Forget Me Not

by Brenda Jackson

  “So do I,” he said, giving that Devon Ryan grin she missed so much. Now it was a Ray Sullivan grin but she didn’t care. She would take it no matter.

  Then as if she’d just thought of the idea, she said, “Would you join me? I’d love some company.”

  She could tell from the look on his face that her invitation surprised him, and at first he didn’t know what to say. He quickly recovered and said, “That won’t be a problem. If you’re sure you want my company.”

  Her smile brightened. “I’m sure.”

  He glanced down at the canvas duffel bag. “I need to put this in my truck first. I’ll be right back.”

  “All right.”

  He was about to walk off and then he said, “If the waitress comes around before I get back, just tell her I want the number twenty-two. That’s what I usually get whenever I eat here.”

  Ashley nodded. “Number twenty-two. Got it.”

  He then turned and sprinted toward the parking lot. She watched him, thinking he was agile as ever and still filled out a pair of jeans better than any man she knew.

  When he was no longer in sight, she headed toward an empty table, trying not to let giddiness overtake her at the thought of sharing a meal with her husband.

  * * *

  BY THE TIME Ray reached his truck he was having second thoughts about dining with Ashley. He didn’t want her to get any ideas about anything. Hell, who was he kidding? He was the one who shouldn’t get any ideas about anything. There was something about her that unsettled him, although it wasn’t her fault. Mainly it was because he found her so darn desirable.

  He blew out a frustrated breath as he opened the door to his truck and tossed his duffel bag onto the back seat. Even if he did decide he shouldn’t eat with her, he owed her the courtesy of letting her know and not just leaving. Especially after he’d told her what to order him off the menu.

  He might as well eat with her. There would be no harm in that. It would be up to him to make sure things stayed impersonal. But then, what was impersonal? He really wanted to know about her, especially why she was still wearing her wedding ring if her husband had died a few years ago.

  He recalled when Faith Forsythe’s husband died two years ago when he’d been working with her at Kaegan’s company. Her old man hadn’t been dead a good six months when she’d stopped wearing her wedding ring and a year later she had married again. But then, according to the talk he’d heard from some of their coworkers, Faith hadn’t had a good marriage and her husband had cheated on her a couple of times. Now she was Faith Harris and was happily married to someone else.

  Ray wondered if the reason Ashley was still wearing her ring was because, unlike Faith, she’d had a good marriage. One she still couldn’t move on from.

  As he headed back toward Lafitte Seafood House, he figured the thought of that should please him because that meant she wouldn’t be interested or expect anything serious with a guy. People ate together all the time without expecting anything. Besides, if she only intended to spend two weeks in the cove, then the first week was almost over. When she left here, chances were he would never see or hear from her again. Then his life could get back to normal and he could forget all about her.

  He shook his head, wondering who he was kidding. Ashley Ryan wasn’t a woman a man could easily forget.

  When Ray walked into the restaurant he quickly spotted her at a table. The moment their gazes connected, his chest tightened. Not for the first time he wondered what there was about Ashley that could hammer at his common sense. The intensity of his attraction to her did more than mystify him. It had his mind going in circles. The last place he should be was here with her, but all he had to do was stare at the shape and fullness of her lips and the beauty of her brown eyes, and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

  He moved in her direction, tuning out everyone around him.

  “That didn’t take you long,” she said when he slid into the booth seat across from her. “I placed your order, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted your draft beer or not.”

  One of his brows went up. “How do you know I prefer draft beer?”

  She seemed surprised by his question and he could tell she was thinking of what to say. Why? For several seconds she didn’t say anything, and then in a soft voice, she said, “I apologize for assuming you did. It’s just that was my husband’s favorite and he once told me all real men drink draft beer.”

  He nodded, understanding completely. “Your husband was right, but you better not let Kaegan hear you say that. He prefers drinking his beer from a can. I guess you can say I do, too, when I’m home, but whenever I eat out, it’s draft beer for me.”

  She smiled. “I promise I won’t say a word.”

  “And speaking of Kaegan, I understand you met him the other day.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Was he imagining it or did he just detect a slight nervousness in her voice? “He mentioned it at breakfast the other day when you walked into the café. He said the two of you had met.”

  She nodded. “Yes, we met. He seems to be a nice guy.”

  “He is.” He then turned and got the waitress’s attention and ordered his draft beer. When he turned back to Ashley, he found her staring at him in the same way she’d looked at him that day he’d revived her. “You okay?”

  As if embarrassed she’d been caught staring, she said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I was just trying to figure out your age without asking.”

  “I have no problem with you asking. I’m thirty-four.”

  Now he decided to stare at her, even tilting his head to one side to study her features, which he’d been doing on the sly anyway. Up close she was even more beautiful. The gold flecks in her dark eyes even more profound, the fullness of her lips that much more striking. “Hmm, you’re still in your twenties, right?”

