“Excellent. Glad we got that settled,” he said, pushing his sunglasses onto his nose and backing up the car again. “Now tell me all about you. Every detail, and don’t leave anythin’ out, you hear?”
“Yes,” she said. “But first, how was dinner with Pete and Van last night? We got sidetracked when you picked me up, and I didn’t get to ask.”
He cleared his throat, pulling out of the Hatteras Landing parking lot and onto Route 12 north. “Good. Van sure does give ole Pete a hard time.”
“How so?” she asked.
“Pete has a thing for Van, but it’s not goin’ anywhere.”
Laire thought this over for a second, trying to figure out Erik’s meaning, then suddenly a light bulb went off in her head. “Oh, gosh! I didn’t know that Pete was a homosexual!”
Erik almost swerved off the road as he looked over at her. “What?”
“My cousin’s girlfriend’s brother was a homosexual too, but honestly we don’t have many on Corey.”
“Wha—Why do you think Pete’s gay?”
“Because he has a thing for Van.”
“Riiiiight . . . and . . .?”
She certainly hadn’t expected to have to explain this to Erik, who was so much more worldly than she. “When one man has a thing for another man, that’s called homosexuality.”
“But Van’s not—”
“Into Pete?” She shrugged. “Poor guy. I guess Pete can’t help who he likes.”
“Hold up. You think that Van’s a . . . Oh, God. I think I get it now.” Erik tugged his bottom lip between his teeth. “Can I ask you somethin’?”
“Sure.”
“Would it bother you if I hung out a lot with another girl?”
Laire swallowed, a surge of jealousy making her feel downright jittery for a second. “Yes.”
“Even if she was just a friend?”
She looked at him—at his profile, which was so handsome, it made her stomach flutter like crazy. How could any woman have Erik Rexford for a friend? She would eventually fall in love with him, wouldn’t she? Of course. He was everything a woman could ever want—handsome, thoughtful, sweet, wonderful. Yes, it would bother her. Very much. Because she knew something Erik didn’t: he’d never be able to have a woman friend who didn’t want him the way she did. As far as Laire was concerned, it was impossible.
“Yes,” she admitted.
He nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay . . . what?”
“Okay, Pete is gay and he’s really into Van,” he said quickly.
“Yeah, I know. I figured that out.” Something felt off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “So why’d you ask me about other girls?”
“Because I wasn’t sure if my little mermaid had a jealous streak or not.”
A jealous streak. Hmm. Suddenly she wondered if Erik had one too, and she squirmed in her seat, thinking about Brodie and the goddamned rumors he’d started. “Would it bother you? To hear I was spending time with another man?”
Erik’s neck whipped around to face her so fast, she wondered his head didn’t snap off. “Are you?”
“No!”
His eyes were wide and dark as he turned them back to the road, adjusting and readjusting his fingers on the steering wheel. “Yes. It would bother me, Laire. It would fuckin’ gut me, darlin’.”
Growing up around fishermen, Laire wasn’t a stranger to such profanity. She’d even used the f-word a time or two to shock her sisters, but she’d never heard Erik use it before. She reached over and touched his arm. “I’m not. I’m not seeing anyone else. I promise.”
He took a deep breath and sighed, cracking his neck as he stretched it, touching each ear to his shoulder before relaxing again. His voice was tender when he said, “I meant what I said last night, Freckles. I only want to be with you.”
“And I only want to be with you,” she reassured him gently.
He sighed, looking over at her with a happy grin. “Now tell me everythin’ about you.”
“Why? You looking to be bored to tears for a while?”
“Trust me, darlin’. I won’t be bored.”
“You asked for it,” she said, taking off her mother’s hat and letting the wind rush through her hair as she started talking.
***
Erik listened carefully as they drove up to Rodanthe, as they ate fresh mahi-mahi over grilled vegetables, and got back in the car headed for Manteo.