Chapter 13
“So, glad to be back on solid ground?” Julien teased once he and Martha had disembarked the plane and were headed toward baggage claim. He wanted to go back to the easy comradery they’d had before he’d somehow managed to make things tense between them.
Martha stepped around a mother and stroller stopped in the middle of the walkway. The baby was crying as the mother searched her diaper bag for an object to soothe her child.
“I’m attempting to wipe the memory from my database, thank you very much. If you would kindly cease to bring up any such references to recent air travel, it would be greatly appreciated.”
Julien reached out and took ahold of her elbow just in time to steer her around a man plowing forward with his head buried in his phone. “I guess that means now isn’t a good time to remind you that we get the privilege of flying again in less than a week?”
“Bite your tongue.”
He bit the inside of his cheek instead to keep himself from laughing out loud. Tension drained from his shoulders. Whatever he’d done to upset her, she’d obviously forgiven him if she was back to throwing her quick wit in his face.
“Was it really that bad?”
Her head whipped up so she could glare at him, but then her expression softened. “No, I guess not.”
After dodging yet more human obstacles, they finally arrived at baggage claim and collected their suitcases. There wasn’t much of a line at the car rental center, and Tomiko had made a reservation well in advance, so all Julien had to do was sign some paperwork and collect the keys.
The automatic doors to the outside opened as soon as they neared. A wave of heat and humidity greeted them like a wet blanket.
“Wow,” Martha said as soon as they stepped out onto the curb. Perspiration was already starting to dot her hairline.
“First time in Florida?” It wasn’t his, so he should’ve been prepared for the thickness of the air the tropical climate seemed to produce no matter what time of year it was.
“Yeah. And, I mean, I checked the weather app before I packed so I knew it was going to be in the eighties all week, but this?” She used the back of her hand to wipe her forehead. “Tennessee is hot and humid in the summer so I should be used to this, but obviously I’m not.”
“Florida weather is its own kind of special.” He grabbed her luggage in his free hand and started walking toward the rows of rental cars. “It won’t be so bad once we get closer to the ocean. The coastal breeze makes a big difference.”
He found the Audi A7 in the numbered space and clicked on the key fob to unlock the doors and pop the back.
Martha climbed into the passenger seat while he secured their luggage in the trunk area.
As soon as he started the engine, he reached over and adjusted the vents to blow toward Martha and turned the AC on.
“Thank you.” She leaned forward to put her flushed face directly in front of one of the vents. “I feel like I just experienced a sauna while fully clothed. Do not recommend.”
Julien chuckled, then held up his phone. “Okay, serious question now. Hotel or food first?”
She reached over her shoulder and grabbed the seat belt, pulling it across her body and clicking it in place. “If I answer this question, then you have to answer the next one.”
“Sounds fair.”
She grinned, and he suddenly felt like he’d fallen into a trap.
“Great. I’m starving, so let’s stop and get some food on the way to the hotel. Now the question you get to answer. Where are we going to eat?”
“You tricked me.” He fake pouted.
Her grin widened.
“Fine. What are you in the mood for?”
“Nuh-uh.” She shook her head, which drew his attention to her hair.
Was it his imagination or was her hair . . . growing? It was definitely getting bigger by the second.
“We had a deal. You pick.”
He put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking spot, tossing his phone into her lap. “Oh no.” He pitched his voice in a whatever will we do tone. “I can’t search for a restaurant and drive at the same time. That would be unsafe, not to mention illegal. Guess you’ll have to find something.”
“Cheater.”
He smirked but said nothing until he reached the stop sign at the end of the parking lot. “Actually, do you mind putting the address for the hotel in the GPS? I don’t really know where I’m going.”
She rolled her eyes but typed it in. “Oh look. There are a whole bunch of restaurants within walking distance from the hotel. Looks like you’re still on the hook for picking a place after all.”
“On the hook, huh?” He signaled with his blinker, then turned onto the road leading toward the interstate. “Since we’re in Florida and by the ocean, how does seafood sound?”
“I don’t think fish really make a sound, but maybe something like this.”
