Page 5 of Love Me Forever

I loved life here. It could get a bit too quiet in the evenings sometimes, as it was very laid-back. Everyone thought it was normal to just take a whole hour for lunch, and we typically went to the restaurants close by. Very different than back home, where we were usually so busy that most of us only took a few minutes to eat whatever we brought in our office before getting back to it. On rare occasions we’d order a pizza for the staff, but most of the time it was cold before half of us got to eat it.

I usually went with the group here, but today I wanted to take a stroll on the beach. It was sunny, and I couldn’t wait to soak it all up after the freezing-cold weather in Chicago over my break for Christmas and New Year’s.

I showered quickly before putting on my clothes; the saltwater was drying to my skin, and since I wasn't going back in the pool in the afternoon, I wanted to get cleaned up. Fortunately, my colleague, Cheryl, would handle Steve’s ointment application later in the day.

Afterward, I grabbed my tote bag and left the clinic, chuckling to myself that I was the last one to leave. It was hilarious. Everyone disappeared as soon as lunchtime came.

It was my eighth month here, and one thing I missed from Chicago was the variety of food trucks and take-out places. There were three restaurants in Oceanwell Bay, and all were dine-in only. That was fine if you wanted to sit down and enjoy lunch, but today I just wanted something on the go, so the only option was the bakery truck opposite the clinic. I went there, studying the offerings, even though I knew them by heart. I grabbed donuts and muffins every other morning.

"Second stop today, Bonnie?" Alan, the owner of the truck, asked. He was about a hundred years old but very fit and insisted that opening his truck every morning kept him alive.

"Yes. I'm trying to decide which of your delicious treats can count as lunch."

"I would say take the muffin. It's got butter and egg. That's two proteins right there. Just make sure you balance it with a salad or something in the evening, if you care about stuff like that."

I smiled. "Make that two muffins.”

“Right away."

One had blueberries, and the other one, I suspected, contained chocolate. My stomach was already rumbling.

As I paid, Alan put them on a paper plate for me. I balanced it carefully in my palm as I walked lazily on the beach, listening to the waves and smelling the salty air of the ocean. The breeze was fairly strong, messing with my hair and my clothes. I loved it here, and I knew I was going to miss it once I was back in Chicago. We had Lake Michigan, of course, and plenty of beaches lined the shore, but it wasn't the same.

Even on cooler days, there was a lot going on at the beach— and it was always packed on sunny days. Most people were just relaxing on towels or beach chairs, while others huddled under blankets or were wearing light jackets. Most appeared to be reading a book or holding their phone, squinting at the screen if they didn’t wear sunglasses. A mother held her toddler’s hand as the little one walked around the shore. My God, he looked so cuddly.

I loved kids. Unfortunately, none of my friends had children yet, and I didn’t have any siblings to give me nieces or nephews—nor did I have any cousins. It was just Mom, Dad, and me.

I’d always wanted kids, it just hadn’t happened yet, which was fine. I felt it was important to wait for the right moment and the right person. My career was in solid shape, but I’d yet to meet "the one" in my twenty-nine years. My last boyfriend broke up with me soon after moving to California, and dating opportunities here were nonexistent. Fortunately, I had my hands full at the clinic anyway, and that kept me more than busy. Once I was back in Chicago, I hoped my love life would be more active. I'd spent the week between Christmas and New Year's with my best friend, Ashley, who’d tried to get me back in the dating game, but I was too busy enjoying the holiday season and my friends to bother.

Just as I bit into my blueberry muffin, I noticed a familiar shape a few feet away. Unruly hair, high cheekbones, mouthwatering biceps. Travis Maxwell was standing in front of me, carrying a suit jacket on his arm. I hadn't been able to properly drool over him last night, as it was too dark inside the car to really take him all in, but now in plain sight?My, my, my. This was just what the doctor ordered: a bit of eye candy on top of my muffins for lunch.

He noticed me immediately and slowly walked over. A huge smile lit up his face. God, he was gorgeous.

"I figured I was going to run into you sooner rather than later," he said. "Just my luck that I already caught you at lunch. How's the clinic today?"

"It's good. I practically froze my butt off trying to put ointment on our dolphin." I shivered, remembering the cold water.

He raised an eyebrow. "You've got a dolphin?"

"Yes. He’s a lot of fun, although at first he took a bit of getting used to, but I’ve really grown to love him.”

He put his hand in his pocket. He'd rolled up his sleeves, and belatedly I realized he’d also rolled up the legs of his pants. His feet were wet.

"Were you in the water?" I asked, noticing he carried his socks and shoes in his other hand.

"Yeah, cold as fuck." That made me laugh. “It looks so inviting, but it might be as frigid as Lake Michigan right now.”

"Oh, I know. Trust me. I've got a neoprene suit for our indoor pool, but you can't get anywhere near the ocean water even with that. My feet would freeze off.”

“Mine did.” He chuckled, and the warmth of it soothed me in a way I couldn’t even begin to explain.

I wouldn't have expected he’d be the type to relax and wade his feet in the water. He'd looked so serious in his white shirt and suit pants. Then again, last evening he'd proved to have a delicious sense of humor. But somehow I couldn't combine the image of the ruthless businessman and the playful guy who'd rolled up his pants to get in the water as one person. The contradiction was intriguing.

“How was your meeting? Managed to steal the employee yet?" I asked.

"No luck so far, but I'm persistent.” He winked.

“I bet you are.”

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