Page 46 of Since the Day We Wished

“Well, bye Ms. Wright. Have fun eating your to-go food by yourself!” Tate yelled out in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh. Thanks!” Emma waved at them, breathing a sigh of relief when they turned a corner. That was a close one.

Turning on her heel, Emma immediately walked back outside to the parking lot and dialed Luke’s number, making sure she stayed away from the windows inside the restaurant. The last thing she needed was Tate, Charlotte, and Jeremiah watching her make a suspicious phone call in the parking lot.

“Hey, I’m almost there–”

“Luke? Uh, yeah, we need to go somewhere else.” Emma started pacing back and forth.

“Why? What do you mean?” he asked.

“Uh, your son is here with his friends. They already saw me all dressed up and started asking questions. The last thing I want is for Jeremiah to find anything out about us, especially since things are starting to get better for y’all.”

“You’re all dressed up?”

Emma laughed. “Yes, but that’s not the point.”

“Sorry. So, what should the plan be? I’m open to any and all suggestions.”

Emma paced back and forth a few more times, thinking of how she wanted to proceed with their relationship. “Okay, I’ve got it.”

“I’m all ears.”

“If we’re going to continue seeing each other, we have to be careful. I had figured the Sea Breeze Tavern was far enough from Main Street that we would be okay. But obviously I was wrong. We’re going to have to meet outside Hadley Cove altogether in the future. That way, we probably won’t ever bump into anyone we know.”

“Hmm.” Luke seemed reluctant on the other end. “For every time we meet?”

“Well, we could meet at my house sometimes since I live alone and a little out of the way. But if we want to go out and have dinner, then it will have to be a ways out.”

“So, does that mean we won’t be meeting tonight now?” Luke sounded disappointed.

“No! No, we’re still going to meet,” Emma told him. “We’ll have to go somewhere else. Have you ever been to the Treehouse Café?”

“Is that a real place?”

“Yes, it’s a real place, and it’s right outside the city limits. The only time people go there is for a wedding anniversary or something, and I don’t think anyone in Hadley Cove is celebrating theirs on a Tuesday night.”

“Okay, let me pull over and put that into my GPS.”

She waited a minute until he got back on the line.

“Emma, this is on the opposite side of Hadley Cove, heading toward Bridwell Bay. Right?”

She winced. “Yes, it is. We’ll have a late dinner. But they’re open until eleven and it won’t take too long to get there. I’ll leave now, so I won’t be too far behind.”

“Okay,” Luke said. “I’ll see you there.”

***

About forty minutes later, Emma pulled into the parking lot at the Treehouse Café, a fine dining restaurant with an eclectic vibe. She parked the car and hurried over to the main doors. As she stepped inside, she glanced around at the patrons, hoping not to run into anyone they knew.

“Hello, you,” Luke said, appearing behind Emma. At that moment, all her worries seemed to disappear.

“You did get dressed up,” he said, stepping back and looking at her dress.

Shrugging her shoulders, her eyes scanned his suit and tie. “You did too.”

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he added with a playful wink.

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