Page 55 of Love At The Shore
“Ah, lucky you,” he said.
“Yeah.” She nodded. Although so far, the relaxing thing wasn’t panning out so well.
“You don’t outsource much, do you?” He crossed his arms, and Jenna found herself staring at his forearms. They were nice—lean and sun kissed. Probably from all the surfing.
When she met his gaze again, his eyes seemed to darken a shade.
“Not usually, no.” She shook her head. “It’s actually kind of nice to have the night off.”
“And that’s what you’re eating?” He aimed a sardonic glance at her raw hamburger.
It wasn’t that bad, was it? “I was going to put cheese on it.”
“That’s pitiful.” He shook his head and turned back toward his door.
So…what? He wasn’t going to let her use his grill because he didn’t approve of her plain-Jane dinner?
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, he glanced over his shoulder. “Grab your cardigan.”
The plate nearly slipped from her hand.
“Why?” She tightened her grip on the china and squared her shoulders. “Are you taking me out?”
Weeks ago, she would have recoiled at the idea. Now it sounded nice. More than nice, if she was really being honest.
Her heart beat hard in her chest while she waited for his answer.
“Maybe.” He gave her a crooked smile and then disappeared into his side of the house.
Jenna’s heart leaped. This was definitely better than a bubble bath. Or a fresh-grilled hamburger—even one with cheese.
She looked down at the modest meal on her plate and shrugged. “It’s not that bad.”
But somehow she knew that having dinner with Lucas would be even better.
Lucas wasn’t about to let Jenna eat that pathetic little hamburger patty on her one night off of mommy duty. She deserved a night out, so he took her to his favorite place to eat on the island.
Located on an old, weathered pier that stretched far out over the ocean, Sam’s wasn’t exactly fancy. But it was special. Sam’s had the freshest seafood in Georgia. It was practically a Tybee institution.
“This place never gets old. Even with all the crazy tourists, I just love it here.” He turned and snuck a glance at her walking beside him as they made their way down the pier. “I can’t believe you’ve been coming here four years in a row and you’ve never been to Sam’s?”
“Not that I remember,” she said.
Her hair was gathered over one shoulder, and she’d taken him at his word and slipped into a cardigan—a different one than she’d worn the day of their head-to-head volleyball challenge. That one had been the color of oatmeal cookies. This one was a deep sea blue.
He wondered how many of those cozy-looking things she had. He also wondered when he’d started to like them so much.
“Oh, you’d remember. This is the best food you’re going to have in town.” Lucas nodded at the man behind the walk-up counter as they approached the tiny yellow bungalow at the end of the pier. “Isn’t that right, Sam?”
“Lucas!” The older man’s face split into a wide grin.
It had only been a few days since Lucas had seen him last, but he’d never brought a date here before. He wasn’t altogether sure he and Jenna were on a real date, but he liked to think so. “How’s it going?”
“Good, if you’re hungry. We got an early bite.” Sam nodded toward the chalkboard where he always listed the daily catch in bright letters.
Lucas angled his head toward Jenna. “This is as fresh as it gets. What are you feeling like?”
“Um. I don’t know. I eat everything.”
