Chapter Twenty-Three
Noah
On Friday morning, Jess and Gina wanted to go to the beach. As I needed to answer some emails that morning, they went without me.
Chloe was a little burnt out from the sun, so she stayed with me. Though she kept to herself while I was working.
“How about we break for lunch?” she said around midday.
I closed my laptop and stretched my hands over my head. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“I hope you got a lot done,” she said.
“Mostly putting out fires,” I said, accepting the glass of water she handed to me. I placed it on the table and slid my laptop onto the empty chair next to me. “I’ll have some stuff to come home to, but it shouldn’t put me behind too much.”
She nodded and took two plates from the counter and set them between us. A large toasted ham and cheese sandwich sat on each plate with a pile of chips on the side. It looked like there was a red pepper in there too. It was a strange combination, but everything I tried that I thought was strange ended up being good, so I went into each new experience without judgment.
“This looks delicious, thank you,” I said.
“It’s no bother,” she said sitting down.
We ate in silence for a few moments before she said, “You know, Jessica has never brought a man home before.”
“Really?”
“Really. Not even in high school. At some point I thought she didn’t have any friends, let alone boyfriends.”
I nodded. Knowing how Jess felt about her mom back then, she probably didn’t want to embarrass anyone by bringing friends home to a drunk. I couldn’t imagine Jess not having friends as a child, but I didn’t make any assumptions. It hurt my heart to think that way of her when she was the kindest and most beautiful woman I’d ever met.
“So, you’re saying I’m lucky?” I said with a smile.
“I suppose so,” she said. “To start, I think Jess made an excellent selection.”
I grinned and couldn’t help but feel flattered that Jess thought enough of Gina and me to bring us to her home. I knew she liked me, but her actions spoke much louder than words.
“I know you two haven’t had much alone time, other than your sleeping arrangements.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I may be old, but I’m no fool.”
“We weren’t trying to get anything past you—”
“I know you’re trying to protect Gina. I understand that. But if you two wanted to go out tonight, I can watch Gina. You can go on a proper date since you only have one more day here.”
“That’s very kind of you,” I said. “I would like to do that, only if Gina isn’t a burden.”
“A burden?” she said then cackled. “Not at all. I’m going to miss her more than the two of you.”
I matched her smile. “Is there any place you recommend for dinner?”
Chloe sat back in her chair, thinking about my question. “There’s a nice place down by the beach with amazing views.”
“Has Jess been there before?”
Chloe avoided my eyes. “She hasn’t. It’s a little on the pricey side.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I want Jess to have a night to remember before we leave.”
“Speaking of leaving,” she said. “I know you are her boss and all that, but this week has been special for me. Maybe you can give her some time off in the future to come down again?”
I reached across the table and touched her hand. “I will do that for the both of you.”
“Thank you, love,” she said.
We shared a silent moment together, filled with unspoken words before I let go of her hand and we finished our lunch.
I spent the remainder our time without Gina and Jess making arrangements for our date. Little did Chloe know that this was to be our first date and I wanted it to be perfect.
When Jess and Gina returned from the beach later that afternoon, they looked exhausted but were grinning from ear to ear.
They both sat down at the table and regaled us with their boogie board adventures.
“On our seconds run, the board broke,” Jess said laughing.
“And I rolled into the water!” Gina said.
“I picked up another board from the surf shop down the road,” Jess said. “Sorry, Mom.”
Chloe waved a hand at her daughter. “It was decrepit. I’m surprised it didn’t disintegrate when you got into the water.”
Jess laughed.
“I’ll pay you for the boogie board,” I said, reaching for my wallet.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jess said. “It’s just a boogie board.”
There was an awkward silence in the room before Chloe’s chair scraped across the floor. “Let’s get some water in the both of you before you shrivel up like raisins.”
Gina hopped off her chair to help Chloe. I turned to Jess. “So, tonight your mom is going to watch Gina while we go out to dinner.”
“Really?” Jess asked.
“Yes, and I have the whole night planned out for us.”
Jess smiled. “I can’t wait.”
I glanced at the clock. “How about you go take a shower and get ready? I want to leave around six.”
She got up and lightly squeezed my arm. She went over to Chloe and took the glass from her hand. “I’m taking this to go.”
Jess went off to go get ready, and Gina wrinkled her nose.
“Where’s she going?”
I opened my mouth to tell her, but Chloe spoke first. “You and I, love, we’re going to spend the night together. I got crackers, chokkie, and marshmallows to make s’mores out on the porch.”
“Yum!” Gina said.
I said a silent “thank you” to Chloe. Gina wouldn’t ask questions about Jess going out when she clearly had better plans than us.
Jess was ready for six on the dot. She wore a white dress with a subtle pink and purple floral pattern along the edges of her curves. Her tanned skin made her eyes pop. Her hair was in soft waves around her face. I couldn’t wait to touch her silky hair. I booked a hotel room just in case she wanted to get some alone time tonight, but I would let her be the one to suggest it. Tonight was all about her.
“You look beautiful,” I said and kissed her.
Chloe and Gina were already preparing the s’mores outside on the porch, so we had a few stolen moments together before we left.
She pressed her hands against my chest and deepened the kiss. When she broke it she said, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
I went with a simple white button-down shirt, no tie, and a jacket. As the nights were cooler, I wanted the opportunity to offer it to Jess when the time came.
“Shall we?” I asked. “Our car is waiting.”
“Our car?” she asked.
I smirked. “I want us both to feel comfortable if we want a drink or two.”
She kissed my lips again, lingering there. I had to stop the kiss before I took her right there on the kitchen table.
