Page 43 of Beautiful Place By the Sea

“We’re going to the dance hall,” Laurel repeats. “To see what it was like for Grandma Ellie.”

I nod slowly. “Okay. That could be interesting.” I’m not really a big dancer, but I can handle going out, listening to some music, and socializing my cousin with others until she stops behaving like she’s never been around humans before. I think she needs this.

Plus, the idea of walking where my grandmother walked, even if it happens to be where she met her hot summer fling, is intriguing, too. It seems like it could be soothing, somehow, to see the world through her eyes.

Who knows, maybe I’ll even meet a charming gentleman who can take me up to the cliffs for a sultry evening.

“Good.” Laurel twirls the end of her ponytail around her finger. “Oliver, you should come, too.” Her eyes glint mischievously when she sees the horrified look on my face.

“Oh,” he starts, clearly uncomfortable. “I don’t know about that.”

“Yeah, Laur, Oliver doesn’t like to go places where he has to exhibit proper etiquette.” I flash him my sweetest grin.

She lets her face fall to an innocent mask. “But we don’t really know anyone else in town, and I fully intend to meet some eligible bachelors tonight and leave Ivy behind. Who will she hang out with while I’m off being my charming self?”

“Hey! Who’s to say I won’t be my charming self and attract just as many eligible bachelors?”

“Come on, Ivy.” Laurel shakes her head, a few more times than I think is really necessary given what she’s protesting. “We both know you’re not going to strike up a conversation with guys at a club.”

Oliver makes a face. “It’s not a club. It’s a dance hall.”

“Where plenty of modern street youths go for debauchery,” I remind him.

“So?” Laurel’s looking at me expectantly.

“So?” I parrot.

“So?” Oliver says, ostensibly just to be a jerk.

I sigh loudly. “Okay, fine. Oliver’s invited.”

“I think I was already invited,” he retorts. “Your cousin invited me.”

Laurel nods brightly. “It’s true. I did.”

I turn toward him, putting my back to Laurel so she knows to butt out of the conversation. “You really don’t have to entertain this,” I say under my breath.

“Do you not want me there?” His eyes are intense on my face.

I blink quickly, trying to still my heart, which is pounding again. I paste on a grin that hopefully exudes far more confidence than I’m currently feeling. “If you want to save me from whatever’s making Laurel seem like she’s been bitten by a rabid dog,” I say, “I want you there.”

“Then I’ll be there.”

I force down my blush and quip, “What about your date with Sam at McGarrity’s?”

“I already told you,” Oliver replies, looking at me in a way that makes my knees weak, “I’ve got my sights set elsewhere.”

In fact, he hadn’t said that. Not really. His self-attested lack of interest in Sam didn’t necessarily mean he was interested in someone else. But apparently he is, and I can’t help but notice that his sights are, quite literally, fixed tightly on me. I feel the flush running up my cheeks deepen.

For a moment, I forget Laurel’s behind us.

“Excellent!” she exclaims, shattering the illusion of a private conversation. “Then we’re all set for tonight! Oliver, meet us at the Hall of Debauchery at nine.” She pokes me in the shoulder. “I’ll see you at home after your shift. I’ll help you do your hair.” She surveys me with pity, like I’m the one who currently looks as if they don’t own a hairbrush.

“I promise, I’ll buy you a drink later to make up for this,” I mutter to Oliver.

He nods solemnly. “Maybe even two.”

“Cheerio, darlings!” Laurel yells vibrantly, like she’s Cruella De Vil, but without the Dalmatians. She waves over her shoulder, then lets the door swing shut roughly behind her.