Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ryan grinned to himself as he stepped out of his father’s home. It was a gorgeous day, promising the warmth and sweet scents of spring. His heart felt light, and he felt well-rested and eager for the day ahead of him.
He’d discussed working remotely with his foreman and his company, and everyone agreed that it was a good plan that would work well. He’d had to transfer some of his on-site tasks to his foreman, but in return he’d taken on some of the foreman’s planning duties, things that could be done remotely.
He was greatly looking forward to this new model of work. He had the day off, and moving forward, he wouldn’t need to devote nearly as many hours to his work as he’d had to in the past. He was eager to do his work in coffee shops or the library, or even at the beach. There was a peaceful, contented atmosphere that pervaded Rosewood Beach, and he wanted to let it sink into his soul.
Even though I’m still going to be working, he told himself as he walked down the long driveway, I’m determined to not overwork myself anymore. I’m going to learn to take life at a gentler pace.
He smiled, thinking about Faith. He hoped that she was doing well, and still managing to take life slowly as she recovered from her years of stress.
He made his way toward the center of town, wanting to walk around for a while and enjoy the sights. He felt relieved to be back in the relaxed little town, and he had to admit to himself that he was eager to run into Faith. Although he kept telling himself that he shouldn’t get his hopes up, he couldn’t help wishing that he would see her while he was out walking or getting lunch.
After strolling around town for a while, he started to make his way toward Ocean Breeze Café. His stomach was growling, and he knew that there were several things on the menu there that would appease his hunger in a particularly satisfying way.
He reached the café a few minutes later, and he saw through the front windows that it was particularly busy with customers. He caught himself looking around for Faith the second he stepped inside the restaurant.
Don’t do that to yourself, McCormick, he thought. She’s probably gone back to Boston already. Or—wherever it is she’s going next.
Despite what he was telling himself, he still looked around the café for a few more seconds, making sure he didn’t see her face anywhere in the crowd. He didn’t, and disappointment flopped in his stomach. It was as if it was a certain sign that she was gone and he would never see her again, and he found that his heart was aching a little bit.
There was a sign instructing customers to seat themselves, so he chose a little table in the corner of the room. He sat down and perused the menu for a little while, finally deciding on ordering potato pancakes with bacon and sausages on the side.
A smiling waitress came by and took his order. When she went away, he had nothing left to occupy his attention, and he went back to listlessly looking around the room. A second later, his heart leapt up into his throat.
It couldn’t be—could it?
He grinned and stood up, feeling his whole bloodstream rushing faster. Faith Talbot was sitting at the counter on her laptop, with a coffee mug at her elbow.
She must have arrived after I did, he thought, striding toward her. I’m sure I would have seen her there.
He was halfway across the dining room before he hesitated. She appeared to be working, and maybe she wouldn’t like to be interrupted. After all, he was still essentially a stranger to her, and he might be assuming too much by hoping that she would be happy to see him.
He only hesitated for a moment, however. There was only one way to find out if she would be happy to see him or not, and he was not about to pass up the opportunity to say hello to her. He felt absolutely thrilled that she was still in town.
“Faith,” he said when he was a few paces away from her. She didn’t seem to hear him, absorbed in whatever it was she was doing, and he stepped a few feet closer until he was right beside her. “Faith.”
“Oh!” she squeaked, turning toward him in alarm. It was clear that he’d startled her, but as soon as she recognized him, her face lit up into a pleasantly surprised grin. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and she looked thrilled to see him.
Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. He hoped that her positive reaction meant that she’d been wanting to see him again as much as he’d been wanting to see her again.
“You’re back in town,” she said, a little breathlessly.
“You’re still in town.” He grinned at her.
“I am.” She smiled, flushing slightly.
There was a short pause, in which both of them smiled at each other and didn’t quite seem to know what to say. Ryan felt as light as a feather.
“What brings you back to town so soon?” Her expression fell as if she’d suddenly had a bad thought. “I hope everything’s all right with your family.”
He was touched by her concern. “Oh, sure, they’re all doing fine. Up to their elbows in schemes as usual, probably.”
She laughed his comment off as a joke, and he grinned when he heard her laugh. He liked her laugh—it was significantly higher-pitched than her voice, and he found that cute.
He sat down at the counter beside her and gestured to her computer screen. “What have you been working on?”
She shook her head. “Not working, just looking. Here, see?” She turned her laptop toward him and showed him the housing website she was on. “I’ve been looking at cottages and duplexes here in town.”
“Really?” He leaned forward, interested. The thought of her choosing to stay in town felt like Christmas. He glanced at her and saw that she was looking at him instead of the computer screen. “These look really nice.”
“They do, don’t they? I’m not making any decisions officially—it’s more of a daydream at this point. I’m just toying with the idea of making my stay here permanent.”
He nodded, internally crossing all his fingers and toes that it would stop being a daydream and become a reality.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she teased gently. “What brings you back into town?”
“Oh, sorry.” He grinned. He felt so giddy about running into her unexpectedly that he was finding it hard to think straight. “Well, it has to do with those conversations we were having before I left. I’ve been starting to wonder if the fast-paced life I’ve been leading is really what I want. When I went back to that job in Colorado, it didn’t take me long at all to realize that I don’t want to live that way anymore. And on top of it, I really missed Rosewood Beach.” He glanced at her, and they shared a moment of eye contact.
“I’m glad you’re able to come back to town,” she said slowly, as if she was having trouble finding her words. “Did you have to quit your job?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m lucky. We figured out a way for me to be able to work remotely about ninety percent of the time. My foreman and I swapped a few of our duties, and the team is going to submit photos of their work to the online portal my company uses. Sounds like it’s easier for everyone, so that way they don’t have to wait for me to physically walk over to their part of the site to approve things.”
“That’s fantastic!” She smiled warmly at him. “I’m really glad to hear that, Ryan.”
They shared a smile, and the silence went on for so long that he began to feel as though he could hear his heart beating in his ears.
“I have a question for you now,” he said finally. “I’m really happy to see you, Faith. I’d thought that maybe when I got back into town you would have left already, and I’m really glad that’s not the case.”
“That’s not a question, those are statements,” she teased.
“I’m getting to that.” He grinned. “I was wondering if perhaps you might like to meet up sometime. Now that we’re both here in town.”
She inhaled, blinking, but she looked excited. “Uh, yes. Yes, I would like that.” She grinned back at him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan saw the waitress return to his table with his food, looking around for him in confusion. He chuckled.
“I guess I’d better get back to my table,” he said, standing up. “My food’s here, and I don’t want to keep distracting you from your daydreaming.” Before he left her, however, he wanted to lock in the details of meeting up with her. He hadn’t referred to it as a date yet, although he was hoping that she wanted it to be one as much as he did. “How about Friday night? I’ll take you out to dinner somewhere.”
Her cheeks flushed and her eyes were bright. “Yes. Sounds great.”
“Let me get your number quick,” he said, pulling out his phone. “So we can discuss details.”
She pulled her phone from her purse and they exchanged phone numbers.
“Great.” He smiled at her, tucking his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll see you Friday night.”
“Friday night.” She smiled back.
He turned around and went back to his table, tempted to grab his food and go right back to the counter to sit next to her. But he didn’t want to interrupt the plans she’d made, and he didn’t want to scare her off by appearing over-eager.
Friday night, he told himself as he stuck his fork into the crispy potato pancakes. I can’t wait.