but laugh at that. “I have hundreds of stories, and so does every person who lives here, but I’m not sure they’re book-worthy. I could put you in touch with a couple of historians who live here, though. I’m sure they’d love to talk to you, and they might have more of what you’re looking for.”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Sure. You remember Dmitri? The guy with the beekeeping hat?”
Leo nodded.
“He’s in charge of the historical committee, and they’re very active. History is sort of our thing around here, in case you hadn’t figured that out already. There’s a big section in the library dedicated to the fort, and I’m sure Vera would be happy to help you with any research.”
He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Vera, the librarian? I think I’d like to avoid her as much as possible, although that was some fascinating stuff she shared the other day about bats.”
I tried to recall which stuff she’d said about bats. I’d heard it all so many times, it was simply background noise. “She has a long-standing and well-intentioned fixation on the island’s bat shortage, but sometimes she’s a little, um . . . tedious.”
“Oh, I don’t know about tedious,” he said casually. “Personally, I found all that stuff about how fruit bats perform fellatio to be quite educational.”
I gasped and nearly spilled my wine. I caught the glass just before it toppled over. “What was that, now?”
“She said fruit bats love the oral. I found that pretty intriguing.” He popped a green bean into his mouth.
“I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” I said, both mortified . . . and yet slightly turned on. I hardly knew this man, so hearing him say the word fellatio felt overtly intimate, especially given that we were out in public. I glanced around, but no one seemed to be paying us any attention. Still, not the time.
“So, a book about the fort, huh?” I said, making him laugh.
“Something like that. Do they keep public records at the library, too?”
“Public records? I think they’re mostly in storage at the courthouse. Why?”
He shrugged casually as he speared a roasted potato with his fork. “No reason, really. I was just thinking it might be fun to look at the different census records to get a feel for family names, maybe see which families have been here awhile and who is new to the island.”
“New is a relative term in Trillium Bay. I’m sixth generation, and most of the established families have been here since the seventeen hundreds. Anyone who’s lived here for less than, say, fifty years could be considered new.”
“Sixth generation? Seriously?”
I nodded. “There seem to be two types of people around here: the ones who come and plant their roots and never leave, and those who last a year or two and realize this place isn’t for them.”
The sun set while we ate, and drank another glass of wine, and told more stories. Now the restaurant was dimly lit by wall sconces and candles on the table. The crowd had thinned even more until I eventually realized we were the only two left. It was time for us to go, but I wanted to linger. I had a little buzz from the drinks and from the novelty of conversing with a handsome man. For this evening, I was letting myself pretend that this was the kind of life I had. The kind with dinners out, with fun, flirty banter, and lots of potential. I wanted to indulge in all the ripples and trembles and breathlessness that he seemed to trigger in me, but a nagging voice in the back of my mind kept tapping at my mood. He wasn’t permanent. All his stories involved travel, and even now Leo was having his own adventure—a temporary kind of adventure on my island—but he probably wouldn’t stay. Not for long. Not for forever. I’d do well to remember that.
“Thanks for dinner,” I said as we walked out of the dining room and into the tiny lobby. I could see the waitstaff putting chairs up on the tables and heard the hum of a vacuum starting up. When we stepped outside, the wind was brisk and I shivered. Leo put his arm around my shoulders and gave a squeeze, although I wasn’t sure if it was a romantic gesture or just a guy trying to keep a girl warm. Either way, I leaned into it as we walked down the path to the bike