Page 51 of The Rookie

“Can we head to the city now?” Jules asks. “I made a reservation at the restaurant for seven.”

Charlie checks the time on her phone, and cringes when she sees scallop membrane on her arm and coveralls. “Right, you guys had better get going, and you all look amazing by the way.”

Jules frowns. “Aren’t you coming?”

“You guys don’t want me tagging along. You’re not here much longer.” She swipes her hand through her hair and something that looks like a sliver of scallop shell falls out. “Besides, I’m kind of a mess.”

“We have time for you to shower. Please come. I made reservations for four people,” Jules begs, and big blue eyes glance up at me.

“Please…”

Her lids briefly fall shut in thought and when they open again, I spot worry when she says, “Okay, I need a few minutes to get ready.”

“Rider and Jules can browse the vendors for a little longer, and I’ll drive you.”

“I can…” she exhales and grins at me. “Fine.” She eyes me as we make our way to my car. “Do you always get your own way?”

“So far with you I have,” I tease. “And I hope that doesn’t change before the end of the night.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see.”

“Wes! What are you up to?”

16

Charlie

Ikeep my eye on Wes as he drives, and he can whistle innocently, but that doesn’t mean he’s not up to something. I’m not sure what he has up his sleeve, but I know whatever it is, it’ll be a blast. Everything I do with him is fun and I can’t believe it was his cousin who started the nickname. All these years, I hid from Wes when I could have been…

Could have been what?

I certainly wasn’t Wes’s type back in the day, and I’m not his type now, but then again, maybe I am. I’m the one in the car with him, about to go to a fancy dinner. Maybe his tastes have changed and I wasn’t just the first and only girl standing at Jack’s Fish Shack, ready and able to help him out of a situation. Maybe I was the girl he wanted—chose—to help him out, for personal reasons. I’m pretty sure he likes what he’s sees when he looks at me, and that he’s not bothered by the scallop juice all over my face and clothes. Still though, there’s a part of me that worries he’s too good to be true. A laugh bubbles in my throat, because yeah, he’s definitely too good to be true.

“Something funny?”

I turn to see him smirking at me. “Just thinking about you.”

He reaches across the car and gives my hand a squeeze. “I’m funny.”

“Sometimes.” Honestly, I probably shouldn’t be going to a nice, intimate dinner with him. I debated on whether to go or not since Jules first brought it up. It’s just that I’m already in so deep, that spending more time with him isn’t wise, because I can’t see a future between us. But here I am anyway, agreeing to everything this man wants—what I want, too.

His phone rings and he pulls it from his pocket. He frowns, hits decline and turns it so I can’t see who’s calling. He shoves it under his leg.

A strange uneasy feeling creeps along my spine. “Aren’t you going to get that?”

He stares straight ahead, his brow furrowed. “It’s nothing.” From the look on his face, I’d say it was everything. He casts me a fast glance. “I’ll call back while you’re getting ready.”

I nod, and clamp my mouth shut before I ask if it’s the same caller from earlier, the same caller who pulled him away from my shucking event, when he vowed he wouldn’t miss for the world. Clearly someone on the other end of that phone must be more important than the world. It’s not my business, so I keep quiet. We reach my house, and I open the door. He doesn’t budge, so I turn to him.

“Are you coming in?”

He picks his phone up and shakes it. “You go ahead. I have a call to make.”

I nod, slide from the vehicle, and shut the door. I take a breath, and work to ignore the unease careening through my blood, my intuition telling me something isn’t right. I hurry up the stairs, drop my trophy into my room and head to the shower, quickly scrubbing the day from my skin. With a towel wrapped around me, I dart to my bedroom and come to a complete stop when I spot a gorgeous dress on my bed—which I hadn’t noticed earlier. It’s the same dress I saw in the shop window when I was on the waterfront with Wes and his friends. I pick it up to examine it, and check the size. A perfect fit. Jules said she thought this would look good on me. Did she…buy it for me? Why would she do that?

“So pretty.”

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