For a Tuesday night, the monthly Stitch and Bitch event was livelier than I would've figured.

"Surprised?" Mara asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she bumped her hip with mine.

"Yeah," I admitted, my gaze arching across the room. "I mean, I know it's been a while since I've come to one of these, but damn, it's really grown."

The last time I'd attended was last spring alongside my mom, a few months before she'd passed away. Back then, Stitch and Bitch had been a fun experience hosted by the administrative staff at the local retirement home to bring some of the townspeople in on a monthly basis to knit and talk to the residents. Fast forward more than a year later, it now looked like a choose-your-own-adventure type of night out in the town hall. The town seniors were still at the center of it all, having been bussed over to participate in the fun, but there was also so much more. There were knitting circles, easels to paint at, and even an origami station. A long table was set up on the far side, full of appetizers and desserts for all to pick over, and a makeshift bar had been created, with the money going back to fund programs at the retirement home.

It was amazing, and I was glad Mara had convinced me to come tonight.

"It sure has," she replied before rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "So, what's our poison tonight? A margarita while we work on our knitting skills? Some beers as we learn how to fold paper cranes? Painting a masterpiece with a glass of pinot grigio in hand?"

"How about we grab a margarita, but try our hands at painting?"

"I like it," Mara said, looping her arm with mine as she led me across the room to join the line for drinks.

With about ten people in front of us, I turned to her and asked, "So, how was work? Anything new and exciting happen?"

As the sole lawyer in town, she had opened her own practice a few years back, and while she got the exclusive business of nearly everyone in Neptune Bay, the town was only so big. Sometimes she had to widen her reach and take on cases in bigger, surrounding cities.

"Not really." She lifted a shoulder. "Just regular day to day stuff, but seeing as it's the summer, I definitely prefer not being swamped. Especially since I'll be able to easily close down the office Friday while Sam and I take a road trip along the coast this weekend."

"That'll be a nice little getaway. Are you staying in an Airbnb?"

She nodded, grinning excitedly. "Two of them. A cute little cottage a few hours away on Friday night and then a funky waterfront condo on Saturday." The word 'condo' struck a weird chord in me—a reminder of yesterday's events—but I didn't let that show. "What about you? Any fun weekend plans?"

Considering Ryan had texted me mid-afternoon to let me know his parents had confirmed they were open to watching Bowen on Friday night, I definitely had something planned.

I had a date.

"Yeah, actually. I—"

The next words never materialized, as a cat got my tongue the moment Rebecca Nyberg joined the drinks line behind us. Think of a Nyberg and one will appear.

"Hi, girls," she greeted.

Trying not to think about the fact that she very likely knew I was going on a date with her son later this week, I said, "Hi, Rebecca."

"Hey, Mrs. Nyberg," Mara jumped in, giving her a hug. "I wasn't sure if we were going to see you out tonight, but I'm glad you're here."

"After everything that's happened—" She released a deep breath and gave us a rueful smile. "I felt like I needed Stitch and Bitch tonight. To feel some sort of normalcy."

"I get that."

Though she was much stronger than I was. Her son had only passed a few weeks ago, yet she was already starting to integrate herself back into town life. Or maybe the years she had on me just made her all the wiser, not wanting to let one minute slip through her fingers.

"Plus, Kevin all but pushed me out the front door. He knew this would be good for me."

"Smart man," Mara remarked as we reached the bar.

"We'll have two margaritas," I ordered before turning back to her. "And Rebecca, did you want something?"

"Oh, if you could make that three margaritas, that'd be great," she replied, speaking to the bartender before throwing a grateful look my way. "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

"Did you want to join us over at the painting station?" Mara asked. "The two of us can't paint worth shit, so I can almost guarantee we can make you look good."

A warm laugh left her lips, but she shook her head. "No, though that offer does sound tempting. I'm going to go and knit with a few of my friends who promised to regale me with stories about the latest town hijinks I've missed out on. Besides—" Her lips curved knowingly. "—I'm not sure how Ryan would feel about his mother hanging out with the woman he's got his eye on."

Well, that certainly answered the question as to whether or not she knew about Ryan and I.

