Reckless Hearts (Oak Harbor #2)(34)

Dad looks surprised. “You are? That’s wonderful. Will we get to meet him?” he asks, and I gulp. How about never?

“It’s early days,” I say quickly. “Maybe later.”

Way later.

“Well, I hope everything works out,” Dad says. “Who knows? If you’re lucky, you might just find yourself out to dinner one day in the future, celebrating like this.”

He beams at Mom. She beams back. I take another gulp of wine, miserable. This is going to be a long night.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Before I can register the familiar drawl, I feel a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and then, somehow, Will is standing by the table, dressed smartly in a button-down and good pants.

I blink. I haven’t had that much wine, so how . . . ?

“William Wyatt Montgomery, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” he says, already reaching to shake my father’s hand, and kiss my mother on the cheek. “And congratulations on the anniversary. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it in time, I hope you didn’t wait.”

“No, Dee didn’t even say you were coming.” Mom looks delighted. I manage a smile.

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up,” I cover quickly, shooting Will a confused look. “Umm, surprise!”

“It certainly is,” Mom gushes. “Come, sit, let’s get another chair. You’re right on time, we haven’t even ordered yet.”

“Perfect.” Will takes a seat at the hurriedly-added place beside me. He gives me a questioning smile. “You doing OK?” he asks, and suddenly, I am. Just like that, I’m not alone in this.

He’s on my team.

My tension unknots, and I relax, reaching to take his hand under the table. I don’t know how he wound up here, but I’m glad to see him. I squeeze, and Will squeezes back.

“Delilah was just about to tell us what you do for work,” Mom starts brightly.

“Mom,” I start, warning, but Will chuckles.

“That’s alright. I’m in the middle of a career change. I worked up on Wall Street, but now I’m starting a new business, hand-crafting furniture.”

“Wall Street,” Mom echoes, looking pleased.

“Oh look, time to order,” I interrupt, waving the server over before she can quiz him about his 401k. “Better decide what you want.”

Mom starts deliberating, and I take the chance to lean in closer to Will. “How did you know where we were?” I whisper, catching a breath of his familiar scent.

“Lottie told me. I figured you could use the back-up.” His eyes are flecked gold in the candlelight, full of reassurance, and right now, I could gladly lose myself in them and never come up for air.

“Thank you,” I breathe, feeling overwhelmed with relief—and something else, something that tugs and shimmers in my chest. I try to pull it together, covering with a smile. “Seriously. You’re saving my liver some serious damage.”

Will flashes that heart-stopping smile. “Anytime.”

We order, and too soon, Mom is back to quizzing Will about his career, family, and everything else under the sun. I try to move the conversation to other things, but the third degree continues even after they bring our food. It’s delicious, but I can’t focus, I’m too busy trying to run interference—and checking anxiously if Will is getting tired of their enthusiastic questions. Maybe this is my fault: if I’d brought other guys to meet them before, maybe they wouldn’t be piling on like this, but to my relief, Will seems perfectly at ease, talking business with my dad and fending off questions from my mom about his family and whether he loves kids.

“Leaving finance,” my dad is saying, as the waiter clears our plates away. “That’s a big risk.”

“Not really,” I speak up. “His furniture is beautiful, and he’s working on some great new designs. I can’t wait to see how they turn out.”

Will looks surprised, then bashful. “We’ll see. I’m talking to some design stores in the city, I hope to maybe have a few pieces carried by the fall.”

“No maybe about it,” I say firmly, and he laughs.

“If I had one tenth Dee’s ambition, I’d be set.”

My mom gives a little sigh. “We’re hoping she’ll turn some of that focus to other things,” she says meaningfully. “Like a family, perhaps.”

I tense, about to interrupt, but Will just rests a calming hand on the back of my shoulders. “She’s got plenty of time for that, don’t you, Dee? Right now, she’s building her future,” he continues easily. “And it’s clear from the way people talk about her around town, they think the world of her. You must be very proud of everything she’s achieving.”

Mom blinks. “We are. Of course we are.”

There’s a pause. I look over to Will, touched. I can’t believe he’s standing up for me like this, and even more, that he means it. I feel a lump in my throat, and quickly take a sip of water.

“How about dessert?” I say brightly, changing the subject.

Will groans, “How are you still hungry?”

“It’s a skill,” I grin back. “Years of training, nothing but hard discipline to get me to this point.”

“I’m going to have to up my game to keep pace,” he sighs.