Sweet Nothings: A Bethany Beach Romance

by Lacy Hart

  Once again, Damian had foiled my view of him by being Mr. Nice Guy. In fact, he was almost Mr. Too Nice Guy. There had to be something about him that wasn’t so… perfect. I caught myself gazing at him as he bent over in the refrigerator to get something, and I blushed when he looked over his shoulder and saw me staring at him.

  “Well, that would be very nice of you,” I said softly, walking back towards the view out towards the water, sipping my wine.

  “Shall we sit and have some salad while everything finishes?” Damian said to me as he came over to pull out the chair for me.

  I sat down in the chair, and Damian gently pushed it closer to the table. He briefly placed his hands on my shoulders as he stood behind me, sending a chill through my body. He sat himself down in the chair across the table from me and passed me the salad, allowing me to take some first.

  We sat and ate for a few minutes, with me picking lightly at my salad while I watched him from the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help but notice that he was watching me the whole time until I finally put down my fork and looked directly at him.

  “What?” I asked me abruptly.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked in between bites of lettuce and cucumber.

  “You keep looking at me like… well, like I don’t know what, but you keep looking.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said politely, wiping his mouth with his napkin and standing up from the table. He picked up his salad plate and put his hand out, waiting for me to hand him my dish. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  Damian placed the dishes in the sink and then began to place the clambake items on a large platter. He came back over to the table, placing the platter between us.

  “I just find you very attractive,” Damian said. He placed a lobster on my plate and handed me the serving utensils so I could help myself to corn, potatoes, clams, sausage or whatever else I might want. “I have since the first time I saw you in the bakery. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since then, and then when I saw you at the bar last night, I knew I just had to talk to you some more. So now I thought this might be a good chance to get to know you better.”

  I was a little taken aback by his statement. I wasn’t surprised that he had an interest; hell, he had invited me over to his house. I guess I was caught off guard by the direct way that he said it to me. Most men I had come across were not nearly as bold to say how they felt. The ones I dealt with in town all were much meeker, had less confidence. Damian was nothing like that.

  So, I went on to tell him more about myself as we ate dinner. He asked question after question, about what it was like to grow up in a small town in Delaware, what culinary school was like for me, why I left New York and came back home, starting the bakery, what my sisters were like, about my dog, and everything else in between. By the time we were finished with dinner, I felt exhausted from all the talking, even though I had managed to wolf down a whole lobster, a dozen clams, potatoes and more.

  I sucked the last bit of meat from one of the lobster legs, slurping away as I did, and looked up at Damian as I did. He had a big smile on his face, almost as if he were in awe of what I was doing.

  “Boy, you really make the most of eating a lobster,” he commented.

  “I suppose you just eat the tail and the claws,” I told him as I looked over the pile of empty shells on my plate. “There's lots of great nooks and crannies you are missing when you do that you know. The lobster gave his life for our pleasure. The least we can do is make it last.”

  This brought about a hearty chuckle from Damian, the deepest I heard him laugh. He shook his head in disbelief at me as he cleared the platter of empty clam shells from the table. He came back over and started to clear away the rest of the plates.

  “Let me help you,” I said to him, picking up some items from the table and bringing them into the kitchen.

  Damian was stacking dishes into the dishwasher, and I stood next to him, handing him item after item until everything was put inside. He closed the dishwasher door, latching it shut, and stood up quickly, bringing his body very close to mine. With him standing next to me like this, I could feel the electricity between us was strong. Damian was looking down into my eyes and slowly moved past me, his body brushing against mine as I leaned back against the counter. I inhaled a bit, my breath taken away from the experience.

  He had walked back over to the table, picked up our wine glasses and poured us each another glass of white wine.

  “Would you like to sit outside for a while?” Damian asked as he handed me my glass. “We can sit on the porch, or go down by the outdoor pool, or even out onto the beach if you like.”

  “Let’s go out by the pool,” I decided, wanting to see more of what it was like down there.

  I started walking over towards the stairs, but instead, Damian walked over to the elevator door and pressed the button.

  “We can take the elevator down,” Damian said as the doors rattled open. “It will be easier to handle our wine glasses.”

  Damian held the door open for me so I could step inside first, and he followed and shut the outer door before closing the inner elevator door. The elevator was quite small, and you would have a hard time fitting a third person in there. As I felt it slowly move downward, I stood silently, looking down at my wine glass. I found it difficult to fight the strong attraction I felt. This wasn’t like me, to find myself drawn to someone or even having a crush like this, but it was getting more difficult for me to deny.

