I stared at her and felt Becca staring at me staring at her sister.
“You look incredible,” I said.
“Thank you.”
She glanced down at herself and then back up at me, running her hand down her flat stomach. “The dress is beautiful, Colt.”
“The dress is great, but you in the dress takes my breath away.”
Becca sucked in a breath. “Alright, you two should probably go. Go eat. Have fun. Do whatever healthy young adults do.”
She kissed the top of River’s head and smoothed the wild tangle of her hair with one hand, which did absolutely nothing to tame it. Then she crouched down and pulled Ocean into a quick hug that he only partially resisted before giving in. Summer straightened and looked at Becca.
“Don’t wait up,” she said.
Becca grinned. “I won’t.”
Summer grabbed a small clutch from the hall table and looked at me. “Ready.”
I held the door open and followed her out into the warm evening air. She stopped at the bottom of the porch steps when she saw the Mercedes in the drive. She looked at it and then looked at me with one eyebrow raised. I followed her to the passenger side and opened the door for her.
I pulled out of the driveway and headed north along the coast road. She was quiet for the first stretch. She had her hands in her lap and her fingers were working at the rings she wore stacked on her right hand, turning them in small rotations the way she always did when she was nervous.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
The restaurant sat at the far northern end of Surfside where the shoreline curved gently and the nearest building was a quarter mile back. It wasn’t exactly five-star, but it had location and the rest didn’t matter. The place hadn’t changed much. It still sat right at the edge of the sand and looked like an average shack. Tables had been set up directly on the beach, white tablecloths weighted at the corners and candles burning in glassholders at the center of each one. Tiki torches were staked into the sand around the perimeter.
I got out and came around to her door. She was already opening it, which I expected. She wasn’t going to sit there and wait. I offered my hand anyway, and after a brief pause, she took it.
The hostess led us to a table. I pulled out her chair, sat across from her, and picked up the wine list. I already knew what I wanted but I studied it anyway to give myself something to do with my hands. The server appeared and I ordered a bottle of white wine.
“You nervous?” I asked.
She looked at me. “Are you?”
“A little,” I admitted.
She seemed to appreciate that. “Yeah, this is weird.”
“Is it?”
“Dinner with you. I feel so exposed.”
“Because no one knows about our past.”
“That’s the way we wanted it.”
I nodded but I wasn’t sure I completely agreed with that. She didn’t want her dad to know and I got it. I accepted it.
The server returned with two glasses of wine. I watched her sip it, her hair gently lifting away from her shoulders in the breeze.
“I used to think about this,” I said.
“Dinner?”
“Bringing you somewhere like this. Taking you out properly.” I set my glass down and looked at her. “I always imagined it would be different circumstances. Better ones.”