A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber Page 0,25
and a little intimidated.
* * *
—
Thursday morning, Sean picked me up bright and early. Bandit was stretched out, taking up the entire backseat. I joined Sean in the front with a small basket of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and two coffee drinks, which I set in the cupholder. The basket went down by my feet, next to my purse.
“You ready?” he asked, after I adjusted my seatbelt.
“Yup,” I said, smiling over at him.
For one awkward moment, Sean sat there and stared at me, his dark eyes intense.
“Is something wrong?” Harper had helped me dress and fussed with my hair, giving me advice, which she seemed to think I needed. And to be frank, I probably did.
Embarrassed, I looked away.
“Sorry,” he said, and abruptly returned his attention to the road before shifting gears and starting out. “You’re beautiful.”
“Oh.” I was sure I blushed. Unsure how best to respond, I placed my hands in my lap and looked straight ahead.
After a couple of minutes, Sean reached for his coffee and took his first sip. “Hey, what’s this? It’s not coffee and it tastes…different.”
“It’s a dark chocolate mocha. You said you didn’t enjoy coffee, so I decided to mix it up a little. How do you like it?”
“It’s fantastic!” He continued to sip the drink, keeping it in one hand and steering with the other.
“A lot of men order cold-brew coffee, but I didn’t think you’d want to start the day off with a cold drink.” I bent forward and retrieved the basket. “I wasn’t sure if you took time for breakfast. I have a couple of cinnamon rolls if you’re interested.”
“Does a bear…” He hesitated. “I’m always interested in your cinnamon rolls. We’ll take a break and eat when we get to Snoqualmie Pass, if I can wait that long.”
Before we left, I’d Googled the route and saw that the drive between Oceanside and Toppenish would take nearly five hours. That meant we’d be spending ten or more hours on the road. Sean had warned me it would be a long day. That hadn’t been a deterrent; I considered it a plus. The time in the car would give me the opportunity to get to know him better.
“Harper and her friend Leesa are minding the café,” I mentioned, looking to start a conversation.
“Are you worried?”
“Not overly. Harper’s helped me out before, and Alice is there if she runs into trouble. She can make most of the drinks without a problem. It’ll be fine.”
“You sound worried.”
“I kind of obsess over things.” I couldn’t help it. Ever since Mom died, I’d been a worrier and a caretaker. Even now, when we were all adults, I hadn’t been able to stop, as evidenced by my constant concerns about Harper’s health. “Not just Bean There. Although this is the second time in a week that I’ve left the café in someone else’s hands. That’s not like me.”
“I’m happy you agreed to come with me.”
“I am, too.” I didn’t want Sean to think otherwise. Since our conversation in the grocery store, I’d been on a natural high, giddy. Of course, Harper had picked up on my mood. To hear her speak, his interest in me was akin to a wedding proposal. She might have been inspired by Lucas and Chantelle’s wedding announcement. My mistake was telling her. From that point on, Harper had been full of relationship advice, guiding me on how best to reel Sean in. I listened with half an ear, amused and at the same time interested. I found it laughable that the girl who hadn’t stayed in a relationship longer than a few weeks insisted on giving me advice.
I hadn’t seen Sean since I’d spoken to my brother and his fiancé, so I told him Lucas was engaged.
“You like Chantelle?” he asked.
“Love her. She’s a good match for Lucas. I wondered why it took him as long as it did to make it official. In looking back, I believe it has something to do with her family.”
“Oh?”
“They have money, and, well, we don’t. My guess is Chantelle shut down that argument, which is probably why Lucas insists on paying for the wedding on their own.”
“I can understand his point of view. A man has his pride, you know. We all do.”
I paid close attention to that piece of knowledge. It helped me understand my brother better and would help me with Sean, too, if we continued seeing each other.
After the first hour on the road, Bandit stirred and stuck his