  She chuckled and the sound was a sensuous scrape across his spine. “I wish. I turned thirty a couple of weeks ago. That’s why I’m here, to celebrate my birthday.”

  “Happy belated birthday.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re celebrating alone?” he asked her.

  “Yes. The trip here was a birthday gift from my three best friends.”

  “That was kind of them.”

  Those full lips curved into a smile that nearly gave him a boner. “Yes, it was. They thought I needed two weeks here in Catalina Cove.”

  “And did you need two weeks here?” He watched as the intensity in her eyes shifted, and although she tried to quickly recover, he’d felt the impact of the question he’d asked her just the same.

  “Yes. In fact, I like it so much I’m thinking about staying.”

  His chest tightened. “Staying? As in moving here?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m thinking of extending my stay through the summer.”

  “What about your job? Your family?” Ray wasn’t sure he should be elated or bothered at the thought she would be hanging around the cove longer than he’d expected.

  “I live in Hardeeville, South Carolina, and I’m co-owner of a social media site. I handle the daily blogs and that’s something I can do from anywhere. I’m working on a book. I discovered the cove is the perfect place to do both. It’s so peaceful and relaxing here. And as far as my family goes, I’m the only child and my parents’ home is in Kansas.”

  The waitress interrupted them to place his beer in front of him. He quickly took a swig and noticed she was watching him again. He wondered what there was about him that seemed to fascinate her. Not that he was complaining since she had the ability to fascinate him as well.

  “I understand you lost your husband a few years back. Sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you. Devon was killed in a drowning accident.”

  “He drowned? I thought he was killed in a car accident.”

&nb
sp; He watched as she used the tip of her tongue to wet her lips and felt his boner get bigger. “He was. The car he was driving hit a patch of ice in the road. He lost control and crashed through the guardrail and plunged into the river off a bridge.”

  “Wow. I’m sure that was difficult for you.”

  “Yes, it was. Although it happened three years ago, it still is.”

  “Is that why you still wear your wedding ring?” A part of Ray knew he had no right to ask her that, but curiosity had gotten the best of him.

  Nervously, she began toying with her ring before looking back at him. “Yes. I guess the biggest reason is because I haven’t met a man since Devon who has charmed me enough into taking it off.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ASHLEY APPRECIATED THAT the waitress chose that moment to bring out their food, eliminating the need for conversation for a while. She wasn’t sure what comment could be made directly after saying what she had. He had asked and she’d been honest. She hadn’t realized how truthful she’d been until she’d spoken the words. Truthful but not totally.

  Her mother had shoved a lot of men at her and she’d never been able to feel a connection to any of them. She hadn’t given them the chance to be charming or otherwise because she couldn’t imagine any man in her life other than Devon, so all other men had been found lacking.

  “Food looks good,” she said, in a way to regain conversation.

  He glanced over at her, smiled and said, “It is good. I can’t wait for you to try those crab cakes. I see you ordered the same thing I did.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, I figured if number twenty-two worked for you, then it should work for me.” She then bit into a french fry. “These are great.”

  “Best in town and we have some pretty good eating places here. I think what I like is that this place doesn’t use frozen potatoes. They grow their own.”

  “Potatoes?”

  “Yes. They even grow their own cabbage and carrots for the coleslaw. They have a garden out back.”

  Ashley thought that was simply fascinating. “I tried my hand at a garden once,” she said, squirting ketchup on her fries.

  “You did? How did it turn out?”

  Devon would not have asked how things had turned out. He would have remembered since he had given her encouragement even when it was obvious her effort had been a flop.

  “Not so good. In fact, nothing was edible. My husband blamed the soil and not anything I did as the result.”

  Ray grinned. “And I’m sure he was right.”

  For several seconds they said nothing else while they ate. She noticed a table of four women staring at them. She’d noticed the same four women’s attention had been drawn to Ray when he’d walked in. Honestly, nothing new there. Even before the accident, he would draw feminine interest. It never bothered her before and it shouldn’t bother her now but it did. In the past she’d known her husband loved her and only her. She couldn’t make such a claim now.

  “Tell me about Hardeeville, South Carolina. Were you born there?”

  Ashley glanced over at Ray. “No, I’m a Kansas girl all the way. Was born in Topeka. Went to Harvard, met Devon, and we were married a year after I graduated. His home was Hardeeville and he needed to go home to look after his elderly grandmother. I liked the place and we decided to stay after Nana passed away.” She took a sip of her drink, studying him for some sign that anything she’d just said was triggering a memory. There was no indication whatsoever that it did.

  “How long were you married?”

  She placed her glass down and absently began fiddling with her ring again. “Five years, to be exact. The police showed up on my doorstep the night of our anniversary. I was waiting for Devon to return home from a business trip so we could celebrate but he never came home.”

  “I’m sorry. I should not have asked that. I didn’t mean to make you relive what have to be painful memories.”

  Ashley picked up her fork and looked over at him. “What about you, Ray? Where are you from?”

