Chapter 7

Riley glanced around Oceanside as Evan stepped up to the hostess station. It was definitely a high-end restaurant, right on the beach, with a pretty cool vibe. Most of the North Shore had a relaxed, laid-back vibe, with more people in Hawaiian shirts than suits and ties.

Or no shirts at all.

“Right this way,” the woman said, and Evan reached for Riley’s hand again. She followed him through the restaurant, which had ritzy music playing and fancy lighting on the tables.

They had a booth overlooking the ocean, and since it wasn’t terribly late yet, the sunlight spilling through the windows lit up this part of the restaurant. The half-moon shaped table had a curved booth behind it, with just enough room for two people.

Riley slid in before Evan, but she didn’t give him much room, just like she hadn’t in the car. She liked the heat of his body right beside her, the touch of his hand against her bare knee as he held his menu with one hand, the way he smiled to himself.

She looked at the menu too, in a desperate attempt to distract herself and give herself a moment to calm down. He really was handsome, and she’d really enjoyed his childhood stories on the car ride here, and she liked that he just wanted to be seen as a normal man.

No one here had even looked at him twice, and he’d been smart to come up to the North Shore. “Do you like fish?” she asked him, and he shook his head slightly.

“I mean, yeah,” he said. “Not as much as steak, I guess. Or pasta. I have a real weakness for pasta.”

“Really? I would not have guessed that about you.”

Evan looked away from his menu. “What would you have guessed?”

The waitress arrived, saving her from having to answer immediately. “Drinks for you two?” she asked.

Evan looked at Riley, and she said, “I want something fruity and slushy, without the alcohol.”

“We have a few mocktails,” the waitress said, indicating the back of the menu. “I recommend the Getaway Bay Berry. It’s tart and sweet and refreshing.”

“I’ll take that,” Riley said, looking at Evan.

“Diet Coke with lemon,” he said. “And water.”

“Be right back.” The waitress moved away, and Riley looked back at her menu, well aware that Evan did not.

“What would you have guessed my favorite food was?” he asked.

“Pizza?” she guessed.

He chuckled and nodded. “A fair assessment.”

“Plus, I read it when I looked at your Sexiest Man Alive article.”

“Oh-ho,” he said, focusing on his menu again. “I’m going to get the trout.”

“And I’m going to get the beef bolognese,” she said. “Did you know there’s a cattle ranch here on the island?”

“There is?” The innocent, vibrant look in his eyes made Riley smile.

“There sure is. We should go horseback riding out there. Do rockstars go horseback riding?”

“This one does,” he said, reaching for his drink the moment the waitress set it on the table.

“Ready to order?” she asked.

Evan started rattling off a couple of appetizers, ending with his choice of the trout. Riley opened her mouth to order, but Evan put in her order too, and warmth filled her from head to toe. He was full of class and sophistication, as well as a fun, flirty streak that made Riley feel reckless.

She still had no idea why he liked her, but she remembered her conversation with Lisa from earlier that day. Even if Evan was only here for six months, Riley wanted them to be the most spectacular several months of her life.

***

“I love the stars,” she told him later that night, as they walked along the beach. He carried her heels in one hand, and she still held onto his arm with both of her hands. “You can see The Big Dipper over there.”

“I see it,” he said, his voice quiet under the wide blanket of sky above them. “And Orion’s belt. I think that’s the only one I know.”

“Me too,” she said. “But I like getting out of the city and looking at the stars from time to time.”

“I love staying up late,” he said. “And sleeping late. Drives my brother crazy.”

“So you like motorcycles, fresh peas, trout, steak, cats, dogs, diet soda, the beach, and staying up late.” Riley knew there was much more to him than just these things, and their dinner conversation had been the typical fare for a real first date.

Or second.

Or was this their third?

Riley was going to go with third date, and she wondered if it was too early to kiss him. The sand squished beneath her feet, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore several paces to her right made for the most magical setting.

But she still felt like most of what she’d told him—and what he’d told her—was superficial. Surface stuff. And she did want to have a fun time with him for as long as he was on the island of Getaway Bay. But she didn’t need to carve out her own heart and hand it to him on a platter.

So she put an additional six inches of space between them and told him a story about something her cats had done the previous week.

Everything was light and fun and romantic, and Riley didn’t want to ruin it. The hour approached midnight by the time the car service pulled up to her house. Evan walked her to the front door, and Riley keyed in her lock code before turning to face him.

“I have to work tomorrow, and you can’t take me for a two-hour lunch.” She reached over and fiddled with the collar on his shirt.

Evan held very still, smiling at her. “What time do you get off?”

“Usually five or six, depending on what’s going on.”

“And you get an hour-long lunch?”

“That’s right, rockstar.”

“So we’ll have an hour for lunch together, and then after work, you can come help me buy a motorcycle.”

“Help you?” Riley flirted with him shamelessly. “I’m not putting down the down payment.”

He chuckled and ducked his head. “I need a mode of transportation for the island, and a motorcycle seems like the best option. Maybe I just want to know which one you’d like to ride on the back of.”

“And I get to pick out a helmet,” she said.

“There’s that too.” Evan put his arms around her and brought her close. His heart thumped steadily in his chest, reverberating through her eardrums and making her pulse match his. “I had a great time tonight. Thanks for treating me like a regular guy.”

He was anything but a regular guy, but in that moment, standing with him on her front porch after a great date, Riley had to admit that this felt normal.

Riley stepped back and heard Marbles meowing behind the door. “Lunch is at twelve-thirty, rockstar. Don’t be late.” She opened the door and slipped inside, proud of herself for not kissing him and not swallowing what she wanted to say.

His laughter was the last thing she heard as the door closed, and then she leaned against it, a sigh coming out of her mouth.

“Well,” she said, dropping her shoes on the floor near the front door. “That was one of the best dates ever.” She scooped Sunshine into her arms and moved further into the house. “What have you guys been doing?”

Neither cat responded, and once Riley had peeled her dress off and put on her pajamas, she sat in bed with both cats curled up beside her. Lisa’s phone only rang once before she picked up with the words, “Tell me everything.”

“Okay, I’m going to start with what’s worrying me,” Riley said. “And then you can hear the stories and tell me if I’m right or not.”

“Talk fast, girl. We have to be to work in the morning.”

Riley knew. She wasn’t a night-owl like Evan, and she smothered a yawn in order to say, “I’m worried he’s a little too perfect.”

“Oh, honey, you can’t worry about that at this point,” Lisa said. “Of course he’s too perfect right now. It’s what? Your second date?”

“Yeah,” Riley said, glad she hadn’t kissed him. The meeting in the coffee shop wasn’t a real date, and she shouldn’t be counting it as one. He’d been there to get his watch; nothing more.

“So you’re still in the honeymoon phase. He’s not going to show all his flaws for a while.”

“Do you think he really has them?” Riley asked.

“Everyone does, Riley.”

“I know,” she said. “He just looks so good online.”

“Everyone looks good online,” Lisa said. “Have you seen our pictures on the Forever website? The photographer slimmed out my face and it looks like I weigh twenty pounds less than I actually do.” Lisa started laughing, though if she really lost twenty pounds, she’d blow away.

Riley laughed too, because she was right. Hope had wanted near glamour shots, and a couple of the consultants even had their hair blowing as if they needed a headshot for a dating website and not their wedding planning company staff page.

“All right,” she said. “But he really is the sexiest man alive.”

“Did you kiss him?” Lisa asked.

“Lise,” Riley said in mock horror.

“What? I haven’t been on a date in six months.”

Riley’s heart pinched, and she sobered. “I know, honey. But you’ll find someone, I just know it.”

“Yeah, I’m going to join Getaway Bay Singles. I’ve been putting it off long enough, and I need a boyfriend for my family’s holiday party. I am not going alone again.”

Riley had tried the island dating app as well, and she had gotten a lot of dates. She was sure some people found lasting relationships using the app, but she’d found a lot of the men she’d gone out with weren’t looking to commit. They just wanted a few dinners, and then they moved on.

Or maybe she was just only good for a few dates before a man got bored. She wasn’t sure which. What she knew was that she’d deactivated her account, taken a break from going out, and reinvented her look.

“It can take almost twenty-five dates before you find a keeper,” Riley said.

“Don’t remind me,” Lisa groaned. “Okay, I’m getting off with you and getting on that app. Might as well get the first date over with.”

Riley laughed and their call ended. She wondered if she’d have caught Evan’s eye with her usually reddish-brown hair and fresh-faced look. What if he’d have looked right past her? Or at least just asked for his watch and left?

Stop thinking about it, she told herself. Evan had told her once that he didn’t do what-ifs, and she needed to be more like him in that regard.

Maybe then she could be perfect too.