Chapter Nine
LENA
Another week passed, and the woman staring back at me in the bathroom mirror Saturday night looked different than I remembered her.
The weather had turned warmer, and with all the time I spent at the beach, my reflection had a tan and an explosion of freckles.
Sun-bleached hair tumbled in waves across bare shoulders above a strapless sundress, the pale blonde stark against browned skin tinted with sunburn.
Grey eyes, no longer filled with despair, looked bright beneath mascara-darkened eyelashes.
My stomach flipped. This was a terrible idea.
I’d run into Elias on the beach earlier that morning after his swim.
Distracted by the water droplets trailing down the planes of his hard body and lulled into acquiescence by his seductive voice, my brain short-circuited.
He asked if I had plans, and before my brain could connect with my mouth, I said no.
“There’s a full moon tonight. I thought I’d grab a bottle of wine and we could take it down to the beach. The ocean looks magical in the moonlight.”
The words sounded in my head throughout the day, a hypnotic repetition as I went about my business.
Goosebumps pebbled my skin, the anticipation of our first date a terrifying excitement.
The insidious villain of doubt poked holes in my assessment of his sincere interest and genuine nature, a vestige of the damage my ex-husband had wrought on my ability to trust. But despite my misgivings, I felt as though I couldn’t deny him.
The old stories about sirens resurfaced, Elias’s mesmerizing voice and the force it exerted over my attention persuading me to consider the uncanny possibility.
The doorbell interrupted my musings and sent a rush of adrenaline through my body. I examined myself in the mirror one last time, then squinted to meet my eyes in harsh appraisal.
“Don’t do stupid shit, Lena.”
I nodded at my reflection and walked to the door.
Elias stood on the porch carrying a basket in the crook of his arm, the neck of a wine bottle poking out the top.
The porch light glinted off his sandy blond hair, and his blue eyes and straight white teeth gleamed against his tanned skin.
The sleeves of his linen shirt were pushed up and hung untucked over loose, khaki pants.
With his Birkenstocks, he’d gone full beach bum, and it suited him.
Lust merged with the adrenaline and set my body aflame with desire. Cool it, Lena.
“Hi, gorgeous,” he said.
My chest fluttered from the silk in his voice.
He leaned across the threshold and pecked my cheek, his closeness filling my senses with warmth, coconut, and sandalwood.
How I didn’t melt into a pile of goo was beyond me, but I reminded myself what happened the last time I let my body succumb to unrelenting hotness, and it tempered my runaway lust.
“Hi.”
“You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
He held out his arm. I took it and stepped out onto the porch. The door clicked shut behind us. No going back now.
We strolled along the winding path, making small talk under the light of the full moon shining through the canopy. We crested the ridge of the dune, and my lips parted on an intake at the breathtaking vista.
The full moon hung in the sky, a lambent globe swollen from perspective and bursting with light and warmth. It illuminated the night as if the sun handed over its baton, casting an ethereal glow across the water and turning the ocean into an unending expanse of liquid crystal.
“You weren’t kidding,” I muttered and tore my eyes away from the spectacular scene to face him. “It’s beautiful.”
He met my gaze, eyes sparkling like the water in the moonlight. “I thought you’d enjoy this. Come on.” He took my hand and led me farther down the beach. Overcome by the beauty of nature and the warmth of his touch, I interlaced my fingers with his and squeezed. He glanced down and smiled.
We reached the water’s edge just shy of the waves before he set down the basket, pulled out a blanket, and spread it across the sand. “Have a seat. I’ll open the wine.”
His gallantry made my chest flutter. I hadn’t dated since... since I’d met my ex-husband.
After the divorce, I’d avoided men like kids avoided broccoli.
The damaged part of my heart tried to protect itself, reminding me that Elias’s entire schtick had to be an act.
But I’d gotten to know him over the past couple of weeks, and my cynicism couldn’t hold out against his genuine nature.
His authenticity forced me to consider another option—that his thoughtfulness was sincere, and his intentions were honorable.
My inner romantic resurfaced and begged me to allow the handsome man pouring two glasses of expensive Chardonnay to sweep me off my feet.
I kicked off my sandals, sat on the blanket, and extended my legs, reclining on my hands to watch the moonlight dance across the waves. He handed me a glass and raised his own, holding me captive with the bottomless depths of his ocean eyes. “To new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings.”
We clinked glasses, and a slow smile stole possession of my face even as I drank.
This man was far too charming. He lay on his side and propped himself up on one elbow, one knee bent, wine glass loose in his hand.
He looked like a modern Adonis, his tanned Greek features stark against the white and khaki linen reflecting the moon’s soft glow.
