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It shouldn’t hurt. After all, that was the agreement we’d made.
But it did.
I’m not giving up. I had many months left yet to prove there was more to this than an agreement. “You haven’t collected any seashells for your shelf yet?”
“I think we came to the beaches down here when I was really little, but I don’t really remember it. This is the first time, as an adult, I’ve been to a sandy beach. The shoreline around San Francisco Bay isn’t like this.”
“Then if you could go to any beach in the world, where would it be?”
“Oh, that’s tough. The beaches in Thailand are supposed to be beautiful. But even just going down to Mexico, to the Yucatan, would be nice. The latter also has some amazing ruins I’d love to see too.”
“You’d choose the ruins over Cancun?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t need a place full of resorts. I like to go off the beaten path a little. I mean, I’m not about to hike through the jungle by myself. But I want to plan out my trips, find restaurants where the locals eat, and try the non-touristy places.”
I crouched down and shifted through the shells in the sand. “That’s one of my favorite things to do, actually. To find hidden gems.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I avoid fancy restaurants, if I can help.”
“Says the man with a private chef.”
I chuckled. “Well, I can burn boiled pasta. But even my chef is from a little family Italian restaurant I discovered by chance. He was taught by his parents and aunts and uncles, and makes good food that some rich people might turn their noses up at.”
Katie sat down, her legs crossed, and asked, “What kind of stuff?”
“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”
She drew shapes in the sand with her finger. “I think you like giving chances to people who might not get a second glance from other famous people.”
I sat, too, tossing a shell back and forth between my hands. “Someone gave me a chance when I was a completely unknown young actor. I’m just trying to pay it forward.”
“How does someone as rich and famous as you remain so grounded?”
I shrugged. “I have Aunt Lori’s texts to remind me I’m just Nolan Wolfe and not Nolan Drake.”
“Haha, nice try. But it’s admirable, really.” She placed a hand on my upper arm and squeezed. “You’re such a good man, Nolan.”
I sighed. “This again? But bad boys have all the fun.”
I winked at her, and Katie laughed. She then leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped an arm around her.
For a few minutes, we sat in silence, watching the waves. Sitting there with Katie, combined with the sounds of the ocean, was peaceful.
To think, if I could just convince Katie I wanted her as my girlfriend for real, I could have this all the time. And then I could just be a man with his woman, enjoying nature, as the rest of the world faded away.
Soon I heard people approaching and reluctantly turned my head. Antonio and his assistant came toward us. I waved, untangled myself from Katie, and helped her up. “Dinner’s here.”
As soon as my chef was close enough, I introduced him to Katie as Antonio’s assistant laid out our dinner.
Katie said, “Nice to meet you! I’ve heard good things, and I can’t wait to try your food.”
Antonio smiled. “Well, if there’s anything you want, just let me know. Even if I’ve never made it before, I can learn how. Considering how Nolan likes to eat a lot of the same things, it’ll help break up the monotony.”
I shook my head. “I’ve said a million times that you can surprise me whenever you want to.”
“Yes, and then you don’t eat it and instead get some fast food.” The chef shuddered.
