Page 95 of One Touch

“Doesn’t mean I don’t feel like a fraud,” I said with a sigh.

“We’re all just trying our best to keep going. We all feel like giving up from time to time. What matters is whether we do or not. And believe me, people in your situation do. My dad gave up. My mom ran off to the Bahamas and gave up. You? You stayed. You’re seeing it through.”

We looked at each other. Two damaged souls in a furniture warehouse.

“You’re an amazing dad,” she said.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Thanks, Lils. That means a lot.”

It was at that precise moment, a moment when I’d decided to throw caution to the wind and kiss her,hard, that a perky salesperson bounded over to us and cried out, “Hi there! Can I help you folks with anything today?”

Lily jumped, pulling her hand back like she’d been burned. “Oh, uh, yes. I’m looking for a new bed. . . .”

As she launched into an explanation of her mattress needs, I hung back, trying to regain my composure.

Get a grip, McCoy. Don’t let this happen. You can’t let this happen.

But as I watched her giggle and joke with the salesperson, her red hair gleaming under the fluorescent lights, I couldn’t deny the truth any longer.

Rules be damned. I was falling for Lily Lane. And god help me, I had no idea what to do about it.

***

Somehow, after buying a very sensible—but very expensive—sleeper sofa, and loading it onto the truck, we didn’t do the sensible thing and go our separate ways for the day.

“You hungry?” I asked, gripping the wheel.

“You bet. It was hard work watching you load that sofa onto the truck.”

“Funny. How about we grab a burger to go from The Lighthouse and sit on the beach?”

“Wait a second, aren’t we straying into actual date territory here?”

“You’re right.” My stomach lurched. “Want me to drop you off at the bookstore?”

A wicked smile played on her lips. “Hmm, I dunno. I am hungry. And humans need to eat to survive.”

“So, this would purely be a . . . survival issue, rather than a date?”

“It’s a matter of life or death.”

“If you don’t eat a burger on the beach right this instant, you’re going to die? That’s what you’re saying.”

“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”

“Well,” I said with a grin, “I can’t have that on my conscience. Ava would never forgive me.”

It felt surprisingly good to joke about something so dark. Like I had done some healing lately.

So, we got our burgers. Me a bacon double cheeseburger, Lily a turkey and kimchi thing which confused the heck out of me, but she seemed excited to try it.

Ida served us. She seemed insanely excited to see us out together, so we made a very awkward and very quick exit and headed down to the beach.

It felt wonderful to be alone together, away from the watchful eyes of family and friends. I wondered whether I might be braveenough to say all the things I wanted to say. If I’d be able to figure out what all those things were.

“Damn, I should have brought a towel or something,” Lily said, as we found a sandy spot a hundred meters or so from the rolling ocean. “We have nothing to sit on.”

I didn’t hesitate. I pulled my t-shirt off and placed it carefully down on the sand. “There you go. Save your clothes. Your playsuit is a lot fancier than my jeans. Don’t want those tigers and monkeys getting all dirty.” I glanced again at the jungle animals crawling all over her and tried not to feel jealous of them.

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