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I cast my eyes out over the water. There was no way I was going to admit that I was jealous—not when I’d been the one to stop things with him last night, when I could have had that entire sinful body all to myself.
About a half a mile from the hotel, we came to a boardwalk. Walking along the wooden slats, we passed a man painting at an easel and a small cart selling fresh cotton candy. There was an arcade full of kids and a gift shop. Finally, we came upon a restaurant.
The sign above the door readWater’s Edge Eatery.
“What do you think?” Ben asked. “There’s no set plans for dinner this evening with the wedding party. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
My stomach growled, and I realized that it had been a while since my light lunch with Sage. Sitting down for a meal together felt a little too much like a date, but Iwashungry…
“Come on,” he coaxed. “My treat.”
That made it feel even more like a date, but I knew that I didn’t have it in me to resist, especially not with the smell of fried foods drifting from the restaurant kitchen.
Ben grabbed my hand, pulling me inside before I could talk myself out of a free meal. The restaurant was decorated exactly as I would have expected for a place right on the beach. There were paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and nautical decor. There was a long bar lined with stools and seating scattered around the room. There was a tiny stage at one end of the room, and I wondered what it was used for since it was way too small for a band. There were only two occupied tables and one man sitting at the bar, writing in a notebook as he ate his burger and fries.
“Hi guys!” a cheerful woman called out to us from behind the bar, where she was mixing a drink in a shaker. “Take a seat anywhere, and I’ll be right with you.”
We ended up at a table by the window. There was a small flyer on the wall that advertised karaoke every Friday night, which answered my question about the stage. There were menus already on the tables, and I looked one over. There was a lot of seafood and some basic pub food. Oh, and plenty of beer.
“Welcome to the Water’s Edge,” the woman from behind the bar arrived at the table with a bright smile. She was wearing a bright dress covered in big, colorful flowers and there were flowers braided into her brown hair. She was wearing a ring on every finger and had tanned skin. “I’m Freya, and I’ll be your waitress. Can I get you guys started with drinks?”
I ordered a classic margarita while Ben asked for a beer. When Freya went behind the bar to make drinks, I raised an eyebrow at him.
“You know, I was starting to wonder if you drink at all.”
He shrugged. “Occasionally. I went through quite a party phase in college while I was in a fraternity, and I got pretty burned out on being a sloppy drunk and hung over all the time. I guess I got it out of my system back then.”
“A frat boy?” My brows lifted. “You’re just full of surprises.”
Freya came back with the drinks and took our food orders. I expected her to leave to put them in, but she lingered.
“So, is this a couple’s vacation?” she asked, eyeing the two of us.
“Why do you ask that?” I asked, curiously.
“I have a sense about these things,” she said, winking at Ben.
I waited for him to tell her she was wrong, but he didn’t.
“We’re here for our friends’ wedding,” I told her.
“Oh, well, you know what they say about weddings. They’re a great place to fall in love.”
I had no idea how to reply to that, but it seemed that Freya was done as she left us. I looked at Ben and chuckled awkwardly.
“Kind of eccentric, isn’t she?”
He just sipped his beer and nodded, and I had to wonder if he agreed with her statement.
CHAPTER6
Ben
The food at Water’s Edge Eatery was delicious, and the place couldn’t have had a better location, right there on the beach. I could hear the ocean from the table inside. The sun was setting over the water, painting the sky in shades of orange, blue, and gold that were reflected by the ocean. It was Mother Nature at her finest, but I only had eyes for Tatum.
The chemistry between us was strong as ever, and I knew that she was feeling it too—and even seemed more receptive to the attraction than when I’d left her at her hotel room last evening. It was clear in the way her gaze lingered on me and her own body language was easy to read. I wondered if she even realized that she was leaning closer to me across the table, smiling more freely, and even talked more animatedly during our various conversations.
“What do you say about dessert?” Freya asked when she came to pick up our empty plates. “We have some great options.”
