Fletcher had parked his car near her hotel and walked with Samantha to a little sushi restaurant that he loved. Then she wanted to find a bakery she had heard of that was on the Third Street Promenade and there was no way Fletcher was going to tell her no or that he had to go.
He watched her face as they walked in, her eyes lighting up as Samantha looked at everything in the display case filled with cupcakes and cookies and little pie things.
"Do you trust me?"
"What?"
She looked up at him with her brown eyes. "Do you trust me?"
He couldn't stop the smile that started creeping up. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to say yes."
She clapped her hands a little in excitement before ordering half a dozen mini cupcakes to go. Each one was a different flavor and he was so enchanted by Samantha that he wasn't even paying attention to what she was ordering or the fact that she was paying for them.
"I can get those," he said, but she just waved him away.
He was going to protest, he should've protested, but he only stood there in awe. Fletcher couldn't remember the last time a woman had bought him anything and he was a little turned on by it.
But Samantha just took it in stride, getting the bag from the counter and grabbing his elbow to direct him out of the store.
"How do you feel about sitting on the beach with me and eating cupcakes?"
"I can be persuaded." He pushed the door open for her. "But I bet none of those are as good as your Lemon Delight."
He didn't mean to say "Lemon Delight" that seductively, but he couldn't help it. And the way Samantha paused for just a moment told him that she noticed it too. But then she took another step out the door to hide whatever it was she felt about him and waited for him to catch up.
She had also let go of his arm as they walked out of the store, and he was missing her hand against his elbow again.
Fletcher needed to get a grip. This woman came waltzing back into his life and he was just picking up where he had left off as if he still had that high school crush on her.
Except so much had changed. They were both older. Samantha might have been wiser, but she was hanging out with him so that wiser thing was questionable.
And that crush was something else now. It wasn't one of those little high school things. Being with her today made it seem more real and more mature. It was as if his crush had been simmering all those years and came back with a vengeance as if it was never gone.
They walked to the entrance of the Santa Monica Pier and Fletcher pulled out his phone.
"Go stand under the sign so I can take your picture."
"I would say this is some cheesy tourist thing and I won't do it, but I've been doing cheesy tourist things all day."
Fletcher smiled down at her. "Admit it. You've loved it."
"I've had a lot of fun with you today."
She continued to look up at him in a way that made him flash hot again and he seriously considered just leaning down a little and kissing her. But then she smiled and flitted away, and he quickly recovered to take the picture. She looked beautiful and excited and he hoped it wouldn't be weird to hold on to that picture for himself for awhile.
The pier sloped down and they finally reached the stairs that led down to the water. It was a bit difficult to walk in the sand and Samantha grabbed for his arm again to steady herself and she didn't let go this time.
They found a quiet spot and settled down on the sand. Samantha reached into the bag like a kid on Christmas and slowly pulled out the pack of mini cupcakes.
"I'm so excited about these." Her smile was wide and infectious with the setting sun illuminating her face in a way that made it shine. "OK, where do you want to start?"
"What?"
She gave him a puzzled look and held up the cupcakes. "Which one should we try first?"
He had been so distracted by her that he wasn't even paying attention to what she was actually doing.
"Um, can I be honest with you?" She nodded. "I wasn't paying attention to the flavors you picked out."
