CHAPTER 11
Jane
My fingers dig slightly into Kyle’s arm as we step up to the door of The Black Swan, but then I release him. He hadn’t uttered a word for the rest of our walk here, but he also didn’t try to distance himself from me either.
To my surprise, Kyle reaches an arm behind me, his other hand coming to rest lightly on my shoulder as he gently pushes me to the side a bit so he can open the door for me. I step through and his hand drops away as he walks in behind me.
“Hey, Jane,” the hostess, Kiley Grimmons, greets me from behind a podium. “Two for dinner?”
“Yes, please,” I tell her with a smile. Kiley was three years behind me in high school, so I don’t know her all that well, but her father owns the hardware store and everyone knows Chib. He used to be a deep-sea fisherman, but lost his hand in a tragic accident when it got caught in the gears of the winch system used to haul in the catch. He retired from that but wasn’t deterred from making a life for himself. Instead, he opened up a hardware store on Main Street that’s done surprisingly well for such a small community.
“Right this way,” Kiley says as her eyes linger on Kyle curiously before she grabs the menus.
We follow her through the restaurant, and she puts us at a lovely table by a long wall of nothing but glass that overlooks the harbor.
“Miranda will be right with you,” Kiley tells me with a smile, and I give her an appreciative nod. I knew Miranda was working tonight, which is her preference since she gets way better tips than at The Lobster Cage. Miranda would actually prefer this to be her “second” job, but it’s hard to get on here as a part-time employee because the money is fabulous during the tourist season and return summer employees get preferential offers. Still, she keeps her foot in the door by covering people’s shifts if they have an emergency come up, and Gus, who owns The Lobster Cage, never seems to get bent out of shape when she can’t work there because she picked up an impromptu shift here.
I chose this restaurant tonight not only because the food was fabulous and I worked my ass off today to help Kyle so I deserved a great meal, but also because Miranda was working and I wanted her outside observing eyes to give me feedback later. Kyle’s so damn hard to read, and Miranda is a great judge of character. She’ll be eyeballing the hell out of him tonight to try to denote body language and such.
I snicker to myself over my devious ways, and that causes Kyle to prompt me, “What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing,” I say, smirking as I pick up my menu and open it. “The she-crab soup here is to die for so you should try that, and, of course, if you like lobster, that’s a great choice too.”
“Do you like lobster?” he asks, and I raise my eyes to him. I think that might be the first genuinely curious question he’s asked about me personally.
“I love it,” I tell him. “You?”
“Never had it,” he says.
“What the what?” I ask dramatically as I close my menu and set it down. “You’ve never had lobster before?”
“Nope,” is all he says.
“Then you have to try it,” I tell him firmly.
“Okay.” He puts his menu down and doesn’t even open it.
“But it’s expensive,” I feel the need to provide, as he didn’t even bother to look at the market prices for the day that would be printed on a piece of paper in the middle.
“Then you should have it too,” he says gruffly.
“Well, okay then,” I say, giving him a tentative smile, silently marveling to myself that for a man who doesn’t want this to be a date, he sure is pulling out all the stops to impress me.
“If it isn’t my favorite person in the entire world,” I hear Miranda say from my left as she walks up to the table and pours water into my glass. I glance up at her, but she’s staring across the table at Kyle, who sits to my right. Then she turns to look down at me and gives me a wink. “Oh, and hey, Jane. Good to see you too.”
I grin at her, but then give her a mock pout. “I thought I was your favorite person in the world.”
“No,” Miranda drawls out as she puts her free hand on her hip and waves the mostly empty water pitcher at Kyle. “He’s now my favorite person after that epic smackdown he laid on Craig the other day.”
I purse my lips and give her an accommodating nod. “That’s true. It was epic, and I can see how your loyalties would change.”
Miranda laughs and blows me a kiss, then sticks her hand across the table to Kyle. “We weren’t formally introduced the other day, but I’m Miranda. Best friend to Jane here, and well, she really is my favorite person in the world. But you’re a close second.”
Kyle smiles at Miranda, and I have to admit it’s a beautiful smile. He shakes her hand and says, “I’d have liked to have given him more the other day, but didn’t want to cause a scene.”
Miranda laughs as she releases his hand, and then leans over to pour his water. “Okay, you’re my favorite again. Jane will just have to be satisfied with second best.”
And to my surprise, Kyle chuckles and that’s even more beautiful. His face actually changes and his eyes lighten up. He actually looks approachable and I have to resist the urge to lean over and kiss him.
Instead, I look back up at Miranda. “We’re going to both have the she-crab soup and full lobsters.”
“What to drink?” Miranda says with efficiency.
“I’m fine with water,” I say.
“Whatever you have on draft,” Kyle says.
“We have a great summer seasonal from a local brewery over in Bar Harbor,” Miranda tells him. “I’ll go put your orders in and be right back with the soups and your beer.”
