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“A drink will help...”
And it did. One shot of whiskey, and I could feel it tamp down my nerves. I walked the deck, hands in my pockets, the breeze gently blowing reminding me of our time in Curaçao. I wanted everything perfect. And I knew that by wanting that, I was tempting fate to make everything go horribly wrong.
But this was Abbie, and after the way our last time together had ended, I had to make amends.
It was quarter to seven when I saw a figure on the dock.
I hurried down. I didn’t want to give her a chance to back out, not now.
She was standing at the end of the dock, her back to me, in a little black dress and a pair of heels. She had her head tipped down like she was looking at her phone. Her hair was down and slightly wavy, the breeze playing with it, lifting it up gently then letting it start to fall before picking it back up again to repeat the process.
“Abbie...” I called, walking towards her.
She turned, looking a little startled, and waved her phone a little sheepishly. “I was just about to text you, make sure I was in the right spot.”
She smiled bashfully as I neared. I caught her looking at the boat.
“I thought we’d do something different.” I motioned beside me.
“A boat is definitely different.”
She stepped forward in her little black dress, and I held my hand out to her.
The dress, the whole look, was new. I could count the number of times I’d seen her in a dress on one hand in all the years I’d known her.
She looked amazing. Like she was glowing from deep inside.
Her smile was relaxed, and her skin still held the tan from Curaçao.
Her hand wrapped easily around mine, causing that familiar sensation to run through me, that rush of warmth and tingling, and I squeezed her hand tight for a moment.
We headed up to the deck.
“It’s a nice night,” she commented.
“Nicer now that you’re here.”
I caught the hint of a blush cross her face as we moved.
“The whole boat is ours,” I announced as we reached the top. I’d told the host we’d meet him inside. I didn’t want her to run away.
“The whole boat? What did you do, make senior partner the moment you were within in the LA city limits?” Her voice was light and teasing, and she reached up to brush a strand of hair back out of her eyes.
“Not quite yet.”
“Another something borrowed from a client?” That coy little smile teased across her lips.
“Nope. All me.”
”I’m surprised.”
She stopped for a moment, reached into her little clutch, and pulled out a hair elastic, pulling her hair back into a messy bun. She tucked her phone inside before zipping the purse back up.
We walked the deck for a while, making chit chat while I fought back the anxious nerves that had suddenly arrived when she showed up. I told her about my new office, the headaches of adjusting to LA traffic, a bit about my house search. I didn’t want to be cooped up in an apartment if I could be close to the water.
She nodded along.
Finally, the boat began to pull away from the dock. We stopped and looked out at the water. The sky was darkening, and I caught her shiver a little.
