but gigantic flights of stairs… of course, that was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet from the late 19th century, but it’s one of my favorites.’
He glanced at Ava as she watched him quietly and he smiled.
‘Of course, I also love Harry Potter,’ he shrugged, ‘I mean, who doesn’t. What about you?’
‘What about me?’
‘Favorite book?’
‘I don’t read much,’ Ava murmured.
‘Okaay,’ he replied slowly, ‘well how about work then? What do you do when you’re not renovating old haunted houses?’
‘This and that,’ she shrugged, ‘waitressing mostly.’
‘Wasn’t there anything in particular you wanted to do?’ he asked curiously. ‘I mean when you were a kid, astronaut? Rockstar?’
‘No,’ she smiled.
‘What did you want then?’
A home was what she’d always wanted more than anything, but that seemed way too personal to share with him, so she merely shrugged instead.
‘I like to cook,’ she answered finally.
‘Never thought about being a chef?’ he asked.
‘Never stayed in one place long enough,’ she answered honestly.
‘You looking to change that?’ he asked seriously as they stopped along the railings, looking down at the beach.
‘I don’t know,’ Ava replied quietly as she stared out at the glittering ocean. ‘There’s something about this place, it calls to me.’
She turned to look at him and flushed, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
‘I’m glad,’ he smiled, ‘because selfishly I want you to stick around.’
‘Trust me,’ Ava scoffed, ‘I’m nothing special.’
‘Why would you think that?’ he asked seriously.
‘Because it’s true,’ she shrugged.
She really believed that, he realized as he studied her dark eyes. She was carrying so much baggage and he was willing to bet every dime he owned that most of it wasn’t hers. She was like a fascinating puzzle that he was dying to take apart and figure out.
‘Well you’re wrong,’ he replied confidently, ‘and sooner or later I’m going to prove it to you, but for now I believe I promised you lobster rolls.’
‘Where are we going?’ she asked as he grabbed her hand, trying to ignore the warm fluttery feeling in her stomach as he towed her along, ‘because you know, most restaurants won’t allow dogs…’
‘Just there,’ Kelley pointed to a small… well it was little more than a wooden shack, with plastic furniture set out in front of it, covered with bright red and white checked paper tablecloths. ‘Most places on the island serve lobster, but if you want the best, then you want Ma James. That’s her place just ahead, and she doesn’t mind dogs.’
Her heart did a little flip and then a long slow roll when she realized he’d chosen a place that would include her dog.
‘Take a seat,’ he steered her toward a nearby table where she’d still have a perfect view of the ocean, ‘I’ll be right back. What do you want to drink?’
‘Anything is fine,’ she shook her head. ‘I don’t mind.’
Bailey hunkered down beside her as she slid onto one of the seats beneath a huge yellow umbrella and anxiously toyed with the salt and pepper shakers on the table, beside a metal napkin dispenser with the Coca Cola logo splashed across the side.
She’d never really done the whole dating thing. Usually if she wanted to get laid, she’d pick some guy up in a bar, not that that happened very often. She wasn’t one to sleep around after all, but this whole getting to know each other, sitting having a meal overlooking the ocean? The whole thing just smacked of romantic intentions and she had no idea what the hell she was doing.
Kelley, who she’d originally dismissed as a player, had not only turned out to be highly educated but really intelligent and interesting. She hadn’t even finished high school for god’s sake. In fact, who was she kidding, she’d never even gone to high school. He was so far out of her league it wasn’t even funny.
She watched him as he approached the open front of the hut and greeted a short plump woman with curly iron gray hair, ruthlessly pulled back from her tanned, heavily lined face, while her huge golden hooped earrings swung, every time she moved her head.
Ava couldn’t hear what they were saying but every now and then Kelley would glance back at her and smile, almost as if he was reassuring himself that she hadn’t disappeared. When he finally returned to their table with a heavily laden plastic tray, the first thing he did was place two disposable bowls down on the ground in front of Bailey, one filled with water and one filled