Page 50 of Falling for Her

“Yeah,” I agree, even though I know she was talking to Asa. She grins at me.

At the bakery, I spot Brock with Everleigh beside the display case, his arm around her shoulder. “Hey,” I say to them.

Brock gives me a nod of his chin and gives Asa a smile. Then his eyes go big when he sees Finley. “Just the girl I was going to call. I got the quote for the damage.”

“What damage?” I ask. Brock’s eyes narrow at me.

“When we went fishing, I had to leave my car on the side of the road, and it must have gotten sideswiped,” Finley says, looking at Brock and not me. I immediately know she’s lying from both of their faces.

“It’ll be ready later this afternoon,” he tells her. “You can come in tomorrow and pay.”

“That sounds great.” She turns to Everleigh. “We’re going to the beach.”

“The lake,” Asa corrects her.

“To a body of water that also has sand,” she retorts, “and we would like to pack a couple of lunches for a picnic.”

Everleigh rolls her lips to keep from laughing. “I have some things I’ve started to prepare.” She moves toward the back. “I’ll be right out.”

I share a look with Brock, letting him know I’ll be calling him sometime to discuss her car. “I’ll see you later,” Brock says. “Have fun at the body of water.” He tries not to laugh as he heads out.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your car?” I know I should wait until we are out of the bakery and sitting on the beach, but I can’t help it.

“It was a hit-and-run, and the damage wasn’t that bad. There was nothing to tell.” She looks around, avoiding eye contact. The worker at the counter finishes with a customer. “Excuse me, can I have a matcha coconut cloud?” She looks at Asa. “Do you want a raspberry iced tea?” He nods his head. “Do you want anything?”

“I’m good,” I reply as the girl goes to make the drinks.

Everleigh comes out from the back with a big basket. “You know the drill, you return the basket tomorrow,” she says to Finley, who just smiles at her. Why would she know the drill? I make a mental note to ask her later.

The girl comes back with the green drink that she spilled on me the first day I met her.

“Thank you.” Finley pays for the drinks and turns to us. “Let’s go to the beach.”

I take the basket from her and share a glance with Asa. As we walk out of the bakery, neither of us corrects her.

The drive is about forty-five minutes, and we do it with all the windows down as she gazes out of her window and Asa his. Her hair is tucked behind her ears but still flowing everywhere.

We pull into the parking lot, and there aren’t that many cars there. It’s probably because it’s the middle of the week and most people are at work. We get out, and she stands next to the truck, looking around.

“Okay, I’ve never been to this kind of beach,” she states. “Usually, I just show up, and it’s done.” She laughs. “So you’ll have to tell me what to do.”

“I’ll grab the chairs and the basket,” I start. “You can carry the towel bag and umbrella.” She reaches for the two things I told her. “Buddy, you got the rest.”

“Okay, Dad,” Asa agrees.

“Where do we usually sit?” she asks as we approach the lake. Her shorts pull tighter around her ass as she bends to pick up something from the path, and all words are pulled away from my vocabulary.

Get a fucking grip, I scold myself as I look away. I try to focus on choosing a place to set up, but all I can see are her tanned legs. All my blood has moved down south, leaving nothing in my brain.

“Over there.” Asa points and marches to the spot closest to the water. He dumps his bags down, and I put down the chairs as she drops the umbrella.

“Okay, what next?” she asks me.

“Nothing.” My voice comes out like there is something stuck inside my throat, and I clear it. “I’ll put up the umbrella, and then we can store the food under it.” I retrieve the little shovel from the beach bag. “You have to get some of the wet sand so it has a better grip.” I squat down and start to dig to get to the sand underneath.

“Can I go touch the water?” Asa asks.

“If you go with Finley.”