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“Yes, well, I sell what I enjoy wearing.”
“So what’s your place called? I’ll have to go check it out sometime.”
“Can Buy Me Love. It’s right next door to The Bistro by the Beach.”
“Can Buy Me Love, huh? That’s my motto!” He emptied his glass and waved a waitress over to the table. “Bring me another one of these, will you, sweetheart? And we’re ready to order now.”
It was official. She was definitely ordering the most expensive entree on the menu. It seemed like a petty revenge, but Ted could certainly afford it and it made the idea of the rest of the evening a little more palatable. The waitress had just finished taking their orders when the hostess escorted a couple to the reserved table by the water. The woman was a pretty redhead in her mid-twenties and the man… Lauren was startled to see it was Nate Miller.
Lauren had gone to high school with Nate, but they hadn’t been friends. Their graduating class had only a hundred or so students and Lauren had prided herself on being friendly to everyone. She’d even had a few classes with Nate, but he’d been the studious sort who kept his head low and grade point average high. In high school, he’d been tall and lanky and worn wire rim glasses. He’d recently completed his medical residency and was back home practicing with Doc Morrison, Whispering Bay’s only physician.
Lauren studied him out of the corner of her eye. Discreetly, of course. He was even taller than she remembered and he’d filled out in the shoulders. He still wore glasses, but they were the type of designer frames you’d see a man wear in one of those expensive magazine cologne ads. The kind that said you won’t be sorry when I take these off. His brown hair was short and still the tiniest bit unruly, but that was probably because it had some natural curl to it.
Their paths had crossed a few times since he’d moved back to town, but other than the barest tip of his head in her direction, he never really acknowledged her. Lauren had begun to refer to it as “the nod.” Of course, she hadn’t really done much more than nod back herself. It wasn’t that she was being rude. It was just that they had nothing to say to one another.
Tonight he wore a dark blue suit and he looked sharp. He pulled out a chair for his date, then went around the table to his own seat, and in doing so, caught Lauren’s eye. He blinked and tipped his head slightly in acknowledgment (there was the nod!). Lauren smiled back, then quickly averted her gaze and reached out for her wine glass. Expensive restaurant, chilled champagne, roses, and a suit. The hostess had said the table was reserved for a special occasion. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that special occasion was. It looked like the restaurant was in for a big romantic treat tonight.
Their salads came up first and Lauren dug in. This would have been the time in her night when Jimmy Stewart would be running down the streets of Pottersville, horrified to find what his hometown would have been like if he’d never been born. It was Lauren’s favorite part of the movie. She sighed.
“As I was saying,” Ted said, “too bad this town is stuck in another century. If my company had been allowed to build here, your little antique shop would be sitting pretty.”
What? She’d completely lost track of the conversation. “It’s a vintage clothing shop.” It was at least the third time she’d corrected him on that.
“Isn’t that what I said? Anyway, I moved on. You know, there are places around here that appreciate a man like me. What’s wrong with making money? Absolutely nothing, that’s what I say.”
For a successful businessman, he sounded remarkably bitter. Like somehow, Whispering Bay had “bested” him and he still hadn’t gotten over the loss. She wondered if he kept a scorecard for things like that. Whispering Bay: 1. Ted Ferguson: 0. The evening was quickly disintegrating into a solid six.
“So, my mother told me she met you at an Alzheimer’s charity event.” Hopefully, they could find some common ground here and turn the evening around.
Ted nodded. “Damn shame what’s going on with your father,” he said, his mouth full of lettuce.
“Thank you, but I’m optimistic that we can stop this before it advances.”
Sympathy flashed through Ted’s gaze. “Good for you. Never take no for an answer, I say.”
A violinist suddenly appeared, walking slowly amidst the tables. He was playing something soft and pretty, but when he got to Nate’s table, he switched up tunes to play My Heart Will Go On.
It was obvious this had been planned in advance. Lauren wondered briefly who’d made the song choice. The violinist? Or Nate? Or maybe it was the redhead’s favorite song. It was lovely, to be sure, but there was all that depressing imagery that went along with it. Ships sinking. People dying. Leonardo DiCaprio floating away…
The violinist finished his serenade, then shuffled himself off to the side to wait. Yep, that had definitely been planned out in advance. Noticing the sudden lack of music, most of the restaurant’s patrons turned their heads in curiosity.
Nate got up from his chair and went down on one knee.
“Oh, boy,” Ted said gleefully.
Lauren laid down her napkin and discreetly turned her chair. Just a notch. Nate took the redhead’s hand in his. He reached inside his jacket and produced a diamond solitaire ring (at least two carats from what Lauren could see). Go, Nate!
“Jessica,” Nate said, “will you make me the happiest man on earth and do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
As far as proposals went, it sounded a bit scripted. Like something he’d probably seen on T.V., but hey, at least he was putting himself out there. Lauren had always thought public proposals took a lot of hutzpah. A guy had to be pretty sure he wasn’t going to be turned down to lay his heart out there for the whole world to see.
A few seconds went by. Waiters stood frozen. Diners shuffled their chairs into the best position to watch the scene unfolding in front of them. A woman, a few tables over, came up behind Lauren and stood with her cell phone in the air, videotaping the event. Lauren wondered if she would offer to send the video to Nate and his future bride as a souvenir. They would probably play it at their wedding reception. Or at their engagement party for all their friends to ooh and ah over.
Jessica pursed her lips together. Her eyes went wide with…oh no. Lauren sucked in a breath. Was she the only one who noticed that the future (maybe) Mrs. Nate Miller didn’t look pleased?
“Can we talk about this later?” Jessica whispered, but loud enough that Lauren could hear.
Nate, still on his knees, shook his head in confusion. “I…you said you wanted a big gesture.” He raised the ring higher in offering.
