Page 91 of Catch and Release

Grams grabbed the hands of the people next to her, which happened to be Charlie and Shawn. He gave her hand a squeeze and held back a laugh. He loved his grandmother and all her eccentricities. She’d never been crowned Bingo Queen before, so he hoped she would get it—only because he knew it’d make her so happy.

“Our Bingo King is Robert Ganden, by a landslide. Come on up here, Rob!”

Shawn clapped along with everyone else. He didn’t know Robert well, but he was roughly about 80 and he regularly came by the shop.

“And our Bingo Queen—by a hair—is Ida Gray!”

Shawn didn’t hear what came next because their entire table broke out in abrupt and overwhelming applause and shrieking. Grams looked thrilled and wiped away tears from her eyes. He didn’t realize how much this meant to her—that she would be moved to tears by winning. He sprung out of his seat and offered her his arm, which she accepted, and he escorted her onto stage.

As he made his way back to their table, he noticed Charlie and Willa both snapping pictures and videos with their phone. Willa shot him a wink, and he thought his heart would melt on the spot. He passed by Nancy Siders’ table and overheard her muttering to herself, looking full of disdain and anger.

Once settled back in his seat, he watched as his grandmother was crowned.

“Let’s have a round of applause for this year’s Bingo King and Queen!” Amos said through the microphone, to which everyone responded in kind with clapping. “And now, the inaugural dance. Feel free to join them on the dance floor, folks!”

A slow, jazzy song came over the speakers, and Shawn looked over at Willa with a lifted brow. Her eyes grew wide as he stood up and extended a hand to her.

“Dance with me?” he asked.

She bit her lip and looked over at Charlie briefly before accepting his hand and standing up.

He led her to the dance floor and pulled her close, placing one hand on her hip and grabbing her hand with his other. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wyatt leading Charlie to the dance floor, and he grinned over Willa’s shoulder at him. In return, Wyatt gave him a thumbs up. Charlie rolled her eyes at the both of them.

Willa’s eyes stared pointedly at his chest as he led her in a slow dance, until he couldn’t take it anymore. Removing his hand from her hip, he used his forefinger to tilt her chin up.

“What’s going on, Greene?” he asked roughly.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

His heart shattered.

Was she going to end things with him? He knew it would happen at some point, but he thought it would be later. Down the road. He wasn’t sure if he could handle her walking away. Not when all he had to do to see her was peek out his front window and watch her cast a net like a pro in one of her little bikinis. Not when he knew now what she tasted like. Not when he’d buried his face between her thighs barely two hours ago.

“But this is nice,” she said, a hesitant grin tugging at her lips. “You’re a good dancer.”

He gave her the best smile he could muster. “Well, I’m sure you can figure out who to thank for that.”

“Ida?”

He nodded.

She leaned her head against his chest and he breathed her in.

“Remind me to thank her later, then,” Willa said.

26

Charlie came around the corner carrying a buoy, her brows crinkled in confusion.

“What is this thing?” she asked.

Willa chuckled. Shawn had recommended they all meet at the bait shop before the boat ride so he could drive them all to the marina. Parking sometimes got dicey on Saturdays, and he had a reserved spot since he’d been a longtime customer there and did so many tours. It was a miracle he even had availability today.

“It’s a buoy,” Willa responded. “They’re used for docking, providing direction, crab traps, and a bunch of other things. Haven’t you seen them in SF?”

“Like I said,” Charlie responded with a sniff, “I was made for indoor activities.”

Charlie had been keeping herself busy snooping around the store and picking up random items, shaking them or inspecting them with a keen eye. Willa was having a hard time holding back her laughter. Charlie looked so out of place here in her long, sleek cover up, sun hat, and extra large sunglasses.

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