Page 44 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

There were a few more beats of silence, and Terrence decided that he simply had to see her face. He wiggled around in the kayak so that he was facing her. He was relieved to see that there was a shining look in her eyes.

“I can’t believe my son gave the man that I’m dating romantic advice,” she said, grinning.

He laughed. “I’ll admit that it’s a bit unexpected, but he gives some good advice. He assured me that all women love effort, so I thought this kayak ride might be a good way of putting in effort. After all.” He held up his paddle. “It’s a lot of work.”

She giggled at his joke, and then he took her hand in his, feeling suddenly serious.

“Vivian, in the spirit of being honest, I wanted to tell you.” He took a deep breath, looking into her eyes, which were wide. “I care deeply for you, and I have for quite some time already. I want to see where this goes, but I don’t want you to feel rushed. I’m ready to earn your trust and let you take this new adventure of ours at whatever pace you need to.”

For a moment, Vivian didn’t move, and Terrence’s stomach lurched as he wondered if he’d said too much. Then she started to cry.

“Oh no!” Terrence fumbled in his pocket for a clean handkerchief. “Vivian, I’m sorry, whatever it was I said?—”

She laughed and shook her head as she accepted the handkerchief. “They’re happy tears,” she said in a breathless rush. “I feel so—well, I feel so honored that you feel that way, Terrence. I feel so lucky.”

“Oh.” There might not have been any stars in the sky at the moment, but there was now one in his chest. “I feel so lucky too.”

She’s here, and she’s looking at me like that,he thought, his heart racing.And she heard me say all that and it’s making her so happy. I can’t believe I get to date her.

Without thinking about it, as if he was watching himself do it, Terrence leaned forward and gently placed his lips on hers.

Their second kiss was even better than their first, because it lasted longer, and this time, Terrence knew what it meant.

“Well,” Vivian said with a laugh and flushed cheeks as he pulled away.

At that moment, her phone began to ring. She was wearing a small purse that went around her shoulders, and she pulled her cellphone out of it.

“It’s Hazel,” she said, and Terrence wasn’t sure if her energetic tone was because of their kiss or because of some flash of motherly intuition. “Hey, sweetheart!”

Terrence watched Vivian, almost in a daze. He felt so happy he could hardly think straight.

“She is? Oh my goodness!” Vivian gripped the side of the kayak and looked at Terrence with wide eyes. She looked nervous but also ecstatic, and after a moment of confusion, Terrence knew exactly what was happening. “I’ll be right there. Right there. As soon as I can. Okay, bye, honey!” The moment she hung up the phone she grabbed Terrence’s hand. “Alexis is going into labor!”

“That’s wonderful!” Terrence squeezed her hand back. He didn’t even mind that their date had been cut short. After all, was there anything more important than the birth of a baby? And besides, the date had already been so wonderful he couldn’t ask for anything more.

“We need to get back to shore right away,” Vivian said, slipping her phone into her purse and zipping it shut. Then she started trying to paddle the kayak around. “I’ve got to get to the hospital to be with her!”

“We will, don’t worry.” Terrence started to stand up, so he could turn back around. “Just don’t paddle for a few moments while I get back into place, whoa!”

Vivian, however, had not listened to him in her excitement. Just as Terrence was fully standing up, she gave a massive push against the water with her paddle and the kayak unceremoniously dumped both her and Terrence into the ocean.

Terrence wriggled to the surface a moment later, and he heard Vivian spluttering, “Oh my goodness! Oh no! Terrence, I’m so sorry.”

Terrence just started laughing. A moment later Vivian joined him. They clung to the sides of the kayak, treading water and having a mutual laughing attack.

“Come on,” Terrence said after a moment. “I’ll try to right it and get back inside.”

They managed to turn the kayak over together, and then Terrence wriggled back into it like an oversized eel. Once he was sitting securely, he reached for Vivian and helped her scramble back into the kayak.

“Oh, my shoes are probably ruined,” she gasped.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be, it was worth it.”

They both started laughing again as they paddled as fast as they could toward the shore. Once Terrence had hastily returnedthe kayak to the rental booth, he and Vivian began to race across the sand toward the parking lot.

“I wonder if our phones are destroyed,” she murmured, unzipping her purse to check hers.

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