  * * *

  HE WAS HOPING that she wouldn’t ask him that. But then, what did he expect when he’d asked her the same thing? He remembered the information the government had fabricated for him and he would stick to it now, although doing so made him feel like a liar. There was no way he would admit to having amnesia and not knowing a single thing about himself.

  “Tulip, Indiana.” Since that was the place he’d been found barely alive, that was where he claimed as a starting point in the life he knew now.

  “I’ve never heard of the place.”

  Neither had he. “It’s a small town outside of Chicago as you head toward Ohio’s state line. Not much to see or do there.”

  She nodded. “Your parents still alive?”

  He had no idea, but his answer was “No.” And then to switch the conversation off him back to her, he said, “Tell me about your job.”

  She began talking and he listened attentively...at least, most of the time. The other time was spent watching her mouth and how on occasion she would swipe across those lips with her tongue.

  He wasn’t sure she realized they had an audience. Several locals who were probably surprised to see him out dining with a woman. Usually, whenever he came here or any other restaurants in town, he either dined alone or with Sawyer and Kaegan.

  In the years he’d lived here he’d never dated a woman and he knew what he and Ashley were sharing could be construed as a date. They were all wrong about that. It wasn’t a date. The only reason he had accepted her invitation was because he had a feeling she’d truly wanted company.

  Wanting to keep her talking, he asked, “What prompted your decision to remain in the cove over the summer months?”

  She took a sip of her drink before answering. “I like it here and I refuse to let what happened to me make me want to pack up and leave. Accidents happen, and thanks to you, I’m alive. Since being here I’ve discovered that Catalina Cove is a friendly town. I’m hoping Bryce Witherspoon finds me a place to rent near the water. I would love waking up to a sunrise over the ocean each morning.”

  “It is a beautiful sight. One I could never get tired of seeing,” he said. “Both sunrise and sunset.”

  The waitress came to remove their plates and to give them dessert menus.

  “I don’t think I can eat another thing,” Ashley said, placing the menu aside.

  “Well, I happen to like their blueberry cheesecake.”

  She smiled over at him. “Is everything in this town made of blueberries?”

  “Just about. Share a slice with me and you’ll see why.”

  * * *

  ASHLEY SHARED A slice of cheesecake with Ray and could see why he liked it so much. It was delicious. She wished she could tell him how much he used to detest blueberries. That was obviously something he didn’t remember.

  A couple of times she’d nearly bit her tongue watching him eat. He’d never been a slow eater before, and what a total turn-on it was. She wondered if it had to do with the broken jaw Kaegan had told her about.

  When the waitress brought them separate checks, he offered to pay for hers but she refused him, saying, “I prefer you didn’t. If you did, it would seem like a date.”

  For a moment he sat there and stared at her, his gaze locked with hers while the meaning of her words sank in. It was important to her for him to think she had ground rules about men like he did with women. If for one minute he thought they were on what she considered an official date he would make sure it didn’t happen again. But if she left him with the impression that she wasn’t interested in a man any more than he was in a woman, he could possibly let his guard down.

  After the waitress took their credit cards, he said, “I wouldn’t have minded paying for your meal, Ashley.”

  “Thanks, but I’d rather you didn’t. I can’t help it since m
y husband taught me to be independent.” That was definitely true.

  “Do you think you’ll ever remarry?”

  “I’m not sure. What about you? Think you’ll ever marry?”

  “I was married.”

  “Oh. Then I guess I should ask if you’ll ever remarry.”

  He shrugged massive shoulders. “Like you, I’m not sure.” The waitress returned with their credit cards. He quickly signed his slip and asked, “Ready to leave?”

  “Yes.”

  They left walking side by side to the parking lot. A number of shops were still open and a band had set up in the middle of the boardwalk between the hamburger stand and the game store. Dusk had settled in and the lights from the marina were reflecting off the ocean’s water. Under any other circumstances, walking by his side in such a beautiful setting would have been romantic.

  “I enjoyed your company, Ray,” she decided to say.

  “Thanks, and I enjoyed yours.”

  Did that mean he had no problem with them doing it again sometime? “I still plan to reschedule my tour with your company.”

  “Whenever you get ready, we’ll be there.”

  “Thanks.”

  “That’s my truck,” he said, pointing to a black truck with huge tires. She couldn’t help but smile. This truck was a big change from the Mercedes-Benz convertible that he used to own. “Where are you parked? I’ll make sure you get to your vehicle before leaving.”

  Always the gentleman and I’m glad that hasn’t changed, she thought. “That’s my rental vehicle over there,” she said, raising her hand to point out the dark blue two-door.

  “I don’t know why I imagined another color for you,” he said, leading her out of harm’s way when a kid on a bicycle breezed by them.

  He’d only lightly touched her arm but the contact to her was electrifying nonetheless. She looked up at him. “What color did you imagine my car would be?”