Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Evan slipped his hands into the pocket of his suitcoat as he walked along the sidewalks of Coral Sands.
Overhead, the sky was cloudy and gray, but there was a golden glow in the east where the sun was still in the process of rising.
He realized a second later that he’d put his hands in his pockets and he tugged them out hurriedly.
Putting his hands in the pockets of his suit coats was not something that he allowed himself to do. He considered it to be unprofessional.
I’m too distracted, he thought, swallowing. I can’t stop thinking about Audrey. Ever since she barreled into my office two days ago, I’ve been hung up on how awkward our exchange was.
He felt badly about accidentally prodding her about her past. He’d had no idea that she’d been running from such a painful situation, and he found that his respect for her had tripled after he’d learned about it.
The woman was conquering her days with confidence and determination, seizing hope and joy with both fists.
He didn’t think he’d ever known anyone who could handle a situation as tough as hers as well as she appeared to be handling it.
He kept pondering the question of whether or not he should seek her out and apologize to her. He hadn’t wanted to make her uncomfortable, and then he’d seemed to make things worse with his sudden invitation to dinner.
The idea was still spinning around in him like a pinwheel. Why not? Neither of them were married. Getting dinner together wasn’t necessarily a date, it could be more of a business meeting, but even if it was like a date—
He coughed loudly as he walked, startling a flock of seagulls that had landed on a nearby roof.
He turned a corner and saw Townsend’s Bakery in front of him. His stomach growled and he realized that in his distracted state, he’d neglected to eat breakfast.
He approached the bakery, thinking to himself that he’d like to purchase a hand pie that he could munch on his way to work.
He tugged open the front door and stepped inside, greeted immediately by the sweet smell of fresh bakery.
He stopped dead in his tracks a moment later when he saw Audrey standing in front of the counter, perusing the display of baked goods.
Oh, he thought. Well, it seems the decision of whether or not I should talk to her has been decided for me.
Audrey glanced over her shoulder when she heard his footsteps, and she froze when she realized who he was.
“Oh. Hi.” Her tone was hesitant, but polite, and she offered him a small smile.
“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “How have you been?”
“Um, good. How about you?”
“Fine, fine.”
For a few moments, they stood there blinking at each other.
Neither of them really seemed to know what to say.
Evan felt an impulse rise in him, growing stronger and stronger.
He fought it off until he saw her tuck her hair behind her ear, and the charm of the gesture caused his resistance to melt away.
“I have a question for you,” he said, taking a half-step toward her.
“Since you declined my offer of having dinner with me, I was wondering if you might consider doing something else together. There’s a special evening flea market at The Seagull’s Nest Antiques tonight.
Would you be interested in going with me? ”
Audrey’s lips parted and then she closed them again. “Well, I—”
Evan could feel himself turning pink. “If you’d rather not, that’s quite all right. I just thought I’d extend the invitation.”
“It’s not that.” She bit her lip. “It’s just—well, you were asking me out of pity, weren’t you? I told you my sob story and you felt bad for me.”
Evan’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t—I mean, it’s a far cry from feeling sorry to—” He cleared his throat, feeling hot all over and uncomfortably certain that he was blushing. “I do feel badly that you’ve been going through what you’re going through. But I definitely didn’t ask you out of pity.”
“Oh.” Audrey’s lips slowly curved upward into a smile.
“But I do feel that we got off on the wrong foot,” Evan continued, feeling his jitters subside a little. “And I was wondering if, since we’ll need to work together a substantial amount in order to turn Elaine’s home into a historical site, we could start fresh.”
Audrey’s eyes flickered over his face, and her expression was both curious and uncertain. After a few moments, during which Evan’s heart continued to pound, she smiled.
“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand to him for a handshake. “I’m Audrey. Nice to meet you.”
He laughed, charming by her literal interpretation of “starting fresh.”
“I’m Evan McBride, very nice to meet you. I like what you’ve done with your hair.”
“Really? How come? It’s not like we’ve ever met before, you don’t have any idea what it used to look like.” She arched a brow.
He laughed. “Very true. How foolish of me.”
