Page 73 of Too Far To Sea
“I don’t know about that. That was some kiss.” Brit fanned herself. “That was too real to be following orders.”
“He can kiss.” Dana sighed. Two days of second guessing herself, and that was the one fact that didn’t change. She’d enjoyed his kiss far above any other in her life. She needed to change the subject. “Hey, I brought you chocolate. We can finally compare Irish Cadbury to English Cadbury.”
“Seriously, you’re giving up?” asked Brit.
“Where is your inner Ann Elliot? You should be running through the streets of Fort Wayne searching for him!” Simone’s encouragement would’ve been camera worthy if it weren’t for the little piece of cannoli stuck to her upper lip.
Dana pointed to her laundry baskets. “Work? I just took more than two weeks off. I can’t exactly take another road trip right now.”
Brit leaned forward. “Are you trying to tell me you will not have a day or two off anytime in the next couple of weeks?”
Dana rolled her eyes. “Of course I will. Fort Wayne may not be Chicago, but it’s plenty big and I’m hardly likely to find him Ann Elliott style since I don’t know where to look.”
“Your internet search didn’t bring up an address?” asked Simone.
“No, but that’s not surprising, considering that he’s been living on a ship for the last several years.” She loved her two friends dearly, but they needed to drop this inquisition.
“What about his mom or sister?” pressed Simone.
“I have some possibilities for his mom, but with her cancer, I hardly want to bother her.” The mention of cancer dampened the conversation.
Brit picked up the remote. “How about we binge a movie and try that chocolate?”
“One condition, notPersuasion.” Dana couldn’t risk seeing any movie that highlighted the places she’d been with McKay.
21
McKay helpedhis mother sit up on her couch. Each movement brought strain to her face.
“Stop fussing over me.” She swatted at his hovering hands.
“That is a no go. You are the entire reason I came home. I’ll fuss all I want to.”
“If you are going to fuss, then the least you can do is entertain me and tell me about the woman.” Her eyes sparkled with interest—the first real animation he’d seen since they arrived home that morning.
“I told you the whole story.” In the end, lying hadn’t been an option. Mom got more truth than the cruise line lawyers were likely to want her to have. “She walked off of the plane and out of my life.”
“But you like her?”
McKay sat in the chair opposite of the couch. “I liked her a lot.”
More than like.
More than a lot.
He’d been on board with the whole marriage idea. Even if it was just a ruse to keep Dana off of social media.
“Have you texted, or snapped, or whatever you do?”
“I don’t have her number and she isn’t on any social media. She works in personal protection in Chicago. I think she has a high-profile client.” A client with children. He’d narrowed it down to three, not that it did him any good. He wouldn’t get within 100 yards of them.
“Can you leave a number at her work?”
“Probably not.” He didn’t dare. The last thing he needed was to be on Hastings Security’s radar. Dana had been correct that it was unprofessional for them to use her, knowing that she was a security professional. He should have pushed to contact Hastings over the matter, bringing in Dana from the start. “It’s okay, really. Between her work and the distance, it would have been difficult to continue the relationship for long.”
His mother’s knowing look—its power undiminished by the cancer—cut straight through his excuses. “I don’t believe you. You could have found a way if you wanted to.”
They had. There had been a few vague ideas on her side since her schedule varied. It would have been so much easier if they’d exchanged numbers. “We could have, but it doesn’t matter now. Do you want anything to eat?”
