Page 18 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

I n the summer, they could’ve walked across town to the restaurant. But with a frigid breeze blowing in from the ocean, it was too cold to walk. Morgan pulled into a parking spot outside Sierra’s building as a light went on outside the door upstairs.

Sierra was down the stairs and in the truck before he could get out to hold the door for her, although she probably wouldn’t want him to bother. How he knew that, he couldn’t say. Call it a hunch.

“Brrr, it’s freezing.”

“Hey.” Great opening, Morgan. Absolutely brilliant.

“Hey yourself. How was your day?”

“Not terrible, which is an improvement over the past few months.”

“Glad to hear it was an okay day.”

“How about you?”

“Two clients and one cancellation due to the birth of quadruplet grandsons, which meant I could cut out early. So all in all, a good day.”

“Quadruplets, huh?”

“Yeah, Adam and Abby McCarthy.”

“Mac’s younger brother, right?”

“Yes, one of them. He has three brothers.”

“I remember that. He was in my class, and his brother Grant was a year behind us. I didn’t know the younger two. Everything all right with the babies and their mom?”

“I think so. Linda, their grandmother, didn’t say otherwise when I talked to her. She sounded excited.”

“That’s crazy, though. Four babies. All at once.”

“Right? No, thanks.”

Morgan laughed.

“They also have an almost-two-year-old son.”

“Five boys.”

“Under the age of two.”

“No, thanks,” they said together, laughing.

“I think I’d prefer them one at a time myself,” he said, “with a few years between them.”

“I don’t know if I want them at all. I go back and forth. Although, since I’ve gotten to know my friend’s baby, I’m wavering a little.”

“A cutie, huh?”

“He’s adorable and so sweet. If I could get one just like him, I might be tempted. With my luck, I’d get a wild child.”

“Like you were?”

“Haha, how’d you guess?”

“Had a feeling.” As he pulled into the parking lot at the Sand & Surf, he realized he’d had more fun in the four minutes she’d been in the truck than he’d had in longer than he could remember.

Even before Billy went missing, his life had become a bit of a boring rut.

Nothing about being with Sierra was boring. “Wait for me.”

“For what?”

“To get your door.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. I want to.”

“If you must.”

Grinning, he got out of the truck and went around to open her door with a bow and a flourish that had her rolling her eyes.

“Don’t injure yourself.”

He extended an arm to her. “I’ll try not to.”

She gave him the side-eye, but she put her hand through the crook of his elbow and held on for the quick walk into the hotel. “It’s freaking freezing all of a sudden.”

“I noticed that.”

He dropped his arm to hold the door for her and ushered her in ahead of him.

“Nice manners,” she said as she brushed by him.

“My mom is watching. That’s one of the many downsides of her being dead.”

“Don’t make me laugh at things that aren’t funny.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not, though.”

Inside the hotel, she went to the registration desk to hug the young woman who came around the desk when she saw Sierra come in.

Sierra turned to Morgan. “This is my friend Piper. She works here. Piper, meet Morgan Weyland.”

Piper shook his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, and I’m very sorry about your brother.”

“Thank you. Nice to meet you, too.”

Piper tucked reddish-brown hair behind her ear and propped her elbow on the desk. “So you guys are…”

“Having dinner at Steph’s.”

“Together. Interesting.”

“Mind your business, girlfriend.”

“The way you all minded mine when I started seeing Jack?”

“No, not like that at all.”

Piper laughed. “Jack’s coming by after he gets off work. Meet us at the bar after dinner so I can get to know your friend.”

“We’ll see,” Sierra said, giving Morgan a gentle push toward the restaurant.

“Very nice to meet you, Morgan,” Piper called after them.

“You, too.”

“Come to the bar!”

“Sheesh,” Sierra said. “This place.”

“You can’t get away with anything.”

“I know! But to be fair, we’ve been pretty relentless with her since she started seeing Jack Downing, one of the state police officers who works out here.”

“Ah, I see. So payback is a bitch.”

“Yes, and so is she!”

Laughing, Morgan gave his name at the hostess desk, and they were shown to a table by the window, near a roaring fire in the stone hearth that made up the center of the room.

Morgan held her chair and waited for her to get settled.

“Your server will be right with you,” the hostess said.

“Thank you.” Morgan took his seat and looked around to find the restaurant was doing a brisk business for a weeknight in December. “Is this okay?”