“And to answer your question,” she said, pausing and taking a quick breath. “Yes. I would like that.”
“Well. Great. Very good.” Evan found that he was smiling widely. “I’ll see you later this evening, then.”
“Yes.” She smiled almost shyly at him and turned back to the bakery counter to make an order. After she’d paid for the doughnuts she was buying, she waved at Evan a little before slipping out of the bakery.
He watched her go, his mind buzzing with half-formed thoughts. It was several moments before the woman standing behind the counter gently cleared her throat.
“Ah, yes.” He stepped forward. “I’ll take a hand pie, please.”
It wasn’t until he was back outside in the fresh air that he realized that his heart felt lighter than it had in years.
* * *
Audrey hurried along the sidewalk toward the Seagull’s Nest Antiques, her blood rushing along at lightning speed in her veins.
She smoothed down her hair, which looked particularly lush and curly because she’d spent almost an hour getting it that way.
She glanced down at her flats, noting that because they were a touch glossy they still looked elegant.
She hadn’t wanted to wear high heels to a flea market since she knew she’d be doing a lot of standing and strolling, and she also hadn’t wanted to appear too fancy.
After all, she didn’t know just how romantic of a date it was.
I can’t believe I agreed to this, she thought, letting out a breathless laugh as she neared the door of the antique store.
Last I checked in with myself, I was determined not to care what Evan McBride thought of me, and the next thing I know I’m jumping at the opportunity to go out on a date with him.
Butterflies fluttered in her chest, and an unconscious smile spread across her face.
Even though Evan had been grumpy and rude to her, and even though she still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d decided to ask her out, she’d experienced a peaceful feeling after he’d asked her.
She was drawn to him in ways she couldn’t quite explain, and she was realizing that the more he blushed and the more he smiled, the more attracted she was becoming to him.
She tugged open the door of the antique shop, feeling excited about getting a chance to talk to Evan outside of bickering about property permits, but at the same time feeling as though she had no idea what to expect from the evening.
Who was Evan McBride away from his office and his stacks of paperwork?
She had a funny feeling that even he didn’t know the answer to that.
Well. She smiled to herself. Maybe we’ll find out together.
The flea market was being held in the spacious basement of the antique store, and she took the stairs down to it right away without bothering to look for Evan in the upstairs of the shop first. She had a feeling he was the type of person to be exactly where he said he would be at a certain time, rather than someone who might dawdle perusing fascinating antiques.
She herself was the kind of person who would dawdle, and she felt tempted to check out the shelf of antique books right by the front door, but she resisted the temptation and instead continued on her way down the staircase.
She reached the basement, which was full of tables, hanging lights, chatting people, and rows upon rows of delightful items. She scanned the room for Evan and saw him a moment later. He waved to her from across the flea market as soon as he saw her and then began to hurry toward her.
I guess he did let himself dawdle a little, she thought with a chuckle. He’s all the way over there after having gone exploring all the way down this aisle.
“Good evening,” he said as he reached her side. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” she said. “How are you?”
“Oh, fine, fine.” He cleared his throat.
She blinked down at the floor, thinking to herself that so far, the date was proving to be very awkward. She glanced up at Evan and saw that he was watching her with a concerned expression.
Does he really think I’m some kind of damsel in distress?
she wondered, squaring her shoulders and feeling determined to appear capable and self-sufficient.
Surely I haven’t been acting like some kind of weepy female who needs pity—or a woman who needs an exorbitant amount of help deciding how she’s going to rebuild her front porch.
She waited for him to speak first, since she didn’t want to come off as nervous or needy. Evan blinked at her for a few more seconds, and then he said, “Have you ever had any of our famous Coral Sands fudge?”
“I have, but not in ages,” she said, brightening. “Are they selling it here tonight?”
“Yes, there’s a whole booth for concessions over there. They also have some spectacular strawberry lemonade. Would you like to try some?”
“Sure.” She smiled and they began to stroll toward the concession booth. The silence felt a little awkward, especially since she was beginning to notice people watching them with interest. “How do you know the lemonade is spectacular? Did you try it when you got here?”