The Do-Over(47)

“You’ll see.” And there was that smile. That smile that begged to have my lips all over it.

Opening the small box, I gasped. This man. This amazing man. Sitting on a cottony pillow was a silver chained necklace with three long rectangular bars of sea glass. Jade sea glass. The exact color of the dress I was wearing when we met again.

“It matches my jade dress. It’s beautiful, Wes.” I searched his eyes and could see the joy he received in giving, in making someone else happy. “Thank you so much. Will you put it on me?” I asked, knowing it would look beautiful against my white tee-shirt. Handing him the ends of the necklace, I lifted my hair, the afternoon breeze making me shiver slightly. Before fastening the chain, Wes dipped his face to my neck, his soft curls brushing my shoulder, exacerbating my previous shiver. Feeling the touch of his full, soft lips before fastening the chain brought a full-on quake in my chair. His chuckle sounded self-satisfied and I knew I was both blushing and ready to pull this man into a back alley.

Turning to him, “How does it look?”

“Perfect.”

Digging in my purse, I pulled out a mirror. “It does look perfect,” I agreed, running my fingers over the rough sand blasted glass. Leaning forward, I kissed Wes softly. And again. “You are so thoughtful.”

“The color caught my eye as I was passing the shop and all I could think of was the jade dress and that cute outfit you wore years ago. It seemed like it would be a perfect match for that dress. Which, by the way, you look very hot in.” And there was that smile. Melt.

Laughing, “I didn’t know if you even recognized me.”

Wes laughed. “The moment I walked in.” Shaking his head with a smile, “Lady, don’t you know you are unforgettable.” Lightly, he ran his fingertips down my forearm and across the back of my hand. “I thought you recognized me. But I wasn’t totally sure. I kind of kept going back and forth throughout the entire meeting. Does she realize that we know each other?”

“You didn’t hear me screaming in my head the entire time, Wes, it’s me!”

“Tara, I’m not surprised that fate has brought us together again. We both knew, from the moment we met, that we were destined to be a part of one another’s lives.” And with a wry laugh, he added, “It just took a while.”

Taking a sip of my latte, I let his words settle in. “This is a gift. It really is. You see, you were the best boyfriend I never had.”

“I guess we both needed to get to this place to be ready.”

“And to appreciate,” I added.

“I think you’re right,” Wes agreed. “I’m not walking off a boat without you this time, Tara.”



“That was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.” I rubbed my full belly as Wes and I walked, hand-in-hand, through the historic village toward the waterfront.

“That’s because you had great company.”

“So true,” I laughed.

Reaching the Second Wind, Wes pulled out the reclining pad chairs and I eased down onto mine.

“Be right back,” He called over his shoulder with a smile, disappearing below deck.

Relaxed and contented, I breathed in the salty air and got comfortable in my chair, stretching out my legs. It had been a perfect day. A long, exhausting perfect day. The fresh air and activity had totally wiped me out and closing my eyes for a minute, I knew I might not reopen them for another eight hours.

“You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?” I opened my eyes to a smiling Wes standing over me, holding two brandy snifters. “Cognac?” He bent down to hand me a glass.

“Mmm,” was all I could say as I accepted the glass and he lowered himself to the pad chair next to me. “To a perfect day.” I clinked my glass to his, before sipping the amber liquid. “Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked.

“It may not have been the best idea.” Wes smiled. “Because I think it is just going to put you to sleep.”

“We are definitely not pulling an all-nighter tonight. I don’t have the energy I had in my twenties,” I admitted.

“I hear ya.” Wes laughed and then craned his neck to the left to see where a very loud Duran Duran song was being blasted from.

“I think it’s two boats over. Maybe we’ll get an 80’s concert.” I laughed and sipped my brandy, enjoying the glowing warmth in my chest, that I was sure Wes could see like some sort of fluorescent black light poster.

The Duran Duran song was followed up by Katrina & the Waves Walking on Sunshine and Wes jumped to his feet, reaching a hand out to pull me up. “We can’t not dance to this.”

Kicking off my shoes, that was all the invitation I needed as we danced on the teak deck acting more like twenty-somethings than we thought we would be doing. Katrina & the Waves were followed up by Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ Come on, Eileen.

“Wow, someone is totally doing some MTV flashbacks,” my breath was choppy from dancing. “This is better exercise than the gym.”

“And more fun.” Wes twirled me around.

At the song’s end, the highly recognizable first strains of Walk Like An Egyptian filled the night air. “Follow me,” I called over my shoulder to Wes, as I began what were more robotic movements than I assumed were vintage Egyptian. After doing a full trek around our deck, I climbed onto the dock, my Egyptian walk still in time with the music and headed over to the boat playing this awesome, nostalgic mix. Wes was right behind me, funky moves and all. As we approached the boat, two couples started cheering us on.