by Nicole Ellis
“Nope, you?”
“I was thinking Arturo’s if that’s okay with you. I’ve heard great things about it from Parker and I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet.”
She didn’t say anything at first. Then she said, “Arturo’s is awfully pricey. Maybe we could go somewhere else?”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s my treat. Besides, you don’t have any money with you, remember?” he teased.
“I remember.” She looked away. “I just think I’m in the mood for Mexican food. What do you think about going to Papa Tito’s?”
“That place is still around?” He laughed. “I’ve been going there since I was a kid. Pops always loved eating there.”
She looked up at him. “You know, I haven’t met your grandfather yet. What do you think about inviting him to come with us?”
It wasn’t exactly the romantic date he’d expected, but she’d just asked to meet his grandfather, one of the most important people in his life, and he couldn’t turn down that opportunity.
“Sure. Let me give him a call to see if he’s around.”
He pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Hey, Pops.”
“Luke,” his grandfather said warmly. “I’ve been meaning to call you. I had the best poker game last night. I won fifty bucks off Henry Olsen.”
Luke laughed. “That’s great that you won last night. Say, Charlotte and I were here in Haven Shores and we were wondering if you’d like to come to dinner with us at Papa Tito’s.”
“Oh, that Charlotte?” Pops teased him.
He sighed. “Yes, that Charlotte. She really wants to meet you.”
“Well in that case, I’d love to come. Do you mind picking me up?”
“We’ll be there in about five minutes. See you, Pops.”
Charlotte smiled at him as he finished his conversation.
He hung up. “Pops said he’d love to come to dinner and meet you. If you don’t mind, he’d like for us to pick him up at home.”
“Of course.”
They drove to the retirement home, which had been built just beyond the dunes a few blocks away from the main drag through town.
“Wasn’t there an old hotel here before?” Charlotte asked as they got out of the car and walked toward the front door of the building.
“Yes. They tore it down about ten years ago to build the retirement home.”
“I guess I don’t get over to this area much anymore.” She peered at the facility. “It’s beautiful.”
The retirement home looked like a nice hotel, with two offset wings so that each apartment had individual balconies looking out over the water. Luke had always found them to take good care of the building and, most importantly, his grandfather seemed happy there.
“Pops has a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor.” He opened the door to the retirement home and motioned for her to enter in front of him.
They walked into the lobby and were greeted by a woman at the front desk. Luke then led Charlotte into an elevator, which let them out onto a carpeted hallway.
She suddenly felt nervous. She’d suggested inviting Pops because she knew Luke was close to him and they were in the area already, but she hadn’t considered the implications. This was like meeting the parents in Luke’s situation. Was it too soon in their relationship to meet Pops? If it was, it was too late to change her mind.
He stopped at a door midway down the hall and knocked.
“Coming,” an elderly man called out. He opened the door and smiled at Luke, then beamed at Charlotte. “This must be the famous Charlotte.”
“Pops!” Luke said. “She’s going to think I talk about her all the time.”
“You do.” Pops grinned widely at Charlotte. “It’s nice to meet you. You can call me Pops too.”
“Nice to meet you, Pops.” She relaxed a little. He was anything but intimidating as he led them into a bright, sunlit apartment and gestured to the couch.
“Have a seat,” he said. “Let’s chat for a bit before we go to dinner.”
They sat dutifully and he sat back in a chair across from them.
“So, Charlotte, you’re Parker’s sister.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He laughed. “I hope you’re not getting him into trouble as much as Parker used to do when they were kids.”
At that, she burst out laughing. “They were always in trouble, weren’t they?”
“Pops,” Luke admonished him. “Be nice.”
His grandfather waved his hand in the air. “I am being nice. But I want to get to know this young lady.” He peered at her. “Your parents are still here in town, right? Did you go into the family business like your brother?”
“No, sir. I own a gift shop in Candle Beach.”
“Charlotte’s a wonderful artist too,” Luke said. “She has a beautiful painting of the ocean at sunset.”
“That’s great.” Pops smiled at her. “You know, Luke’s grandmother was quite an artist too.” He pointed at an oil painting of a sailboat behind him. “That’s one of hers.”
“It’s beautiful,” Charlotte said truthfully. She rose to inspect it more closely. “I like how she captured the wind in the sails.”
Pops nodded. “She loved painting.” A look of sadness crossed his face, then he clapped his hands on his knees and pushed himself off of the chair. “Well, enough chit-chat, let’s go eat.”
They drove to Papa Tito’s, where Charlotte and Luke sat across from Pops at a booth.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.” Luke perused the menu. “But, I think I’m going to get the taco platter, just like I always used to do.”
“Me too,” Pops said. “Your grandmother always got the stuffed peppers and I thought she was crazy. That woman loved spicy food.” He drank from his water glass.
“I used to come here with friends from work after I moved back to Haven Shores after college.” Charlotte closed her menu and set it on the table. “I always get the same thing, I don’t know why I even bother looking at the menu.”
The waitress came and took their order and they ate their fill of tortilla chips while they waited.
