Chapter 5
BONNIE
We ended up not sleeping at all. Travis more than kept his promise. He was definitely a lot of fun in the bedroom. It was six thirty by the time we finally started to yawn, but then I looked at my phone and sat up straight in bed.
Travis blinked lazily. "What?"
"Hey, sunrise is in half an hour. The beach is just one minute away.”
He yawned again but got out of bed. I loved that he was indulging me even though I could tell it was the last thing he wanted to do. He needed to rest after his fantastic performance tonight. All in due time, though.
We dressed quickly. I put on jeans and a shirt because mornings were very chilly, and I also carried a jacket with me. As we stepped out of my bungalow, Travis took my hand. It was an intimate gesture I hadn't expected. I squeezed his hand tightly.
We walked only a few steps, and then we were on the beach already. God, I loved that about Oceanwell Bay. Everything was within walking distance.
It was windier than I expected, and it was pitch-dark, but not for long.
We sat down on the sand. Travis was behind me, and I nestled myself between his legs so his chest was shielding my back.
He crouched his legs on the outside of mine and wrapped his arms around me. I felt like I was in a cocoon.
"I've never watched the sunrise on a beach," he said.
"There's a first time for everything." My stomach rumbled. I put a hand on it, rubbing in circles. "Mm, I'd love some bacon."
We both fell completely silent when the sun came up. It was just a blip on the horizon at first, sparkling orange against a pitch-black sky, but it kept growing. The reflection in the water magnified the light. It was simply breathtaking.
"I love the sun when it's so weak and I can look straight at it," I murmured.
Travis held me tighter in his arms, but he didn't say anything. I was certain he was enjoying this too. I loved that we were the only ones on the beach.
We stayed intertwined like that for twenty minutes until the sun was completely up. We were both freezing by then, so we hurried back to the bungalow a few minutes later. Exhausted, I sat on the bed, intending to undress myself, but somehow fell asleep instantly.
I woke up to the smell of bacon. My head was hurting, as if I'd drunk a ton of alcohol last night.
Still, I pushed myself up in a sitting position quickly.
How could it smell like bacon? I didn't have any in the fridge as far as I knew.
I dashed to the kitchen and, to my astonishment, saw Travis flipping bacon in a pan.
"I think I must be dreaming," I said.
He looked at me sideways, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"The lady said she wanted eggs and bacon, and that's what she's getting."
I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was still here, let alone that he was cooking breakfast. He’d watched the sunrise with me and now was making me breakfast. And I was supposed to just forget all this after he left? My heart was heavy at the thought.
"How is this happening?" I asked, coming closer. "I'm pretty sure I don't have either of those items in my fridge."
"I went shopping. The store is just across the street."
"You went shopping," I said, stunned. "What time is it?"
"It's lunch."
"Holy shit, I slept a lot!"
"You were tired."
"When did you wake up?" I asked suspiciously.
"About an hour ago."
As he flipped the bacon over again, I gave him two plates, and he arranged both beautifully. I walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his torso.
“Why are you wearing clothes? It should be illegal to cook breakfast all dressed up.”
“Because I went for ingredients. Unless you’d want me to do that half naked?”
“Oh, no.”
I wasn’t going to share him. I couldn’t believe I was already possessive.
"You grew up in Chicago?" he asked as we sat down to eat.
"No. I only moved there when I went to college."
"So your family isn’t in the city?"
I shook my head. "Mom lives in Seattle, Dad in Aspen."
"And you're coming back to Chicago after your placement here finishes?"
"Yes. I sublet my apartment because I love it too much to let it go. My best friend is handling it. I'm renting it out through Airbnb."
"That’s a lot of work," he said.
"I know, right? I kept telling her I should give her part of the profits. It's not too much anyway, just a bit more than the rent, but she refuses. I’m going to find a way to pay her back somehow. She’s a great friend. Thank God I didn’t move in with my ex and give up that apartment.”
I said that last sentence more to myself, but Travis cocked a brow.
“Ex-boyfriend?”
“Yes,” I said with a heavy heart. "He texted me a week after I moved here, stating that we should break up."
"What the fuck?"
"That was my reaction too. So the next time I went to Chicago, I asked him exactly that. Turns out he couldn't keep from putting his dick somewhere else while I was gone."
"I'm sorry."
