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“Meet me out front in about an hour?”
How can I say no? I’d asked the universe for eye-candy. May as well have it for dinner, too. “Sure.”
Except now, there’s no way I’ll be able to concentrate on anything else. And I need to figure out where the hell he’s taking me and what to wear.
Chapter Four
Riker
I didn’t need an hour to get ready, but I wanted to give Libby a little time to relax by the pool. My stomach, however, has been protesting every minute of the wait, knowing we still had a good twenty-minute walk to Tortuga Jack’s.
It has to be hunger. It can’t be nerves.
I haven’t stopped thinking about Libby since last night. Those eyes and that easy laugh.
I sit on the front patio with nothing left to do and watch the waves roll in as couples stroll by. Bits of conversations are broken up by the gentle crash of waves and the breeze rustling through the bushes that line the patio.
The area is just as beautiful as I remembered. Sure, I can see the ocean any day I want, but there’s a calm about this place. Even for someone who doesn’t bark on nostalgia. I hope that it’s enough to clear my head and find my grounding again.
To my right, a door clicks behind me and I turn as Libby steps out in a baby-blue sundress and sneakers. Her hair falls in loose waves over her shoulders.
Damn it, she needs to start dressing like a bum, because more of this... is doing crazy things to my sexually deprived brain. And other things. Somehow, she puts me off guard, while drawing me in with those playful dark eyes.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going exactly?” she asks.
“There’s a place about half a mile up the coast, Tortuga Jack’s. It’s a Baja Mexican restaurant with a nice little oceanfront Tiki bar.”
“As in tacos?” Her voice is flat except for the subtle intonation of a question. She stares up at me intently.
Did I fuck up?I mean, what is there to fuck up? This isn’t a date. I asked her along for my dinner plans to be nice. I’m sure she could’ve figured a way to deal with the bank dilemma on her own, but here we are. And yes, I’d be a bit disappointed if she despises the idea. Who hates tacos?
“You have no idea the monster you have awakened. I could live on tacos, but they better be good, legit tacos and no over salted beef mush. Do they have pork, shrimp, carne asada?”
“You’re a taco fiend literally staying in a hotel within a fifteen-minute walk of a Baja Mex restaurant, and you haven’t already looked into this?”
“Look, this trip was Beckett’s idea. I booked the flights and condo to hold him to it, but I figured he’d handle the day-to-day details. I’m sure his plan was to scope out new ideas for his businesses anyway.”
“What’s he do?”
“Business collector.” She scoffs, twisting her hair to one side, and running her fingers through the ends as they fall over her shoulder. “He’d freak every time I called him that, but he buys up old buildings, fixes them up, and encourages businesses to move in and helps them get started for a cut of the business. He calls it business incubation, or some hoity toity title like that. When I wasn’t at work, we were usually out drinking, eating, or shopping at one of his babies. He said he wanted to show support, but he’s just anal and wanted to make sure everything is how he wanted it. It was fun for a while, but I learned pretty early that every date would either be checking in on a business or scoping out competition and tactics he could use.”
“Sounds thrilling.” I don’t really know how to respond.
She kicks at a pile of sand, then her shoes scuff against the walk-path as she stops in her tracks. “It was fun at first. I enjoyed being spoiled until it became obvious we were out for research and not romance, but even then, I didn’t take much issue with it. That’s his job, and I heard from a lot of workers who were thankful to have a decent job. We’ve had a lot of economic problems in Ashville, going back decades, and Beckett played a strong part in the downtown rejuvenation. I still have a lot of respect for what he’s doing, but I was surprised he even agreed to a vacation, so I booked the condo so he wouldn’t fuck this up, but no... I have absolutely no idea what restaurants or attractions are around. I figured I’d enjoy the beach, and he’d deal with the other shit. Then, I got so busy with shit at work and decided I’d stick it out and try to figure out this self-pampering concept.”
“Only to get locked out of your bank account with no thought of bringing backup.”
“I have a twenty, and I brought my credit card with a debit as backup—unfortunately they’re all tied to the same account. At least I can be highly confident you aren’t trying to rob me, but I’m a one hack wonder at this point.” She throws out her arms and holds her head up, like it’s an honor.
I have to hand it to her, she has a good sense of humor.
She gives me a coy smile as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “So, what about you? You never gave me the details on why you left one beach for another.”
“An old family friend owns the condo, so he offered it to me between bookings, because I mentioned I’d be down here for a meeting.” I stare out over the rolling waves, taking in the briny ocean air. “I was getting a bit stir-crazy and hoped spending a few days away from Virginia Beach might give me some perspective. My family used to spend every other summer here. Mom’s sister would bring her family down from Chicago, and we’d all pack into a condo for a couple of weeks around Grandma’s birthday.”
“So, you’ll be a good resource for someone with no plans on an unexpected budget.”
I press my lips together, keeping my eyes on the trail. “It’s been about twenty years since I spent much time here.”
