Chapter 28
The sound of a zipper woke Willa up. She blinked her eyes open and reached her arm to the warm space next to her where Shawn had been.
“Shawn?” she mumbled sleepily.
“Right here, Greene,” he said, kneeling next to the bed and kissing her forehead.
“What’reyoudoin?” Willa asked, her words slurring together as she fought the urge to fall back asleep. She felt a warm hand cup her cheek and she smiled. “What time issit?”
He chuckled. “It’s 5 a.m. I’m heading back home so Grams doesn’t get suspicious.”
A pang of sadness hit her chest, and she felt stupid for being so bummed. She wasn’t ready for Ida to know. He was just respecting her request. But she didn’t want him to leave—his warmth, his presence made her feel safe. She grabbed his shirt with her fingers and tugged him in for a kiss.
“You’re making it hard to leave,” he whispered against her lips and she giggled.
“I don’t want you to.”
He groaned. “Willa…”
Shawn pulled away from the kiss and she pouted. He laughed as he tugged the blankets over her and tucked her in.
“Go back to sleep, baby,” he whispered. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“‘Kay.”
She rolled over and closed her eyes. She heard the door click shut as he left, then drifted back to sleep shortly after that.
When Willa woke up several hours later, her clock read 10 a.m. and she smiled to herself as she remembered everything that happened the night before. She was nervous—scared to end up in a bad situation again. But she trusted Shawn, and she was starting to trust herself again, too. Having him spend the night was the best way to seal their new deal.
She rolled out of bed, and after lighting incense, stretching, and mediating, she checked her phone. She had a few texts, but the one from Shawn made her heart leap.
Date night tonight? Pick you up at 7?
She grinned and texted back.
Sounds perfect.
“Where ya goin’,Scooby?”
Shawn had briefly considered climbing out his window to avoid this encounter. After all, he wasn’t wearing swim trunks or a t-shirt.
He was wearing real clothes. Jeans. A button-down shirt. A belt.
His hair had been brushed, for Christ’s sake.
As much as he wanted to tell everyone he knew that he was taking Willa on a date, he understood why she wanted to keep things private for now. And he respected it, even though it made him a little sad. He wanted everyone to know she was his, but he’d play his part in keeping things a secret. For now.
So he’d already planned an excuse—one he hoped Grams wouldn’t see through.
“I’m going out to dinner with Hanna and Tucker,” he said.
Grams studied him, her eyes narrow with suspicion.
“Sure do look nice to go see two of your best friends,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and jutting her jaw out.
“Hanna wanted to try some new, fancy place,” Shawn said, his hands getting clammier by the second. “She called me and told me to wear this.”
He forced the lies to roll off his tongue naturally, but Grams didn’t budge.
“And what’s it called?”
He should’ve seen this coming.
“The Krusty Krab,” he said hurriedly, before he could overthink it.
Even if the name rang a bell for her, he doubted Grams would put together that it was from SpongeBob.
She scrunched her face up in thought. “Krusty Krab? Doesn’t sound fancy.”
“Well, it is. You know how seafood restaurants are. Their names never sound fancy.”
“Where is it?”
“My map will tell me,” he said with a grin, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“Hmm.”
He put his phone back in his pocket and grinned. “Can I go now? Is the inquisition over?”
“Can’t blame me for hoping you were going on a date,” she said with a frown. “Why didn’t you invite Hanna and Tucker over here to see me?”
“I will next time, Grams,” he said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “But I gotta go. I’ll tell them you said hi, okay?”
“Alright,” she said, plopping down into her chair and lifting her feet. “I’ll be watching The Holiday tonight if you need me. So don’t need me.”
Shawn chuckled. “I’ll do my best. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Scooby.”
Grams wasn’t the only reason he was nervous.
He had big plans for Willa tonight, and everything needed to be perfect. Keeping Grams off his scent was a small part of making sure tonight went smoothly. The rest of it—well, he’d spent most of the day getting everything ready.
Shawn wanted to earn Willa’s trust. He wanted her to know that he believed in her, knew her, listened to her, and cared about her. And he wanted to show her how much she meant to him.
He climbed into his truck and drove a couple houses down, into her driveway, where she was waiting looking like an absolute goddess in that dress.
It was the seafoam green one she wore on the first day they met, when she showed up at his bait shop and turned his life upside down. He got out of the car, barely remembering the bouquet of flowers he’d bought earlier and kept in his truck to avoid any questions from Grams.
Willa beamed at him.
Shawn swallowed and held them out to her.
“Such a gentleman,” she said with a wink, then stepped closer to him and kissed him on the cheek.
He froze, thrown off by the sudden display of affection.
Forget the fact that they’d been screwing each other senseless the past couple of months.
The light peck on the cheek made him feel like a giddy teenager again. Like they were taking it slow.
Like they were really in a relationship.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone kissed him on the cheek like that.