I watch for a moment as Miranda walks to the next table to check on them before I turn back to Kyle. “And that crazy girl is Miranda Gale, truly my best friend in the world.”
“She’s funny,” Kyle observes. “And she clearly adores you.”
“Not as much as she adores you apparently,” I say dryly. “But the feeling is mutual.”
“Two peas in a pod?” he asks.
“Actually, no,” I tell him as I cross my forearms on the table and lean toward him a bit. “We’re almost like night and day. She’s crazy, wild, and uninhibited. She doesn’t have a filter on her mouth and can talk to any stranger. Miranda likes to fly by the seat of her pants and is completely spontaneous.”
“Then that means you’re sedate, cautious with your words, introverted, and goal oriented,” Kyle throws at me.
“Something like that,” I say as I pick up my glass and take a sip of water.
“You’re not introverted though,” Kyle says as he cocks an eyebrow at me. “You pushed your way all up in my business.”
I laugh as I put my glass back down. Staring at it, I run a thumb over the condensation on the outside. “Well, I’m more introverted in crowds. Miranda would be the type who would dance on the tabletops at a party; I’d be in the corner by myself.”
“Life-of-the-party type of girl, huh?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had to pull her off a table or two at a party to prevent her top from coming off,” I tell him with a laugh. “She’s certifiably crazy, but I love her like a sister.”
Kyle nods and then asks, “You have any siblings?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Just Miranda, who might as well be. She had a rough time growing up and spent most of her time at my house, so my parents sort of treat her like she’s their daughter.”
And because I want to learn more about Kyle, I add on, “What about you… do you have any brothers or sisters?”
I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but something painful flickers in Kyle’s eyes before he lowers his gaze to the table as he plucks at the edge of the tablecloth. He shakes his head, “A sister, but we’re not close. We don’t talk.”
“What about your parents?” I ask, choosing to leave the sister thing alone. “Are they still back in Maryland?”
“They’re dead.” His eyes lift back up to mine, and they’re clear. No hint of pain or anything. In fact, they are a little flat, and I don’t like that.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly as I reach my hand out to touch his.
“Don’t be,” he responds gruffly, quickly moving his hand away so we don’t make contact. “It was a long time ago.”
His message to me is clear. He doesn’t want to talk about his family. I have to respect that, at least for now. But I’m not willing to give up on this opportunity where I have him pinned to that chair for the duration of this dinner.
“Why did you move here to Misty Harbor?” I ask him curiously. “I can’t imagine it’s because you’ve always wanted to be a lighthouse keeper.”
I’m surprised when Kyle actually gives me a slight smile, causing him to appear relaxed again. “Just wanted a change of scenery and no… I didn’t really want to be a lighthouse keeper, but it sounded interesting and I thought I’d give it a try.”
“You said you’ve lived all over,” I mention. “Where were you before here?”
“Chicago. Before that Wyoming,” he says without giving any more detail.
“Never been to either,” I tell him with a sigh. “In fact, never been much of anywhere. Went to New York City once for a class trip, but past that, I’m sad to say I’ve not strayed from Maine.”
“Not even college?” he asks.
“Went to a school about forty miles away,” I tell him with a laugh. “I’m not very adventurous, I guess you could say.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says, his voice a low rumble. “You certainly kept poking at this bear. That’s pretty damn daring.
“You’re a bear?” I ask teasingly, my head tilted to the side.
He nods, his eyes pinning me in place. “I have claws and teeth, Jane.”
“Is that a warning?’ I ask, now more curious than ever, even as a small ripple of fear runs up my spine over his words.
“Would you heed it if it was?” he counters.
“Nope.” I stare at him, refusing to let my gaze drop. He stares right back at me, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine, perhaps trying to figure out if I’m being brave or foolish.
Before I can answer, Miranda comes to the table, setting Kyle’s beer down before him, and our gazes disconnect. Kyle looks up to her and says, “Thanks.”
“Sure thing, hot stuff,” she says back to him with a grin, and then proceeds to lay our bowls of soup down before us.
When she leaves, Kyle picks up his spoon and gives the creamy soup a try. I watch him carefully, wondering how I can get the conversation back to where it was, because I want to test him. I want to see if he really wants to push me away or perhaps if he wants me to disregard the warning bells to keep after him.
But the moment is clearly broken when he asks me the most dreadful question imaginable after he swallows his bite of soup. “So, what’s your favorite movie?”
Really?
We’re going to talk about movies?
We’re going to have a boring, lame, and non-invasive discussion? He wants stupid details about me that don’t mean anything?
I suppress an eye roll as I pick up my spoon before telling him, “Forrest Gump. What’s yours?”
And I wait to see if discussing movies will provide an opening so I can try to learn more about him.
To find out if he’s really more grizzly than teddy bear, but I suspect I already know the answer to that.