“Better than Arturo’s?” Luke asked Charlotte.
She shrugged. “I’ve never been there, but this sounded good.” And cheaper, she thought. Even though she knew Luke could afford a more expensive meal, she didn’t want him to think she was taking advantage of him, especially after the fiasco with the computer.
The waitress brought their food and they dug in. Luke and his grandfather quickly finished their tacos and chatted while she was still working on her Arroz Con Pollo.
“So, how’s business at the truck?” Pops asked.
Luke grabbed a chip out of the basket in the middle of the table. “Business is good. I’m glad I came back to the coast. With all the tourist traffic, Candle Beach was the right choice for a barbecue place.”
“I’m glad you’re back too.” Pops’ eyes fell to the table. “I wish your sister would come home. I miss her.”
Luke reached his hand across the table and rested it on the old man’s hand. “I know. But she seems happy in Willa Bay. She’s doing what she always wanted to do. Remember how frequently her Barbie and Ken dolls got married?” He shook his head. “We should have known she’d have a future in wedding coordination.”
Charlotte set her fork down. “Do you think Zoe will stay in Willa Bay?” She hadn’t known Zoe well in school as Luke and his sister were a few years older, but she remembered seeing her around.
Luke glanced at his grandfather. “I think she’ll stay there, at least for the near future. It’s the wedding capital of the Northwest, so her services are in high demand.”
“Hmm,” Charlotte said as she swirled her fork through her Mexican rice. “I’ve never been there before, but I’ve seen the pictures of the tulip fields. It’s a beautiful part of the state.”
Pops gave her a shrewd look. “But not as beautiful as the coast. You’ll never find a
better place to live than here. And I’m hoping I’ll someday get to see my great-grandchildren enjoying the same beach I grew up on.” He eyed Luke, then returned his gaze to her.
Charlotte smothered a grin at his implication. She’d been nervous about meeting Luke’s grandfather, but she’d seemed to have won him over. She swallowed the last bite of her food.
“Do you want to come with us for a walk along the boardwalk?” she asked Pops.
“Oh no,” he demurred. “I’ve got to get back to the retirement home. Henry Olsen has a poker game starting at seven, and I intend to beat him again tonight.”
“Are you sure?” Luke asked.
“Of course, I’m sure.” Pops winked at him and Charlotte tried to keep from laughing again. She wished her own grandfathers had been half as fun as Pops.
“Well, don’t let us keep you,” Luke said. “I’d hate for Henry Olsen to get the upper hand.” The check came and he paid it.
After they waved goodbye to Pops outside the retirement home, Charlotte felt full, both from food and from the happiness that comes from a meal with good company. She’d been unsure what Pops would be like, but he was as wonderful of a man as Luke had made him out to be. She only hoped that she could live up to any good things that Luke had told Pops about her.
The meeting between Charlotte and his grandfather had gone even better than Luke had hoped. The old man had taken him aside while she was in the restroom and told him that she was a keeper. He’d even gone so far as to hint that she’d make a great mother. Luke had tried to shush him before Charlotte returned, but Pops had managed to get a few comments in about what a great grandson Luke was to him. Charlotte had taken it in stride, smiling and nodding at everything Pops said.
After they dropped his grandfather off at home, they left the car parked in front of the retirement home and walked the few blocks back to town to get ice cream. On a Thursday night, it wasn’t too crowded. They received their cones quickly and took them out to the boardwalk.
When they passed by Arturo’s, Luke gestured to it. “I do want to try this place out though. Parker raves about it. It looks like they’re doing good business tonight.”
“Gretchen told me it was good too,” Charlotte said. “I bet you look at things differently now that you own a restaurant of sorts.”
Luke laughed. “Too true. I find myself wondering about what their profit margins are or what marks they received on their last health code inspection, and assessing the menu options to determine if I need to add something new to my own offerings. However, I’ve tried to avoid the barbecue place here in town so that I don’t end up stealing one of their ideas inadvertently.”
Charlotte glanced up at him. “But isn’t it good business sense to know what the competition is up to?”
“Well, yes, it is. But it’s so much more than just a business to me. I put something of myself into each new menu item that I try. I don’t want to lose that by just responding to the competition.”
They walked past the restaurant, licking their cones before the ice cream melted down the sides.
“As an artist, I can appreciate the desire for self-expression. But how did you end up buying a barbecue food truck, anyway?” Charlotte asked. “If I’d earned a lot of money selling stock, I think I’d retire. Well, maybe not.”
He sighed. “It came down to me hating my job. And I mean hating—like in a really unhealthy way. I dreaded going to work, but being a software developer was all I’d ever done and it’s hard to pass up the salary I was earning.”
“But why barbecue?”
“Why not?” He smiled. “It’s my favorite food. Plus, there was a barbecue food truck that parked just down the street from my office and I struck up a conversation one day with the owner. He agreed to take me under his wing and I just went from there. When it came time to sell my stock, I cashed out and bought the truck. Finding a place to park it was the hard part.”
“And you just had to park it next to Whimsical Delights.”
