Chapter 9 #2
“Mac is crazy about that kid. Their daughter, Hailey, was born—at home—during Tropical Storm Hailey. I wasn’t here then, but I heard about how wild it was.
They’re expecting their third child now.
You met my cousin Grant, right? He’s Stephanie’s fiancé.
When he met her, Charlie, who’s her stepfather, was still in prison.
” He paused and looked stricken. “Oh crap, you know about that, right?”
Smiling, she nodded. “My mother told me today. It’s an amazing story.”
“It really is. Grant called his friend, Dan Torrington—”
“The lawyer? I’ve heard of him.”
“That’s him right there.” He pointed to Dan, who was sitting with a pretty woman with red highlights in her long brown hair.
“With his fiancée, Kara. Anyway, Dan made a few phone calls, threw his weight around, and next thing we knew, Charlie was sprung from prison. Then Dan came here to write a book about his innocence project and met Kara. They’re getting married next year. ”
“What is it about this place and people finding their soul mates?”
“Mac says there’s something in the water.”
Katie laughed. “I’ll take a glass!”
“Coming right up.” After he fetched her a glass of Gansett Island water and a bottle of the light beer she’d requested, he returned to his seat next to her. “Want to hear more about my cousins?”
“Absolutely.”
“That’s Evan over there. He’s sitting with his fiancée, Grace Ryan.
They’re getting married in January. He was playing a gig right here at the marina with Owen last summer when he noticed Grace crying at one of the tables.
He took the time to find out what was wrong and learned her date had left her stranded on the island after she refused to have sex with him. ”
“Whoa.”
“I know, right? So Evan took her home to his parents’ house for the evening and paid her way home to Connecticut. She came back a few weeks later to reimburse him, and from all accounts, they’ve been together ever since. Now she owns Ryan’s Pharmacy in town.”
“I love that. What a great story.”
“Now, my cousin Adam is engaged to Abby, who was with Grant for ten years.”
“That sounds dicey.”
“It might’ve been if Grant hadn’t been happily in love with Stephanie. They worked it out, and everyone is happy for Adam and Abby. They’re great together.”
“Another amazing story.”
“I’m beginning to think that bringing you here was the best thing I could’ve done.”
“Why’s that?”
“After hearing all about my cousins and their smooth moves, you might be tempted to go out with me again.”
Before she could form a reply to that audacious statement, Adam and Abby took seats at their table, followed soon after by Shane’s cousin Janey and her husband, Joe, who carried their son, P.J.
“What a cute baby,” Katie said of the tiny blond boy who watched the world go by with big blue eyes.
“We’re quite fond of him,” Joe said, gazing down at his son.
“You McCarthys make cute babies,” Katie said. “Holden is adorable, and so are Mac’s kids.” She caught Shane watching her with a guarded expression and wondered if she’d said the wrong thing.
“Holden is super cute,” Janey agreed. “He’s going to be tall, dark and handsome when he grows up.”
“Could Auntie Abby take a turn with P.J.?” Abby asked.
“Absolutely.” Joe handed the baby over to Abby, who melted before their eyes.
Adam watched her intently as she snuggled the baby, and then whispered something in her ear that had her smiling softly at him.
Apparently eighty pounds of tuna fed a lot of people, because they kept arriving. First Owen and Laura with baby Holden, and then Ned and his wife, Francine. Katie was introduced to Joe’s mom, Carolina, and her new husband, Seamus.
“Wow,” Katie whispered to Shane. “Good for her.”
He chuckled at her comment. “Apparently, their age difference was quite the scandal when they first started dating. Now it’s no big deal.”
Surrounded by happy couples, all of whom had risked their hearts to find true love and happiness, had Katie thinking about the rules that had governed her life and whether it might be time to say to hell with the rules.
She leaned back against Shane and forced herself to remain calm when he casually put his arm around her, announcing to anyone who might be looking that they were together.
And people were most definitely looking.
“Is this okay?” he asked, his lips brushing against her temple.
She nodded and tried to get her rigid muscles to relax and enjoy the moment. Here she was with a nice, handsome, sexy man who seemed interested in her. They were surrounded by a big, boisterous, loving family that wanted only the best for him—and probably her, too, due to her relationship to Owen.
It was okay to relax and enjoy herself. It was okay to let him touch her. It was okay to talk about second dates and things she’d never allowed before. “Shane?”
“Yes?”
“I have to tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
The others were engaged in their own conversations, which gave Katie the opportunity to speak privately to him. “I… I want you to know…”
“What do you want me to know?”
At that moment she was glad she couldn’t see his face.
Rather, she watched his father come into the restaurant holding Betsy’s hand, which he released only to hug his brothers before reclaiming his woman.
The two of them were smiling and fairly glowing with happiness that only bolstered her courage.
“Katie? What do you want me to know?”
“This is the first date I’ve ever been on.”