told Bella I was going to go back to a jewelry display we’d passed where I’d liked a ring.
Really I just wanted to give them some privacy because I thought there might’ve been a spark between her and the surfer dude.
I strolled a few aisles and heard the muffled sound of my cell ringing from inside my purse. Stopping to dig it out, I saw Mark’s name flashed on the screen. Since Bella was busy, I figured I might as well answer.
“Hey, Mark.”
“Hey, Valentina. What’s going on?”
I sipped my water. “Not much. Stuffing my face with a pretzel and walking around an art show at the moment.”
“In Montauk?”
“Yep. It’s a local show in town, but there’re a lot of great artists.”
“Mind if I join you?”
I stopped and looked around. “You’re here? In Montauk?”
“Not yet. But I will be soon. I just passed a town called Amagansett, so I don’t think I’m that far. I had an appointment out in Holbrook today, and as I was parking, it got canceled. Figured what the hell? I’m halfway to Montauk already, and it’s a beautiful day…so why not?”
“Oh. Wow. Amagansett is close.”
He was only about ten miles away, and he’d already passed all of the spots that had heavy traffic. He’d probably be here in fifteen minutes.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Mark being in Montauk. I’d invited him out, but I’d meant it as an invitation to the study group as a whole. But it felt awkward to say I was too busy now that I’d told him I was strolling around an art show. Besides, Mark was a friend—I shouldn’t feel weird about seeing him.
He must’ve sensed my hesitation. “If you’re busy, that’s okay. I just thought I’d give it a shot.”
I shook my head. “No, no. I’m not busy. Of course you’re welcome to join me. I’ll give you a tour of Montauk, if you’d like.”
“Sweet. That would be great.”
Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Mark called and asked where he should park. Bella had finished up her chat with the surfer dude, so we walked over to meet him outside of the tents.
“Hey.”
We hugged.
Mark looked around. “This is really nice. I can’t wait to see the whole town.”
I grinned. “You pretty much just did. Well, the shopping and commercial part of it anyway. But that’s not what I love about Montauk.”
I introduced Bella. “This is my neighbor, Annabella. Bella, this is Mark—a friend from school. We were in a study group together, and we both just took our teaching certification exam last week. Mark has never been to Montauk.”
Bella shook Mark’s hand. “Did you just move to the area or something?”
He laughed. “Nope. Just never came this far east on Long Island.”
We made small talk for a few minutes, and then I said, “Well, we still have a few rows of the show we haven’t walked through. Do you want to check them out with us?”
Mark said sure, but Bella bowed out. “Umm…if you don’t mind, I’m going to skip the rest of the show. We saw most of it anyway.”
“Oh. Okay, I’ll give you a ride home.”
“No, enjoy yourself. I can get one from Freddie.”
My brows drew down. “Freddie?”
“The guy I was talking to in line.”
Oh. The surfer dude. My parent mode kicked in. “Do you think that’s a good idea? To get into his car? You just met him.”
Bella looked amused. “I’ll be fine, Mom. He’s a local.”
“But…”
She looked at Mark. “Nice to meet you. I’ll see you back at the house later, Val.”
Before I could plead my case, she started to walk away.
Mark shook his head. “Reminds me of my daughter. She thought I was nuts for being angry that she’d skipped a concert I’d bought her tickets to for Christmas. She hung out with one of the guys from the opening band instead. She was seventeen at the time.”
I had no experience with a daughter, having just Ryan, but I knew if I had one I’d want to lock her up until she was thirty.
“I was always kind of sad I never had a girl. Not so sure about that now.”
Mark and I walked through the exhibit. He’d tried to insist we just check out the artists I hadn’t hit yet, but I’d won that battle.
After the art show, we hopped in my car so I could give him a tour of Montauk. Our first stop was the lighthouse, followed by the fishing piers where all the commercial and party boats came in. A few