“Yes.” He smirked. “It was all part of a devious plan to see you again and annoy you into dating me.”
She looked at him. “You are kidding, right?”
“Of course I am!” He chuckled. “I had no idea you even lived in Candle Beach. I would have pegged you as someone who’d leave town for the big city and never look back.”
A darkness crossed her face and he sobered. He’d accidentally struck a nerve.
“Sorry,” he said quickly.
“It’s okay. Honestly, I never thought I’d be back either, but something pulled me back.” She shrugged. “When I lived away from the coast, it was like something was blocking me from fully expressing myself through my art. Being by the ocean frees me.” She gazed out at the waves crashing on the wet sand.
“I know what you mean,” he said. “I feel the same way.”
“When I decided to open my shop, I chose Candle Beach. It seemed to have good tourist traffic and it was far enough away from most of my family, but still close to home.” She grimaced. “It took me far too long to earn the money to buy the Airstream though. I thought I’d never get away from working for my parents.”
“So there was never any thought of you going into the family business?” He bit into the waffle cone, the delicious vanilla-flavored confection crunching between his teeth.
She shook her head vigorously. “No, never. That was for Graham and Parker. Not my thing. But telling my parents that wasn’t easy. They’re proud of what they’ve attained and they think we should all follow in their footsteps.”
“That’s funny, because my grandparents wanted me to get out of town and do something other than the restaurant business, and here I am.”
They walked onto the beach, finishing their ice cream cones before they reached the water. The tide was out and the beach seemed to stretch on forever. The water licked at their feet as they walked along the hard-packed sand.
Luke pulled his shoes off and tossed them onto dry sand, then walked into the water.
“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m washing off my hands. They’re covered in ice cream.” He grinned at her and scooped up a handful of water, then threw it at her.
“Why you …” She kicked off her sandals and followed him into the water, laughing.
They splashed each other until they were both soaked. She should have looked like a drowned rat, but he’d never seen a more beautiful woman. Her glowing smile reached all the way to her eyes and her laughter made his heart sing.
He stood still for a moment, taking it all in.
“Now what are we going to do?” Charlotte asked, pulling her wet clothes away from her body.
“Eh, we’ll dry off.” He reached for her hands and held them out to the sides, stepping forward until their bodies were touching.
She smiled and brushed a lock of wet hair off his forehead with her fingers, then wrapped her arms around his neck. Droplets of water dripped from her hair onto his arms as he pulled her tightly against him. The water provided a cool contrast to the heat he felt rising inside.
He tipped his head down to kiss her. She tasted of cherries and vanilla ice cream, an intoxicating combination that made him want more. She sighed and kissed him deeper, threading her fingers through his hair, sending tingling sensations through his scalp.
He pulled away slightly so he could see her face. Her cheeks were bright from the saltwater and sun, and her eyes were half-closed. He’d never seen anyone as enchanting as she was, standing there in front of him without makeup, soaking wet and hair tangled from the wind.
“Luke,” she murmured, moving closer to him. He stood there, inhaling her scent, never wanting to forget such a perfect moment.
Water swirled around their feet, but they didn’t move until Charlotte called out, “Our shoes!”
He looked behind them to see her sandal being lifted off the sand by a wave. He broke apart from her and ran over to it, nabbing the shoe before the ocean could was
h it away.
“You saved it!” Laughing, she waded through the water to pick up her other sandal. Her hair swayed as she walked, sunlight glinting through it like slivers of gold. He forced himself to look away and picked up his own shoes before the water hit them too.
She shivered, clutching her sandals to her chest.
“I think we’d better dry off now.” He took her hand and led her up to the dry sand, where they sat next to a beach log to let the waning sun warm their wet clothes. She snuggled close to him and they chatted for a while, making up stories about the other beachgoers until they were ready to go home. He couldn’t have asked for a more romantic date.
13
Charlotte looked longingly at her art supplies. The art show was in two days and she needed to take her paintings to Seattle, but all she wanted to do was paint. She’d invited Angel to tag along on the road trip, and they planned to shop for dresses for Maggie and Jake’s upcoming wedding while they were in the city. She’d recently hired a local teenager to work at Whimsical Delights part-time for the summer so she could have some much-needed time off, but now she was second-guessing her decision to spend a whole day away from the business.
A knock sounded at her apartment door, jarring her away from her thoughts.
“It’s unlocked!” she called out.
Angel poked her head in. “Are you ready?”
Charlotte glanced around the room. Did she have everything? Keys, check. Purse with wallet, check. The last time she’d been away from something resembling work for more than a few hours had been so long ago that she couldn’t even remember it. It was probably time for a break if she wanted to avoid the burnout she’d seen some of her friends go through as they pursued their careers.
She grinned at Angel. “I am. We’re going to stop for coffee though, right?”
“Of course.” Angel laughed. “And I made a playlist of songs to keep us company on the way to Seattle. I’m so excited! I love Candle Beach, but after living in Los Angeles for so long, being in a small town makes me feel a little claustrophobic if I don’t get out of here once in a while.”
