Lovely Girls(24)

In other news, I haven’t told anyone about Coach and Daphne. Although that’s not surprising, because it’s not like I have anyone to talk to here. I thought about calling Beatrice to get her advice. I even dialed her number, but then I panicked and hung up before her receptionist answered. It’s an adult having sex with a teenager. I wasn’t sure if she’d be required to report it. If Daphne found out I was the one who tattled about it . . . I don’t even want to think about what she’d do to me.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN




* * *





KATE

The Surfside Grill was elegant and airy, with exposed brick walls and white tablecloths. Huge windows along one side opened up onto the Intracoastal Waterway. The sun was dipping low in the sky, and the river was navy blue and dotted with whitecaps. A lone boat was passing slowly by, leaving a wide wake rippling in its path.

A pretty young woman with a wide lip-glossed smile and a sleek dark ponytail greeted me from the hostess stand. Before I could give her my name, Joe walked out and smiled warmly at me.

“Kate,” he said, taking both of my hands in his. He looked me up and down, and I could feel myself blushing under the weight of his appreciative stare. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you,” I said. I glanced at the hostess, who was watching us avidly, like we were a particularly interesting zoo exhibit.

“And your hair looks nice,” he said. “You changed it, right?”

“Oh.” I reached up to touch my hair. The nape of my neck felt naked. “Yes, I had it cut. You look nice too.”

Joe was wearing a sports coat over an open-necked shirt. He glanced down at himself. “I decided to forgo my chef uniform for the night.”

“I see that,” I said, using the overly bright voice that I knew grated on Alex’s nerves.

I started to panic. Where had the easy conversation of our first few meetings gone? Would the whole evening feel this stilted and awkward?

“Why don’t we sit down,” Joe suggested.

I followed him past the long polished-wood bar and into the dining room. It smelled like garlic and fresh bread, and I inhaled deeply and tried to calm my nerves. Joe led me back to one of the tables by the windows that looked out on the water.

“This is beautiful,” I said, admiring the view.

“One of the benefits of owning a restaurant is that I get to reserve the best table in the house.” Joe grinned at me. “Would you like a cocktail? Because I could go for a cocktail.”

“I would love a cocktail.”

“I’ll be right back.” Joe headed to the bar, where he spoke briefly with the bartender. He returned a few minutes later. “I’m so nervous, I forgot to ask you what you’d like. But Rafe makes the best old-fashioned you’ll ever have, so I ordered two of those. If you’d like something else instead, I can go back and change it.”

“No, that sounds perfect.” I smiled. “You’re nervous too?”

“Terrified,” he said. “This is my first date with a genuine superhero. I’m afraid if it doesn’t go well, you’ll laser beam me with your eyes.”

I laughed. “I don’t have that particular superpower, but now I sort of wish I did.”

“So you can laser beam bad dates?”

“Obviously. And people who cut me off in traffic. It’s a superpower with endless possibilities.”

Rafe appeared with our drinks and set them in front of us. Joe waited until he’d left and then lifted his glass. I clinked mine against it and then took a sip. The bourbon was oaky and sweetened by the cherry juice.

“That is delicious,” I said.

Joe smiled. “Rafe makes a good cocktail. You never told me how you ended up moving to Shoreham?”

“We took a family vacation here a few years ago and rented a condo over on the island. I got up every morning and walked the beach while the sun rose. I felt lighter just breathing in the salt air and being near the ocean. And I remember thinking at the time that I could be happy here.”

I didn’t add that it was the last family vacation we’d taken or that it was on that trip that I’d realized my marriage was damaged beyond repair. Alex and I had gone to the beach and shopped in the cute boutiques in downtown Shoreham. Ed and Alex had played tennis. And Ed and I had avoided being alone. He’d even slept in a separate bedroom, claiming his snoring would keep me awake.

“I had an almost identical experience,” Joe said. “Only for me, we were driving from Jacksonville back home to Miami and stopped for gas just outside of Shoreham. I could smell the orange blossoms from one of the nearby groves. And that’s when I knew I needed to get out of the city. Then the opportunity came up with this restaurant, to buy it with my business partner, Asa. I never looked back.”

“You used to live in Miami? I’ve never been there.”

Joe nodded. “There’s a great restaurant scene there, and for a while I thought that maybe I’d be the next celebrity chef.” He spread his hands and grinned. “I mean, can’t you see this face on TV?”

“I definitely can. And you could produce your own line of reasonably priced cookware.”

“Now we’re talking.”

“What changed?”