“It’s perfect. I love the fire.”

“Me, too. That’s my number one prerequisite for my future permanent home. Must have fireplace.”

“You’re not permanent in your place on the mainland?”

“Nah, it’s an apartment.”

“Whereabouts?”

“South Shore of Boston.”

“What do you do there?”

“I’m an electrician.”

“You are?” Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

Laughing at her reaction, he said, “Really. Why? What’s so great about that?”

“Ever since we had the big blackout last year, I’ve had one glitch after another at the studio. Maybe you could take a look for me sometime?”

“I’d be happy to.”

“That’d be amazing. Our electrical grid is antiquated out here. The blackout revealed a lot of weaknesses. I think most of them are in my place.”

“We’ll get you straightened out. No worries.”

“When word gets out that there’s an actual electrician here, you’ll be in hot demand.”

“Is that right?”

“Oh yeah. It was like when we found out Duke’s fiancée, McKenzie, knows QuickBooks. We all snapped her up, and now she’s self-employed doing the books for most of the island’s businesses.”

“That’s a good skill to have.”

“She’s finding that out. We literally fight over her.”

“That’s funny.”

“Don’t tell anyone else that you have this skill until you fix my shit, you got me?”

Grinning, he said, “Yes, ma’am.”

“I mean it.”

That made him laugh as their waitress approached the table to recite the list of specials.

“What can I get you from the bar?”

“I’ll do a glass of the house pinot grigio,” Sierra said.

“Sam Adams draft for me, please.”

“Coming right up.”

“That seafood special sounds good,” Morgan said as he perused the menu. “I might have that.”

“I’m thinking steak.”

“Do you like seafood?”

“Love it.”

“We could get one of each and do some sharing.”

“Works for me.”

A pretty woman with short red hair and a round pregnant belly approached their table. “Hi, Sierra. I thought that was you.”

“How’s it going, Steph?”

Stephanie patted her belly. “Getting closer to D Day.”

“You’re feeling good?”

“I feel great. Ready to meet my little one.”

“Do you know what you’re having?”

“We do, but we’re keeping it a secret.”

“That’s cool. Do you know Morgan Weyland? Billy’s brother. This is Stephanie McCarthy.”

She shook Morgan’s hand. “Nice to meet you, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. You’re married to Grant, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I went to school with him. He was between me and my brother.”

“He told me that. He’s hoping to catch up with you while you’re here.”

“I’m meeting Mac for a beer tomorrow. He’s welcome to join us.”

“He’d love to.”

“I’ll ask Mac to send him the place and time.”

“Perfect. Dessert is on me tonight. Enjoy your dinner.”

“Thanks, Steph.”

“Of course.”

Sierra flipped the menu over to examine the dessert menu. “I’ll have one of each, please.”

“Does someone have a sweet tooth?”

“It’s ridiculous . I wish I could identify which one it is. I’d have it pulled.”

He tossed his head back as he laughed.

Damn, the man was hot, dressed all in black with a little gel to tame his salt-and-pepper hair.

He had just the right amount of scruff on his jaw and a smile that lit up his dark eyes.

She liked making him laugh. Hopefully, it gave him a moment of lightness in an otherwise difficult time in his life.

“Note to self.” He pretended to write something on an imaginary notepad. “Keep her in sweets.”

“That’s the quickest way to my heart.”

His brows lifted in surprise.

“Yikes. That was a big reveal for a first date. Scratch that.”

“I will not scratch that. I’m recording all the information I’ll need to secure a second date. Whereas my next move might’ve been to send flowers to say thanks for a great night, I’ll skip that in favor of chocolate.”

“How do you know it’s going to be a great night?”

“It already is.”

Game. Set. Match. This guy was next-level, she decided.

Not only was he incredibly sexy, but he had good banter, which was super attractive to her.

She loved to spar with her friends, and to do that with a guy who interested her was a new experience.

Most guys were too easily butthurt by a cutting comment that was intended to be funny.

Not Morgan. He got it, and that was a huge plus in his column. Add that to the lovely manners, the sense of humor, and his obvious interest in her, and a girl could be bowled over by a guy like him.

“Is there significance to those?” she asked of the black bracelets adorned with silver beads he wore on both arms.

Morgan ran his fingers over the beads on his left arm. “After our sister and parents died, Billy and I had these made. Their initials are on the beads. One is mine, and the other was his. I was glad to get it back after they found him.”

“That’s incredibly sweet.”

“It made us feel connected to them. I guess I need to add a bead to them now.”

Her heart broke for him. There was almost nothing she wouldn’t do to make him smile. Slow down, woman. He’s here temporarily and going through hell. Don’t get overcommitted only to end up heartbroken.

The waitress delivered their drinks and took their dinner order.

After she walked away, Morgan took a sip of his beer. “Did something upset you before she came to the table? You had an odd expression for a second there.”

She stared at him, astounded by his insight and how he paid attention—another thing that made him different from other men she’d known.

“Sierra? Are you okay?”

“I was moved by what you told me about the bracelets, and I was thinking about how much fun this has already been and that I need to proceed carefully with you since you’re a short-timer around here.”

“Ah, I see how that could be a concern.”

“Indeed.” She took a big drink of her wine after sharing more with him in an hour than she had with other guys she’d dated for months. Something about him made it easy to open up in a way she never had before.

Sierra appreciated that he didn’t immediately try to defuse her concerns with platitudes.

That, too, made him different. Most guys would say what they thought she wanted to hear to ensure they ended up in her bed at the end of the night—not that many of them did, but a few had snuck past her defenses only to let her down eventually.

“Hey.”

She looked up, realizing she’d settled into a full-on brood.

“I don’t want you to worry about anything. This place I used to hate is looking better and better to me all the time. Anything can happen.”

“You hated it?”

“Intensely. I thought it was the most boring place in the world to grow up. There was absolutely nothing to do, or so it seemed to me at the time. I had a literal countdown to graduation on the wall of my bedroom, and two days after that, I headed for the mainland to find a job and a life that didn’t take place on a small, remote island. ”

“What did your parents say?”

“I made them sad with my disdain for our home. I regret that now. Big-time.”

“I’m sure they understood. They were kids once, too.”

“True, but I was mean about it. I can’t even think about that without cringing. If I’d known then what I know now about how fleeting time and life can be, I would’ve behaved differently.”

“You ought to forgive yourself for that. We’re all selfish when we’re young. How could you possibly know you’d lose them all by the time you were… what…”

“Thirty-nine.”

That made him seven years older than her. “That’s not fair.”

“No, it isn’t. What about you? What were you like as a kid?”

“Hell on wheels, as you guessed earlier, and I’m not proud of that. I was sneaking out of the house from the minute I figured out how.”

“Did you ever get caught?”

“Not once. Ever.”

“Impressive. What’d you get up to on these jaunts?”

“This. That. The other thing.”

“In other words, anything and everything you could get away with.”

“That’s right.”

“Where’d you grow up?”

“Providence. My grandparents owned a restaurant on Federal Hill, the Italian neighborhood, and both my parents worked there, so they were gone a lot at night.”

“I know Federal Hill. That was my dad’s first stop any time we were on the mainland. He loved Mancini’s. Do you know that one?”

Sierra laughed. “You could say that. My dad now owns the restaurant his grandparents founded. It’s an institution on the Hill.”

“It sure is. Wow. I’m impressed. We all looked forward to eating there any chance we got.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I miss it when I’m away for too long.”

“Do you get back often?”

“Every couple of months. Not enough for my dad, but he comes out to visit whenever he can get away for a day or two. We make do with FaceTime in between visits.”

“You’re close to him?”

“He’s my best friend in the whole world.”

“That’s so sweet. Do you have siblings?”

“Nope, just me. My mom died about ten years ago, so it’s just us two and a wild bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins who keep us from being alone. My cousins are the ones who taught me how to sneak out.”

“Another note to self.” He held up his pretend notebook again. “Keep kids away from cousins.”

Sierra laughed. “That’s a good rule. We had all the fun together, but we’re lucky we survived adolescence.”

“I, for one, am glad you survived. I would’ve hated to miss out on meeting you.”

She fanned her face. “You’re good at this.”

Again with the raised brows. “At what?”

“This.” She gestured between them. “Whatever it is we’re doing here.”

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips in a gesture that nearly had her swooning, for crying out loud. Sierra Mancini did not swoon . Ever.

“Whatever this is, I’m enjoying the hell out of it.”

She cleared the emotion from her throat. “I am, too.”