island, so how did you find this place?” he asked.
She unbuckled her seatbelt, and for the first time since he’d met her, she didn’t jump quickly to fill him in. Her hands rested on the steering wheel, and she didn’t make a move to get out of the Jeep.
Erika turned in her seat and drew in a deep breath. “I wanted to get as far away as possible from Scott’s dad without having to leave the state.” She unclutched her hands from the steering wheel.
Slade froze as he saw Erika’s usually bright smile slip into a frown. Had he hurt her? Did she try to hide from him?
He reached for her right hand and squeezed it.
Erika’s eyes connected with his, and she shrugged. “It’s all fine. I just was young and didn’t know how to handle things well.”
“Sounds familiar.” Slade let out a sigh, and Erika bobbed her head up and down.
“Exactly. Youth may bring beauty, but it certainly doesn’t deliver smarts on a platter.”
Slade cocked his head and started laughing as he shook his head. “No, it does not. Unfortunately, in my case, I’m still not sure age has helped me much.”
Erika squeezed his hand back before slipping it away. “Okay, enough of that. I’ve got to show you one of my favorite places in town.”
“Lead the way.” Slade climbed out of the Jeep and watched Erika nearly skip into the store.
He followed her inside and immediately understood why Erika was in awe of this place. It was like stepping into a well-organized time capsule.
He immediately spotted the sports memorabilia in the corner and was itching to make his way over there, but Erika was busy looking inside a jewelry case.
Since she was his host, it probably wouldn’t be very polite to dash away from her, but he saw a bat hanging from the ceiling and a wall case with baseball cards inside.
It was funny. He never even liked baseball, but his brother got him hooked on baseball cards when he was a kid and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check them out.
He leaned over the jewelry case where Erika was peering inside.
“What’s caught your eye?” Slade asked.
“What hasn’t?” She grinned and straightened up. “I’m actually saving for that ruby ring with the diamonds around it.”
Slade’s gaze landed on the ring, and he smiled. “It’s gorgeous.”
“And overpriced, which is why it’s still in the cabinet.” She crinkled her nose. “But I don’t care. I’m willing to pay the price when I can.”
Slade's stomach tightened. He wondered how much it was.
Erika glanced around the store. “I think the owner jacked up the price so someone wouldn’t buy it out from under me. He knows I’m saving for it.”
Slade nodded and hoped that was true.
“See anything you want to look at?” she asked.
“Maybe the sports section.”
“I should have known,” she teased.
Slade laughed. “The whole jock thing, huh?”
“You got it.” She pointed her finger at him.
They wandered over to the sports section, and Slade eyed the selection. There were a few interesting cards, but nothing he had to have this second.
She spun around and crossed her arms over her chest. It was hard not to notice how full her breasts were under the sundress. The fabric skimmed the rest of her body, leaving little to the imagination.
“You kind of clammed up when I asked about your parents.”
Slade should have been expecting the question. He knew she wouldn’t leave any stone unturned, but he wasn’t expecting it right now. He glanced around the empty store before bringing his gaze to hers.
“My parents are wonderful people. Amazing parents.” He let out a slow, deep sigh. “They’ve been through a lot recently.”
Erika’s eyes remained fastened to his. “You mentioned you’d had a rough year. Well, you said decade-plus, but that this last year was even worse.”
Boy, she had a good memory. Slade smiled and nodded. “Yeah. It hasn’t been the greatest of years.”
“Do you mind sharing what made it so terrible?” The concern in her eyes washed an unexpected calm over Slade he hadn’t felt in years, if ever.
He bit his lip and nodded. “I lost my brother this year.”
She let out a horrified gasp and brought her hands to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I never—”
“No, it’s okay.” Slade nodded. “It’s something I need to come to terms with.”
“I just . . . I can’t even imagine.”
Slade pressed his lips together and pushed down a lump in his throat. “It’s been hard, and my parents are struggling.”
Erika nodded.
“And yet, I can barely