"He sounded excited, by the way, for your date on Friday," she added. "It was quite cute to see."

A blush quickly heated my cheeks as Mara's gaze whipped toward me, she lifted a brow and her expression filled with delight. "I'm sorry, did she just say you and Ryan are going out this weekend?"

"Three margaritas," the bartender cut in, sliding three identical glasses across the counter before accepting my twenty-dollar bill.

Rebecca's eyes flitted between the two of us, realizing that she'd let something slip I hadn't yet shared. Grabbing her drink, she threw a sheepish glance my way and started inching towards the knitting area. "I think I'll leave you two to chat," she said with a drawl. "Thanks again for the drink."

Reaching for our own drinks, Mara and I headed over to where the paint and easels were set up. I barely was able to get my butt on a stool, however, before she was on me with questions.

"So, were you going to tell me about this new revelation between you and Ryan?" A smirk graced her lips, letting me know she wasn't at all upset that I'd withheld the information, but more amused about how she'd found out. "Hmm? Or were you going to let me find out through the town gossip?"

"I was literally about to tell you before Rebecca walked up to us," I replied. "It's not like I've been holding onto this secret for ages. He just asked me out last night."

Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "And what were the two of you doing last night?"

"Bowen had invited me over for dinner, which I obviously couldn't say no to, but after we were finished eating, I ended up staying for a few hours to watch a movie with them. I basically stuck around until he was ready for bed."

"I'm assuming something happened with Ryan after Bowen went to sleep?"

The blush returned to my cheeks as I said, "Maybe." Her smile widened and I laughed. "Slow that train of thought, because nothing actually happened between us. I was helping him clean up a bit and we got to talking." I didn't think right now was the time to go into what we'd talked about, so skipping over that part, I continued, "One thing led to another and suddenly we were close—like really close—and we would've kissed had Bowen not called for Ryan's help."

"Damn, Bowen, stopping you from finally getting some," she mused.

"Shh!" I said, quickly casting my eyes around us in embarrassment, wondering if anyone had heard.

"What?" she drawled innocently, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You should be proud. You're getting back on the dating horse, and man, is Ryan a great man to do that with."

"You do remember that I said nothing had happened between us yet, right?"

She shrugged. "Almost is good enough for me, because that means you both wanted it to happen." Placing her drink on the small table between us where the paint was set up, she picked up a paint brush. "Do you know where he's taking you?"

"Dockside."

When he told me he'd made a seven o'clock reservation at the local beachfront restaurant, I'd felt a flutter in my chest. A mixture of relief and happiness. Relief because I'd thought for a moment he'd want to go to the steakhouse, which wasn't my scene at all, and happiness because he'd chosen a much better spot. A sit-down place specializing in seafood, Dockside was located right at the end of the boardwalk and was a relatively casual establishment.

Honestly, it was perfect.

"Nice, okay, I'm all for this," she said eagerly. "Especially knowing this is happening now after the major crush he had on you back when we were kids."

My eyes widened slightly at that tidbit of information. "What? When was this?"

"You didn't know?" she asked incredulously, and I shook my head. "I'd always thought you just kind of brushed it off because you weren't into him, or you didn't want to get your heartbroken knowing he was leaving after high school to play hockey."

"I wouldn't have faulted him for that. After all, I left too." I tried to think back to middle school. High school. Some hint to him having had feelings for me back then, but nothing came to mind. "But are you sure?"

"I mean, he never explicitly told me," she replied, "but the summer between freshman and sophomore year I'd always catch him staring at you. Like he was seeing you as something more than just a friend. You were just too wrapped up with Cal Woods to notice."

Ah, Cal. My first boyfriend. He'd been sweet and completely smitten with me the year and a half we'd dated, but towards the end of junior year, things had simply fizzled out. There'd been no drama or bad blood, and the last I heard he'd settled down in Seattle and had proposed to his long-time girlfriend.

"Guilty," I replied and the two of us collapsed with laughter.

"It all worked out though, because here y'all are, all these years later, both single and finally ready to mingle," she said. "And I expect a full play-by-play when I get back to town Sunday night."

"You'll get one, don't worry."

All I could hope for was that what I'd have to share would be worth the build-up.