but to Rennie. His lips went into a thin line, and it looked as if he was biting the inside of his cheek.

“She must’ve been some woman.”

He smiled or smirked; she couldn’t be sure. Graham sat up straight and leaned slightly toward Rennie. “It’s tough to date in Cape Harbor. I either grew up with them, they’re about ten years younger than me, or they know so much about Grady that they think I’m the same way.”

“So, you came here to look for women?”

“No,” he said. “I came here because I got sick of people telling me how sorry they were about Austin and Grady. Sure, I may have met a few women, but none of them ever became more than a one-night or weekend thing.”

“Graham, are you seriously telling me you haven’t had a real relationship since you moved back?”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

Rennie sat there, stunned, and before she could ask him to elaborate, the waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Rennie motioned for Graham to order first. As he said he would, he ordered the steak, which came with mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and a house salad. Rennie ordered the same and handed her menu to the waiter.

“What happened to being able to order for yourself?” Graham asked. He had called her out on her earlier rant on how she wanted someone to accept her independence.

“Your order sounded good.”

“Liar,” he said as he picked up his pint of beer. “You never read the menu because you were too busy grilling me about my lackluster love life.”

“Which I don’t get, Graham. I remember the first time I saw you. B brought me to some party. It was my first time in Cape Harbor, and Bowie suggested I sit down and play spin the bottle with him. I think he had a little crush or thought we’d hook up or something. You and Grady were there but not sitting next to each other. Brooklyn had told me all about the Chamberlain twins beforehand, so I knew who you were. The game leader called out seven minutes in heaven, spun the bottle, and it landed on you. I watched the old Pepsi bottle spin and spin on the board, and when