His Unexpected Twins. Carrie Nichols

Stacy cleared her throat, but Ellie ignored her.

      Was he asking her on a date? “And where did you hear my shift was ending?”

      “I asked Meg.” He put his hands into his front pockets and hunched his shoulders forward. “So, how about some supper?”

      A pen dropped, followed by a sigh. Stacy was probably memorizing every word and detail of the encounter to pass along later in the cafeteria.

      Ellie shuffled her feet. Was she going to do this? Repeat after me: “not a real date.” “Sure. I’ve got some extra clothes in my locker. If you don’t mind waiting while I change.”

      From the sound of it, Stacy was rearranging files on her desk, and evidently, they were fighting back.

      Ellie grinned and turned around. “Stacy, have you met my friend Meg Cooper’s brother, Liam?”

      Stacy stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Liam.”

      “Let me get changed. I’ll be right back,” Ellie said while Stacy and Liam shook hands.

      Stacy laughed. “Don’t rush on my account.”

      Despite Stacy’s comment, Ellie hurried to her locker. Had this been Liam’s idea or was Meg somehow behind this? After changing into jeans and a short-sleeved cotton sweater, she undid her hair from the braid and brushed it out. Even if this wasn’t an honest-to-goodness date, she wanted to look her best. She fluffed her hair around her shoulders and applied some cherry lip gloss and went in search of Liam.

      Hands shoved in his back pockets, Liam stood in front of the muted television in the waiting area. He turned as she approached and smiled broadly. “I gotta say, Harding, you clean up nicely.”

      “Not so bad yourself, McBride.” She put her purse strap over her shoulder and waved to Stacy through the window. The triage nurse was with a patient but glanced at Liam and back to Ellie with a grin and a thumbs-up.

      “I thought we’d take my truck and I can bring you back here for your car,” Liam said as the automatic doors slid open with an electronic whoosh.

      A light breeze was blowing the leaves on the trees surrounding the parking lot. A thunderstorm earlier in the day had broken the heat and humidity, making the evening warm but comfortable.

      “Sounds good.” Sounds like a date.

      Using his key fob to unlock his truck, he approached the passenger side and opened the door for her. “Riley says that new hard cider microbrewery on the town square has great food.”

      “They do. Best burgers in town, if you ask me.” She sucked on her bottom lip as she climbed into his truck. Everyone in Loon Lake knew Hennen’s Microbrewery was the place to hang out with friends, while Angelo’s was the restaurant you brought your date to. So, not a date. At least we cleared that up.

      Once she was in the passenger seat, he shut the door and strolled around the hood of the truck. He climbed in and settled himself behind the wheel.

      “Yeah, Meg mentioned that Angelo’s has added a dining patio but—” He started the truck and music from the Dropkick Murphys blasted from the speakers. Leaning over, he adjusted the volume. “Sorry about that.”

      His movements filled the front seat with his signature scent. She was able to pick out notes of salty sea air, driftwood and sage. Thinking about his aftershave was better than trying to figure out what he’d been about to say about Angelo’s. Okay, color her curious. “You were saying something about Angelo’s new patio.”

      He checked the mirrors and the backup camera before leaving the parking spot. “Hmm...oh, yeah. Meg said during the winter you can see across the lake to their house from the patio.”

      Serves you right for asking. “That’s cool.”

      He cleared his throat. “She was going on and on about how romantic the new patio was with something called fairy lights.”

      Not exactly subtle, Meg. Ellie fiddled with the strap of her purse. “Yeah, they’ve got small trees in ceramic pots scattered around with tiny LED lights strung around the trunks and branches. Very pretty, with lots of atmosphere.”

      The air in the confined space felt supercharged with something...awareness? Chemistry? She couldn’t be sure, couldn’t even be sure that he felt it, too. Maybe this was all in her head. All one-sided, like it had been in her childhood.

      He glanced at her for a second before bringing his attention back to the road. “So, you’ve been to Angelo’s patio?”

      Was he trying to get information on her social life or lack thereof? “No, but Mary and Meg have both been.” She huffed out her breath. “Believe me, I’ve heard all about it.”

      He reached over and laid his hand over hers. “Sounds like I may have to take up the challenge to be sure you get to experience this patio, too.”

      Her heart did a little bump, but she laughed, hoping to brazen through. “You signing me up as their new janitor, McBride?”

      He squeezed her hand and brought it to his chest. “You wound me, Harding. I was thinking more along the lines of the waitstaff. I can see you in a white blouse and a cute little black skirt.”

      “Glad we cleared that up.” She laughed for real this time. Date or not, there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy being with Liam. Even if anything that could happen with Liam had nowhere to go. They didn’t live in the same town. And then there was the whole thing with Liam having used his job to avoid dealing with his emotions. Even his sister couldn’t deny that truth. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy hanging out with him while he was here. Having a life-threatening illness like lymphoma had taught her she didn’t want to die with regrets if she could help it. After enduring chemo coupled with radiation, she’d been in remission for almost nine years, a good chunk of time, and her oncologist was optimistic but the experience had changed her outlook on life.

      “How are the renovations coming?” she asked.

      He squeezed her hand and put it back on her lap. “Is this you changing the subject?”

      “So you can take a hint.”

      He jokingly muttered something about respect for her elders but launched into an amusing story about framing out the new master bedroom closet at Meg and Riley’s place.

      “That house is going to be awesome once the addition is finished.”

      He made a hum of agreement. “Yeah, I guess she made the right choice moving here.”

      “She said you had tried to get her to move into one of your rentals.” She hadn’t seen Liam’s place, but she knew he owned one of those iconic Boston three-family homes commonly referred to as “three-deckers” by the locals. He’d purchased it as a bank foreclosure and had been remodeling it ever since, according to Meg. Ellie knew it was Liam’s pride and joy.

      “I did, but she’s always loved this town and that vacation home. Even all the repairs it needed didn’t deter her. My sister can be stubborn.”

      Ellie laughed. “Yeah, so I noticed.”

      “But I gotta say, she made the right choice for her.” He stopped for a red light.

      “What about you?” The words were out before she could prevent them.

      He turned his head to look at her. “Me? I’m exactly where I belong.”

      Yeah, that’s what she thought. And like Meg, he was happy where he lived.

      Swallowing, she pointed out the windshield. “Green light.”

      She glanced at Liam’s strong profile. Could she be happy in Boston? “No regrets” included trying new things, new places.

      Hey, Ellie, aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? This wasn’t