Always In: The Shore Series Book 2 (12 page)

"Henry was in the car. I could have lost him as well."

"Daniel, I’m so sorry. I won't pry anymore. I can see it's painful for you." I feel a bit uncomfortable and only because I know about all kinds of pain, but this pain is unspeakable.

He smiles at me. No matter the pain he is still in, his eyes sparkle.

"No, no. It's okay. Can't change things. I feel blessed that Henry was fine. Not a scratch on him."

"Thank God," I reply.

"I taught at a secondary school in Manchester for a few years but everywhere I went or no matter what I did, everything reminded me of the accident. It reminded me of Emily and it reminded me of what could have happened to Henry. I tried to stay. I even thought about moving to Ireland where Emily's father lives, but I just needed a complete change. A whole new life. A new beginning of sorts. Know what I mean?"

If he only knew.

I nod. "Please, continue."

"I have a few friends that live in Chicago, but I wanted to be a little closer to the East Coast. Don't ask me why I picked Jersey." He laughs and I laugh along with him.

"I have to say I have no idea why either. But it's not so bad here. I’ve grown up here. It's my home."

"Well, now it's mine, too." He winks and grabs my empty ice cream bowl and gets up to throw it in the trash and my eyes go immediately to his ass.

Christ on a cracker, maybe Willow was right. I must be horny.

The conversation flows well between us. We talk like old friends. He tells me how he applied to teach in Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Grayson-Elders offered him the most money, so he took the job. He tells me Henry goes to pre-school a few days a week for a few hours a day and his sister Ally, who is twenty, takes online college courses. She'll physically go to a college once Henry is in Kindergarten in the fall. His parents, who had been married for forty years, passed away after he and Emily got married. Mom passed away first, dad died of a broken heart six months later. He raised Ally through the worst of the teenage rebellion years. She grew up when Emily died he told me. He plays football, which in England is soccer. My mind goes to the gutter and I imagine what his legs look like in soccer shorts.

Focus, Harlow, focus.

The night air is getting a bit chiller and an hour later we are still sitting outside of Riley's. I feel the fall air start to set in and my legs start to ache. I reach down to rub them without him looking. I’m trying to look inconspicuous, but as I raise my hand from under the table and pull it back up, my hand is covered in the cake-like makeup Willow used on my legs to cover my scars. I grab for a napkin on the table and quickly bring it back underneath to wipe my hands free of it. Daniel looks at me, knowing I’m doing something under the table.

"Are you okay, Harlow?"

I nod.

"Do you...um are you ready to go or um...?"

He's stumbling over his words and I look at him confused because he wants to say something. I'll make it a bit easier for him ’cause for the first time in a very long time, I don't want this night to end.

"Daniel, how long do you have Ally watching Henry for?"

"Till ten-ish I believe. Why?"

My bravery has taken over what my mind tells me to do because I don't think too straight now-a-days anyway. So I dig the balls that I have suddenly grown since August, and I ask. Why the hell not? What do I have to lose?

"Would you like to go get a drink before you have to get home?"

Daniel's smile is pure, heartfelt, and so fucking sexy my inner slut bag wouldn't mind it if he started making mad, passionate love to me on this table in front of all these customers.

Hot flash!

His
lips curl up in a grin and the chill of the night air no longer exists because I am nothing but hot all over.

***

Daniel and I don't travel far. A small bar around the corner for Riley's is where we land. The whole way here, Daniel had my purse in his hand as well as my elbow to make sure passers by didn't knock me down. Just like in the hallway. We order beers. I surprised him with my beer order. He didn't take me for a beer drinker. We sit at the actual bar on stools. Daniel helped me up onto it once we realized all the tables were taken.

When our beers are served, he raises his glass, which in turn makes me do the same.

"Cheers," he says and smiles at me.

He puts down his beer and turns his stool more toward me. He leans his elbow onto the bar and cradles his head in his hand.

"So, you know about my dead wife, my dead parents, my lustrous teaching career, my child, but I know so very little about you, Miss Hannum."

It's been a long time since I’ve gotten to know anyone like this. Asking questions back and forth. It's fun, it's exciting, it's new.