“I’m going to put these in some water real quick,” she said. “Want to come in?”
Shawn nodded.
He must’ve lost his ability to speak because he wanted to tell her how perfect she looked, but couldn’t find his voice. So he trailed behind her into the kitchen, where they sat in one of those companionable silences they often shared on the wharf as she methodically cut the stems and put the flowers in a vase.
“I love sunflowers,” Willa said. “How’d you know?”
He’d taken a wild guess. The flowers reminded him of her, and one of the locals grew the most beautiful sunflowers on their farm a few miles down the road. He drove down there to buy them earlier that afternoon.
When he had the idea to buy her some flowers today, the traditional, romantic bouquet isn’t what came to mind. He wasn’t about to drop $50 on the perfect selection of red roses. But sunflowers? The ones he could see growing in fields down the road from the Bay? For some reason, they reminded him of her—warm and inviting and a little bit wild.
“Nobody’s ever bought me sunflowers before,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.
He was going to buy her sunflowers every damn day they were in season.
“I’m glad you like them,” Shawn responded, finally finding his voice.
She gave him a shy smile, and he felt the gravity of this first date.
For both of them, for different reasons, this was a big deal.
So he stepped toward her, grabbed her chin with his fingers, and delicately pecked her perfect lips.
“Thanks for letting me take you out tonight,” he whispered against her mouth. “I know this must be scary for you. Just let me know what you need.”
She released a big sigh and buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. He tugged her in and rested his chin against the top of her head.
“Thank you,” she whispered, so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.
“I’ve got some big plans for tonight,” he said, nerves re-entering his system.
“Am I dressed okay for it?”
He pulled back and grinned at her. “You look perfect. Have I not said that yet?”
She shook her head, biting her lip.
Leaning into her hair, Shawn brought his lips against her ear and her breath caught as he whispered, “This is the dress you wore the first time I laid eyes on you. This is the perfect dress for any occasion. You look stunning.”
He heard her intake of breath before making eye contact with her again. “Shall we?”
She nodded, and he led her to the car.
So far, so good. As she buckled into the seat, he turned the radio on and pulled out of the driveway. He hoped she liked what he had planned.
Willa twiddled her thumbs nervously.
Shawn remembered this dress.
Of course he did.
But still. It meant the world to her.
She took a calming breath in a feeble attempt to get her heart rate to slow. Between the flowers and the whispering in her ear, she was more than a little turned on. But mostly, she was terrified.
It’s Shawn,she’d been telling herself all day. I trust Shawn.
But how could she trust anyone after what she’d been through?
Her therapist told her that sometimes she just had to do it scared. That it sounded like Shawn held space for her to express when she was feeling insecure about their relationship, and that was a step in the right direction. That if she never put herself out there—never tried—she’d never learn to trust herself again.
It took her three tries to apply her eyeliner because her hand was shaking from nerves.
But she did it, and she’d do this, too.
Willa realized she hadn’t been paying much attention to where Shawn was driving as he pulled into the church parking lot where Bingo was held.
Confusion mixed with amusement laced her tone as she said, “Are you taking me to Bingo for date night?”
He grinned at her. “Not quite.”
Shawn got out of the car and jogged to the passenger side, where he opened the door for her. He grabbed her hand, fingers laced with hers, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I have a few surprises for you tonight,” he said. “This is one of them.”
Willa felt the nervous anticipation of uncertainty and curiosity, but followed Shawn’s lead through the front doors of the church. He walked through the hallways, past the sanctuary and into the room where Bingo was typically held. He turned on the light, then led her up to the front, onto the small, makeshift stage where Amos typically stood as he emceed for Bingo.
“Ta da,” Shawn said.
“Ta da?” Willa asked, biting back a laugh.
“I talked to Amos about the possibility of you teaching some yoga classes here,” Shawn said. “Not sure if you know this, but he doesn’t just run Bingo. He’s the community outreach manager for the church. Helps put on all sorts of events to engage with the neighborhood, but mostly to keep the seniors around here active. I told him how you teach yoga and how you worked with Grams, to see if he’d be interested in having you teach a few classes a week here at the church. He loved the idea.”
Willa gasped. “You… wait, I—” she spluttered.
“I told him you needed a paying job, so he said you could discuss the particulars of how much you wanted to charge community members. But he said you could keep 100% of the profit from classes. The church has a lot of big donors locally. They just want to reach the community in more ways. And he thinks this’ll be a big hit. Especially since Grams is such a big fan of yours already. He wants to announce it at Bingo every week.”
“I can teach yoga here?”
“Only if you want,” Shawn continued. “I told him you were just exploring your options right now, but he really wants you to do it. He thinks it might help get some young people showing up at the church, too.”
Willa took a deep breath and tried to process what she just heard. Shawn found her a job. A real job. Where she could work with seniors, like she’d always wanted. People like Grams. Where she could make a real difference, and still be only a few minutes away from work.
