“Yes. Dan will sleep in the spare room. And there’ll be no funny business while he’s here. I run a respectful house.”
“Ma’am, I would never—”
Ada made a wry face. “Never say never—you might live to regret that.” Dan blushed, and I stifled a laugh. He had a lot to get used to with Ada.
“Don’t mind her,” I said. “She had an affair with Hemingway.”
Dan looked from me to her and back to me. “You’re joking—aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Ada said at the same time I said, “No.”
Lillian leaned forward and put a light hand on his knee. “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer the Princeton after all, dear?”
By the time we left for dinner, Lillian had obtained most of Dan’s life story. “Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly as we walked down the stairs.
“Nothing to be sorry about.” He took my hand and pulled me in, giving me a quick kiss. “Hi though.”
I smiled. “Hi.” But when we reached the car, he handed me the keys. “What do you want me to do with these?”
“Hop in. Your first lesson can be taking us to dinner.”
“I can’t drive us to dinner. I’ve literally never driven.”
“No time like the present. Come on. I’ll show you.”
“But there are children in town. What if I hit a child?”
Dan chuckled. “Try not to do that.”
“No. Shouldn’t we go to a parking lot or an abandoned road for this?”
“Marilyn, you’ll never find a more abandoned road than the streets here. Most people walk everywhere. You’re the one who taught me that.” I looked at him uncertainly. “Have I finally found something you’re afraid of? Other than marrying me?”
I set my jaw. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Good. Climb in.”
I got into the driver’s side and slipped the key into the ignition. “Now what?”
Dan smiled. “It’s an automatic transmission. If it was a manual, I’d have taken you to a parking lot. But this, anyone can do.” He slid into the middle of the bench seat, his leg just touching mine with an electricity I didn’t expect. Then he took my hand and placed it on the shifter next to the steering wheel. “This is reverse,” he said, moving my hand with his. “Turn and look behind you so you don’t hit anything, and VERY gently press the right pedal.”
“What if I hit something?”
He shrugged. “That’s what insurance is for.”
“But you clearly love this car. Look at it.”
“It’s a car,” he said. “I do love it. But you can replace a car.”
I swallowed, the unspoken part of his sentence holding a lot of weight. “Okay. Here we go.”
I turned to look behind me, stepped on the gas, and suddenly we were flying into the street. “Other pedal,” he said calmly. I did as he said, and we jolted to a stop. “Gentle touch with your foot. Very gentle. Like you’re worried there’s glass on the pedal.”
I moved my foot toward the gas again, but he stopped me with a hand on my knee. “Wait. Let’s put it in gear first so we don’t wind up on the beach.”
“Could be fun.”
“Let’s stick to the road for now.”
He put my hand on the shifter and showed me how to move it into gear. “Gently,” he reminded me again as I stepped on the gas, this time moving forward slowly. “Look at that. You’re driving.”
I felt a smile spreading across my face. It changed into sheer terror when we turned onto Dune and other cars were coming toward us, but except for a momentary steadying hand on the wheel, Dan let me do the rest, even directing me very crookedly into a parking spot.
“Are you sure you haven’t driven before?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll have to swipe Ada’s keys to practice during the week.”
“Or you can use mine next weekend.”
I grinned at him. “What if I don’t invite you back?”
He took my hand and kissed the palm. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The four of us ate breakfast together the next morning, Lillian asking Dan questions about everything she hadn’t covered the day before. Ada didn’t even have her newspaper at the table for once.
“What are you two doing today?” she finally asked.
“I figured we’d go to the beach,” I said. “Then maybe Atlantic City tonight.”
“How fun,” Lillian said. “You’ll take him to Hackney’s of course.”
I nodded, but Ada spoke. “I believe we’ll join you on the beach today.”
Lillian pursed her lips and put a hand on Ada’s. “Let the two lovebirds be. We can go another day.”
“Nonsense,” Ada said. “Besides, we don’t stay as long as they do.”
“You should definitely join us,” Dan said. I shot him a look, and he nudged my leg with his under the table.
“How romantic,” I muttered.
“Did you say something?” Ada asked pointedly.
I put my elbows on the table and leaned my chin in my hands. “It’s just the most perfect dream date ever.”
“Elbows off my table.” She turned to Dan. “You really want all this sass? It’s not too late. I could find a nice girl for you instead of my witch of a niece.”
He hid a smile with his napkin. “She’ll be so convenient at Halloween though. I won’t even need to decorate for the kids.”
Ada turned to Lillian. “I told you I liked this one.”
We all went to our separate rooms to get ready, but Dan and I were the first ones back downstairs. “What’s in the bag?” I asked.
He pulled it off his shoulder and unzipped it to show a camera, the letter F on the top, the word Nikon just below it.
“You weren’t kidding, huh? That’s a fancy camera.”
“Just a single-lens reflex. But it shoots beautifully.”
“Why are you bringing it to the beach? Aren’t you worried it’ll get sand in it?”
“Nah,” he said. “I’ll be careful. And I told you I was bringing it.”
“What would you do with pictures of me though?”
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I just like photographing beautiful things.”
“I’d tell you to get a room, but I don’t want any broken windows,” Ada said.
I jumped about a mile. “How does someone your age sneak up on people so well? Shouldn’t your joints be creaking?”
She ignored me. “I hope you know how to put up a beach umbrella better than Marilyn. She almost killed people the last time she tried.”
“I believe I can handle that.”
“She exaggerates,” I said. “Besides, the only one I’d want to kill is her.”
“And it’ll take much more than an umbrella to do that,” she said. She turned to the stairs. “Lillian! Are you coming?”
“I am,” Lillian called back.
“Why are you allowed to call room to room when I’m not?” I asked.