TARA STOOD IN front of the mirror, assessing her outfit. She and Joey hadn’t gotten ready together because they were just going to dinner and not to an event, and that gave Tara a little extra time to figure out her outfit. Levi had said to dress up, but she hadn’t brought any dressy clothes with her. She’d had to get creative and wore a long light gray sweater with a thin belt around her waist. It hung to the middle of her thighs, and she’d paired it with cute black ankle boots. A knock sounded on the door. “Come in.”
“Are you ready?” Joey stepped into the room, adorable in a pink sweater with a heart on the front and black leggings with pink flowers on them. “You look pretty.”
“You think so?” Tara looked down at her bare legs, feeling a little naked.
“Uh-huh. Wait until you see Daddy. He’s dressed up, too.”
“Then I guess I’m ready. You look beautiful, cutie pie.”
“Thanks. Daddy said I looked prettier than a skater princess. I didn’t know I could be a skater and a princess.”
“You can be anything you want.”
“That’s what Daddy said.” She reached up and touched her headband. “Is my headband okay?” She leaned her head forward as if Tara couldn’t see it.
“It’s perfect.” She reached for Joey’s hand.
As they walked out of Tara’s bedroom, Joey hollered, “Dad, she’s ready!”
Levi met them in the living room. He looked striking in a black dress shirt that hugged his muscles and black slacks. Heat curled in her stomach at the way his gaze raked down her body, full of love and something animalistic she couldn’t wait to explore. The last time she’d made any kind of entrance, the night of the dance, she’d had to tamp down her desires, thinking they were childish fantasies.
Look how far we’ve come, she thought as his loving eyes found hers.
“Wow, T. You look gorgeous. Almost as beautiful as Joey.” He winked at Joey.
“Thanks. You’re looking gorgeous yourself, Mr. Steele.”
“Thank you, my sweet lady.” He crooked his elbows. “Shall we go?”
They took his arms, and together they headed out the door.
WHEN LEVI PULLED into the parking lot of Crave, the fanciest restaurant in Harborside, Tara’s jaw dropped. She’d read an article about the exclusive restaurant three years ago, when they were building it. She’d tracked down the owner to inquire about doing their photography for menus and advertisements, but he’d kindly turned her down, having already booked a photographer. Tara had been obsessed with the beautiful brick-and-cedar restaurant overlooking Cider Cove. Every table had a view of the water, and she’d heard rumors that it took months to get a table and nobody left without dropping a few hundred bucks. “Levi—”
“Don’t,” he said softly and flashed that butterfly-inducing smile. “Remember how we talked about just saying thank you?”
It felt like a lifetime ago when they’d looked at houses together, and now all those touches, whispers, and boundary-testing moments made sense. Just like his words. It’s time to stop telling people what they don’t have to do for you and learn to say thank you instead. “Thank you, but—”
He pressed his lips to hers. “No buts, beautiful. You were enamored with this restaurant for months. It’s time you enjoyed it.”
You remembered. Her heart squeezed.
“I want to enjoy it,” Joey chimed in from the back seat, and they both laughed.
As they walked up to the front door, Tara looked at Levi with wonder. He was always so busy with work and keeping track of Joey’s practices and social calendar. How did he remember Tara poring over websites and articles three years ago?
He opened the massive arched door, and as they went inside, Joey and Tara were mesmerized by an arched pergola draped in colorful flowers and climbing vines, interspersed with twinkling lights.
“It’s even more gorgeous than in the pictures,” Tara said with awe.
“I want one of these, Daddy. Can you build one in our house?”
“Maybe one day.” He put his hand on Tara’s back.
“Levi, we don’t even need to eat dinner. Seeing this is…” She shook her head, at a loss for words. “I wish I had my camera.”
“We’ll have to come back sometime.”
They went into the restaurant, which was even more elegant than the entryway, with brick walls steeped in greenery and vibrant, leafy plants that looked like they belonged in the Mediterranean. As they were led through a brick archway, Tara whispered, “How’d you get a reservation so fast?”
He kissed her cheek. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
They were seated in a room that had only three tables. A wall of glass gave way to a view of the cove. Soft blue and white lights led to a path from the slate patio that Tara knew they used for outdoor dining in warmer weather, through extravagant gardens, all the way down to the water’s edge.
“Whoa, look.” Joey pointed out the windows.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Levi reached for Tara’s hand.
“Stunning,” Tara said.
“I think it’s magical,” Joey said as a young, attractive waiter approached the table.
“Good evening. My name is Ricky, and I’ll be serving you tonight.” He placed glasses in front of each of them and filled them with ice water. Then he set champagne flutes in front them and filled Joey’s with something that looked a lot like champagne.
“I can’t drink that,” Joey said.
“That’s special champagne for kids,” Ricky said.
