Page 13 of Making Home with You (The Rockport Beach #3)

The rest of the day goes smoothly. I don’t hear from Carla again and while Sam is no closer to finding out who vandalized her shop, I’m hoping it’s the end of her bothering me with her bullshit.

I end up clocking off early, so by the time Sarah shows up, I’m home, showered, changed, and ready to take her out.

“Hey,” she says, smiling up at me when I open the front door.

“Mmmm,” I say, pulling her close and planting a hard kiss on her lips. When I pull back, I spy the overnight bag in her hand and I grin, taking it from her. “Staying the night?”

Sarah bites her bottom lip. “If that’s okay?”

I pull her inside, closing the front door and backing her up against it. “It’s definitely okay,” I say, dropping her bag and sliding my arms around her waist. “Stay the whole weekend,” I add before kissing her again, deeper this time.

Sarah groans, her hands slipping around my waist and pulling me closer.

“I thought you wanted a night on the town,” I murmur.

“Mmmm,” she says, smiling against my mouth.

I chuckle. “Come on,” I say, stepping backward. Sarah stares up at me, a look on her face that says she isn’t happy I stopped things. “I promise we’ll finish this later,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and leading her outside to my car.

“You better,” she mutters.

We end up at O’Loughlin’s, partly because it’s one of the few places that’s open in the winter months and partly because ever since Ryan came on board, the food has improved considerably.

It had been a good move getting him involved and I know as soon as summer hits and the tourists arrive, we’ll be raking it in.

I hold open the door, ushering Sarah inside. The place is half full and I immediately feel every set of eyes on us as I step in behind her, my hand resting on her hip.

“Oh, so I guess this explains why you never showed up last night,” comes my brother’s voice as we head over to the bar and take a seat, Beck’s eyes flicking from me to Sarah and back again.

“Hey,” I say to him. “Sorry about that, had other plans.”

“Clearly,” he says, raising an eyebrow at me.

“So, yeah, Sarah and I are…well, you know,” I say, shrugging as I glance at Sarah.

She smiles back at me before turning to Beck. “Dating,” she adds.

Beck smiles at her, giving a nod as he says, “So Ryan finally knows, huh?”

Sarah rolls her eyes. “Shit, you guys knew too?” she asks.

Beck laughs. “You do know Erin and Kels are best friends, right?” he says. “And that Erin has a big mouth.”

“God, is there anyone who didn’t know?” I ask.

Beck glances around the room. “Not anymore,” he says, grinning. “You guys eating?”

I nod, just as Kelsey walks up, smiling at us. “Hi,” she says, kissing me on the cheek before hugging Sarah. “Where were you last night?” she asks me.

Sarah glances at me again, a questioning look on her face. “Family dinner,” I tell her, before looking at Kelsey. “Sorry, had other plans.”

Kelsey gives me a wry smile. “So next time, bring your plans with you,” she says, glancing at Sarah.

“Okay, okay, message received,” I say, standing. “We’re going to grab a table and have some dinner.”

Sarah stands and I put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Do you guys want to join us?” she asks.

“No, we’ll leave you to it,” Kelsey says. “But come to family dinner next week, okay?”

Sarah glances up at me as though to ask if that’s okay.

I smile, give her a small nod because it’s exactly what I want to happen.

For so many years family dinner was just me, Kelsey and Pop.

When Beck came back, things changed to include him and it was a great way for us to reconnect after all those years he spent in Boston.

I know Pop appreciates it and truth be told, so do I.

But the idea of Sarah being a part of it too, somehow it just feels right.

“We’ll be there,” I say, kissing the top of Sarah’s head.

We both turn and head toward a booth in the new dining area. Everyone in the pub watches us and although it feels awkward as fuck, I don’t let go of Sarah until we reach the table.

She sits down across from me, a strange look on her face. I smile at her, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her palm. “You okay?” I ask.

“Everyone’s looking at us,” she whispers, her eyes flicking around the room.

I chuckle. “Yeah, I know.”

“Why?” she asks, straightening a little as one of the wait staff brings us some menus. I nod my thanks, order a couple of beers for us, before turning to Sarah again.

“They’re just not used to seeing me do this,” I tell her.

“What?” she asks. “Eat?”

I laugh. “No, eat with a woman. A date.”

Sarah looks at me with a shocked expression on her face. “You’ve never done this before?” she asks.

I shrug. “Nope, not really.”

“Why?”

I put the menu down and look right at her. “Never met someone I wanted to do this with, I guess,” I say, trying to act as though this isn’t a big deal.

Sarah says nothing, just stares back at me, her eyes wide as she takes in my words. Just when I think I should say something, anything to break the silence, she smiles, leans closer and says, “Well, I’m glad I’m the one to pop your dating cherry.”

I burst out laughing, my fingers threading with hers as I lift her hand to my mouth again, this time nibbling on her fingertips as I whisper, “God, Sarah, where the fuck have you been all my life?”

Sarah blushes, her smile shy as she looks across at me. Even though I can still feel everyone looking at us, I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. Not with the way Sarah’s now looking at me.

By the time our meal arrives, it seems like most people in the pub have grown tired of watching us. We eat our meal, chatting and laughing and once again I’m struck with how easy it is just to be with Sarah. How easily I could get used to doing this all the time. Forever even.

When we finally finish, we say our goodbyes to Beck and Kelsey, before heading out to the car.

“So,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “Where to now?”

Sarah turns, slipping her arms around my waist as she stares up at me. “Wanna go parking?” she asks.

I smile, lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips. “Going for the full dating experience, huh?” I whisper against her mouth.

She nibbles at my bottom lip as her hands slide down to my ass and gently squeeze. “Yep,” she murmurs. “And besides, didn’t you start something you need to finish?”

I grin, pulling her closer as I kiss her again, my tongue slipping into her mouth.

“Yes, boss,” I say, pulling back and swatting her on the ass.

Sarah giggles and I can’t help giving her another smack as I open the car door for her, my heart pounding in my chest because of all the things I know are going to happen now.

But when I turn and walk around to the driver’s side, I freeze, my hand clenching my keys so hard I feel them dig into my palm.

Swallowing hard, I force myself to look away, to not even acknowledge Carla as she stands beside her car watching us, a hard look on her face.