  The elevator seemed to move in slow motion, and when it finally settled on the second floor, we had to wait a moment for it to secure in place before the door would allow itself to open. There was a slight jolt, and I could feel myself losing my balance slightly. Damian braced me with his right hand, gently grabbing my elbow to hold me up before he opened the door. He then took my left hand in his right and helped me out of the elevator. His hand was strong and firm, stronger than I had expected of a guy who spends all day in an office. I couldn’t help but notice that the palm of my hand was now noticeably sweaty.

  Damian led me towards the pool, and we walked through the interior section and out a door that led to the back. The pool area outside was illuminated by solar lighting and casting from the bright moon that was now shining in the clear night sky. The temperature had cooled from the heat of the day, and there was a beautiful breeze blowing in off the ocean that we could feel as we took seats in lounge chairs positioned around the fire pit.

  “Okay, I have to admit, I was skeptical of how nice this would look Damian, but it is beautiful out here.” I took another sip of wine, having lost track of how much I had to drink so far tonight, and not really caring that much anymore.

  “Thanks,” he said to me with a laugh.

  All we could hear is the combination of the ocean gently hitting the beach and the waterfall cascading down into the pool.

  “You know,” Damian said, breaking the silence, “after listening to you tonight, I think you and I have a lot in common.”

  I couldn’t help but let out a hard laugh.

  “Really?” I said in disbelief. “I don’t know what you think we have in common. My house is about the size of your cabana back here, I drive a scooter, not a limo, and I work in a hot kitchen all day.”

  “That’s all just cosmetic stuff, Kelly,” Damian said to me seriously. “The house, the cars, all those things are nice to own, but they don’t define me as a person. I’m a lot like you. I have two siblings, come from a strong family, own my own business, work hard, and take pride in what I do, and when I want something, I go after it.”

  “The difference is when you want something and go after it, you can afford to buy it.”

  “Money doesn’t get you everything you want,” Damian said as he sat back in his chair. He seemed a bit insulted by what I had said. “I put a strong effort into everything – my business, my family, and my relationships. It takes work, just like it does for you. Sure, having money
gives me some advantages and perks, I don’t deny that, and there are times where I use that to gain an edge. I’m using what I have at my disposal, and you would do the same thing. That’s what a good businessperson does.”

  “I didn’t mean that to come out as an insult, Damian,” I said to him apologetically. “It’s just a reality of the worlds we live in. You’re right – if I had the money I am sure I would use it to my advantage at times too.”

  Damian got up from his chair and began to put some wood into the fire pit. He took a lighter from his pocket and lit the kindling, sparking the fire instantly. Within moments flames were licking up towards the sky. He then walked over to a large chest against the far wall and pulled out a green-checkered blanket and placed it at the foot of my lounge chair.

  “In case you get chilly,” he said to me.

  “I’m actually feeling a little warm already,” I said to him.

  I stood up from the chair, kicked off my sneakers and pulled off my socks. I walked over towards the edge of the pool and sat down, dangling my feet into the water. The water was the perfect hint of cool I was looking for. I looked back over at Damian sitting in his chair, smiled, and then patted the ground, indicating that he should come over and sit next to me. He kicked off his shoes, grabbed our wine glasses, and came and sat down. Our arms were practically touching as I playfully moved my feet in the water.

  “So, Damian,” I said to him, finishing off what was left in my wine glass, “how is it that a rich, good-looking guy like you isn’t already attached to someone?”

  “You think I’m good-looking?” he said to me with a grin.

  I pushed my shoulder up against him to give him a little shove.

  “Are you going to answer me? You peppered me with questions all night.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, emptying his wine glass. “I’ve spent so much of the past few years focusing on the work we do that I just haven’t had time to devote to anyone, and, to be honest, I don’t think I have met anyone in the past that I would want to be attached to.”

  I took notice of how he said “in the past” as he looked at me.

  “But there must be all kinds of beautiful starlets and models that would love to go out with you,” I asked him, brushing a stray hair from in front of my eyes.

  “I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “I’ve had dates with models and actresses, sure, but a lot of that stuff is set up by PR people so they can get good pictures for some magazine or website. I don’t think I ever went out with someone like that more than once. I have less in common with them than I do with you.”

  I looked over at Damian and could see him staring deep into me. He slowly leaned down and kissed me, softly at first, but with greater strength as the kiss endured. I put my hand up to his cheek and held his lips to mine. We moved even closer to each other, our bodies pressing against one another as we balanced to avoid falling into the pool. Kiss after kiss lingered longer and longer until I could feel myself losing my breath and Damian slowly parted his lips from mine.

  “That was nice,” I said softly.

