Evelyn stepped on a rock and stumbled. Fred caught her, holding her a second too long, then took her hand. She looked down at her hand clasped in his. “Probably not the best idea,” she said lightly. “What would Betty think?”
“I doubt she’d care much anymore.”
Evelyn’s head tilted away so she could look at Fred more carefully, a tingle of alarm running down her spine. “Why’s that?”
“I ended things with her months ago.”
She was too startled to even pull her hand away. “Months ago?” she repeated. “But—I thought—you—why? What happened?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“No, clearly not if I’m asking.”
“Because once I met you, there was no way I was going to marry her. Didn’t seem fair to string her along.”
Evelyn’s eyes were wide, her mouth open. “But—I—you—”
Emboldened by the fact that her hand was still in his, he pulled her in close to him, and, wrapping his other arm around her waist, he leaned down and kissed her softly. Evelyn was too surprised to respond, but Fred didn’t seem to mind. He broke the kiss, still holding her hand but dropping the one around her waist.
“Just wanted to plant the seed. I know you’re not ready. And that’s okay. I’ve waited this long. But I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere until you tell me to.”
And with that, he started walking again, pulling her gently along.
She followed, her mind reeling. She had never been kissed by anyone except Tony, and it felt strange and different. Not bad, just . . . different. And Tony didn’t want her—no, that wasn’t right. He did. He just wouldn’t be with her. It was all so confusing. Maybe he should matter, Tony had said. She stole a glance at Fred, who wasn’t looking at her. He was handsome. Taller than Tony. A good, straight nose. Cornflower-blue eyes. So different. And they did get on so well. She realized with a start that he was her closest friend after Vivie and Ruthie. And deep down, she knew there was a reason she hadn’t told Tony about him. Her heart was racing, her breathing ragged.
“Stop.” She yanked her hand free from his. Fred turned to look at her, his chest rising and falling as rapidly as hers—he was scared, she realized. Scared he’d made a mistake in admitting how he felt and was about to lose her. And that made up her mind. “Try that again.”
“Which part?”
“The kiss, you fool.”
Fred smiled and closed the gap between them, wrapping her in his arms, and kissing her for real this time, with all the passion he had felt since the day he first sat in the grass beside her. And Evelyn kissed him back, resolutely pushing thoughts of Tony out of her head as soon as they entered. What was past was past. And this was her future.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Ruthie was over when I got back to the cottage, her car parked at a forty-five-degree angle in the driveway, leading me to wonder about the validity of her driver’s license as well.
I called to my grandmother when I walked in, but neither of them heard me, so I went through to the kitchen, where they sat huddled together around a photo album.
“Hi,” I said, going to the cabinet for a water glass.
“How was whale hunting, darling?”
“She went hunting? At this time of year?”
“Whale watching,” I clarified. “We didn’t hunt anything.”
“I should hope not. Messy business, that.” My grandmother turned to Ruthie. “She went with Joe.”
“Spending a lot of time with him, it sounds like,” Ruthie said. “I had hoped you’d want to meet my David, but I suppose it’s too late for that.”
“She’s not married to him yet.”
I held up my hands. “Stop. Both of you.”
“Isn’t it funny how life works out sometimes?” Ruthie said, ignoring me completely. “If you’d run off with Tony, they’d be cousins.”
“I wound up right where I was supposed to be,” my grandmother said. “Just like Jenna is now.”
“Not divorced yet,” I reminded them. “And I’m standing right here.”
“Might be time to take care of that,” my grandmother shot back. “You’ll be committing adultery soon if you haven’t already.”
I opened my mouth to remind her that she had told me not only to sleep with Joe but also to not use a condom to hurry things along, but she wanted me to argue with her. It was impossible to win an argument against her because she changed the rules as soon as you learned them. Instead, I announced that I was going upstairs to shower and maybe take a nap. “We’re having dinner at Joe’s mother’s restaurant tonight. Be ready at six.”