I think.

"Well, what could you possibly want to know about me?"

I’m being coy and he throws his head back in laughter, and it's simple, and adorable.

"Oh, I think there's plenty to learn about you, Harlow."

I take a few sips of beer and reach for the mental 'balls' between my legs.

'Well, besides my near-death experience?" He chuckles. "Let's see. I graduated top of my class, summa cum laude. I have lived in Princeton my whole life. I have always wanted to be a teacher. I can't remember the names of any of the pets I have had nor do remember, on occasion, the one my parents have now. I have wonderful parents, an older sister and a younger brother. They are my life."

He shakes his head, and his face scrunches up like he stumbled upon a math problem he can't solve.

"Wait, what? You can't remember pet’s names? I’m totally lost here. Care to explain?"

I laugh as I take a drink and almost choke because he looks so frigging sexy asking me to explain.

"I’m sorry. I slipped that in there, didn't I? I have what they call Retrograde Amnesia. Since waking from my coma, I can't remember things from my past since. I remember bits and pieces of things. Some memories may come back in full, others may never be recovered."

He inches his stool a little closer to mine, his eyes inquisitive, full of wonder. He's close enough to smell, and at this point, I’m squeezing my thighs together because if he comes even an inch closer, I may...well I'd hate to sound like Willow, but I may have to excuse myself and do a panty change. She warned me to take a spare pair. Did I listen?

That would be a big, fat no.

"Retrograde Amnesia? Huh? I knew you had been in a coma, but not how it happened."

"Well, there's more."

"More?" His eyebrows shoot up.

I lift up the side of my hair to reveal my pretty pink scar I received from flipping over and hitting my head on the opposing boat.

"There's this." I show him. "And then there are these." I point to the scars on my legs.

Big change from a few hours ago when I was trying to cover them up.

"Both of which I do not recall happening. The scar on my head was from the other boat we hit, the scars on my legs they think were from parts of an abandoned boat under the water that my legs were rubbing against while I was unconscious."

He scratches at his chin. "Hmm."

"Hmm, what?"

"I didn't notice the scars until you just pointed them out to me."

His lip turns up in a smirk. I look at him and give him a look of who-are-you-kidding?

I don't know him well enough, so I can't tell if
he
is lying or not, but I’m pretty sure he is.

"That's ’cause Willow decided to do some movie makeup magic tonight on my legs."

Daniel peers down, takes a look, maybe lingers there a little too long, and picks his head back up.

"Did she do a good job? I’m none the wiser."

He shrugs after I give him an eye roll. He signals the bartender for two more beers.

"And I’m pretty sure you're the world's biggest bullshitter, too."

He places his hand on his heart and makes a hurtful expression.

"Miss Hannum, are you insinuating that I am a liar? That hurts, really hurts."

Could he be more adorable with his puppy-dog face with eyes as bright as stars?

He rolls up his shirtsleeve a little more and shows me a shiny pink scar about three inches long.

"Fishing accident. Slippery little bugger wouldn't allow me to unhook him, so the hook ripped through my skin when I finally got it out of his mouth."

I nod. "That's impressive."

I show him a small scar I have on the inside of my wrist from when I was a kid and I was baking with my mother. I remember it only because I always thought it was a lesson I learned never to bake again.

"Baking accident."

He looks at me with surprise, his jaw dropping and he partially covers his eyes with his hands, peering from between his fingers to see my reaction.

"Oh, my! That's the worst scar I have ever seen in my life. It's literally hideous. I can't even look at you. It's down right frightening. It's simply disastrous."

I can't stop laughing. The way he says what he says, in that accent, it's comical. He's being kind. He's seen the scars on my legs. They are the hideous ones.

"Daniel, I know you saw the scars in the hallway the other day. It's okay. I’ve learned a lot about accepting what happened to me. I have to take things one day at a time. Accepting the scars is a new one for me. Only about a few hours old, actually."

He looks at me confused, staying quiet, then raises up slightly from his barstool to get close to my ear and whispers, "Then there's no sense covering them up with silly makeup. They're a part of you. I think they are perfect, like you."

