Page 2 of The Glass Dolphin

“So not dinner.” She smoothed his collar down flat.

“Breakfast? Brunch? Lunch?” He listed them off, and Julia liked that it seemed like he wanted to see her. “All three?”

A smile touched her mouth, and Liam finally cracked too. He allowed a tame grin to spread his lips, and Julia fantasized about kissing him. Straightening that smile and really being able to taste the mint and raspberry jam on his lips.

“You can keep him to yourself for a while,” Julia said. “Okay? I won’t ask you to introduce me to him formally until you’re ready.” She regretted how quickly she’d reacted to the lies he’d told. She had a reason for that—a good reason—but he didn’t know it. She hadn’t told him about her cheating ex or the way she felt unworthy of the pure, undivided attention from others.

“Okay,” he murmured. “Can I kiss you now?”

Julia put a couple of inches between them and looked him right in the eyes. “Out here? On the street in front of my friend’s house?” She shook her head. “Mm, I don’t think so, Liam.”

He smiled again. “Not good enough for you?”

Julia had no doubt it would be the best kiss of her life. She didn’t want to say that, though, so she shook her head. “I want to enjoy it,” she whispered. “And I can’t do that if I think everyone’s watching us.”

He looked over her shoulder to the house. “I think the curtains just fluttered, so you’re probably right.”

Julia backed up again, the idea of her friends watching her stand in this man’s arms overwhelming for her. They separated, and she said, “I didn’t block your number.” Enough rain had accumulated in her hair that it ran down the side of her face. She brushed the droplet away, gave him a smile, and turned back to the house.

She ran on her tiptoes to the porch and out of the rain. Upon re-entering Alice’s house, she caught Maddy herding several others back into the living room and dining room areas, and they’d definitely been spying on her.

A smile stuck in her chest, and she decided she didn’t care. She still wasn’t going to answer any questions about Liam Coldwater tonight.

She paused at the end of the hall, trying to decide if she should simply return to her seat at the table or try to get a little dryer in the bathroom. The living room had carpet, and Julia wiped another drop of water from her face as she took in the crowd there.

Alice wasn’t in the living room anymore, and she came around the corner and into the kitchen. She held up a pale blue towel, effectively eliminating another decision Julia had to make. She went toward her, and Alice bustled her into the master bedroom.

“Thank you,” Julia said. She took the towel and buried her face in it. Alice didn’t ask any questions, but Maddy would. Tessa would. Eloise would.

She wiped her hair back and met Alice’s eyes. “Did everyone run into your office?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” she said with a smile. “Maddy yelled at all of them when you started backing up.” She wore pure curiosity in her eyes, and Julia wanted to tell her. Maybe if she could get some other opinions, she’d know what to do about Liam.

At the same time, she knew what to do about Liam—keep seeing him. She didn’t know if they’d work out, because her last relationship had ended when she’d left Nantucket. She wasn’t like Tessa and Abe, who’d stayed together and then made plans to both settle in the cove. Maddy and Ben had done the same thing.

Julia hadn’t been so lucky.

She actually did count herself as lucky, because she didn’t want a man who wouldn’t move heaven and earth to be with her. Liam had texted her seventeen times since their encounter in the food mart. He’d called three times, until she’d finally texted to tell him she didn’t want to see him again.

Her phone buzzed now, and Julia finished drying her hair before she checked it.Breakfast on Sunday. Nine o’clock. Too early? I think we could try this place. He’d included a link to the cutest little bistro she’d ever seen, and she smiled as she looked at the image that had populated with the text.

“Have you been here?” She showed Alice the phone, and she didn’t mind that the woman took a few moments to obviously read the previous texts.

“Yeah.” She grinned at Julia. “They have amazing breakfast. Fast too. Tell him to get a reservation if you’re going on Sunday. They’re busy on the weekends.” She took Julia’s towel and left her alone in the bedroom to confirm her date with Liam Coldwater.

ChapterTwo

Madeline Lancaster noted the red SUV in her driveway the moment the RideShare car made the turn to join it. “Who’s that?” she asked, swinging her attention to Ben.

“Don’t know,” he said. He usually wore a serious expression, and that didn’t change. He smiled the most when with her, and sometimes she felt like she had to work hard to get that mouth to curl upward.

“Thanks.” She tapped to pay the driver and got out of the car. Ben met her at the front of the car and took her hand. They went by the car, and she eyed it suspiciously. She wasn’t expecting visitors, and her house on Rocky Ridge wasn’t exactly on any tourist loops.

“It’s a rental,” Ben said. “Chelsea? Kyle?”

“They didn’t say they’d be coming,” Maddy said. Excitement leapt through her, because she’d love to see her kids today. She’d thought about ordering Thanksgiving dinner from a specialty market here on Rocky Ridge, and it would be perfect for a quiet meal at home for two. But she hadn’t, because she could put together something easy for her and Ben.

Before the red SUV in the driveway, that was what her Thanksgiving was going to be. Just her and Ben, and maybe not even turkey.

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