“Where is she?” Chance calls though the cottage. “Come on, hop-along.”
Janie laughs. After our chat, I asked her to help me get ready and all dolled up. I wanted to get her to take her mind off our earlier conversation. It still buzzes through my head. Poor Janie. How does one move on from something like that? I still think she should talk to the police. Her laughter filling my ears because of Chance brings a lightness to my heavy heart.
“Shut up, you! I’m coming as fast as I can,” I retort. Chance stands at the doorway waiting for me. “Are you my taxi for the night?”
“More like your chauffeur.” He bows.
“Come on then.” I wink at Janie, who has a genuine grin on her face. “I’ll have him back to you soon.”
“That’d be great.”
“See ya shortly, sugar plum.” He quickly places a kiss on Janie’s cheek. Oh, my gosh, seeing how he sweet talks Janie makes me think, he and Seth are so much alike, it’s scary.
Chance ushers me out the door and assists me while I climb into the car.
“Thank you.” I play along with his façade.
“You’re welcome, pretty lady.”
I pause. “You know Seth calls me that?”
He laughs. “Yep, that’s what he told me to refer to you as tonight.”
“Oh, okay. So . . . what’s the surprise?”
“Like I’m going to tell you,” he scoffs playfully, starting the engine. Silence falls between us. He turns the car, driving towards town.
To break the stillness in the car, I decide to go all best friend on him. “Okay, so tell me, what are your intentions with Janie?”
Taking his eyes off the road, he looks at me with raised eyebrows, before facing forward again. “What’s it to ya?”
“Just looking out for her.” I shrug.
“I like her. She’s cool.”
“Alright, just don’t hurt her or I’ll hurt you.” My tone is threatening. Not that I’d do anything, but I do want what’s best for Janie.
“What are you, her guardian? From what I can see, she’d old enough to look after herself.”
If only he knew. But it’s not my story to tell. “Yeah, you can call me that if you want.”
He laughs at my response. “It’s okay. I don’t plan on hurting her.”
“Okay, well that’s all I need to know.”
Our conversation stops—we’re left to the sounds of the car humming along the road. Then I notice where we’re going. Back to the café.
“Is everything alright with Janie?”
Chance’s question catches me off guard. What do I say? Panic renders me silent for a moment before I manage to find my words again. “She’s good. She’s been through some stuff, but that’s for her to tell you, so wait until she brings it up.”
“Is it something I should be worried about?” Concern is evident in his voice.
“Just be the good man Seth tells me you are, and you’ll be everything she needs,” I reassure him as best I can without giving away Janie’s story.
He doesn’t respond to my answer. Instead, he just nods.
“You’re a good person, and you’re who she needs. Trust me.”
“Thanks, Chloe. I like you. You’re good for Seth.”
“Thanks.” Seth makes me shine—he makes me feel as if I’m the only one who matters. I don’t need anything or anyone else.
“We have arrived,” he announces as we pull up in front of the café. He steps out and comes to open my door, assisting me out and getting me settled on my crutches. These things are so bloody annoying. It’s only been a week, but I can already feel the beginning of the chaffing under my arms. What’s it going to be like after another five weeks of this? Please kill me now.
Opening the door to the café, Chance stops and holds it open for me.
“Have a great night,” he sings playfully, as I walk past him.
I’m so excited to see what Seth has planned. No one has ever been this attentive to me before. It’s like a fairy tale read in a book.
After he opened up to me last night and began sharing details of his family, it’s like something between us has shifted. I only hope we don’t lose that connection, that it will become stronger.
Stepping into the café, I’m met with darkness. “Seth? My voice rings out into the blackness.
Suddenly, a switch clicks, and a single lamp lights up over a table set for two. A beautiful single white rose sits in a gold vase. The man of the moment stands by a chair with his drop-dead gorgeous grin on his face. “Hello, pretty lady.”
“Hey yourself, hot stuff.”
He snickers. “Come take a seat,” he says, pulling out the chair he’s standing beside.
Making my way slowly over, I take a seat in the chair. Seth takes my crutches, resting them against the wall. “Thank you.”
He slides into the seat across from me.
“This is just . . . wow,” I breathe.
He shrugs. “I wanted to do something special for you, since our last date things didn’t go as planned.”
“As I keep getting reminded of.” My voice is solemn. I’m wearing a cast, and Seth has one on his arm as another reminder of what happened.
“Let’s make tonight a fresh start. That accident will always be a part of us.” He pauses a moment; I wait. “But it’s helped me open up about my family, especially to you. And to begin to accept that what happened to my family wasn’t my fault.”
Reaching out my hand, I take a hold of his, giving it a tight squeeze.
He continues, “This is my way to say thank you. I want you to be able to talk to me. When you first arrived, you were so closed off. I’m still yet to figure out why. After seeing you on the side of the road and you told me your destination was Canyon Bay, I wanted—no, needed to get to know you. You intrigued me. My interest in you rose.”
“Is that all that rose?” I raise my eyebrows at him, a grin playing on my face.
“Well ya know, I can’t give it all away. You have to work for it.” He winks, instantly turning me into a puddle of mush.
“Dinner is served.”
I spin in my seat. There stands Ava holding two plates of steaming food. During her interview, we discovered that she not only creates pastries and desserts, but also main dishes. We realised it could come in handy when we begin providing a menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The smell of mixed herbs and grilled vegetables hit my nose, and my mouth waters instantly. She places the meals down in front of us.
“Thank you,” Seth and I say in unison.
“Here we have chargrilled chicken with sweet potato gnocchi.” She pours wine for each of us and heads back into the kitchen.