“You… you found me a job,” Willa said.
Shawn reached his hand behind his neck, his cheeks reddening. “If you want it. If you hate the idea, that’s okay, too.”
“Shawn,” Willa said, her eyes misting. “You found me a yoga job teaching seniors.”
“Are you mad?” he asked, his brows creasing. “I know it was a bit presumptuous?—”
“Mad?” she laughed. “Shawn, how could I be mad? This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
She launched herself into his arms and giggled, her happiness bubbling over. He froze for a moment, then tugged her into his body.
“Thank you,” she said. “I never would’ve thought of this. I can’t thank you enough.”
He beamed.
“Happy to help.” She could tell he meant it. “I’ll tell Amos you”re interested and have him give you a call.”
“Sounds perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her nerves had softened amidst the excitement of this news, and now she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store next.
“The first surprise was a success. What’s next?” she asked him.
He kissed her on the nose. “Let’s find out.”
Shawn had thoughtfor a moment that he’d messed up. Been too heavy-handed. Tried too hard.
He hadn’t had a girlfriend.
Ever.
But he wanted to spoil Willa. Wanted to be the one to solve all her problems, or at the very least, hold her hand through them all.
So he’d gotten on the phone with Amos. It was an easy call. He’d known Amos for years. Fixed his gutters after the tropical storm last summer. House-sat for him when he went on a two-week trip to Europe.
But as Willa stood in the multi-purpose room of the church in stunned silence, he thought maybe he’d gone too far.
Until her eyes had gone glassy and she laughed with such pure joy that he felt it deep in his bones.
His left hand rested at the top of the steering wheel and his right sat atop her leg, her fingers gently toying with his. He hoped this next surprise went just as well. After the last one, he was feeling a bit more confident.
He pulled into the marina—just a few minutes down the road from the church—and parked in his usual spot.
She glanced at him shyly, her eyes bright with curiosity.
Shawn got out of the truck and opened her door, holding a hand out to her.
She grabbed it and they walked toward the marina office together. Willa looked at him quizzically as he led her into the tiny office at the front of the pier. He grinned at her and led her inside, where Bo was sitting with a sudoku and a beer.
“This her?” Bo asked gruffly, his accent so thick that even Shawn noticed it.
“Bo, this is Willa,” Shawn said. “Willa, this is Bo. He runs the marina.”
Willa extended her hand to Bo and they shook.
“Firm handshake,” Bo drawled. “I can see why you like her.”
Then he winked at Willa.
“Hey, man, that’s my girl,” Shawn jested, wrapping a protective arm around Willa.
Bo lifted both his hands up in surrender.
Shawn had known Bo since he was a kid, much like the rest of the community around the Bay. When he was little, Bo used to let him sneak candy from his office before he went on boat rides. Now, Bo gave Shawn a hell of a deal on docking his boat and helped him out on the occasional tour.
Bo was a former veteran who was almost always clad in khakis and a polo. He’d bought the marina after getting out of the Navy, and Shawn was pretty certain he’d never retire. He’d hired people to help with the logistics and manual labor so he could be the face of the marina. He loved talking to people, and this job allowed him to meet all sorts of people.
Like Shawn.
And now Willa.
“Shawny tells me you’re one hell of a yoga teacher,” Bo said. “Done it a couple times myself. It’s some tough shit.”
Willa’s eyes lit up with amusement as she responded. “It definitely can be.”
Bo hummed, studying Willa carefully. “He seems to think offering yoga classes out on the marina’s pavilion or beach might be a big hit.”
Eyes wide, Willa looked over at Shawn. “He does?”
Shawn nodded. “I see you doing yoga out on your wharf every day. Thought other people might want to do the same.”
Willa grinned. “I think people would love it. Locals and tourists.”
“Exactly what Shawny here said,” Bo responded. “And I trust him. If he says you’re a good egg, then you’re a good egg in my book.”
“She is,” Shawn said.
Willa bit her lip. “Thanks, Bo. So how do you want to go about doing this?”
Shawn pulled up a couple of chairs so they could sit down as Willa and Bo discussed the details, including class schedule and how she’d get paid. Bo offered to keep her on retainer, so long as she taught at least three classes per week. By the end of their conversation, she’d come up with a tentative class schedule starting the following week, talked through a plan to get the word out, and shook on their plan.
Shawn could tell Willa was thoroughly charmed with Bo, and he couldn’t blame her. He had a way of making people feel seen and special.
He grinned to himself as they walked out of his tiny office, and Willa was buzzing with energy.
“So you found me two jobs,” Willa said.
“I hope that’s okay,” Shawn said.
She stopped. “It’s more than okay. It’s…” She sighed. “Thank you, Shawn.”
He lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
“No problem.” Grabbing her hand, he led her toward the dock. “You ready for the last surprise of the night?”