Page 77 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

“You’re welcome.” He hugged me tight. I knew he was worried about taking me out, further away from our safe house, out in the open.

He was taking a chance because I asked him to, and my heart fell for him a little bit more.

Chapter Seventeen

Alden

Itugged my baseballhat down as I scanned the crowd in front and behind me at Iggy’s. There were families, teenagers, adults. Everyone stopped by Iggy’s in the summer. Their clam cakes and chowder were a staple here in Rhode Island.

My gaze shifted to the one-way road next to us which decreased the number of cars I had to watch. Multiple cars kept looping around, trying to find a parking spot, but they were easy to weed out by their mannerisms. There were other restaurants nearby and one across the street, Top of the Bay.

Jess gave me a quick wave when she noticed my gaze flick towards the car. I flattened my lips, and she ducked down, shielding her face, pretending to fiddle with the car radio. I’d been lucky to find on-street parking instead of having to use the back lot. We’d have left before I let Jess out of my sight.

The line moved fast even though it was halfway down the street. It was the middle of August and everyone seemed to show up. And Rhode Island being the small state it was, I also kept my eyes out for people I knew. I didn’t want to have to explain why I was here or who I was with. Everyone knew everyone. And if there was someone you didn’t know, you knew their aunt, uncle, or cousin.

Ten minutes later I made my way back to the car, my arms filled with food. Jess immediately jumped out. “OMG, that smells so good!” She grabbed the blanket inside, shut her door, and locked the car.

As we made our way down the beach, she grabbed the nearest bag to her and opened it with a smile. Her face fell when she saw it was french fries. “What’s this?” Her lips twisted in disgust.

“You love french fries.”

“I do, but I love dough boys and clam cakes more. Gimme gimme.”

I laughed and held the rest of the food out of reach.

“Big bully,” she griped at me with her nose wrinkling. “Fine.” She popped a few french fries into her mouth, immediately opening it back up and waving her hand over her mouth to cool it down.

“They’re still hot, Jess. You need to let your food cool off first.”

She rolled her eyes. “Waste of time,” she replied, which only made me laugh harder.

We found a spot on the beach where we could people watch and I’d still be able to keep my eyes on the crowd around us. We weren’t so far down the beach that we couldn’t get back to the car quickly if we needed to, and just a little further down the beach were private residences. I’d find a way through the neighborhoods and get Jess out that way if I had to.

Jess had shifted from staring out over the ocean to a nearby play structure a few small children were playing on. Their shrieks of delight rang through the air, mixing in with the sound of the surf as it broke along the nearby shore.

She drew up a knee, wrapping her arm around it while absentmindedly munching on a clam cake with the other hand. The wistful expression on her face made me want to ask what she was thinking.

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