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He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger. The action reminded her of Clark Kent. But Carla wasn’t kidding herself—Philip Garrison was no Superman.
“I believe we were,” he said with a smile that was surprisingly compelling. “Would you like to sit down?”
“Yes, thank you.” Carla took the chair beside him. Hoping to give an impression of nonchalance, she crossed her shapely legs. “Are you from Seattle?”
“Spokane.”
“On vacation?”
His smile deepened. “In a way. My parents have a condominium here that needs a few repairs.”
Carla smiled absently into her drink. So he was a carpenter. The occupation suited him, she decided. He was deceptively lean and muscular. And he had a subtle, understated appeal, something she found refreshing.
“Would you like another margarita?” he asked, as he glanced at her empty glass.
“Yes. Thank you.”
He raised his hand to get the waitress’s attention. The lovely olive-skinned woman acknowledged his gesture and indicated that she would be there in a moment. Service here was notoriously slow, but right now Carla didn’t mind. She looked around for Nancy and discovered that her friend was chatting easily and seemed to be enjoying herself. At the moment, this crazy scheme appeared to be working beautifully.
“Is this your first visit to Mazatlán?” Philip asked, and took a sip of his drink.
Carla noted the way the tip of his tongue eased the salt from the bottom of his lip. She dropped her gaze, finding his action disturbingly provocative. “Yes, my first time in Mexico, actually. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be this beautiful.”
The waitress arrived, and Carla handed the girl her empty glass. She had noticed that the waitresses spoke only minimal English. Although her Spanish wasn’t terrific, the urge to impress Philip with her knowledge of the language overpowered her good sense, so, proudly, without the hint of a foreign accent, Carla asked for another drink.
The waitress frowned and glanced at Philip, who was obviously trying to contain his laughter. He delivered a crisp request in Spanish to the woman, who nodded and smiled before turning away.
“What’s so humorous?” Carla could feel herself blushing.
Philip composed himself quickly. “You just told the waitress that Big Bird wants a drink of water.”
Carla closed her eyes and did her best to laugh, but the sound was weak and revealing. She would never watch Sesame Street again, she vowed, no matter how desperate she was to entertain her two nieces.
“How long will you be staying?” he asked pleasantly, deftly changing the subject.
“A week. My roommate, Nancy, and I are on a discount vacation package for teachers.”
“You teach preschool?”
It was a logical assumption. “No, I’m a surgical assistant.”
One thick brow arched with surprise. “You don’t look much older than a student yourself.”
“I’m twenty-five.” And old enough to know better than to make a fool of myself like this, she added silently.
Their drinks arrived, and Carla resisted the urge to gulp hers down and ease the parched feeling in her throat. Gradually she relaxed as they spoke about the flight and the weather.
After a half-hour of exchanging pleasantries, Philip asked her if she was available to join him for dinner. The invitation pleased her. Since her faux pas with the waitress, she’d imagined he’d wanted to be rid of her as quickly as he could manage to do so without appearing impolite.
“Yes, I’d like to have dinner with you.” To her surprise, Carla discovered it was the truth.
—
He took her to a restaurant called El Marinero. The view of the harbor was excellent, as was the shrimp dinner. Philip spoke to the waiter in Spanish, then quietly translated for Carla. It was a thoughtful gesture. She would have felt excluded otherwise. Not once did he try to overwhelm her with his wit and charm. He was who he was, quiet and a little reserved, and apparently he saw no need to change because he’d been approached by her.
“I can’t believe I ate that much,” Carla said and groaned as they left the restaurant. The air was still sultry, but much cooler than it had been when they arrived.
“Would you like to walk along the beach? It’ll be less crowded outside the hotel.”