"Better to find out sooner rather than later. We'd only gone out for a couple months, but still, it stung." A terrible thought struck me. “Travis… you don’t have a girlfriend back in Chicago, do you? Or anywhere, for that matter?”
His eyes turned hard. “No. I’m not double-dipping my wick, Bonnie. Besides, I’m not what you’d call boyfriend material.”
That made me laugh. “Roger that.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
I shrugged. “Why would it? You’re only here for a short time. I’m not looking for a relationship. I mean, I wasn’t looking for sexy time, either, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
I took a bite of bacon and hummed. "Oh, this is great. You've got skills in the kitchen."
"I know."
"So it's lunchtime now?"
"Yes."
"Do you have plans for the afternoon?" I asked him.
He grinned. "Well, since it's almost afternoon now, I want to finish eating this breakfast, and then I'll start with you."
My whole body tingled at that. Travis Maxwell is a dirty talker through and through.
"You want to go to the flea market?" I asked.
"You do that on Saturdays?"
"I do. Most people sell old belongings, though I do occasionally find a gem.
But I use the opportunity to check on two residents, Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Lewis.
They're both very elderly, and when I first arrived, Mr. Edwards offered to help me clean up this space.
And Mrs. Lewis bought me an apple pie. They both live alone, and Mrs. Lewis has a bad hip.
She's got mobility issues, but she doesn't like it if I check on her at home, and neither does Mr. Edwards.
He says it makes him feel old. So I check on them at the flea market. "
He looked at me with a strange expression, then said, "Okay, next stop flea market. Then we come back here, and I put my plan into motion."
Heat skittered along my body. "You are one determined man."
"Hell yes. I've got a few days here, and I plan to make every minute count."
It was time to tease him again. I leaned back against the chair. “Who said you're welcome here the whole week?"
He wiggled his eyebrows. "I like my chances."
"I wouldn't kick you out of bed, that's for sure," I murmured, then couldn't help myself and burst out laughing. "If you think you can keep up the pace from last night for the whole week, I'll be impressed."
“You certainly will be.”
Spending time with him was easy. Even talking about personal things wasn’t a struggle as it sometimes could be.
Was it because I knew he was going back to Chicago and we'd probably never cross paths again? I had no idea, but it felt good to be around him. I couldn’t wait to spend more time with him, though I made a promise to myself not to get too attached.
The flea market was on the opposite end of the town. The walk there took ten minutes. It was in full swing. I stopped at Mr. Edwards's cart first. He was selling old newspapers today.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Edwards?"
"Good. These old bones still work. That's all I need."
"What are you selling?" Travis asked.
Mr. Edwards fixed him with his eyes. "I like collecting newspapers.”
“I know it's all the rage for people to buy the newspaper that coincided with their date of birth,” Travis said.
“Who knows? Maybe I can get rid of some of them. They're taking up a lot of space."
I didn't say anything. Mr. Edwards was a bit of a hoarder. I didn't think selling the newspapers would solve the problem, but it was a start.
I stopped by Mrs. Lewis's cart next. She was selling handmade calendars. They were pretty, but I'd already bought two; if I kept at it, I would become a hoarder myself.
"Bonnie, darling, who is this handsome man?" she asked with a smile.
"Travis. He's staying at the Winston Hotel. I'm just showing him around."
"Uh-huh," Mrs. Lewis said, staring at Travis in that same way Mr. Edwards had. I could barely fight laughter.
“And she’s doing a great job showing me the best parts of Oceanwell Bay,” Travis told her.
"How's your hip, Mrs. Lewis?" I asked.
"Now, now, Bonnie. Don't embarrass me in front of this handsome young man."
Travis winked at me, clearly pleased that she'd called him handsome within seconds of meeting him. Then again, I couldn't fault her—because he was.
"Fine, then I'll be more discreet. How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I'm seventy, not eighty-two."
I refrained from asking if her hip was better when she was seventy.
Travis and I moved along as two real customers came by. I didn't want to take up Mrs. Lewis's time.
"I'm just a guy you're showing around?" Travis asked as we walked through the stands. "Ashamed of me?"
"Trust me, they would roast you. They might be elderly, but they have sass. I'm happy they're here. It means they feel good enough for that."
As we passed another stand, a gorgeous necklace caught my attention. The pendant was a knot of some sort and seemed to be made of bronze. It was hypnotizing.