Page 50 of Sea La Vie
“Well, did I live up to your expectations?” I ask, as if it were a joke, but honestly…I need to know.
Lainey pretends to think and taps a finger to her chin. “I guess it was alright,” she says. “But we better try again, just to make sure.”
I want to feel more of Lainey’s smiles—when I first wake up, when I go to sleep, and all throughout the day. I want to drink coffee with her at Mugs and Memos in the mornings, learn how to garden for her, and fall back in love with this town—all for her.
I’d doanythingfor her.
20
Lainey
“Look what I tripped on,” Tate says, and points beside my foot. He sits up and picks up a flawless pink and tan conch shell, and turns it over in his hands.
“I was hoping we’d find at least one,” I say, sitting up and joining him. My face is flushed, my lips are tingling, and my heart is racing after Tate’s kiss. I’ll give him credit, he issmooth when he needs to be. “My mom used to collect them.”
“Will you tell me more about your mom?” Tate asks softly. He brushes the sand from the conch shell then lays it down next to us. My heart swells and I smile, grateful that he’s asked.
“She was great. She was the best mom, she could cook better than anyone in the world, and always knew just what to say or do to make you feel better. You know she was my dad’s first mate, right?” I pause and Tate nods. “Did you ever hear what happened? I know I was kind of a mess that day on the beach when Al found us and pretty much every day for months after that.”
Tate shakes his head. “I never heard, and I didn’t want to ask unless you told me.”
My smile is weak, the memories from that day still hard to face after all this time. “Thank you for that. You wouldn’t believe the amount of kids who would come up to us at school and be so brazen.” I shake my head to clear those memories before I continue. “Anyway, she died from a freak accident out on the water. Dad said it was a nice and sunny day…until it wasn't. The storm came so fast they didn’t even have time to get back to the harbor.” I swallow the lump in my throat, never able to think about this part without tearing up. “Dad said that she was at the back of the boat, tying everything down, when a swell taller than the boat must have knocked her over and swept her away.”
Tate gasps, then wraps an arm around my shoulders. “That’s terrible,” he says. “I’m so sorry.”
“Itwasterrible,” I agree. “My dad had turned his back for just a second to radio out that they might need help getting back in, and when he turned around, he couldn’t find her. They looked for her for months but nothing came up, except this.” I hold up my wrist and show him the broken watch I’m sure he’s noticed before. “The Coast Guard found it washed up on shore a few miles from where they were.”
Tate’s hand rubs up and down my arm that’s covered in goosebumps, and I wipe at my eye with the back of my hand. “I’m just glad he didn’t see it happen.”
“Me too,” Tate says. “I can’t even imagine what you all have been through.”
The clouds roll above us, and the sun peeks through, shining rays warm enough to make me want to dip my toes in the water. I point above me. “See how weird the weather is around here?”
“Very unpredictable,” Tate agrees. He chews his bottom lip, brow furrowed, clearly getting ready to say something. “Lainey,I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for you to take your dad’s boat out there by yourself.”
I knew this was coming. “I know what I’m doing, Tate,” I say stubbornly.
“I’m sure your mom did too,” he says gently. He takes my palms and holds them in his hands, his thumb trailing circles along them.
“Ihaveto do this, Tate. My family is depending on me.”
Tate studies me before letting out a pent-up breath. “I’ll go with you anytime. Just ask me, okay?”
“And get attacked by another octopus?” I laugh. “I promise I’ll be okay. Besides, I’ll have Midge with me.”
“Midge would be about as helpful as an octopus if you were in a scary situation,” Tate jokes. His eyes are full of worry, and I want to reach my thumb out to erase the lines between them.
I roll my eyes and move to stand. Tate reaches out and grabs my hand, stopping me. “Lainey, look at me. Promise me you won’t go out there alone unless it’s your absolute last resort. Someone in this town will be able to go with you. They all owe you that much.”
As I look into his dark eyes, I see so much in them—worry, fear, and compassion—all for me. These are generally all the things I feel for other people, and Tate feels them forme.“I’ll try,” I say, cupping his jaw with my hand. I lean down long enough to brush a teasing kiss against his lips, so soft it’s barely a whisper. Tate gazes at me for a beat, his breath shallow and warm against me, before pulling me down on top of him and kissing me again, his hands moving to my neck and into my hair. His mouth tastes salty from the air, his skin warm from the sun beating through the clouds, and I want more of it…more of this feeling. More of Tate. I pull back enough to rest my forehead against his, and when his eyes meet mine, I know I’ll never experience anything like this ever again. I want to stay hereand get lost in the dunes with Tate, forget about the world, and pretend like time doesn’t exist.
But reality comes crashing down when I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, reminding me of my shift starting in a couple hours at Shuckin’ Hucks. “I really need to get back,” I say, and my heart aches thinking about leaving Tate.
“Okay,” he says with a frown. “I need to get started on a new project, anyway.” I raise an eyebrow. “I can’t say anything yet,” he explains. “You’ll see soon enough.”
“Okay,” I smile. “Speaking of projects, have you found any info on Emma?”
Tate shakes his head. “Not yet. I did find a few old articles online about the Calhoun family, but nothing specifically on Emma.”
