Page 13 of A Marriage of Anything But Convenience

Nara stopped walking and grabbed his arm, jerking him to a halt. Her eyebrows drew together. “Have I been like that? Because that sounds like something I’d say. And if that’s why you got on a boat even though you knew it would make you sick, I’m so sorry.”

Derek stared at her, not only because he was shocked at the sincere expression on her face, but also because something about her captured his attention. Maybe it was the way he was reacting to her touch. Or maybe because he hadn’t seen her care about him before. Whatever it was, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I mean, I want to get you to loosen up, but I don’t want you to do things you hate just because I suggest them. Please tell me if I’m pushing too hard in the future. I need you to be honest with me about that kind of stuff.” She squeezed his arm and then let go. “Okay?”

He didn’t know what to do other than to nod. “Yeah, sure. Okay.”

“Thanks. Because my goal to get you to not be so stuffy shouldn’t make you do things like get on a yacht when you know you get seasick. Let’s make a deal. If I’m trying to get you to do something, and you don’t want to because of a reason, you’ll tell me the reason. And if I think it’s valid, then we’ll skip it. But if you’re just being lame, I reserve the right to whine and beg and push until you give in.” She gave him a grin. “Sound good?”

“All right.”

“I’m glad we cleared that up. Because I was starting to feel really guilty over the whole yacht thing.”

They continued along the sidewalk, walking in a comfortable silence for another fifteen minutes. Derek’s stomach settled down as they walked, and he started to feel a lot better.

“Stop,” Nara said, halting. She took in a deep breath through her nose. “Do you smell that? What is that?”

He did smell something. Seafood, maybe? “It smells good.”

“Over there.” Nara pointed at a small shack. It had the words Baked Clams painted on the side. “I think the smell is coming from there. Let’s go check it out.”

He was starting to get quite hungry. “Okay.”

They entered the small restaurant, if you could call it that. It was literally a grass roof being held up by four tin walls. But the smells coming from the kitchen area were divine. There were three tables in a tiny eating area, all full of customers, but then he noticed a door that led to a back patio.

They each ordered a heaping paper plate of baked clams, a side salad, and soda. They took them on trays to the outdoor seating area. Nara picked up her fork. “These look delicious. I’m not even starting with the salad.” She dug into one of her clams.

Derek held in a chuckle. “Why did you order a salad, then?”

“Because I’ll eat it, just after I eat the clams.” She moaned as she ate one. “Oh, my gosh, these are so good.”

He took a bite of his salad but was seriously getting jealous of Nara. “But salad is supposed to be eaten first.”

Nara made a face. “Says who?”

“Says everyone. The salad comes before the main course. Everyone knows that.” He stabbed a cherry tomato with his fork.

Nara picked up another clam. “Well, do you think the etiquette police are going to come arrest me?”

“No. But you’ll enjoy the salad less if you’ve already eaten your clams.”

“So not true.” She scooped out the clam meat from the shell and ate it.

Derek ate his tomato, but the smell of the clams was making him even more hungry. After another couple of bites of a salad that was not making him happy, he finally pushed it aside and pulled his plate of clams to him.

Nara pointed at him with her fork. “Ha! See? You want to eat the clams first too.”

He hated to admit it, but she was right. He ignored her taunting and scooped out a shell. The taste of the clam with the garlic breadcrumbs was heavenly. He couldn’t help but groan as he ate it.

“I so win this conversation,” Nara said, a smug look on her face.

“All right, you win. The clams are delicious. The salad is just mediocre. But how am I going to be able to eat the salad after this? I can’t. It will go to waste.”

Nara rolled her eyes. “Loosen up. Next time we go out to eat I’m making you eat dessert first.”

Derek’s mouth dropped open and a gasp emerged. “Never.”

Nara laughed. “Oh, you are so making this a challenge. Now I have to get you to. I can’t back down now.”

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