His surprise. Marissa still hadn’t told him what it was. “Sorry to interrupt—I just wanted to let Sarah know that we’re done.”

“Already?” she asked. “Like…everything?”

Her surprised look held a tiny tinge of regret, which made his own hope rise. Was she as disappointed at the prospect of not seeing him around there every day as well? Or maybe she was disappointed that she wouldn’t have Marissa around anymore?

“Yeah. The waste management bin just arrived, so my guys are cleaning up the debris outside, and then that’s it.”

“We’re actually done with what we were working on as well,” Sarah said with a smile at Marissa.

The little girl looked less pleased. “I guess that means I won’t need to come here every day anymore,” she said, her tone echoing how they all felt.

Sarah’s gaze met his, and his palms started to sweat and his mouth ran dry. Now was his opportunity. Invite her to hang out with both of them…easier than asking her out on a date in front of his nine-year-old.

This was perfect. Marissa had teed him up for the invite.

But the words refused to surface as he continued to stare at her, drowning in his inability to vocalize how he was feeling. Damn, the silent pleading in those eyes was killing him…

Sarah cleared her throat and looked at Marissa. “You can come visit anytime you want, and Lia invited you both to the reunion…so there’s that,” she said.

Wes nodded his agreement.

Come on, man, just ask her to dinner or something!

Marissa’s eyes widened. “Hey, tonight is the annual firework competition on the boardwalk pier,” she said. “The fair is in town, too… We should all go.”

Yes, they should. Thank God for his nine-year-old. Wes had zero game.

Sarah looked at him again, and he nodded. “Yeah…I mean, that sounds like a good idea to me, if you’re not busy.”

Marissa rolled her eyes. “What Dad is trying to say is that we’d really like you to come with us.”

Sarah laughed. “Okay, yeah.” Her gaze met his again. “I’d like that.”

She would? So it wasn’t just him struggling with these new feelings. Wes smiled like a child as he nodded again. “Great… We’ll pick you up around seven?”

“Sure,” Sarah said as Lia entered the den with Popsicles for the three of them.

“Where are we going at seven?” she asked.

Wes’s heart raced, and Sarah’s eyes widened.

Marissa smiled as she accepted a Popsicle. “The fair and the fireworks competition. We’re all going,” she said.

“Awesome, I’m free,” Lia said, her lips turning purple from the grape-flavored ice treat.

And just like that, his first “date” in five years turned into a group thing.

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen