Page 60 of Sunset Tides
He paused, gazing at her for a moment too long before breaking a smile and saying, “I know. Nothing stops you, does it?”
Lucy’s heart jumped and she looked away, over the water. “It’s getting chilly. Maybe we should check out the downstairs?”
“Sure.”
They crossed the deck and descended a short flight of stairs into a cozy little room. A wall-to-wall lush red carpet softened their footsteps. Scattered around were six small tables, each one topped with a candle and wine glasses. Three of the other couples were already seated, talking in hushed tones.
They took a seat at a table near a rounded window. Lucy made her dinner choice by closing her eyes and pointing at the menu. Rob checked off their choices and handed their menu to a passing waiter.
Then he turned to look at her through the candlelight.
This was a lot. Far more romantic than she’d imagined. The intimacy of it made her feel like she had to make a joke. “You know, Rob, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to trick me.”
“Trick you?” At that moment, he knocked his elbow into the table and sent an empty wine glass flying to the ground.
“Sorry,” he said, stooping to collect it. The glass had landed on the carpet and luckily hadn’t broken.
After recovering it, Rob sat down, cheeks pink.
Such an easy blusher.
Lucy dropped her voice. “Try not to embarrass me here, Rob.”
He burst into a laugh. “I’m doing my best.”
A waiter stopped by to fill their wine glasses and drop off an appetizer – calamari with cocktail sauce. Lucy loved it, and evenRob managed to get the food into his mouth without making a mess.
The ship slowly moved out of the dock, and they had a beautiful view from the window. It was so beautiful that Rob couldn’t seem to look away, or come up with much to talk about.
“I’m glad we can be inside,” Lucy announced as their caprese salads arrived.
He smiled at her briefly before turning back to the window. “Me too.”
“How was work this week?” she asked.
“Not great, to be honest.”
Maybe that was why he was being so quiet. “I’m sorry. Are you going to get fired?”
“Nah.” Rob shrugged. “How’s your hotel rescue going?”
“Fine, I guess.” She sat back and let out a sigh. “They hardly need me.”
“What?” A smile danced on his lips. “Impossible.”
She took a bite of her salad. “It’s true. We’ve got an attorney, contractors, landscapers, real estate agents, grannies from all of the islands vowing to start letter writing campaigns…”
“Not the grannies!”
“I know!”
“I wish I could help.”
She shook her head. “Please. There’s nothing left to do. We’re still waiting on our FOIA request. That’ll be big.”
“When do you expect to get it?”
“They didn’t say. Could be any day, could be months.”
