I decided to go with the truth. Why the fuck not?

“My father,” I said, sighing.

“What happened?” she asked. “Did your parents divorce?”

“Eventually, yes, but when we moved here, they weren’t divorced yet. My father wasn’t the nicest person in town.”

Paige gave me that nod that every fucking person gives me when I tell them that fact. It’s one movement that’s somehow filled with both curiosity and pity. Their brows furrow and their eyes soften, like I’m some damaged pet they need to take off the street and nurse back to health.

“My mother was a strong woman,” I said.

“It takes one to get out of a situation like that,” Paige said.

“And she worked three fucking jobs to keep us afloat while I was in high school.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“No one can blame her for—”

I looked out the window and had to swallow and tell myself to man the fuck up. I could feel Paige’s eyes on me, studying me like I was some sort of lab rat.

This was bullshit. I didn’t need any of this. I didn’t need her or her stupid-ass questions or her competitive food challenges or her presence. None of this was necessary for the dinner we were having before I took her back to my cabin to fuck her imprint into my mattress.

“You’re not to blame, you know,” Paige said.

“For what?” I asked.

“For your father’s actions. For the death of your mother. None of it is your fault.”

“I never fucking said it was.”

“Your eyes do,” she said.

I slowly panned my angry gaze back toward hers, but I didn’t see what I expected to. I didn’t see hesitation or fear or even the apprehension that was in her eyes earlier. Instead, I saw a hint of understanding. I was looking into the eyes of someone who seemed to sit in the same boat as me instead of someone standing on the shore judging me from afar.

“Where’s your family?” I asked.

“Gone,” she said.

“What happened to them?”

“You already had your question for the night,” she said.

I could feel the weight of the wall she’d thrown up as her eyes became guarded. She grabbed her wine glass and brought it to her lips just as our food was set in front of us. The air between us was tense as we ate in silence. I wanted to find some way to break the tension. I wanted to find some way to get her to open back up to me.

I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the rift that had occurred between us. She knew what it was like to not have family, just like I did. That should’ve brought us both comfort, to be in the company of someone who understood.

If words couldn’t break the tension, maybe actions could. I slipped my foot against hers underneath the table and started running my toes up her ankle.

“I feel you,” Paige said. “And I’m not going home with you tonight.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I don’t want to be that kind of woman,” she said.

I nodded. “I can respect that. Then I have another option for an after-dinner treat.”

“Does it require you to run your foot up my ankle?” she asked.

“I was actually just doing this to comfort you. You seem on edge, and I wanted you to know that you were in the presence of someone who understands.”

“Understands what?”

“What it’s like to feel alone.”

Her gaze met mine, and I could see the pain burning behind her eyes. It hurt me to know that this beautiful woman had no one. No family to run to. No mother to hold her close. No father to tell her that she deserved the best. It made me admire her more for not wanting to come back with me. She had to set her own standards for herself, and that took a lot of strength.

“What was your second plan?” Paige asked.

I grinned as I pulled my foot back and sat up straight

“I am offering you a nighttime bike ride up the coast. You and me, with the wind whipping around our bodies while the waves crash along the coast.”

“A motorcycle ride?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“Up the coast at nine o’clock at night?”

“You’d be amazed at how beautiful the ocean is at night,” I said.

“I’m aware of how pretty it can be.”

“Have you ever seen its beauty on the back of a sleek black bike?”

“You really like your bike, don’t you?” she asked, grinning.

“I love my bike,” I said.

Her eyes shimmered with her smile before she took a bite of her salmon. “How is this place not as good as Dick’s? They’re on the same damn block. Shouldn’t they get their seafood from the same place?”

I laughed. “Told you. That place is a fucking shrine to seafood. So, will you come with me?”

“I take it you mean the bike ride,” she said.

“Yes, the bike ride. Will you accompany me?”

She took one last bite of her food before she grabbed her wine glass and sat back.

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll accompany you. Under one condition.”

“Name it,” I said.

“You take me out this weekend. You pay, you plan, you pick me up.”

“Company on a bike ride in exchange for a full-on, proper date,” I said. “You’re willing to let me have control of it all?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked.

“Because you seem like kind of a control freak,” I said, grinning.

“I am not,” she said.

“I don’t know. You just give off that vibe.”

“I’m gonna chuck this glass of wine in your face,” she said, giggling.

“Controlling and wasteful. An interesting combination.”

Her laughter filled the room, and she covered her mouth to silence herself. She was bombastic and outgoing, but there was a softer and more emotional side to her. A side she kept locked away. A side that hurt her if you poked it too hard. I wanted to get to know that side.

I wanted to know what made her tick. I wanted to know more about this painter-slash-person researcher who was randomly in Oregon for what I could only assume was a vacation away from her lonely life.

The waitress walked up. “Here is the check whenever you two are ready. But there’s no rush. Take your time.”

Paige rifled through her purse and pulled out her card before our waitress even set the bill down onto the table.

“You might not be in a rush, but I’ve got a bike ride calling my name,” she said.

I grinned as she handed our waitress her card. I couldn’t wait to feel her arms wrapped around my waist again. I couldn’t wait to feel her chest pressed into my back again. The way she clung to me on the ride here warmed my body and made my pelvis ache.

I knew I was going to want her after this ride. I was going to want to throw her down into the sand and devour every inch of her body. The frustration I would experience would be worth it just to feel the warmth of her body again.

After all, I had this weekend to try again.