“When?”
When? She hadn’t thought that far through things.“Uh…soon?”
He grinned.“How soon?”
She realized she didn’t have any idea when she’d have some time off. Not until the cafe got running.
“How about Sunday? I saw you’re closed on Sunday,”Austin suggested.
She was fairly sure she’d be exhausted by Sunday, but it did seem like the best time to go out.“Sure, Sunday would be great.”
“And where are we going?”
She really hadn’t thought this whole thing out very well…“Uh…where would you like to go?”
“Dinner?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“Where do you want to go? The dining room at The Cabot again?”
“Ah…how about Jimmy’s on the wharf again?”
“Sounds good to me. Loved it there. Want me to swing by and pick you up?”
“How about I just meet you there? I don’t know if I’ll be at home or maybe at the store or cafe.”
“Six work?”he asked.
“That sounds perfect.”
There, she’d done it. Not only asked him out on a date, but it was all planned and set up. That should keep Heather from bugging her. That was the only reason she’d asked him…and maybe if she said that enough, she’d begin to believe that big fat lie.
Chapter 19
Heather strolled along the wharf with her mother on Sunday evening. She’d insisted on taking her mom out to give her a little break. Her mom had worked long, hard hours the last few weeks leading up to the cafe opening and deserved a little pampering.
“You didn’t need to do this, but it is lovely to get out for a change,”her mother said as they headed toward Portside Grill, one of her mother’s favorite restaurants.
The wharf was busy this evening with people out getting dinner at the many restaurants and cafes scattered along the pier. They slowly wound their way through the crowds, stopping to look in some of the shop windows along the main walkway.
She looked down through the crowds and stopped short. Her mother paused and looked at her.“Heather?”
“Ah…Mom.”She nodded ahead of them.“It looks like Father is here at the wharf. And…he’s not alone.”
Her mother turned, her gaze sweeping the crowd until she saw him.“I’d heard he finally got back in town. I believe he moved back into the house with his new woman.”
“She looks more like a girl to me.”
“She’s just a bit older than you.”
She looked at the couple walking toward them.“Do you want to leave? We’ll go somewhere else.”
“I’m not going to let him chase me away from a nice night out with my daughter.”Her mother squared her shoulders, her eyes flashing with determination.
Heather stepped beside her and wrapped an arm around her mother’s waist.“Then on we go.”If her mother was brave enough to confront the man, so was she. Even if she’d spent most of her life avoiding him…
They continued down the walkway until Heather knew the exact moment her Father saw them. He paused, looked down at the woman on his arm, and said something to her. The woman looked up quickly and stared at them. Her father began walking toward them again.