He looked over to find her with her cheeks sucked in and her lips pushed out in a pouty display as she tried to make bubble sounds through a fish face.
Julien couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing, Martha joining him a second later.
How long had it been since he’d had such an easy, natural time with another person?
Even his relationship with his ex-fiancée, Lauren, seemed stilted and weighed down with effort in light of how uncomplicated being with Martha was.
Certainly none of the dates he’d gone on in any sort of recent history came close to how natural it felt to talk to Martha.
He couldn’t allow himself to do more than acknowledge that fact, however.
Not at the moment. Later, when the stakes weren’t so high for him personally and professionally, when his dad was finally retired and in a better place medically, when she was back to working in the library instead of being under contract with him, he could inspect these interactions and consider if maybe the woman he’d been waiting all his life to meet could really be a girl he’d known since childhood.
The highway stretched out before him. Tall, skinny palm trees jutted up from the ground like fingers reaching for the sky.
Once they got out of the congestion of Orlando’s metropolitan area, more greenery appeared.
A lot more greenery. Florida was a tropical climate, after all.
But even with the palm trees and oaks dripping with Spanish moss, needle pines and saw palmettos covering the ground, it took about two minutes for him to find the flat landscape monotonous.
Call him one of the Osborne Brothers, but give him good ol’ Rocky Top, Tennessee, any day of the week.
About an hour later, the Audi began the sloped ascent that crossed over the intercoastal waterways.
He’d mistakenly called the structure a bridge the last time he was in Florida and had quickly been corrected by a local that the correct term was a causeway.
He still didn’t know the difference, since they both allowed people to cross over bodies of water.
At the crown of the bridge—er, causeway—just on the other side of a narrow strip of land filled with hotels and restaurants, the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean spread all the way to the horizon.
“Wow!” Martha exclaimed, her gaze glued out the windshield, taking it all in.
Julien refrained from making any comments, although he did peek over a time or two to watch her reaction.
As soon as they made it off the causeway, he spotted a restaurant with patio seating.
A white-sand beach lay on the other side, and farther out, waves broke in the surf.
Making a split-second decision, he pulled into the parking area.
“Let’s see if we can nab one of the tables on the patio, and you can get a few pictures of the view.”
Martha grinned her agreement.
The hostess welcomed them with a wide smile as soon as they stepped through the door.
Unfortunately, regret also greeted Julien as soon as he stepped over the threshold.
White linen tablecloths covered the tables, as well as flickering tealight candles and the dim lighting of an establishment that was boldly branded as a romantic destination for a date night.
With the path his wayward thoughts kept taking the last few weeks, much less the power of which they’d tugged the last few hours, this restaurant was not doing him any favors.
He needed a place that screamed working meal, she’s your employee.
Not one that was going to put even more ideas that he couldn’t entertain until later into his head.
“How does a table on the patio sound? The sun will be setting soon, and you’ll have a nice view from there.” The hostess didn’t wait for them to respond, just started walking in the direction of an open door that led to a deck lit by Edison bulbs and the waning sun.
Julien briefly closed his eyes and pulled his reserve around him as he followed behind Martha. He made sure to keep his gaze from settling on her form as she walked in front of him.
Do not cross the line, King.
The hostess pivoted in front of a table for two and set menus down in front of each seat. She let them know their server would be right with them, then made her way back to her podium.
Martha’s wide gaze bounced around as she took her seat. She lifted her menu, then seemed to choke on her saliva. There was a cold pitcher of water on the table, so Julien quickly flipped over one of the water glasses and poured her a drink.
She took a small sip before looking up at him. “I know I said you had to pick the restaurant, but I also know you chose this place on a whim. I don’t think you realized it was so . . .” Her gaze cast around again as she searched for the word she wanted. “Romantic.”
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Julien held his breath.
She stared at him a moment, then looked back over to the beach.
A wistful expression crossed her face before she turned her attention back to him.
“Do you want to go somewhere else? I mean, I know this isn’t a date, and you know this isn’t a date, so .
. .” She shrugged, then gave a little laugh, shaking her head.
“Yeah, there’s no way this would be a date. I’m the one here.”