  “I thought so too,” he said in a hushed tone before leaning back in to kiss me again. Just as we started kissing more deeply, with Damian putting his arm around me, we heard the door open and close. I broke the kiss quickly and saw Damian look over as I turned to see who was there. It was James standing there.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you, boss,” James said. “I didn’t know you still had company. Good evening, Ms. Barton,” he said politely.

  “Hi, James,” I said to him. I scrambled to my feet, the spell broken. “It’s okay, I should get going anyway. It’s getting late, and I’ve been up since four.”

  I walked back over and slipped my socks and sneakers back on my feet, and Damian followed me over to the chair.

  “Are you sure you have to go?” I could see the disappointment on his face.

  “I think I should,” I told him.

  “I can drive you home,” Damian said. “You shouldn’t walk home in the dark.”

  “No, it’s fine. My scooter is back at the bakery. I can just walk over and get it. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I’ll drive you home,” James said as he stepped up. “The Mustang is still in the driveway.”

  “Perfect,” Damian said. “I’ll walk you out, and James can meet us out there.”

  Damian looked over at James and nodded to him, and James nodded back.

  “Just let me go grab the keys,” James said, going back inside.

  Damian walked me back into the house and then down the stairs towards the front door. We strolled out towards the driveway, where there was a red Mustang convertible parked.

  “Wow, nice car,” I said to him, running my hand over the hood, feeling that it was still warm.

  “It’s one of my favorites,” Damian said as he walked behind me. I stopped at the passenger side door and turned to look at him.

  “Thank you for dinner,” I told him. “I had a lovely time.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Damian gave me another kiss. “Your sister said you were off tomorrow. Do you think you would like to get together? We can do whatever you would like, maybe spend some time at the beach, or in the pool, or out somewhere. Whatever you want to do. I want to see you again.”

  “I think we can do that,” I answered with a smile. “Do you have your phone on you?”

  Damian took out his phone, and I took it from his hand and put my phone number in his contacts.

  “Call me in the morning and let me know what you want to do,” I told him.

  I leaned back into him and kissed him. Damian pressed my body up against the door of the car as he got closer to me. It was only the sound of James clearing his throat that made us break the kiss.

  “All set?” James asked me as he walked around to the driver’s side.

  Damian opened the car door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat.

  “See you tomorrow,” Damian told me as he gave a light wave when we backed out of the driveway. I could see that he stayed in the driveway, watching to make sure we got off okay.

  I sat back in the leather seat, giving James the short directions to get over to my house. I could feel the breeze blowing through my hair as we sped along the roads, and within moments we were pulling into my driveway.

  “Thank you for the ride, James,” I said to him as I climbed out, fishing my house keys out of my purse.

  “You’re welcome, Ms. Barton,” James said to me.

  “Please, call me Kelly,” I told him.

  “Okay, Kelly,” he said with a laugh. “I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

  “Yes, you will.” I walked up the path to my front door and unlocked the door, waving to James, who was waiting for me to get inside.

  I noticed a sticky note placed just inside the door on the table where I normally put my keys. I picked up the note and saw it was from Jodie.

  I came by and fed Alice for you. Hope the date went well. I want details!! Call me!

  J

  Alice jogged out to greet me, and I bent down to pet her as she gave me a slobbering kiss. She followed me into my bedroom, where I sat on the bed and took off my shoes, socks, and jeans and just lay on the bed. Alice curled up next to me, getting ready to call it a night and glad that I was home. She was snoring almost immediately.

  There was no way I was falling asleep that fast, not after the night I had.

  11

  Damian

  The evening ended too soon when Kelly left. We were just starting to get closer when James and Shannon came home, and I was disappointed that she decided to leave right away. I went back inside after James left to take Kelly home and straightened up upstairs, putting things away before making myself another drink at the bar. I took my drink out onto the patio to overlook the ocean and enjoy the night breeze.

  It wasn’t long before Shannon showed her face, popping out onto the porch to join me. She sat down in one of the deck chairs a
nd sat silently for a few moments before turning to me.

  “Well, how was your night Shannon?” she said in a mock tone of my voice. “I had a lot of fun, Damian, thanks for asking.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, looking over to her. “I guess I was just lost in my thoughts. Did you and James have a good time?”

  “Yes, in fact, we did,” she said to me, sounding a little surprised. “I drove us up to Rehoboth, and we hit the outlets and did some shopping. Thanks for the new bathing suits and beachwear by the way. We then spent some time walking around, got some dinner, and picked out a few places that we might like to check out tomorrow if you’re up for some fun. James is a pretty interesting guy. I didn’t realize he had the past he has with the military and all. He’s a badass.”