“How’s everything with the house?” he asked. “We haven’t talked about it since the first day we met.”
“No, I suppose we haven’t.” I shifted onto my side to face him, leaning on one arm and holding my wine in the other.
“Which has been nice, by the way. Our lessons give me a chance to take my mind off all that. Focus on something else.” I sipped my wine.
“But, to answer your question, the paperwork is done. My grandmother’s property, including the house, is now in my name. ”
“Congratulations.”
“Huh.” I blinked. Congratulations struck me as odd. “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”
“What way?”
“Something deserving of congratulations.” I breathed deep through my nose, considering the idea, then deflated like a balloon. “I guess I still think of inheriting an empty house as part of losing my grandma.”
He looked over his shoulder at the ocean and nodded slightly.
“I can see that.” He sipped his wine. “But I also see it as an accomplishment. It’s difficult to deal with paperwork when you’re not struggling with loss.
I avoid it myself. Toxic stuff.” He scrunched up his face and feigned a shudder.
I chuckled at his near-visceral reaction to responsibility.
“But dealing with paperwork after what you’ve been through?
” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you did it.
It hasn’t even been a month. The way I see it, that’s grounds for congratulations. ”
He was right, of course. As usual. This wasn’t the first time Elias had shined a flashlight on my glass-half-empty takes.
Under the weight of my grief, my thoughts had focused on what I no longer had instead of the potential for possibility.
Elias had pointed it out enough times it was clear I needed to shift my thinking and turn around my negative headspace.
Now, with some of the deepest sadness lifted, that finally seemed possible.
“Thank you. For the congratulations and the perspective. Apparently, you came into my life to remind me of possibility.” I held up my glass. He clinked his against it, and we both drank. “But, yeah, it’s a big weight off. No more lawyers.”
Puh, he grunted. “Lawyers. Even worse than paperwork.” He tipped his glass in my direction and took another deep drink.
I huffed out a chuckle. “Why am I not surprised you hate lawyers?”
He shrugged. “My live-and-let-live personality?” He flashed his white teeth and waggled his eyebrows, making me laugh in earnest.
“That might have something to do with it.”
“What can I say? I value my freedom.” His gaze returned to the ocean as if pulled there by magnets. “I love the ocean. Its vastness. Its endless possibilities. So much to experience and explore. No boundaries. Just a horizon full of promise.”
“You don’t want to be tied down by anything.”
“No, I don’t. I’ll always be there for my family—that will never change—but aside from them?
I want to live by my own rules, not someone else’s expectations.
Or commentary.” He said the last word dryly and rolled his eyes, evoking another huff of laughter.
“I want to take off at a moment’s notice on a new adventure, experience a new challenge.
I want to ride the wave of life without worrying about other people wiping out. ”
“No one is that free. What you’re describing sounds like a dream.”
He gave me a sidelong glance, his features contorting like I spoke a language he didn’t comprehend.
The corner of my mouth climbed at his reaction; he really didn’t understand. “You have to live somewhere. Eat. Sleep. Provide for yourself. Which means you have to have a job.”
“Sure, but nothing’s permanent. You can always find a path to more freedom.”
“That’s very idealistic of you.”
“I’m an idealistic guy. It’s been true so far in my life, and I’ve been on this wild ride for forty-five years. But back to you…”
He held his glass to his lips and stared at me with intent under raised eyebrows until I took the hint and drank with him. The buttery California vintage was delicious, hardly a burden.
“If you’re done with all the paperwork and lawyers, why are you still here? Aren’t you eager to get back to Charleston?”
“Hm,” I grunted and stared into my wine. “You’d think that.” I swirled the golden goodness in my glass, brought it under my nose, and inhaled its delicious aroma. I regarded Elias, his curious eyes waiting for my reply. “No.” I shook my head. “I’m not eager to get back.”
“What about your studio?”
“You were right the other day—what you said about me being the reason it runs so smoothly. I made that happen, and I’m proud of that. But aside from teacher training, Candace can run the studio herself. And it’s time I let her.
“It’s time for me to move on from my past, and my past is in Charleston.
I need to start something new. I need to start over.
” I averted my eyes to the wine, unable to hold Elias’s penetrating stare while I vocalized the plans I’d only solidified that morning.
“I want to expand Yoga Star. I want to open a studio here in Hilton Head. I want to move back to the island.”
The words rolled off my tongue far easier than I’d thought possible. They tasted right as they passed my lips, natural, as if the universe yearned to hear them. And in that moment, I knew that’s what my soul craved—to stay here and build a new life.
The waves punctuated the silence. I looked up, and Elias’s eyes moved through a slow blink, his mouth slightly agape. He closed his lips into a set line and swallowed.