Page 137 of What Started In Deception

She nodded. “Thanks for helping me make it even more special.”

“Anytime, baby.” He winked again. “Let’s get dressed.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Lydia sat across from Ty at a picnic table in the dive of a restaurant ten miles north of Shoalmans Bay. The clouds hung low, threatening rain as the strong winds blew in off the water, tossing loose napkins around on the screened-in porch where several diners enjoyed an evening meal while music blasted through overhead speakers.

“These are great,” he said as he picked up another fried clam belly, looking gorgeous in a white button-down that he wore with black shorts.

She nodded as she smiled, dressed up as well in a pretty green sleeveless sundress that accentuated her eyes. “I know fried clams and French fries aren’t exactly classy or fancy, but you had to try these at least once while we’re here. I wouldn’t be doing my job as your tour guide if we didn’t stop in.”

He shrugged as he grabbed her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips. “I meant it when I said that I didn’t care where we went. All I want is to be with you.”

And just like last night, his words melted her heart. “That’s really sweet, Ty.”

“It’s absolutely true.”

She smiled as she plucked up one of the crispy fries. “Thanks for being okay with us running just a couple of minutes late so I could help Mac with her hair.”

He grabbed a clam strip now. “Of course. Tonight’s her big night.”

Lydia grinned, remembering Mac’s stunning, curve-hugging blue dress. “She looked so amazing.”

Ty nodded. “Yes, she did. Will won’t know what hit him.”

She laughed. “I know, and it’s great.”

“He may or may not have told me that he was renting a room and filling it with flowers.”

She paused as she reached for a clam belly. “Really?”

He nodded.

Her grin was back. “Now I’m hoping that they miss their dinner reservation.”

Ty waggled his brow. “You’ll have to get a report in the morning.”

“You can count on it.” She grabbed the clam. “So, do you think we could do something like that? Go away for a weekend?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe we could go to an inn up in the New Hampshire mountains or somewhere up in Maine.”

He winced. “I’m not sure how I would justify that to Danny or Nick.”

She nodded, surprised that it was so easy to forget that so much of their lives were dictated by his job. Because when it was just the two of them, she sometimes forgot that it wasn’t just the two of them. “That makes sense.”

He reached for her hand again with regret in his eyes. “We can try to figure something out.”

She shook her head. “That’s okay.”

He played with her fingers. “I want to, Lyd. I’d like nothing more than to take you away for a weekend.”

She shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”

His phone started to ring. “I’m sorry, but I have to check this.”