Chapter 10 #2
“It was pretty bad for a while, but we got through it.” He wanted to tell her what else he’d been through and give her an out if she wanted it. “What do you say we hit the road?”
“Sure. Whatever you want to do.”
He got up and held out a hand to help her and hung on to her hand even after she was standing.
They went around to say their good-byes to his family, all of whom made a big deal out of the fact that he’d caught dinner for the whole clan.
“I do what I can for the family,” Shane said to laughter from his dad and uncles.
“Have a good night, son,” Frank said. “Nice to see you again, Katie.”
“You, too, Mr. McCarthy.”
“Please, honey. Call me Frank.”
“Thank you, I will.”
Shane put his arm around her as they walked to where he’d parked the motorcycle. He helped her put on the helmet and waited until she was settled on the back before he donned his own helmet and climbed on. “Hang on extra tight.”
Katie laughed at his flirtatious comment.
He loved the way her arms felt around him as he drove out of the marina and headed for town. With his entire family at the marina, they’d have the hotel sitting room to themselves. It was the perfect place for the conversation they needed to have before this went any further.
When they pulled into the parking lot at the Surf, Katie was disappointed that they’d come home so early. He’d seemed to be enjoying himself, but maybe she’d read that wrong. How would she know anyway?
Would it be awkward when they said good night? What if he tried to kiss her? Would she let him? Right… When he hadn’t even wanted to stay out past ten o’clock, he wasn’t likely to try to kiss her.
He took the helmet from her and gestured for her to go on ahead of him into the hotel.
“Thanks for a nice time,” she said when they stepped into the lobby. With the restaurant closed for the evening, no one was around. “Your family is amazing.”
“Yes, they are, but our date isn’t over. Unless you want it to be.”
“Oh. I thought…”
“You thought I was bringing you home and calling it a night.”
“Yes,” she said, feeling foolish now.
“I was hoping we could find a quiet place to talk, if that’s okay.”
Katie couldn’t believe how relieved she was to learn their date wasn’t over. “I’d like that.”
“Come on in here.” He led her into the sitting room, where he stashed the helmets on the floor next to the hutch that housed her grandmother’s favorite china.
Then he joined her on the sofa, sitting with one leg curled up so he could face her.
“I wanted to say that I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me what you did earlier.”
“It’s sort of embarrassing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. There’s no need to be.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but honestly… How many thirty-two-year-old women do you know who’ve never been on a date or… well, anything else?”
“I’m so honored to be your first date, Katie.” He took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips, running them over her knuckles. That simple contact was all it took to set off a fever inside her.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to date. When I was younger and everyone was doing the group-dating thing, my dad wouldn’t let me go.
He didn’t approve of the boys I was friends with, and I knew better than to argue with him.
And then later, when I got to college, they were all such players, you know?
I was surrounded by immature jerks who were awful to my friends.
I wanted nothing to do with any of them.
Before I knew it, I’d created a pattern of avoidance that became an unintentional lifestyle. ”
“I can see how that would happen, and I understand it. I want you to know some things about me that might make you reconsider whether you want me to be the first guy you date.”
Katie couldn’t imagine any scenario that would make her not want to spend more time with him. “Okay…”
“I was married for a couple of years, but I’m divorced now.”
“Oh.”
“My wife, Courtney, was a drug addict. She was addicted to pain meds, and I didn’t find out until we’d been married for quite some time.”
“Oh God, Shane. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, it was a rough time. And I was literally blinded by love. It never occurred to me that she was an addict. She hid it incredibly well.”
“How’d you find out?”
“It all came to a head when I started getting calls from bill collectors. She took care of the bills, so I didn’t know where the money was going.
When I dug a little deeper, I found out she’d basically bankrupted us with her habit.
” He released a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly, as if it was excruciating to talk about this.
“After an ugly, horrible confrontation, I got her into rehab. I borrowed money from my dad to pay for it.”
“She was so lucky to have you.”
“So lucky she divorced me the second she got out of rehab. I haven’t seen her since the day I dropped her off there.”
Katie had no idea what to say to that. His pain was so palpable, even after what had to be some considerable time if he was already divorced. “I’m sorry she treated you that way. No one deserves that.”
“I really loved her. She was the real deal for me. To find out it wasn’t for her was…
Well, it took me a really long time to get past it.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually past it, and I thought you should know, since our date was a big deal for you, too.
This is the first time I’ve been out with anyone since everything happened with her. ”
“Oh, wow,” she said on a long exhale. “We’re quite a pair, huh?”
He smiled, but the sadness lingered around his eyes. “Yeah, I guess we are. I’d understand if my crap is too heavy for you, Katie. You’ve had enough of your own, and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you told me it’s too much for you.”
Katie thought about what she should say. “You’re completely divorced, right?”
“For about eighteen months now.”
“Then I don’t see any reason why we can’t spend some time together and see what happens.”
“Really?”
He was so cute and so eager. She wondered if he had any idea how adorable he was. The thought of his ex-wife treating him so callously made her furious on his behalf. “Yes, really.”
“You want to go for a walk on the beach?”
“I’d love to.”