"Can I buy you both dinner?" Jude smiled wider, pouring on the charm. "I know a great place, Cafe Beaujolais, not far from here. You can't come all this way and not try it. I won't take no for an answer. You're in my territory now, and it's my duty to wow you."
"Isn't that thoughtful of you," Caz said. "I already ate, but I know Britt skipped lunch and is surely starving." She was so full of it, I nearly giggled. I had stuffed myself on lobster in Monterey and she knew it. "Juanita and I will head over to the shack and check in. We'll see you . . . when we see you." She winked at me.
"You're staying nearby?" Jude asked me, his face lighting up.
"Beach rental. I threw darts at the map, and wouldn't you know, Van Damme was feeling lucky."
Jude's mouth curved into an astute smile. "I love a lucky coincidence."
Jude was right. Cafe Beaujolais was incredible. We sat outside on the patio and ate escargot, which Jude said would have to tide me over until he could catch me abalone. The sky was a deep, satiny purple, not quite black, and the stars were out. The air smelled lush and sweet. I'd kicked off my flip-flops and had my feet propped on Jude's legs under the table. He'd put on a white linen shirt for dinner, and was stroking my leg affectionately.
"Five stars," I said. "I think that's the best food I've ever had."
Jude smiled. There was a light in his brown eyes that I'd never seen before, not in the mountains. It was as if the hardened veneer had fallen away and I was seeing the real Jude. He was casual, genuine, open. He had a good heart. He was a good man. "I've got a few other places I'd like to take you. Give you the local tour."
"I'm in."
He reached across the table and laced his fingers in mine. "You have beautiful hands. I never got to see them before. You were always wearing gloves."
"I threw away everything I wore on that trip. Gloves, jeans, even my boots. Four straight days of wearing the same thing was enough for me."
"I threw away most of my things too. I kept my hat, though. You wore it, and I wanted one thing to remember you by. I'm a sentimental sap, I know."
"No." I felt suddenly shy. "It's . . . sweet."
Jude's brown eyes turned expressive and honest. "I came to Van Damme almost every weekend since I last saw you. It was a long shot, but I hoped you'd remember the spot. I'd come and sit on the rocks and look for you on the beach. Sometimes I'd walk the shore and see you out of the corner of my eye. I'd turn quickly, but every time it was a trick of the light." His voice thickened. "I came back, again and again, hoping this time it would really be you. And then, today, when I saw you, and it really was you, I realized you were looking for me too. Because those four days in the mountains, they changed us. I gave you a piece of me. And you must have given me a piece of yourself, too, because you wouldn't have come here otherwise. You would have let go. I can't let go of you, Britt. And I don't want you to let go of me."
My eyes filled. "I came all this way to find you. Those four days weren't enough. I wanted to be with you like this. On a warm, lazy night. At a restaurant. Walking on the beach talking about stupid, meaningless things."
"I have a brilliant idea. Let's take a walk on the beach and talk about stupid, meaningless things."
I giggled. "You read my mind."
"See? I'm the perfect guy. You don't have to tell me what you want." He tapped his head. "I'm a male mind-reader. That's one in a million. A B-list superpower at the very least."
"Stop it. You're going to make me snort my drink."
He tapped his head again. "I already knew that."
I sighed happily. "This is the best night, Jude. Thank you."
"I make you snort your drink, and it's the best night of your life. You're easy to please."
"C'mon," I giggled again, hooking my flip-flops over my finger and grabbing his elbow. "People are staring. Let's go be idiots in private."
Caz had once told me that you know you're comfortable with another person when you can sit in silence and not feel obligated to make small talk. That's how Jude and I were now. We lay flat on our backs on the gray sand, staring at the glittering sky. The ocean air was cool and refreshing. I was picking out the constellations I knew. Mainly the Dippers. I was pretty sure I knew Orion's Belt, too. I saw two bright stars nestled close together, far from the others, and decided that was our constellation. It felt romantic to think that we could be forever. Our love, written in the stars.
"What are your summer plans?" Jude asked me.
"Get a job, visit my family." I turned my head to look him in the eyes. "I'm not thinking about that right now."
"Stay. Here, with me."
I rose up on my elbow, searching his face to see if he was serious. "What do you mean?"
"My parents are in Europe for the summer. We've got plenty of rooms at our house. Caz and Juanita are welcome to stay. And if you're worried about a job, I know a few people who are looking for interns. If that's too fussy, there's always waiting tables. I'm here to help."
"You'd let us crash at your place the whole summer?"
"I'm pulling out all the stops on this offer. If I do it right, I'm hoping it'll be too good to refuse."
I smiled. "That sounds sinister, Don Corleone."
Jude said tenderly, "I let you go last year, and while I don't regret giving you the time to figure out what you wanted, I always hoped you'd give me a second chance. Say yes. Say you'll give us a shot."
"I don't know," I told Jude, biting my lip to trap a smile. "Our last vacation together ended disastrously. I have to ask: Will there be snow?"
A slow smile spread over his features. "Just endless beaches and sun. And me."
I lay in his arms, my leg sprawled on top of his, my head on his shoulder. His eyes were closed, but he was awake. His arm was draped around me, his other hand resting on my thigh. A smile of contentment curved his mouth.
It was late the following afternoon, and the beach was ours alone. The sun had slipped across the sky, its rays encroaching on our sandy bed beneath an umbrella. I nudged the towel up to shade my foot.
"You're thinking about something," Jude murmured, keeping his eyes shut.
"I'm thinking about you." I sighed happily, running my hand over his chest. Only the lightest scars from that night remained. I kissed them softly. To me they weren't imperfections, but a vivid reminder of that dark night we'd shared together. After the darkness comes the light.
"Interesting. Because I'm thinking about you."
I brushed sand from his bicep and laid my cheek on it. "Go on. What about me? Don't leave me in suspense. I'm not opposed to flattery."
He rolled sideways, stretching his long, lean body alongside mine. "If you weren't so beautiful, I might have to reprimand your big ego." He traced his finger idly down my nose. "I always mean to do it, and then you look at me, and I forget what it is I want to say, and all I can think is that if I don't kiss you, and damn soon, I don't deserve you."
"I am perfectly fine with this."
"If I don't watch myself, I'm going to spoil you. Your head will grow so big, we'll have to roll it down to the beach." He propped his elbow in the sand, looking at me directly. "You haven't given me an answer. Will you stay?"
My smile faded, and I pondered his question seriously. In a way the rest of the world wouldn't understand, four long days in the mountains with him, trusting my life to him, was all it took to know I was in love with him. If I had to do it over again to find him, I would.
I covered his mouth with mine. He tasted of saltwater, and it hit me how lucky I was. All summer, I could lie with Jude on the beach, dusting our bodies in sand, kissing the ocean from his lips, listening to the soft pound of waves lull us to sleep in each other's arms.
"I'll stay," I said. "I think you're worth the trouble of putting up with endless beaches and sun a little longer."
He grinned. "I'm worth it, all right. And just to prove it, I'll show you. Come here. . . ."
ick, Black Ice
(Series: # )
Black Ice Page 29
