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Sariah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a gesture that mesmerized Kane. She was so beautiful. “True. I’m a business owner now, and I’ve been through a bad relationship.”
“The guy who kept secrets from you?” Kane asked.
“Yeah. Elliot. He was addicted to painkillers, and I had no idea.”
“Yeah. You told me about him.”
“It was hard to take because of the way my dad betrayed my mom by cheating on her when I was twelve.”
This was news to him. “I knew your parents were divorced, but I didn’t know it was because your dad cheated.”
“I only found out a few years ago when my mom felt like I was old enough to know.”
“Your dad had secrets too.” Kane was starting to piece this together. How would she feel when she found out he was about to be a dad? Would she be mad at him for keeping secrets?
“Exactly. And I fell for it just like my mom did.”
“Where’s your mom living now?” Kane asked. “I never see her around anymore.”
“She moved to Boston with a new husband not long after I graduated from high school.”
“Good for her.”
“I miss her a lot. I’ve gotten closer to my grandma since my mom isn’t around as much. My dad lives in California now. I barely see him. He doesn’t even come back to visit his mom much. I’m closer to her than he is. A lot of that is because I took over the jewelry business. He wasn’t ever interested in taking over.” Kane knew that part. Her dad had gone on to be a paramedic instead.
Their server came back with their food and placed their plates in front of them. Kane dug into his steaming chicken and dumplings. “This is perfect.”
“My pasta is good too.”
“I’m glad you agreed to go out with me tonight. I wasn’t sure you’d say yes,” Kane admitted.
“I wasn’t sure I’d say yes either. I don’t want to mess up our friendship by taking it to a place we can’t come back from.”
He frowned. “Is that what you think might happen between us?”
“It’s possible. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, but I’m not going to lie. I’m still into you. You can’t date someone for all those years and just lose all the feelings you had for that person.”
“Well, actually you can. I don’t have feelings for Orchid anymore,” Kane pointed out.
“I guess you’re right. I don’t feel anything for Elliot either. But I still feel something for you. You’re special.”
“I feel that way about you too,” Kane said. He reached across the table and took her hand. It was small and smooth in his. He longed to take her in his arms and kiss her once again. It had been way too long since his lips had met hers. He knew he was putting his heart on the line, but he was starting to care less and less.
They finished their food, and Kane paid the bill. He couldn’t stop thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her. He’d hardly been able to focus on eating his dinner. He ached for Sariah.
They stepped out of the restaurant, and Kane looked up at the clear night sky, marveling at how many stars dotted the expanse above them. He walked her to the passenger side of the car.
“Thank you for dinner,” Sariah said as he opened her door.
“You can thank your grandma too. I might not have asked you out if it wasn’t for her.”
She grinned at him. “I knew she was up to something.”
“She is a conniving one,” Kane said.
Sariah climbed into the car. “You know she’s been pushing me to date you again, right?”
Kane smiled. “She was pretty obvious.”