Joey sat up taller, grinning. “Thank you.”
Ricky poured champagne for Tara and Levi and placed the rest of the bottle in an ice bucket beside Levi.
“Are we celebrating something?” Tara looked curiously at Levi.
Levi winked without answering as Ricky placed a basket of fresh bread that smelled heavenly on the table and set an enormous silver serving platter with a lid on it in front of Tara. “I’ll be back shortly.”
As the waiter walked away, Joey said, “What’s in that?”
“I don’t know.” Tara looked at Levi. “What’s going on?”
“Do we need a reason to celebrate?” He picked up his champagne flute and motioned for them to do the same. “Here’s to feeling like the luckiest guy on earth and having dinner with the second-place skateboarding champ and the most talented—although not the most observant—photographer in Massachusetts.”
As he clinked glasses with Joey, Tara said, “Not the most observant? What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you missed quite a few things, but I don’t blame you. I mean, you’re usually engrossed in Joey’s sparkling personality, and when we’re together, you’re mesmerized by my good looks.”
Joey giggled.
Tara’s brow furrowed. “I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Lift the lid,” he said with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.
“Lift it,” Joey urged.
Excitement tingled in Tara’s chest, and she glanced at Levi. “What are you up to?”
Levi shrugged, splaying his hands.
She held her breath as she lifted the silver lid, revealing a stack of photographs. On top was a picture of the three of them walking hand in hand on the boardwalk, with Joey in the middle, wearing the clothes they’d worn today. Emotions clogged her throat. “Who took these?”
“Cassidy. My house is full of pictures of the old us, and I adore them, but I want to put up pictures of the new us.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Levi,” she whispered, admiring the picture and lifting it to see another.
“Can I see?” Joey got out of her chair and stood beside Tara.
“I haven’t seen them yet, either.” Levi came to Tara’s other side, and they looked through the pictures.
There were several taken while they were at the boardwalk. Pictures of Tara and Joey high-fiving by the air hockey machine, while Levi looked on with so much love in his eyes, it jumped off the photo, and of Levi and Tara kissing while Joey shot a basketball, and Levi smacking Tara’s butt as she walked into Brooke’s Bytes.
“Daddy!” Joey giggled.
There were pictures of the three of them on the beach and of Levi carrying them into the water, and many more of Tara and Joey taken on outings over the last few days—of her and Joey on a seesaw at the park and lying on their backs on a blanket in the sand. Tara was holding up one of Joey’s books, reading to her.
“I remember that,” Joey said happily.
“Me too. We had fun that day.”
As Tara looked through the pictures, she fell even deeper in love with Levi and Joey and the idea of them as a family. There was a picture of Joey skateboarding while Tara stood on the sidelines with her camera to her eye, and one of Levi hugging Joey in the front yard with Tara watching them, her head slightly tilted, emotions practically oozing from her pores. There was a picture of Tara watering the gardens, Joey caught midair as she jumped in front of the hose.
“You little rascal,” Levi teased.
There was even a picture of Tara and Joey sitting on the grass in Levi’s backyard surrounded by boxes they’d taken out of the shed, drinking lemonade and playing Go Fish. They’d worked hard to organize the shed, and Joey was so proud of what they’d done, she’d taken Levi out to see their progress each night. Tara couldn’t believe Cassidy had been able to take all those photos without her knowing. In the last picture, their Harborside friends were gathered around a bonfire, and Tara was sitting with Joey in her lap, fast asleep. Joey couldn’t have been more than six years old.
Tara’s throat thickened with emotion. “When was this taken?”
“I took it two years ago. It’s my favorite picture of the two of you. It’s been on my phone and I’ve kept it to myself. But now that I know why it’s the picture I look at when I’m having a bad day or missing home, I thought we could put it up.”
Tears welled in Tara’s eyes. She looked up at him, trying to blink them dry, but this was the best surprise she’d ever been given, and she couldn’t stop them as she choked out, “I love them.”
“I love you, T,” he said softly.
“I love you, too,” Joey said. “I wish you weren’t leaving this weekend.”
“Same,” Tara managed, sliding her arm around Joey’s waist and hugging her against her side. She had no idea how she was going to leave on Sunday. How could two weeks feel like two months? She could hardly remember what it was like before she and Levi had come together. She remembered, of course, but it felt like she was thinking about someone else’s life. As if this was how they were always supposed to be.
She wiped her eyes, trying to pull herself together. “I don’t know how you and Cassidy pulled this off. I never saw her take any of these.”
“Me either. She was sneaky,” Joey added.
“That was the point,” Levi said, his warm brown eyes holding Tara’s. “A wise and beautiful photographer once told me she took some of her best pictures during the most unexpected moments, and everything about you, blondie, is as unexpected as it is beautiful.”