His closeness—mixed with a combination of beer, bar nuts, ice cream, and whatever body wash he used today—sends my head into a whirlwind of lurid thoughts, my skin alive with tingly sensations, and my panties…. Yes, dampness.
Damn you, Willow.
She knows me too well.

When he pulls back from my ear his cheek grazes mine in a slow, methodical way, stopping to where his full, scrumptious lips are only a few short breaths away from mine. My heart beats uncontrollably, my palms, oh, too far gone with sweat to even try and wipe them on my dress. I grip the stool I’m sitting on preparing myself for what I think is coming next. He's going to kiss me. I want him to kiss me. I
need
him to kiss me.

I look at him out of the corner of my eye. He's deciding what to do. Lingering there, his eyes search my face, and all I have to do is turn my head and our lips will fuse together.

Just turn your head, Harlow, and let him kiss you, damn it. Turn your freaking head.

But I don't because when Daniel says, “Harlow,” in a breathless, sexy, deeply toned way, his phone begins to ring on the bar. He shuts his eyes and our foreheads suddenly rest upon each other’s.

We both shut our eyes.

"I need to um...get that."

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling a bit shy, and frustrated, and even a bit embarrassed.

Daniel picks up the phone.

"Hello, Ally darling. How's Hen? Oh, bugger. I totally lost track of time. Okay, okay. I'll be home in ten minutes. I’m so sorry, Ally. Okay, I love you, too. Thanks, darling."

He hits end on the phone and places it back on the bar. Looking up at me with just his eyes.

"I’m sorry, Harlow. I lost track of time and Ally, my sister, she has plans, so I need to go. May I please walk you to your car?"

I smile at him and he offers me his hand to get off the stool. I oblige and he grabs my crutch and my purse. We slowly walk out of the bar, down Main Street, not speaking, but every now and again catching one or the other exchanging glances. When we reach my car, the racing of my heart starts to pick up again. I don't want this night to end. Even though we just talked and got to know each other, I don't want to go home. I want to stay and learn more about him. I want to know about Henry, and so much more.

Daniel and I stand here, he fiddles with his car keys, and I do the same. We are just standing here like two teenage idiots waiting to see who makes the first move. I need this to end.

"Thank you so much for asking me for ice cream and for the beers, and I’m glad you got to see a little of downtown Princeton."

"It was lovely. Thank you for being a wonderful and beautiful tour guide." He finally looks up and his hypnotic eyes grace me with their presence. They automatically bring a smile to my face. I break my stare and turn and unlock my car door. He opens the back door and gracefully takes my crutch from me and places it in the back seat.

"Harlow, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, shoot." My voice sounds a little down but I still manage to give him a smile.

"If you would, or if you want...er, I mean.... I um, I'd really love to take you out on a real date, like with dinner, or a film, or sitting at a pub talking about scars."

I laugh at how charming he is, even if he's stumbling over every other word. He looks nervous, biting the inside of his lip, his eyes waiting for my answer.

Take a deep breath and find your inner balls, Harlow. Just say yes.

And that's exactly what my head tells me to do.

"I'd love that, Daniel. I really would."

A look of relief comes on his face and he steps toward me and gives me the softest, most lingering kiss on the cheek I have ever received. At least I think I have ever received.

I feel my cheeks heat up and he smiles at me, damn well knowing I’m blushing. I get in my car and roll my window down.

"Have a great rest of the weekend and I'll see you on Monday at school." I pull away slowly and watch out of my rearview mirror the handsome man with the full lips, the shaggy hair, and the delectable ass, wave farewell to me. At this moment I wish to God the night didn't have to end but he's a father, a devoted father, and brother and that's so admirable. So sweet, so damn sexy. I immediately go to my phone and turn it back on, wondering how many messages from Willow are on here.

Twenty.

Dear Lord, the woman is nuts.

I go to dial, but she's already ringing my phone.

"Hi, Wills. What's up?"

I here her laugh in a condescending way. "I swear on the grave of my dead Aunt Lucy you better have had your phone off because Mr. Tea and Strumpets, or whatever they call them, had you bent over your car, giving it to you good in some back alley, and you had multiple orgasms in the process."