Page 95 of Tempt Me

I slapped his arm. “Geez, you had dollar signs whizzing through my brain.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” He started the car. “Not on our second date anyway.”

As the car left the curb, I stewed over his comment about this being our second date. Were dinner and lunch considered dates? I guess they were. Guilt crept into my brain like a stream of poisonous mercury. The devil and angel in my mind belted out a furious debate as I turned my attention outside the window and watched the Gold Coast whiz by in a kaleidoscope of color and movement.

“Aren’t you curious about where we’re going?” Clayton said as we stopped at a red light.

“Oh, umm, okay, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Really?” I cocked my head at him.

“You’ll see soon enough. It’s one of my favorite restaurants; hopefully, you’ll love it too.”

“If they have food, I’ll love it.”

“Well, you’re easy to please.”

“Yep. My mom always said I had a hollow stomach.”

He laughed. “My daughter has one of them, too.” His face lit up at the mention of Telitha.

“Where is Telitha?”

“She’s at school.”

“Oh, right, of course.”

“You must get your days mixed up all the time with that shift of yours.”

“I guess so. The only two days I look forward to are Tuesday and Wednesday.”

“I understand Wednesday because it’s your day off, but why Tuesday?”

“It’s the day before my day off,” I said, deadpan.

He turned to me with a curious look, maybe unsure if I was joking, and I giggled. “You’re a funny woman.”

“Thanks. Tuesday’s the day Lolita and I get together to exercise and have coffee. Actually, I have coffee and cake; she just has green tea.”

“That sounds like Lolita. So, you like to exercise?”

“I do. I try to do something every day. How about you?”

He sighed. “I haven’t done any decent exercise in months, maybe longer. It’s hard with work and getting Telitha to school and meals and stuff.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. I had nothing to compare that with, and his comments were exactly the reason why I was unsure if I wanted to settle down with a man who already had a child. There was a whole world out there that I wanted to explore.

“Here we are.” He turned the car into a parking lot that overlooked the ocean and walked around to open my door. I reached for his offered hand, and he helped me out of the Audi.

We walked side by side toward the whitewashed restaurant situated right on the beach. “I asked for an outside table. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Sounds great.” With the lovely blue sky and a slight breeze, the idea of sitting outside was perfect.

One of the waiters greeted Clayton by name and led us to a table on the outside deck. The view was spectacular, taking in golden sand, crashing waves, and the busy Burleigh Heads skyline.

We sat opposite each other, and the waiter filled our water glasses.

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