Page 4 of Love is Grand

“Oh, did you—”

I never got to ask him if he’d seen a sunset on the beach here because a loud “There you are!” rang through the hallway.

A well-dressed, perfectly coiffed woman appeared, a small smile on her plastic-looking face, and slid her arm through Cal’s.

“Sophia,” she said to me boldly without waiting for an introduction, letting it be known she held a claim on this man.

Territorial much? I thought, then remembered my manners.

“Shell. I’m a local. I was just recommending a tour company. Don’t forget, Sun and See Tours, with two e’s.” I said the last part to Cal in a hurry before scurrying off like a kid caught with both hands in the cookie jar.

Two days after I met Cal, my dad came by with a small gift-wrapped box that had been delivered to the coffee shop for me, but he didn’t ask questions. He played downstairs with Weezie while I took it up to my bedroom, debating whether to open the box.

Once I opened the box and saw the pretty anklet I’d been drooling over, my eyes filled with tears. How could Ricky walk away from his family, and then a strange man be sending me jewelry, all in a few months?

The gift shouldn’t make butterflies swarm in my stomach, but it sure did. I told myself to ignore those pesky little bugs, but I couldn’t seem to take the anklet off.

Even worse, I’d never mentioned meeting Cal to Rylan, or about his coming back once to secretly check up on her for his brother. It had been shortly after that heavy-hitter guy nicknamed Chewy was here, and Cal showed up at Camila’s.

Driven over in a car from the Ritz, Cal had explained that his brother was going through some things and missed his “secret vacation lover.” Cal was here to see her from afar, so he could let his brother know she looked okay. He was staying at the Ritz, so he wasn’t seen by anyone at the Grand or suspected of stalking.

I’d told Cal that he was kind of stalking, and we laughed.

Then his expression turned serious. “Actually, I volunteered for the assignment so I could see you.”

One sentence, and I was floating on a raft in a quiet part of the ocean.

He stayed for dinner at a table for one in my section, patiently waiting for my delivery of his food and drinks all night. At the end of my shift, he insisted we have a glass of wine together.

And that was pretty much how the next five days went, his insisting I join him at the Ritz for a drink, or at the restaurant for brunch, or for a stroll through the shops in town. Each time, I gave in. I had to scramble for someone to watch Weezie at the last minute, but I did it anyway.

Cal didn’t ask me much about Rylan, only said he’d caught a few glimpses of her and she looked fine. It was clear she hadn’t moved on, and that was what he’d come to confirm for his brother. So, Cal decided to enjoy himself the rest of the time, and apparently that was with me.

One thing led to another, and I spent the night with him just before he had to leave. It was the only time I’d ever spend the night at the Ritz. The more I thought about it, I realized that maybe it was the only time I ever would ...

Now, finally dressed and with guilt roughly the weight of an elephant weighing on me, I slipped out my front door to head over to Adam and Rylan’s, berating myself once again for accepting the mysterious package delivered to the coffee shop that day.

Shell

“Great, you came!”

Rylan answered the door in a pair of cutoffs and a silky black tank. Her hair fell in waves down her back, and her feet were bare. She gave a whole new meaning to natural beauty.

In contrast, I found myself chewing on my lower lip, wondering if I was overdressed for the occasion in a jean skirt.

“You look fab,” Rylan said softly as she pulled me in for a hug. Spinning me back out, she stared at me. “Something’s different. Did you get a haircut?”

I shook my head, trying to ignore the frog that had taken up residence in my throat.

“I straightened it and then curled it,” I finally said when I realized Rylan was waiting for an answer.

“I love it. You should do it always.” Leaning close, she whispered, “You need to date.”

At this point, everyone knew about Ricky leaving and openly scorned his decision. Once my mom decided she was done with my moping around, she told everyone she knew what a deadbeat he was. That was Marva, never one to mince words.

I gave Rylan a tight smile. “If it were up to my mom, I’d be walking down the aisle with one of her friends from church. She doesn’t understand that will be a while. Two years with the way Ricky ran off.”

“There’s no rush to get married again,” Rylan said, mirroring my sentiment. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have hot sex.” Her voice was whisper quiet beneath the music and voices floating from the other room. “You don’t have to talk about Tony with me.”

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