Lacey hadn’t expected that last sensation.
She’d been so wrapped up in the fact that she’d broken her promise, so fearful that Tessa would take one look at the guy and burst into tears, that she didn’t realize how much shewantedTessa to know. How could she not?
Roman was nothing short of amazing.
They all chattered through Maggie and Jo Ellen’s Bolognese reprise, which was even better this time. He regaled them with stories about life in the NFL and several about his childhood in a beach town that sounded as magical as this one.
Classy right down to his last strand of DNA—shared, as it was, with a few people around the table—he consistently asked questions and listened to every answer.
He had Lacey’s mother talking animatedly about her design business, absorbed every detail of Grandma Maggie’s recent trip to Europe, and was genuinely sympathetic when Jo Ellen talked about the late, great Artie Wylie.
Well, after all, thatwashis grandfather, although not one of the other women seemed to suspect anything. Even Tessa. Especially Tessa.
And that made the longing to tell her the truth even stronger.
“Lacey tells me you grew up fishing,” Tessa said as the meal came to an end.
“Had a rod in my hand at two,” he said. “I was really lucky to live in a house on the water with a boat dock, just teeming with redfish, trout, and so much snook it was a joke.”
“Did your father fish?” she asked.
“I taught him,” Roman said with a laugh. “I don’t know how but it was like I was born knowing how to catch a fish.”
Lacey stared at her half-eaten food, slowly setting her fork down before she had the courage to look at Tessa. Was this it?Was she going to put two and two together and come up with…Artie the fisherman?
“And you want to fish while you’re here?” she asked.
“Like I want to breathe,” he joked.
“You’re in luck,” she said brightly. “My sister just sent my father’s old rods and reels down for a local charity. You two up for a fishing trip tomorrow on the boat?”
A whole day on the boat with Tessa and Roman? Maybe that’s when they’d tell her.
“I’d love that,” Roman answered without hesitation, reaching for Lacey’s hand. “Our first fishing date. Should be fun, huh, Lace?”
She slid her fingers into his and tried to ignore the jolt of his touch. “Absolutely,” she agreed.
“Let’s clear this for dessert,” her mother said, standing. “You two take a walk on the beach. It’s too pretty a sunset to miss.”
“Let me help?—”
Tessa put a hand over his. “Walk with your girl, Romeo. Mother’s orders.”
The words gave Lacey a different kind of jolt. She shared a quick, secret look with Roman, who barely hid his smile. “I never argue with a mother’s orders.”
He stood and thanked Jo Ellen and Maggie for the best Bolognese he’d ever had, took a few dishes into the kitchen, then put his arm around Lacey’s shoulders.
“Let’s take that walk now.”
And every hair on the nape of her neck stood up.
A few minutes later, they were hand in hand on the boardwalk, headed to the beach.
“So…” She looked up at him, trying to gauge his expression, but she simply didn’t know him well enough to get a read on his thoughts. “Is she what you expected?”
“She’s…” He blew out a long, slow breath as they reached the end of the boardwalk. “Wow. I just have to process this for a minute. I just met the woman who gave me life.”
She sighed. “I imagine that shakes your foundation.”
