Deirdre was stunned. This was not what she was thinking at all! But before she could explain herself further, a new gale tore through them. Seaside towns were no strangers to strong, chilling winds. Their journey was only 100 meters long, yet it felt like they had lost half of their body warmth by the 50-meter point.

Her body shuddered on its own. Brendan felt it coursing through his arm and drew her even more closely into his chest. “About 50 meters left.”

They braved the weather. It was as the waitress had predicted—the rain kept getting heavier. Had they chosen to stay inside the restaurant, they would not have been able to come out.

The umbrella did a shoddy job of keeping the elements out of them. By the time they reached the car, Deirdre was wet. The first thing Brendan did after getting inside was to turn on the heater before pulling out a towel from the backseat. He passed it to her, stating, “Wipe yourself.”

She thanked him out of reflexive courtesy and reached out to the