Page 108 of Catch and Release

“So I have connections. I have supplies. This isn’t the first time I’ve organized a romantic dinner on this boat, Greene. Certainly won’t be the last.”

He locked eye contact with her as he said that last sentence, and she blushed.

Willa continued to snack on the appetizers and sip her champagne as she sat with Shawn in a comfortable silence. That’s what she loved most about him—how easy it was to just be with him in silence, not feeling like she had to be anything other than herself. She loved how easy it was to?—

Willa startled. Sat up.

“You ok?” Shawn asked.

Yeah, it’s just that I realized I’m in love with you, she thought.

No, she wasn’t going to say that.

“Willa?”

She cleared her throat.

“Sorry,” she said. “Just… I think I forgot to turn off my curling iron.”

He chuckled. “Your hair is straight tonight, Greene. But whatever you say.”

She blushed again.

Maybe that’s what she loved most about him. He trusted her. It made it all the more easy for her to trust him.

“Ready for the main course?” he asked.

She nodded, and he cleared away the empty appetizer plates, then pulled two covered plates out of a different cooler.

“Crab cakes, asparagus, and mashed potatoes,” he said. “And they should still be warm.”

She grabbed her fork and took a bit of the crab cake.

“Holy shit, this is amazing,” she said. “Where’d you get this?”

“One of my favorite restaurants on the water,” Shawn said, refilling her champagne glass. “It’s called Fish Food. I’ll take you there next time.”

“I’d love that,” Willa responded.

Shawn beamed at her and tucked into his food. As they ate their dinner and chatted a bit about their weekend, they watched the sun set over the Bay. Willa couldn’t help but feel like maybe this was a fairytale—a bit fairytale-ish, at least. The sunset was so picturesque she didn’t want to look away, and her brain was just fuzzy enough from the slight buzz the champagne gave her.

And then there was Shawn—who was wearing an outfit she’d never seen him in, his hair styled just so, in a way, she could tell he’d put in the extra effort. Not to mention how he smelled. He always smelled good—like soap and the ocean and the salty air—but tonight there was something else. Cologne, probably. And even outside, sitting across from him at the table he’d set on the boat, she could smell him.

“Ready for dessert?” he asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

“Dessert?” she asked with a giggle.

He pulled out a small box from one of the coolers and opened it up. Inside was a decadent chocolate cake.

“I’m so full,” Willa said. “But…”

She reached for a fork, took a bite, and groaned.

“Oh my god, please tell me this is from that same restaurant and I can have this again when we go on the actual date there,” she said as she grabbed another bite with her fork.

Shawn chuckled. “It’s all from the same place.”

“Thank God,” Willa said. “Give my regards to the chef.”

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