Page 91 of The Lies I've Told
“Oh good, I thought that was just me!” I laughed.
He took my hands. “So, please, can I just take my girl out for a nice, quiet meal, where we can enjoy each other’s company over a bottle of wine? And maybe, if that girl is lucky, I’ll buy her an ice cream cone on the way home.”
“Well”—I grinned—“since you threw ice cream in the deal.”
He squeezed my hands, leaning forward to place a kiss on my lips. The rough hair along his chin scraped against my cheek; a small price to pay to have his mouth on mine.
“But I’m warning you, you and I will be the talk of the town tomorrow.”
“The whole town?”
I lifted my brow as I nodded. “Welcome to Ocracoke.”
He smiled, kissing me once more. “As long as everyone knows you’re taken, I’mokaywith a little talk.” He put a little more emphasis on the wordokayand threw in a wink before heading back to the bathroom.
I was full of grins, on a high of love…
Until I saw his wallet dangling on the edge of the dresser.
“Millie, what do you really know about this guy?”
Now that I’d seen that valid and very current license in his wallet, a seed of doubt had been planted and I wasn’t sure how I could stop it from growing without confronting him.
Did I want to know the truth?
And would things change once I did?
That was the real question.
“Are you certain your father isn’t cross with me?” I asked as Millie dragged me to the patio, which had been drenched in red, white, and blue streamers for today’s festivities.
“For what? Bailing in the middle of dinner before you two could be properly introduced? Or shacking up with his daughter for the past two weeks and not bothering to say hello since?”
I gulped. “Either. Either will do. But we’ve been introduced. Remember that morning when I cooked them breakfast? That counts, right?”
“Ah, yes. But you weren’t screwing me then.”
I grimaced. “Could you not say screwing, so close to him?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like he has superpowers or anything. He can’t hear us, Aiden. And, besides, he offered his shed, didn’t he?”
I glanced out the window, feeling guilty for not going to him sooner, but I didn’t know how to interact with fathers. Or mothers.
Or families for that matter.
“He hasn’t been around,” I replied defensively, feeling like the ultimate failure in front of the woman I cared for most in this world. “I would have gladly introduced myself if I’d seen him—”
Millie turned and stopped, a warm smile on her face as I tried to ignore the patio full of people who had gathered for the Fourth of July celebration the inn put on each year. “I’m messing with you. Honestly, he hasn’t been around much because, unlike my mother, he isn’t enjoying this little respite in their retirement. He’d much rather be watching golf or reading or basically be anywhere but here.”
“And your mother is just happy to be back in that kitchen again?”
“Now, you’re getting it.” Her arms wrapped around my waist. “Why are you so nervous? It’s a family cookout with a few extras thrown in.”
My eyes darted to the window just over her shoulder.
Where I was from, family cookout consisted of my brothers and me huddled in a circle in the yard, making mud pies.
“Yes, exactly.”
