Page 49 of Beach Vibes

She laughed and felt some of her tension ease. Not her attraction—that was still at unheard-of levels—but she was going to do her best to ignore it.

“Jana mentioned you own Surf Sandwiches,” he said.

“I do, although what I do isn’t anywhere near as exciting as moving to China.”

“I know that place. Great sandwiches.”

While the words were kind, she doubted he’d ever been in her store. Given her reaction to him tonight, she definitely would have remembered seeing him.

She allowed herself a brief, vivid fantasy of him walking in to order something only to have their eyes meet over the selection of condiments. The background music would swell, they would smile at each other, and then he would suggest they run away to a tropical island for the next six or eight months.

“Are you married?” he asked.

“Divorced.”

“Any kids?”

She shook her head. “But you have three.”

He waved toward the array of toys scattered around. “Howdid you guess? They’re great. Magnolia is twelve but sometimes acts like she’s forty. She likes to take charge, something that kicked into overdrive after she lost her mom. Jana and I constantly have to remind ourselves not to let her take on too much responsibility. She needs to be my daughter, not my protector.”

“That’s got to be hard for you. They were so young when your wife died. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. It came out of nowhere. Valonia was happy and healthy. One second she was on a conference call at work, and then she was dead from a pulmonary embolism. There was no warning.”

His gaze looked past her, as if he was reliving the day. “She was the vice president at a large brokerage company. She had so many dreams and plans for us and the kids. When her assistant called to tell me she’d collapsed, I thought it was a mistake.”

Her heart ached for him and his children—for what they’d lost and all they’d gone through.

“I can’t imagine,” she admitted. “They were so young.”

“Orchid was only eighteen months. She and Atlas, the middle one, couldn’t understand where Mommy was.” He looked at her, the pain visible in his eyes. “Jana got us through. She moved in and took charge. I was a wreck. Valonia and I were supposed to have the rest of our lives together. I kept waiting for her to call and say she was on her way home.”

He drew in a breath. “She’d always had the high-powered career. We’d met through friends.” The smile returned. “On paper we had nothing in common, and I wasn’t that interested in meeting her, but I didn’t know how to get out of it. She was a rising star in the corporate world. I was a too-serious vegetarian, alternative medicine practitioner who didn’t own much more than I could fit into a backpack. But we clicked, you know? I took one look at her and knew she was the one.”

She could feel his pain, along with the bittersweetness of his memories. Beth sat there, not sure what to do. Running seemedto be the most sensible choice, only she was committed to having dinner with Jana and Teddy. But staying seemed impossible. She tried to tell herself the irony of the situation was actually kind of funny—if only it didn’t sting so much.

All her life she’d done her best to avoid strong emotions. She’d tried to be sensible and thoughtful about any decisions she made. Living like her mother—racing toward the fire to burn as hot as possible—was an anathema to her. Yet here she was—wildly attracted to a man she barely knew, wishing he felt the same, and desperate to have him notice her as a woman. For the first time ever she was willing to risk it all, to be impulsive and damn the consequences. At the same time, the man in question was clearly and deeply still in love with his late wife. And wasn’t that a kick in the gut?

* * *

Rick helped Jana clear the table. Beth had already left, claiming an early morning, and Jana had shooed Teddy back to his side of the house.

“Tonight was great,” Rick said happily, carrying in two wineglasses and setting them on the counter. “Thanks for suggesting this. I liked getting to know Teddy.”

“He felt the same about you,” she said, relieved everything had gone so well. Her brother had spent the first hour or so talking to Beth. Then the four of them had chatted easily over dinner.

Rick drew her close and lightly kissed her. “So we’re good? Everyone is friends?”

She saw the faint line of worry between his eyebrows and touched his cheek. “We are all excellent,” she told him. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me, too.”

She gave him a quick smile, then stepped out of his embrace before glancing at the clock on the wall. He followed her gaze.

“Do you need me to leave? I was going to help with thecleanup, but if you’re worried about Linnie coming home, I get it.”

“I appreciate that, Rick. You’re right. Dex will be bringing the kids back and, well, it’s still soon for you to meet any of the kids.”

---