Page 29 of Something Blue

Pink rushed to her cheeks again as his gaze never wavered. “I think,” she said, “you’re enjoying this fiancé role a little too much.”

His hands fell from her shoulders to her waist. Was she not feeling any of this? His emotions were on overdrive. It was impossible that she didn’t feel a thing for him. “And what if I am? Why not have fun with it?”

When her smile wavered, he dropped his hands completely and took a few steps away. “I can back off completely if you want. You’re the one who wanted to show him what he’s missing.”

Before she could respond, Piper waved to them from the restaurant balcony. “We’re over here. Come on, you two lovebirds.”

Sadie slipped her hand into Andy’s and leaned toward him. “Coming.”

It was the first time she’d initiated physical touch. Shock waves crawled up his arm and neck and stopped as a wild heat in his ears. Instinctively, he let go and touched them. Yep, burning hot. His ears were pink, no doubt, but he wasn’t sure she noticed. Her eyes were trained straight ahead.

The lively atmosphere at the plantation-house-like restaurant with sandy wooden floors and wooded walls was open to the salty evening air. They chose a seat on the porch facing the ocean, and by all accounts, it would be a perfectly romantic night.

After they ordered, they chatted about the weather for the week and then about jobs and hobbies next. He couldn’t help but pay extra attention whenever Chase spoke. At first glance, Andy probably would’ve liked him. Witty and fun, the kind of guy most women liked. But as the night rolled on, and Chase swapped stories with Sadie, he grew irritated. And so did Piper. When Piper huffed off to the bathroom, he brought up the subject as carefully as he could.

“You guys have a lot of past together.”

Chase sent a wink toward Sadie. “Sure do. Remember when we took your mom on that one slide at the Big Kahuna? She fell off the tube halfway down and yelled at us the rest of the way.”

Sadie laughed. “We scarred her for life.”

“Did Piper go as well?” He tried to keep his voice light, but knew when the words came out, he’d failed. They’d sounded angry and judgmental.

“Did I go where?” Piper asked, taking her seat at the table.

Chase stretched back in his chair, slipping an arm around Piper. “Oh, you know all those times we hung out with Sadie and her mom.”

Piper took the drink out of Chase’s hand and downed the rest of it. “I think you mean the many times you hung out with them. It was just the three of them most the time, until Chase and I started dating in high school. We only lived thirty minutes away, so I was an obvious match compared to the other girls at the timeshare.”

Sadie stiffened next to him.

“Any dessert tonight?” the waitress asked, breaking the very thick silence.

“No, not for us,” Sadie said, standing.

He followed suit and handed the waitress a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks.” The waitress smiled, hugged the bill to her chest, and walked away with a new lightness in her step.

“Leaving already?” Piper asked. She stood, pulling Chase to his feet. “We can give you a ride back to the resort. Chase drove.”

“We like to walk. Thanks for joining us for dinner,” Sadie said.

She only looked over her shoulder once, which made Andy proud for some reason. Getting over someone was hard.

On their way back to the resort, she was too silent, and he worried he’d said the wrong thing. “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head and kept her attention on the sand in front of them.

“Can I do anything?”

She shook her head again.

“I haven’t dated much, but I can tell you my break-up with Jenna was pretty bad.”

“Really?” she asked, lifting her head for a minute.

“Yes, absolutely. I thought we’d get married one day. When we dated in high school, I started off as a janitor at the place where I work. Then I moved up to a coffee boy, a paper pusher and delivery boy, assistant to the secretary and later secretary, and lastly a team leader. With every promotion, I would see this little glimmer in Jenna’s eyes.”

---