I pulled my hair out of its bun, letting the sea-salt-crunchy waves from my early-morning swim tangle in my fingers before spilling over my shoulders. Lucy, who was mediating Tom and Ralph’s latest Battleship blowup, caught my eye over the heads of our customers. Excited for tonight? she mouthed, nodding subtly to Levi.

Levi and I had plans to hang out this evening, and I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all day.

I let my smile answer for me. Lucy flashed me a sly grin and a thumbs-up.

The beach was serene. I couldn’t even hear the usual sound of seagulls calling to each other over the water. Noises of children playing had receded to a soft hum as they headed home, and the shops lining the boardwalk had all turned off their lights, casting the beach in a romantic, dusky glow.

Lorcan’s crab shack was lit up in fairy lights strung from post to post, creating a canopy of twinkles above his customers’ heads. Hushed voices spoke over the gentle roar from the firepit.

I leaned back on my elbows, watching as one of his waiters, a tanned blond with a conch-shell necklace, lit the tea-light candles on the empty tables. In the evenings, when there were a lot of tourist couples in Oar’s Rest, Lorcan liked to go the extra mile. Gauzy canopies if it was drizzling, candles on the tables, and clusters of shells around the candles to add to the vibe. He would always scatter the smaller shells on the beach for hermit crabs to adopt as their home when it was time to molt.

A shadow fell over me. “Babe?”

I looked up, heart sinking into my growling stomach. “Hi,” I said, pushing myself into a cross-legged position.

Chad and Penny stood above me, their faces searching mine. For what, I didn’t know. “What are you doing here by yourself?” Chad asked. His voice wavered as he said, “You should join us.”

Penny’s eyes darted away. She seemed engrossed in watching Lorcan brush stray embers from his leg. She held a tub of potato salad in her hands. Peeking out from the pocket of her sundress were plastic-wrapped forks. Chad had a brown paper bag dangling near his knee. The grease stains saturated the bottom in the way that the waffle and chicken place in town always served it.

Chad was waiting for an answer. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them I wasn’t by myself, but with Penny right there, and her words still echoing in my ears, I couldn’t. Instinctively, I prayed that Levi wouldn’t show up while they were still here. A second later, I shook it off. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

“I’m waiting for someone,” I said coolly.

Penny jerked her head back to me. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing.