Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Charles

As we reached my Ferrari, Melody shook her head. “You always liked the best cars. Even when we were young, you would come pick me up in your grandfather’s cars.”

I opened the door for her and shrugged. “I guess I haven’t changed much.”

She seemed to get the meaning in my words, and she grimaced as she lowered herself into the car.

I shut the door and dashed around to get in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t believe I was on a date with her, that she’d agreed. I’d called Grandmother earlier, and when I’d told her and Hazel about it, they had both let out little whoops. It was ridiculous, but it felt nice. I hadn’t felt this kind of teenage thrill in a long time.

When I started the car, she said, “Charles, somewhere closer, please.”

I caved. Of course I caved to her. “Okay. What about Carter’s, on the boardwalk? They have that nice lobster plate. You still like seafood, right?”

She hesitated. “Maybe we should just forget about this. I don’t know what we’re doing.”

“What’s wrong?” I demanded.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she turned to me. “I know nothing about you now, Charles. Nothing. We are acting like we know we can trust each other, that you’re not some crazy guy taking me somewhere. I know you’re not that, but I don’t know you.”

“What do you want to know?”

She paused. “I want to know about the past nineteen years.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. When we go to dinner, you’ll tell me about yourself?”

To my surprise, I was nervous to hear that she wanted to know about my past. “Yes, I will.”

She nodded and smiled. “Okay, then Carter’s is perfect.”

A comfortable silence fell between us during the drive, and I didn’t want to break it and ask something I shouldn’t. I wasn’t about to have her tell me to go back and drop her off.

Surprisingly, she said, “I love the way Jewel Cove looks at Christmastime.”

We’d just gotten to the edge of town, and I headed toward the pier. “Me too. It does it all right. Small-town Christmas.”

It only took a total of five minutes to get to Carter’s. The parking lot wasn’t full, so that was a good sign. I parked and rushed around the car to open her door.

She was already getting out.

I took her hand and helped her pull herself up; the Ferrari was a bit low to the ground. “You could’ve waited for me.”

She looked embarrassed and then brushed me away. “You don’t need to be like this. I just agreed to go out with you, as friends , tonight.”

“I know, just as friends .” I would keep playing the ‘friends’ game, but I didn’t want to be this woman’s friend. I wanted a lot more than that. The realization hit me with full force.

“What’s wrong?”

I kept my hand over hers on my arm. “Nothing.” I would not tell her yet. She was not ready for that. Clearly, we had a lot of past to dig through: ours, hers, and mine. I would do it. I would do anything to get another shot with her.

When we reached the door, I opened it for her. She went in and I followed. The hostess got us a table right by the ocean, and we asked for waters.

“I’ve missed this place,” I said, staring right at Melody.

“Me, too.” She turned to face me, meeting my eyes. “Wait a sec. Are you saying you missed this place, or you missed me? Because you’re staring at me.”

I shifted my eyes to the menu. “Don’t get a big head, Harris.”

She laughed. I liked it.