Page 99 of Where We Stay
“Fair point.”
Blair grins, and I decide I’d happily lose every argument if she looked at me like that afterward.
“Logan and I are actually restoring a ’67 Mustang at the moment,” I tell her. “It’s a surprise for Dad.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re giving him a Mustang?”
“For Christmas,” I say with a nod. “Assuming Logan and I can finish it without killing each other.”
“That’s an incredible gift.”
“He’s an incredible guy.”
Blair’s expression softens. “You’re close with your family.”
“Yeah. They drive me fucking insane, but I’m lucky to have them.”
She looks down at her wine, running her finger around the base of the glass.
“What about you?” I ask carefully. “I don’t think I even know where you’re from originally.”
Blair stills for half a second.
It’s barely noticeable, but I’m watching her too closely to miss it.
“New York,” she answers, dropping her gaze to the menu. “I lived there pretty much my whole life.”
“What brought you all the way to Hartwell?”
“I found the teaching position online.” She gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I saw a few photos of the town, applied before I could talk myself out of it and somehow got the job.”
“You moved across the country because of some photos?” I ask, keeping my tone light.
“When you know you need a change, you don’t always need much convincing.”
There’s something beneath her words that she isn’t saying.
“That sounds like a pretty big change,” I say.
“Sometimes a change is bigger than it sounds,” Blair replies quietly.
Her eyes meet mine, and I know pushing her would be a mistake.
Our food arrives before I can respond. The server places Blair’s salmon in front of her and my steak in front of me, interrupting the sudden tension.
Blair looks between our plates. “Yours looks better.”
“You ordered the salmon.”
“I clearly made a mistake,” she says, eyeing my food.
Before I can stop her, she reaches across the table and steals one of my fries.
I stare at her. “Did you just take food off my plate?”
“It tastes better when it’s free,” she says, popping the fry into her mouth.
“Our entire dinner is free.”