“Thank you,” she said.
I lifted the bouquet of flowers that I had delivered while she was in the shower. “You’re welcome.”
She smiled down at them in her arms. “These are beautiful.”
I kissed her cheek and took her arm in mine, leading her to the front door.
After Gina insisted on gushing over Jess’s dress, we were off. I rented a black sedan for the night to drive us around to where ever Jess wanted.
The driver already stood at the door waiting for us. He greeted us, and we got into the car. The leather seats squeaked under us, and the interior had that new car smell.
“Where are we going?” Jess asked.
“Water’s Edge Trattoria,” I said.
“What?”
“Water—”
“No, I heard you. How did you know about that place?”
“Your mom?” I was confused as to why she was so surprised. Was it not a good place to go? “We can go somewhere else.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just—it’s one of the more expensive places in Mona Vale.”
“She said the view was beautiful,” I said.
Jess snorted. “She’s never been there.”
“Well, the name says it all.”
“Okay,” she said, sitting back in her seat. She buckled her seatbelt and faced forward.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
She sighed. “It’s fine. I feel a little underdressed though.”
“You look stunning. And if they require jackets, you can always wear mine.”
She cracked a smile. “I’m sure I’ll be okay. Growing up, it was always the place for wealthy tourists to frequent. It surprised me at first, but I guess we are tourists.”
“And rich,” I said, smiling.
She agreed. “Well, you are.”
I twined my fingers with hers, and we sat back, enjoying the view around us.
“I can’t believe this is almost over,” I said. “This week flew by so quickly.”
“Vacations have a way of doing that,” she said. “But we’ll be back someday.”
“We will?”
She let out a quick breath. “That is if you want to. I wasn’t suggesting you had to—”
I silenced her rant with a kiss. She melted into my arms.
Water’s Edge Trattoria didn’t look like much from the outside. The parking lot was small, so I was happy I went with a driver that night since there weren’t any empty spaces left.
With low expectations, I helped Jess out of the car and walked up the outdoor stairs to the front door of the establishment. Though she seemed excited to be there, so I didn’t voice my opinions on my first impression of the place.
When we entered the building, my assumptions were proved wrong. The outside might not have been much, but the interior was lavishly decorated. The dining room was a wide open space with only about a dozen tables inside, most of which had couples already sitting at them. On the far end of the room, a large bar area took up half the length of the space. The bar was made from an off-white marble that added to the luxury of the interior.
“This is so nice,” Jess said in awe.
I agreed with her.
“Do you have reservations?” the hostess asked.
“Yes, for Stone,” I said.
She tapped on her tablet and then lifted two menus from under her hostess station. “Right this way, please.”
I’d asked for a window seat so we could enjoy the view and I wasn’t disappointed. We were mere feet from the sand, and I could hear the crashing ocean waves from where we sat. With the sound of the waves mixing with the instrumental music coming from the speakers above us, the mood was relaxing, making the view that much more breathtaking.
We placed our drink orders and checked out the menu. I didn’t bat an eyelash at the prices, but I knew Jess was calculating how much everything cost.
“It’s nice to come to dinner without a toddler,” I said, sitting back in my chair. I’d already picked out my appetizer and entree. While planning the date, I browse the menu as well. “I feel like I can relax.”
“She’s the best behaved toddler in a restaurant that I’ve ever seen,” Jess said.
“We haven’t had a chance to eat a meal alone together yet.”
“That’s right,” she said with a smile. “Wow. So this is a real date.”
“The car, flowers, and the expensive restaurant didn’t give you that impression?” I teased.
“Of course it did,” she said, lightly bumping me in the leg with her foot.
When the waiter returned to give us our drinks, we placed our order. I wasn’t rushing by any means, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to go to the hotel room if that’s what she wanted.
“Tell me about some of your memories here,” I said to her. “The happier ones.”
She thought about that for a moment before speaking. “I used to go to the bigger beaches and surf when I was in high school.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was a place for me to go when things were tough at home.”
“You should show me how.”
“No way,” she’s said. “I was a novice then. I’d probably kill the both of us.”
Other than surfing, Jess wasn’t the sporty type. I, on the other hand, was an all-star in high school and college.
“Why am I not surprised?” Jess said when I told her about my championship games from school.
We were finishing up with dinner, and I asked her if she wanted dessert.
“I’m stuffed,” she said then turned in her seat. “Let’s take a walk on the beach.”
It wasn’t what I had in mind, but I nodded. I’d have to find a way to mention the hotel room. It wasn’t something to easily slip into a conversation.
After paying the check, we went outside. I signaled to the driver that we were going to be back soon.
When we reached the beach, Jess leaned against the short wooden fence to take off her heels.
“I don’t want to have a trip to the emergency room,” she said with a small laugh.
I kept my shoes on since I didn’t want to bother with my socks. We headed out onto the sand and toward the water. The sun was already gone, so the moon shone brightly across the tips of the waves.
“This is incredible,” I said.
“I’m going to miss this,” Jess said. “I never thought I’d ever say that.”
“Maybe the time away from your mom helped heal whatever issues you had.”
“We have a long way to go with that,” she said. “It’s more this place I’m going to miss. I have so many memories rooted here that I sort of forgot when I left. I wanted to leave it all behind, and somehow even the good memories got lost too.”
I took her hand in mine. It was cool against my skin. “Now that you’re here, you can make more memories.”
She turned to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Her hands moved up into my hair as she pulled me down to her for a kiss. “You mean like this?”
I rested my hands on her waist and moved up to rub my thumb against the side of her breast. “Just like this.”