Leaning over the meal towards Seth, I whisper, “You brought Ava in on this?”
“Yep. She’s happy to do it.”
“It feels weird because since her interview, I’ve hardly spoken to her. I like her, just wish I knew her better.”
“Well, get to know her. She’s great.” He digs his fork into the delicious-looking meal before us.
“Don’t you need me to cut that up for you?” I lean over looking down at his plate, only to see that it’s already been chopped up.
“Ava beat you to it this time.” He gives me a smooth grin.
The sweet potato gnocchi are perfectly cooked, as is the chicken breast and everything is smothered in a creamy white sauce. I dive in. My eyes close as the first mouthful hits my tongue, I moan. Delicious . . .
“You better stop that, or I’ll have to make you moan for a different reason.”
I almost choke on my food. My eyes connect with his. He watches me intently, desire in his steel blues. “Oh . . . sorry.”
“Don’t apologise. We’ll get our moment when the timing is right.” I feel like I can’t breathe; he stole the oxygen from my lungs. “Take a breath, Chloe. I don’t want you passing out.”
We laugh.
We fall into a comfortable chat about our families and just general chitchat. That’s until Seth brings up Ryan.
“So, tell me who Ryan is.” It’s not a question, perhaps rather a demand.
“Um . . . there’s not much to tell.” I shrug. My issues feel so insignificant compared to what he’s been through. I’ve reassessed my issues and realise they are nothing in the great scheme of things.
“Come on, I’ve told you my deepest darkest secret. Now it’s your turn.”
Damn, he got me there. To avoid it a bit longer, I take another sip of the bubbling white wine.
“Well, Ryan is my ex, as you know. He cheated on me with my best friend.” I take another sip of wine after speaking those words. The hurt I once felt is now a lot less.
“Ouch. That sucks.”
“Yep, it does. I don’t really care about it now. Although someone recently told me I should forgive Crystal, my friend.” I hesitate because that person was Olive, and she’s a ghost or something. I’ll stick with a dream; it doesn’t sound so crazy.
“Why would you forgive her?”
I shrug not even knowing the answer myself.
“What else was going on when you first arrived?”
“I had issues happening with my family, my mother did something wrong years ago and now she isn’t sure my dad is my real father, but he’s my dad, he raised me and that’s all I care about. What is this, Twenty Questions?”
“Chloe . . . I want there to be an us. This dancing around we’ve been doing since you got here has me all wound up and wanting to claim you as mine. I also want there to be a level of trust between us. I’ve told you my deepest burden I carry, and I want you to be able to do the same. I want to be able to tell everyone you belong to me. That no other man can have you . . . only me.”
I’m rendered speechless. “Umm . . .”
“You don’t have to give me an answer right now, but I needed to let you know. I feel better now.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. It’s a smooth, sexy move. I can see he’s nervous about spilling his guts, and talking about feelings and mushy stuff.
“Sorry, I was momentarily dumbfounded by your confession. You’ve laid it all out and left the ball in my court, so to speak.” Clearing my throat, I continue, “I know how you feel. I’d love to see where this goes.”
Seth stands after hearing those words, and his lips crash onto mine. It’s not the most romantic kiss, but like every one of his others, it makes my heart pound against my chest. The yearning for more grows stronger and stronger.
“Damn, you taste so bloody good,” he whispers against my lips.
I can’t help returning a goofy grin. “Thank you so much for all of this.”
“It’s not over yet.”
I sit up straighter in my seat, like a little child would at school as eagerness takes over. “Oh, what’s next?”
“Well, do you mind going for a short walk?”
“A walk? Is this a funny ha ha joke?” I laugh. After a wonderful meal and very touching conversation, he wants to be Mr Funny Man by asking to go for a walk?
Holding up his hands in defence, he adds, “Wait. Hold up. It’s only to the beachfront.”
I look at him sceptically. The beachfront is about a ten-minute walk from the café. As much as my underarms are going to kill me, I don’t want tonight to end.
“Okay.”
“Great. I’ll be right back and we’ll go.” He stands from the table, rushing through the doors to the kitchen.
Will it work out between Seth and me? He makes me laugh, not to mention blush, and my heart often experiences continuous palpitations. We could be each other’s new beginnings. Like he said, he’s begun to accept that what happened to his family wasn’t his fault. And it wasn’t. We both deserve happiness, and if we make each other become a better and happier version of ourselves, how could we say no?
“Come on. Dessert awaits,” he announces, holding up a picnic basket. I stand from my seat, collecting my crutches, but before I move towards the door, Seth stops me.
“Wait. I have something for you.” He holds out his hands, waiting for me to pass him something. I look at him questioningly. “Your crutches. Pass them to me.”
“Umm . . . I kind of need those.” I’m unwilling to hand over my support.
“Just trust me.”
Hesitantly, I give him my crutches. Taking them, he reaches into the basket and pulls out two pieces of some wool thing. A warm feeling takes flight within me while I watch him tie those pieces to the tops of the crutches.
He hands them back to me. “They won’t hurt as much now.”
“Aww . . . thank you.” I beam at him.
“Thought it would help since you still have weeks to go on these babies. Now, are you ready to go?” He walks towards the door, pulling it open and waiting for me.
“Yep, I’m ready.” As I move out of the café, I stop in front of him. Leaning closer, I steal another soft, deep kiss. “Thank you.”
“You are most welcome, my lady.”
“Yep, that’s what I am—your lady and you are now my man.”
His eyes shoot up and I see the excitement in them. “You mean it?”
“I do,” I reply without hesitation.