Chapter 21 #2
“You said that you wanted to share it with someone. I’ve been here tons of times but I’ve never shared it with anyone. I wanted to share it with you in particular.”
“Why?” She was still trying to get her head around it all.
“Because I think you’ll see it the way I do. And because I wanted to watch your face when you got here.” He grinned at her, and she knew that the day was only going to get better.
By the time they’d disembarked, called a taxi and arrived in downtown Key West, it was nearly eleven o’clock.
“I thought we’d get an early bite to eat,” he said.
She was glad for that for two reasons: One, she hadn’t had anything since breakfast and her tummy was rumbling, and two, the champagne, coupled with the flight and everything that was going on between her and Jake, had made her feel lightheaded.
The taxi pulled up outside a gorgeous old red-brick building that looked almost like an enormous version of the Victorian homes she’d seen in the small towns around her growing up.
Its style was unique, however, with its red, textured roof and arched doorways and windows.
They walked a block or so before Jake led her down a long pier at the end of which there was a small speedboat bobbing in the swell.
Before Faith could ask him what was going on he helped her in and they were heading off into the ocean.
He helped her in, and she was glad she’d pulled her hair back as the boat got going.
The balmy southern air was different here.
It was humid but fresh and clean as it came off the ocean.
She took in a deep breath to keep the memory of it.
She wondered where on Earth this restaurant was.
They arrived at an island, and Faith had never seen anything so beautiful.
A restaurant with a colossal porch stretched out in front of her—tiled floors, white pillars the size of redwood trees, paddle fans whirring above them.
There were tables with white linen tablecloths, their edges dancing in the breeze, with wicker chairs pulled up to every table, giving them an unfussy feel.
The only color besides the brown of the wicker was the electric blue of the ocean, the white of the shoreline, and the hundreds of palm trees scattered around them.
Jake hopped out of the boat, and reached over to grab her hand.
She took it, and he didn’t let go as they walked the short distance to a village of white buildings.
The two of them snaked around the buildings until they were seaside and Faith stopped.
She couldn’t walk. The view in front of her was breathtaking.
“You like?” he said, smiling down at her, his hand still in hers, and she could hardly pull her eyes from the sight to respond.
When she finally did make eye contact, the look on Jake’s face was one she’d never seen before.
His eyes were intense, his lips slightly smiling, yet there was a seriousness that made her feel like this was as big a deal to him as it was to her.
She let go of his hand and grabbed him by the waistband of his trousers, pulling him toward her.
Then, he put his hands on her face and kissed her.
This kiss was different than the others, slightly more urgent but still gentle. Was he letting his guard down?
It was as if they thought the same thing, and they both pulled away from each other. Jake reluctantly let her go and she turned toward the restaurant that was in front of them. This, she thought, is the kind of fancy restaurant I can live with. It was perfect.
“This is gorgeous,” she finally managed, and she turned to him, pushed herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek. She felt his hand at her back, as if he were holding onto her. She wished he’d never let go.
He smiled down at her. “I’m glad you like it.” Then, he eased his hand away from her when a waiter began approaching them.
The waiter promptly introduced himself and took them to their table.
She didn’t want to know how much a place like this probably cost, let alone the plane, the taxi, and then the boat ride over.
But it wasn’t the money she was impressed by.
It was the fact that Jake had known that this was what she would like and had gone to the trouble of organizing it for her. Jake pulled out her chair.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” she said.
“I wanted to.” He quietly scooted his chair closer to the table and leaned on the white linen with his forearm. Even in this atmosphere, he was still relaxed. “I wanted you to see this beach.”
Jake had said himself that things like champagne and flowers didn’t occur to him. Yet this did? What was happening between the two of them? Something had changed in Jake.
“Do you come here often?” she asked carefully.
“When I want to get away. It’s my favorite place to relax.
” He was leaned back slightly in his chair now, his arm still on the table, but his shoulders politely squared.
“It gets too cold in North Carolina in the winters, and I board up my cottage during hurricane season. I’ve been lucky not to have too much damage each time. ”
“And you come here?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you just live here? It’s so beautiful.”
The waiter brought glasses of water for both of them, the ice cubes clinking together as he set them down. Jake gave him a polite thank you as he left them alone.
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s because I like the Outer Banks. I can keep busy there more easily. There are people I know who’ve been there my whole life, and there’s so much to do. I can fill my days with cottage work and boat building.”
“But this is amazing,” she said, pressing him, her gaze landing on a sailboat in the distance, the sail looking stark against the turquoise water—a very different view from the ones she’d seen at the Outer Banks.
She considered his answer, and thought how it spoke to what she loved about the Outer Banks.
He didn’t say he loved the resort that he was building.
He said he loved working on the cottages and boats.
“That’s not to say that I don’t love this view. I just don’t need it all the time.” He looked out at the water. “If I see it too much, I worry that it will lose its effect on me. Things are good when they’re still new.”
Had he meant something else by that comment? Was he worried that she wouldn’t affect him the same way once they were settled into a routine?
They ordered lunch, and Faith found that even though she had quite a few questions, conversation was always easy.
He had a way about him that made both the times they were chatting and the quiet lulls between comfortable.
She didn’t have to think about it; the conversation just flowed.
When their food came—on fancy white plates with perfect zigzags of drizzle—they settled in and let the conversation slow.
The weather was different here, the heat noticeable, the wind gentler up by the restaurant.
Even the smell of the air was different.
Faith liked it, but she understood what Jake had meant when he said he liked North Carolina too.
She did feel after seeing this place that flashy could be fun sometimes, but like Jake, she just wanted to sit somewhere nice and read a book.
She thought about how great it would be to do that with him.
After lunch, they walked along the pier that led out over the water. There was so much sea in front of her that it made her feel small. “Thank you,” she said, turning toward him. She looked up into his eyes, hoping for that look he’d given her earlier.
He offered a crooked grin. “You’re welcome,” he said.
He grabbed her hand and held it in his. With a smile, he studied their fingers as they moved against each other’s, and she felt how perfectly they fit.
The jitters were gone. She moved her hand in his, feeling the roughness of his palm under her fingertips and his fingers moved in response. Then he closed his hand around hers.
“Feel like walking around? We could go to Mallory Square and see the street performers or go shopping.”
“Whatever you think,” she said.
Jake took charge, grabbing a taxi to Mallory Square.
It was located along a street with a wide sidewalk that stretched along the coast, palm trees and buildings on one side and ocean on the other.
Several cruise ships had come in to dock, and she’d never seen ships as huge as these.
The walkway was busy. Jake reached out and grabbed her hand again so they could stay together.
It was different this time. His grasp was protective yet light, a perfect physical representation of the way he was in general.
She held on to him, glad for all the people so that she’d have reason not to let go.
They finally came to a stop at Mallory Square where a tightrope walker was balancing while juggling fire.
She watched as the flames flickered against the water behind him.
“Worst case, he can jump in,” Jake teased, his mouth near her ear so she could hear him over the crowd.
It sent a tickle down her arm. She laughed at his comment and looked up at him, but his eyes were on the juggler.
She followed his gaze, still watching him in her peripheral vision.
He seemed so relaxed—he hadn’t checked his phone once.
He was completely in the moment with her, and he seemed to be enjoying himself.