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My mind had been working on a similar question as my hands slid up the firm broad planes of his back, my breasts tightening as they pressed against his hard chest. My head nestled beneath his chin, and in the circle of his arms I had a strange sensation of shelter, of a safety I really hadn’t sought, but was comforted to find. “I don’t know,” I answered.
We stood there for several minutes, our bodies pressed together, the sweet sting of salt on our lips, and then Ryan dipped his head and kissed me again. This kiss was slow and sweet, his lips soft and his tongue teasing, not demanding. Where he had taken before, back on the trail, now he asked permission, sought acquiescence. And I gave it willingly, molding my body to his, opening my lips to his seeking tongue.
It sounds cliché, but the kiss really did make me dizzy. Maybe it was the angle of my head, or the way my body felt like it didn’t fully belong to me now that his arms were supporting it, but the world alternately slowed and sped up, the bay roaring in my ears and the sand slipping beneath my toes as water washed it from under us. When Ryan released me, my heart hammered and my breathing felt erratic. I stared at him next to me for a long minute, unsure what was happening here, totally confused about how to proceed. What did one do when one was suddenly forging a completely unexpected romantic interlude with one’s movie-star crush? This was uncharted territory, at least for this Manchester sister. Sightseeing did not seem to be an appropriate focus at this point. “Want to get a drink?”
He nodded, but angled his head toward the lighthouse, a two-story building with a light tower on the top. “We don’t get to see the lighthouse first?”
“You can’t go inside unless you’re on a tour,” I told him. “Plus, it’s haunted.”
He dropped his chin and grinned at me. “Maryland is rife with supernatural beings, isn’t it? Sasquatch, ghosts, and a woman who I’m pretty sure is a figment of my imagination.”
I shook my head. “What?”
“You can’t be real.”
We turned to walk back toward where we’d left our shoes. “Why not?” I asked. “Why can’t I be real?”
“Because I’ve been dreaming about you my whole life.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but my chest warmed. I pretended to focus on putting my sandals back on my feet, pretended my stomach wasn’t turning flips and my mind wasn’t spinning at Ryan’s words.
As we got back into the car, I stilled just as I was about to throw it into drive.
“Do we need to worry?” I asked him. “What if you’re seen with the wrong Manchester sister in public?”
He frowned, but shook his head lightly. “I honestly don’t get recognized often, but I guess it’s a concern. Do you know any place kind of off the beaten path? Maybe not too busy?”
I did.
We drove for a while then, up the peninsula and out a long road to a quiet café with its own dock. It was a local’s joint, not one tourists ever found, and they made great margaritas.
“Are you looking forward to the party?” Ryan asked me once we were settled.
I nodded, though a little ball of anxiety rolled around in my gut as I sipped the drink that had just been delivered. “I am, but Gran is a little tough to please, really. I don’t think she wanted to have this big party.”
“So it’s for you?”
“It’s for posterity,” I said. When he lifted an eyebrow in question, I went on. “She’s turning ninety. And she’s kind of a fixture down here. Granny used to be really involved with the local community. She was a teacher and a principal and then a district administrator. Did you know that Granny used to be the President of the National Education Association?”
He shook his head. “That’s impressive.”
“But now … she’s not senile, not at all. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly …” I trailed off, thinking how to explain the eccentricities that I’d grown accustomed to. “But she’s just a complete individual at this point, and she doesn’t enjoy following society’s rules anymore. So I never know how she’ll behave around people.”
He made a small “hmm” that sounded like agreement or understanding.
“She might even refuse to come out once the party starts. She’s so wrapped up in Warcraft.” I already knew I would recruit Juliet’s huge bodyguards to go in and pick up her gaming chair and carry her out to the tent if that happened. One way or another, she was going to attend her party.
This made Ryan chuckle. “I’ve played that game. I see how it becomes addictive.” He took a fry from the basket the waitress delivered and ate it slowly. My eyes were drawn to the full lips as they moved, the motion of the strong jaw. My stomach flipped again. I liked him. I wanted him. But he was only here another couple days. Was I already in too deep?
“Actually, my dad is kind of like that,” Ryan said, snapping me back to reality. “He’s inappropriate around people now. But mostly, I think he’s angry.”
“I thought you ran away?”
“I did, but after things got easier for me, we connected again. He lives with me now. I moved him in a couple years ago, when he got lost driving one night. The police took him home and called me when they took away his license.”
“Is your dad sick?” I didn’t really know how to broach the topic of dementia. It wasn’t something people enjoyed talking about.
His mouth made a tight line and he looked down at his hands. “He’s mostly angry, I think. He hates relying on me, on anyone. But he’s gotten really frail and confused, and he can’t be totally on his own.”
