“I was just…” She shrugged. “I was thinking how happy I am here in Magnolia. And… I think I want to stay.”
“You do?” A broad grin swept across his face. “That’s great. Wonderful.”
She matched his grin with one of her own. “I do. I’m just… happy here.”
“I’m pretty happy myself these days.” He reached out and took her hand. “I hope this means we can keep seeing each other. I wanted to ask you out on a date again but didn’t want to rush you. And… to be honest… if you were just going to leave Magnolia Key, then it seemed a bit foolish to see where all this was going between us. Didn’t want to get my heart stomped on.” He threw her a rueful grin.
His heart was involved in all this? Did he have feelings for her?
He stood up and reached down a hand, pulling her to her feet. “And there’s something I’ve been wanting to do. I mean, if it’s okay with you. I’ve been wanting to kiss you.”
“You have?” Her heart raced double time.
“I have. Do you think this might be a good time for our first kiss?” His eyes glittered with anticipation.
“I think this might be the perfect time.” She held her breath as he leaned closer, feeling the soft brush of his fingers as he swept her hair back.
A loud knock rang through the cottage. Almost a pounding.
She stepped back, trying to catch her breath as her heart pounded in her chest. “I should get that.”
He nodded as she hurried past him to answer the door. Someone had extremely lousy timing.
* * *
She gasped as she opened the door. “Tiffany, what are you doing here?” She glanced guiltily back at Dale like some schoolgirl caught kissing a boy. Or almost kissing.
“I came looking for you. We need—” Tiffany stopped short and stared at Dale. “Oh, hello.”
Dale stepped forward and held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Dale.”
“He’s my landlord.” It was the first thing that popped into her startled brain. “He, uh, lives next door. I rent this guesthouse from him.” Her words rushed out.
“I see.” Tiffany looked at Dale and back to her.
“Uh, well, I should go. Let you two catch up.” Dale glanced at her briefly. Healmostcovered the look of disappointment in his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Tiffany.”
She walked him to the door and took a step outside. “We’ll talk later?”
“We will.” His hand brushed hers briefly, and he smiled. “Soon.”
She walked back inside. Tiffany stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. She half-expected her daughter to roll her eyes.
“We’re just friends.” As if she needed to explain anything to her daughter. And calling Dale a friend wasn’t quite the whole truth. “So, you were saying why you came to Magnolia?”
“Friends, huh?”
Tiffany looked like she didn’t believe her. Or maybe looked like she didn’t care one way or the other.
“You know, it’s such a pain to get here. Flew into Sarasota, then took an Uber to the ferry. Then that horrible, sloshy ride across the bay. Then I couldn’t find an Uber here.”
“We don’t have them here on the island. But I’m not a far walk from the landing.” She frowned. “How did you find where I’m living?”
“Went to that Coastal Coffee, but they were already closed. Who closes so early? Anyway, Beverly saw me peeking in the window. She hasn’t changed much, has she? And I haven’t seen her in probably fifteen or twenty years when you used to drag us here for those boring visits. Anyway, she told me where you live.”
“So you just came to check on me?” And why hadn’t she called first?
“When are you coming home?” Tiffany set down a large tote bag and stood with her hands on her hips, demanding an answer. “You’ve been away long enough.”
