Page 16 of Beach Vibes

The drive to the restaurant wasn’t too bad, considering it was a Saturday night and she was heading for Moonshadows, one of the most popular restaurants in Malibu. She felt grown-up and sophisticated, in a slightly nervous, I-hope-I’m-not-wrong-about-this-guy kind of way. After all, tonight was a far cry from her usual weekend nights spent with her daughter, brother and his kids where they ordered takeout and watched cartoons. Even if the date was a bust, she was going to have some delicious seafood and possibly a glass of white wine.

She handed over her keys to the valet and walked into the restaurant. It was right on the water, and the view was incredible. The ocean stretched on to the horizon, reflecting all the pinks and yellows from the nearly set sun. She paused to enjoy the show, thinking how beautiful the world could be and how lucky she was to get to experience it.

“Jana!”

She turned and saw Rick walking toward her. His smile was happy as he stopped in front of her.

“You’re here.”

“I am. The sunset is so beautiful.”

“So are you.”

She laughed. “Thank you. And you look nice, as well.”

He wore one of his suits—a bit fancy for the Malibu beach vibe, but it worked for him. Rick didn’t strike her as a casual kind of person.

“Our table’s ready,” he said, “if you’d like to be seated.”

“I would. I’m impressed you were able to get a reservation here on such short notice.”

He winked at her. “I know a guy. Actually, I know the brother of a guy. A former patient.”

“Ah, so you’re calling in favors.”

“For you? Absolutely.”

They looked at each other for a second. She was pleased to feel a little tingle when he put his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the hostess. For all his talk about being the smartest guy in the room and not having social skills, Rick was charmingly smooth. She’d been nervous about having to carry the evening, but hopefully she was wrong about that.

“I’m looking forward to our dinner,” she told him.

“Excellent. That’s something else we have in common.”

They walked over to the hostess, and Rick gave his name. They were led to a corner table by the windows with a perfect view of the setting sun.

“This is nice,” she said. “I can’t remember when I last had dinner out in a restaurant this fancy.”

“You said you don’t date much. I find that hard to believe.”

She laughed. “Believe it. I’m kind of busy with my life, and I don’t, as a rule, meet many single men.” Although her reasons for not dating had a lot more to do with her previous relationship disaster than a lack of opportunity.

“I’m glad you met me,” he told her.

“Me, too. And you were very kind to buy my coffee for me.”

He brushed her comment away. “Anyone would have done it.”

She doubted that.

He leaned toward her. “I want to really get to know you, Jana. I know you work in a medical office. Tell me more.”

“Okay, I go to community college.” She paused, thinking she didn’t want to mention she was studying to be a registered nurse. Although she’d picked her path while she was pregnant with Linnie, Rick might think her choice had something to do with him.

“Right now I’m taking a calculus class that is so much harder than I expected. I guess I’m not a math person. I thought the sciences would be the problem, but I did great in chemistry and loved biology.”

“Let me know if I can help.” He flashed her a quick smile. “You’ll be shocked to know I did well in school.”

“Thanks for the offer,” she said. “I might take you up on it. Although I’m proud to say I’m maintaining a B+ average.”

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