Chapter Three
Chapter Three
BY THE TIME I HADgotten back to the cottage, Lori and Parker were dressed and about to head out for their dinner dates.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” Parker asked.
“I’m sure.”
Lori walked up and took my hands in hers. I could see her eyes were slightly glassed over, and I couldn’t help but worry she might be on her way to being a bit more tipsy than she should be.
“I’m really sorry about what I said at the bar, about your weight. It was a really shitty thing to do. I’ve already promised Parker I’m not going to drink anymore this evening. Neither of us are.”
I let out a relieved breath. “I have to say I’m glad you’re both not going to drink any more. You need to have your wits about you, especially going out with two guys you just met.”
Lori kissed me on the cheek. “We’ll be fine, Mom.”
Parker laughed. “You really want to stay in and do nothing on our first night here?”
I shrugged. “I’ll go get something to eat; don’t worry about me.”
I wasn’t really sure why I hadn’t wanted to tell Parker and Lori about dinner with Jax. A part of me wanted to keep it to myself because he had made it clear it was more of a friends kind of dinner and not a date. Maybe I didn’t want them to feel sorry for me that the hot bartender didn’t look at me that way. But in a way, I was glad Jax wasn’t simply out to get into my pants. The way his eyes had looked me up and down, I could tell he liked what he saw, but it was nice to meet a gentleman who simply wanted my company, and not only a one-night stand.
With a look that said she was having second thoughts about leaving me, Parker was about to say something, and I knew it was going to be she’d blow off their dinner dates and hang with me. Before she had the chance, I said, “Go. Please. I’m actually looking forward to a simple night. I’m exhausted from all the traveling.”
I took them both by the arm and headed toward the door.
“You’re sure you’re not mad at me?” Lori asked.
“I’m not mad,” I said. Opening the door and gently pushing Lori out, then Parker, I said, “Go have fun, y’all! I’ll be fine!”
Parker narrowed her eyes at me. “You sure seem to want us to leave.”
“I simply want some time alone. Go have dinner and enjoy yourselves. Don’t forget to use protection if you have sex!” I called out as they both turned and shot me a disbelieving look.
Shutting the door, I quickly went to my room to get dressed. I had the perfect dress to wear, and I couldn’t ignore the butterflies in my stomach if I tried.
I stood and stared at myself in the floor-length mirror and smiled. The silk maxi dress was a dream. It had cost me a fortune, but I wanted to have one expensive dress for this trip, and even though I had no idea where Jax was taking me for dinner, I knew I wanted to wear this dress tonight.
My hand ran down the mix of silk and satin as I took it in. The spaghetti straps showed off my toned arms that I worked my ass off for. And the front wrap construction of the dress showed off my waist and hips. I liked that I had a curvy figure for dresses like this. The front had ruffles that hid the slit, until I moved my leg, that is. It might have been a bit daring, with it coming up to my thigh, and the low back exposing most of my skin, but I felt sexy in it.
I had pulled my hair back into a pony and kept my makeup low-key. This wasn’t really a date after all, I reminded myself for the hundredth time. A touch of lip color, a bit of mascara, and blush and I was good to go. The flowery pattern of blues, greens, reds, and purple of the dress allowed me to wear really any color of heels, but I chose beige. Never mind they were Lori’s Jimmy Choos. She wouldn’t mind if I borrowed them. Besides, she owed me one for embarrassing me with that comment about my weight.
Reaching for my clutch, I headed to the door. I had five minutes until I was supposed to meet Jax.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, I knew he was there. Something in the air changed. I wasn’t about to read into that, and brushed it off as being out with a guy for the first time in a few years. School had been my entire focus, so dating was put on the back burner. I was just looking forward to a night out with someone other than Lori or Parker. That’s all it was.
