Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(58)

He laced her cold fingers with his warm ones. “Grab life with both hands. You’re well. It’s okay to dream.” Her fingers moved a bit under his, as though his words had impacted her. “Dinner is a great first step.”

A smile curved her full lips, and light sparkled in her eyes. “What if I told you I wanted the biggest steak you could afford?”

“Steak, not lobster?”

Her smile widened. “I can eat lobster any day of the week. Steak is another matter.”

“Steak it is, then. How about the Tourmaline? I’ve heard they fly their steaks in from New Zealand, and they’re so tender they melt in your mouth.”

Her fingers curled around his. “Okay. I might want dessert though. They make a crème br?lée that’s to die for. I can risk a bit of sugar for one night.”

“I’ll buy you anything you want.” He felt a ridiculous sense of accomplishment as though he’d just won the biggest contract of his life. He started the Land Rover and headed for the ferry in Summer Harbor.





TWENTY-SEVEN


Kate glanced down at her jeans and blue ruffled top. “I think I’m a little underdressed,” she whispered to Drake as the server led them through the Sea Room toward a back table. The place was all crystal and linen with tourmaline floors that were so highly polished she could see her reflection in them as she followed the server. She’d never eaten here, only at the Bistro. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on the moonlit water far below the cliff. It was a scene out of a movie.

Classical music poured from a baby grand piano by the window, and the pianist, Tyler Brighton, waved to her. “Kate!”

She stopped a moment to say hello. “Tyler, I didn’t know you were back in town.” They’d gone to school together, and he’d moved off to Boston to attend college and had never come back.

His fingers rippled over the keys, but he shot a quick grin her direction. “I wondered if you were still around. The management here is looking for a singer that I can accompany. Going to step their entertainment up a notch. I was going to give them your name if you were still around.”

Heat washed up her neck to her cheeks. “I’m no professional singer, and I hate singing in public.”

“You could be. You have the best voice I’ve ever heard. The whole town is talking about that song you sang at Claire’s wedding. You could make a living with your voice.”

She laughed, but it was more of a croak, and all she wanted was to escape. “You’re sweet. Listen, we’ll let you get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.” She followed the server to their table where she was able to slide into her seat in the shadows. How embarrassing.

Drake, looking impossibly tall, dark, and handsome, smiled at her from across the table. “He’s right, you know. I’ve heard you singing with the girls. You’ve got a great voice. Did you ever think about singing professionally?”

Did he have to talk about it? She swallowed and shook her head. “When I’d sing around the house, my mother always said I sounded like a frog. I was in choir, and she refused to come to any concerts because she didn’t want to see me make a fool of myself.”

A scowl replaced his grin, and he reached across the white linen tablecloth to take her hand. “It’s a wonder you turned out so remarkable with that kind of role model. You are always encouraging the girls with whatever they are doing. I saw Phoebe’s drawing of the ocean and a puffin the other day. I couldn’t quite tell if it was a bird or a dog, but you told her she had a real talent for drawing.”

“She has a great eye for color. She’ll get better.” Thank goodness the server was bringing their water now. She wanted to sink under the table so no one could see her face, which had to be as red as her blueberry fields.

He removed his hand and thanked the server, then ordered a seafood sampler appetizer. “So what would you do if there was no one to say you couldn’t?”

She took a gulp of her water. “I’d love to be an interior designer. I adore playing with color and texture. I obsessively spend hours on Houzz whenever I have ten minutes.”

“You did an amazing job with my cottage. Did you ever take any classes?”

She linked her fingers together and looked down. “I had a year of them before I quit to help Mom with the blueberry barrens. She just couldn’t manage on her own.”

“You’ve put everyone else first all your life, haven’t you? I admire your giving spirit, but there comes a time when you should think about what makes you happy. If you could walk away from the blueberries, you’d do it, wouldn’t you?”

Did he really mean all this? She dared a peek at his expression and found him staring back intently. “Mom would have a fit.”

“Your mother is in jail for a well-deserved reason. She’s not part of this discussion. You could walk away and leave the fields for her to worry about when she gets out of prison. It’s not like the fields are going anywhere.”

She blinked. “But who would harvest them? They will need to be pruned and cared for to make sure next year’s harvest is good.”

He went quiet while the server brought their appetizer, then dished up some of the sampler on a small plate and handed it across the table to Kate. “So what if it’s not? The blueberry police aren’t going to come after you if the fields are untended. It’s not your responsibility.”