Page 67 of New Day at the Beach House

A pretty girl walked by their table, then suddenly stopped and backed up. “Miles?”

He looked over and Trina could have sworn he sighed. “Hey, Liz.”

Trina paid closer attention. The girl was probably around her age and had good blond hair. The kind with highlights and lowlights and a root shadow. That was time and money, right there. She was in a cute blue top that showed off her shoulders and little white shorts that showed off her legs. She wasn’t just pretty with good hair. She was fit.

Even her makeup was on point. There was basically nothing wrong with her that Trina could see.

Liz gave Miles a big grin. “What are you doing here?”

Miles narrowed his eyes and bent his head, his expression clearly skeptical that she couldn’t figure it out. Instead of answering her, he put his arm around Trina. “Liz, this is my girlfriend, Trina Thompson. Trina, this is an old friend of mine, Liz Stewart.”

Liz laughed like Miles had just told a hilarious joke, displaying even white teeth. “I’m not that old and I wasn’t just a friend. Nice to meet you, Tina.”

“Trina,” Trina corrected her. “Nice to meet you, too.” So this was who Miles used to date? Liz looked pretty perfect. Trina had to wonder why they’d broken up.

Liz looked at Alex. “Nice to see you, Alex. Is this your girlfriend as well?”

Alex nodded. “Where’s Kent?”

Liz’s smile faltered for a split second. “Kent and I aren’t dating anymore.” She lifted her shoulders and fluttered her lashes. “I’m really enjoying the single life, though, you know? It’s so freeing.”

She put her hand on the table and gave Miles another coy look. “Well, it was lovely to see you. I better be getting back to my table, or my friends are going to start a search party. You be good now.”

She sauntered off without waiting for Miles to respond.

Alex shook his head. “I’m so glad you stopped dating her.”

Miles nodded. “Me, too.”

Trina looked at him. “Why did you stop dating her?”

Miles exhaled loudly. “A lot of reasons. For one thing, she thought I should go back to school to become, in her words, a ‘real’ doctor.”

“Why?”

“Me being a paramedic wasn’t good enough for her, I guess. She comes from money and maybe her parents thought so, too. I don’t know. And I don’t care.” Miles tensed up, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

Trina sensed she’d hit a nerve. “I think you being a paramedic is amazing. You save lives all the time. You’re a first responder. That makes you one of America’s heroes.”

He visibly relaxed and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thanks, babe.”

Trina couldn’t get the image of Liz out of her head. “She’s awfully pretty.”

He shrugged. “She’s all right on the outside but the inside ruins it. You, on the other hand, you’re pretty all the way through.”

Trina smiled as his words sent warm, happy feelings down her spine. “Thank you.”

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Don’t give her another thought, okay?”

Trina nodded. “I won’t.” She would try. It was going to be hard not to think about Liz a little bit. She was a beautiful woman that Miles wasn’t interested in. That alone was something to ponder, even if he had explained why.

But then their server returned with their two coconut shrimp appetizers and Liz was forgotten.

Trina caught a whiff of toasted coconut off them. “They do smell good.”

Miles put a shrimp on one of the small plates the server had also brought and handed it to her. “Wait until you taste it. Make sure you try that sauce. But give it a second. I think they’re pretty hot.”

Trina laughed. “I think you’re pretty hot.”

---