When my eyes caught his, I couldn’t help but smile. His sun-kissed light brown hair looked like he had washed it and tousled it with his hands. It was a sexy look on him. And those green eyes of his, Lord, I could see them across the room. I quickly took in what he was wearing to make sure I wasn’t overly dressed. He was dressed in tan slacks with a white button-down shirt. The cuffs were unbuttoned and rolled up his arms some, and I couldn’t help but supress a moan at how handsome he looked.
“Wow,” he said as I walked up to him. “You look beautiful, Amelia.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Thank you. And you look devilishly handsome.”
He glanced down at his wardrobe, then back up at me. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I nodded. “I am. I didn’t realize how much so until this very moment.”
Reaching out his arm, he winked. “Then let’s go get you fed.”
With a smile, I laced my arm in his and followed him. We walked along a perfectly manicured path, which was all the paths of the resort, until we turned in a direction away from the boat dock.
“Are we not headed to the boat dock?” I asked.
He winked. “We have reservations at Latitudes for dinner.”
I gasped and came to a stop. “What? How?”
With a smile that made my stomach flutter, he winked. “I have connections.”
All I could do was grin at him like a silly schoolgirl. “You really got reservations at Latitudes?”
“Really, really.”
As we walked into the restaurant, a man around thirty smiled at us. Jax held his hand out and smiled.
“Luke, thanks again for the reservation.”
The gentleman laughed, then looked at me. His eyes sparkled with delight. “Wow, I can see why you called in the favor, Jax.”
He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms.?”
“Baker. Amelia Baker.”
“Ms. Amelia Baker, I am Luke Hathaway. Manager of this fine establishment, and racquetball partner to your date for this evening.”
I stole a glance at Jax who simply stood there grinning.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I guess I have you to thank for dinner this evening?”
He winked. “Jax called in a favor and I was more than happy to help out a friend.”
Letting out an exacerbated sigh, Jax rolled his eyes. “Laying it on a bit thick, Luke.”
Dropping my hand, Luke grabbed two menus and walked us through the restaurant. I quickly took it in as I knew I wouldn’t be able to step foot in here again on this trip.
The room had a modern feel to it with light colors of tan, brown, and white. The tables were set with black dinnerware, and the chairs looked like they belonged in living rooms, not at dining room tables.
We made our way out onto the patio where the tables were a bit more beachy. Round tables with white table linen. The chairs were black iron with cushioned seats. Beautiful white pillars ran along the back of the covered patio and made their way to even more tables on a stone terrace that overlooked the beach. Palm trees were sprinkled throughout, providing the right amount of shade to keep the dinner guests cooled.
“If I might offer my suggetions?” Luke asked as Jax held my chair out for me.
“Yes, please do!” I said.
“To start off, I would suggest the Maine lobster and jumbo lump crab cake. It’s one of my favorites. The roasted beets are also another favorite. Our classic onion soup is one of Jax’s favorites, and he orders it to go all the time.”
I looked over to Jax who nodded.
“I’ll leave you to look at the menu, but I will also add that the pan-seared snapper is to die for.”
“Thanks, Luke,” Jax said as I looked up at the manager and smiled.
“Yes, thank you so much, and this table is perfect!”
Luke winked as he said, “You’ll have the perfect view of the sunset here in about…” he looked at his watch, “a little less than an hour.”
Without another word, Luke turned and quickly headed back into the restaurant.
“It’s beautiful. More than I ever expected it to be.”
Jax smiled. “I’m glad you think so. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. It’s all good.”
My eyes scanned the menu that Luke had handed us. “It all sounds so amazing.” When I looked at Jax, I asked, “Do you have a recommendation?”
“Luke is right about the crab cakes. They’re divine.”
“Then let’s start with that.”
Right then an older woman, maybe early thirties, approached the table. “Hey, Jax, how’s it going?”
He gave her a polite smile. “It’s going. Macy, this is Amelia Baker. Amelia, this is Macy Larson.”
“Hi, Macy,” I said, trying not to squirm in my seat under her intense stare.
“Are you here visiting, or do you live here?”
I was so thrown off by her question, I simply stared at her in silence.
“Amelia is visiting, and if we can start off with two glasses of ice water.” Jax turned to me. “Do you prefer white or red wine?”
I shook my head. “No wine for me. I’ll stick with water, thank you.”
Macy turned to Jax.
“I’ll have a Blue Moon.”
“Did you decide if you’d like an appetizer?” Macy asked.
Jax ordered the crab cakes and asked for a few more minutes with the main entrée.
Once Macy walked away, he looked at me. “I’m sorry she asked you that. I don’t know why she did.”
I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Maybe she’s simply curious, especially if you have a rule about not dating tourists.”
He grinned. “We’re just two friends enjoying dinner together.”
Forcing myself not to show the disappointment in his words, I nodded in agreement. What was the matter with me? I didn’t want anything to happen between us…or did I? I mean, Jax was beyond handsome, he was built. Had a beautiful smile and eyes a girl could get lost in. Don’t even get me started on how soft his lips looked. But this would lead to nowhere. I lived in Texas, for goodness sake, and Jax lived in Florida. Besides, I wasn’t looking for a relationship.
With a quick shake of myself internally, I focused on the menu. “What are you getting?”
Jax bit down on his lip, and I nearly let out a moan, but instead I dropped my gaze back to the menu.
“I’m thinking I’m going to go for the pan-roasted chicken.”
“That sounds good, but I’m going to take Luke’s advice and get the snapper.”
We both looked up and our gazes met.
With a wink, Jax said, “You can’t go wrong with that.”
Macy appeared with our waters and Jax’s beer. After giving her our order, I looked out over the blue water.
“I bet the sunset is going to be amazing.”
Jax turned and looked over his shoulder. “They are beautiful.”
Looking back at me, he asked, “Where do you call home?”
“Austin, Texas.”
His eyes lit up. “No kidding? I’m from Texas as well.”
“Really?” I asked as I broke off a piece of the bread Macy had brought to the table. “Where abouts?”
“Grew up mostly in the Dallas area.”
“Do you miss Texas?”
Jax looked around, then back at me. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, so I probably wouldn’t miss it either if I lived here in paradise.”
“What made you want to get into nursing?”
I shrugged. “My mother was a nurse, father a doctor. I grew up watching them have such a strong passion for their jobs. I decided I wanted that as well, so I picked nursing. I’m going to be working in labor and delivery.”
He raised his brows. “Babies, huh?”
“Babies,” I replied with a giggle.
We stared at one another for a few moments before I asked, “How long have you been in Florida?”
Jax leaned back in his chair and sighed. “About a year. I moved here on a whim. I needed a break from life back in Texas, and I’d been here years ago on vacation. I like to pretend I’m here on a long-extended vacation instead of the reasons why I’m actually here.”
“And why are you actually here? Oh, wait, you said you were hiding from life.”
He pointed to me and smiled. Before he could say anything else, our dinner arrived.
We soon fell into small talk while we ate. We learned what our favorite meals were. Favorite movies. I learned Jax was two years older than me and would be turning twenty-seven on Christmas Eve.
“Oh my gosh,” I softly said as I looked at what once was a beautiful blue sky turn to pink and orange. “Look at that sunset.”
Jax glanced over his shoulder. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Stunning.”
I pulled out my phone and took a picture, sending it to Lori and Parker who both replied back that they were also watching the sunset, by themselves. Apparently, their dates stood them both up.
When Jax turned back to me, he smiled. “What are you doing later this evening?”
With a tilt of my head, I asked, “Why are you asking?”
“A friend of mine is having a party and he invited me. I hate to think you’ll be sitting in your cottage all alone.”
“I won’t be alone. Lori and Parker’s dates stood them up.”
Jax made a face as he said, “What a douche move.”
All I could do was nod.
“Invite them as well.”
I sat up straighter. “Really?”
He gave me a wicked smile. “I mean, if they come I get to spend more time with you.”
“Okay, I’d like that.”
His eyes turned dark and I tried not to read too much into it the way that made my entire body heat with desire. “I’d like that too.”