Yes. Excellent idea.
She skipped all the way to her car.
*****
Why are the lights on?
Pearl slowed her car and pulled into the first open parking spot she could find on The Esplanade. Maybe Dolly had come back to the diner? Maybe the cleaning company, or the insurance company, had finally shown up? Disappointment stung her as she crossed the empty street. She hadn’t planned on anyone else being here.
Then she stopped.
Not the cleaning company. Not the insurance company, either. Parked behind Dolly’s sedan sat Jace’s Mercedes, but Pearl’s gaze didn’t stop at the curb. Instead she stared into the shadowy diner, with only the light over the grill illuminated. Didn’t matter. She could make out clearly enough who stood inside talking. Smiles. Conversation. And one strong, solid handshake between Jace McClintock and Carl Evans.
Tears filled Pearl’s eyes. How could he?
*****
“Thanks,” Evans said again. He scanned the diner. “Not a bad idea, McClintock. Tell you what, I wasn’t convinced last night, but I think you’re onto something here.” He folded the contract and smiled at Dolly, who had just emerged from the kitchen. “The two of you ever think about going into restoration projects? There’s a huge market for it.”
“And compete against you?” Jace said. “Not on your life.”
The man laughed. “All right, then. I have a flight to New York first thing in the morning.” He clasped Dolly’s hand in both of his. “Thank you.”
She smiled and for the first time in a long time, Jace saw the woman he remembered as a kid. A twinkling light in her eyes. A true smile.
“Take care of yourself,” she said.
They waited until Evans had pulled away in his Lincoln Town Car. Then Dolly squeezed Jace’s shoulder. “You have a big date to get ready for. Think she has any idea?”
“I don’t know.” Pearl didn’t miss much. He checked the time. Almost nine.
“I’m sneaking out the back, so you have the place all to yourself.” Dolly winked as she stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. “I’m glad it worked out this way.”
“Me, too.” But he would feel even better when he told Pearl. A small part of him wished he could have told her before, included her in the decision. Still, he’d done the best he could.
He reached into a brown paper bag and brought out a handful of rose petals. Corny, maybe, but he was going for corny tonight. He’d spent too much time pretending emotions didn’t exist, pushing them away when they got too close to the surface. Not anymore.
He scattered the petals across the floor, leading from the front door, past the booths and the jukebox, and down the hall. Here. It was the first place I kissed her. He wanted it to be the next place he did, too.
Back in the kitchen, he’d already stashed a bottle of champagne and two glasses for chilling. He pulled off the tie he’d worn for Evans and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. He rolled up the cuffs. Then he waited.
And waited.
Nine o’clock came and went.
Nine-thirty.
Nine forty-five.
Finally, he picked up his phone and texted her. Everything okay? Of all the things he’d envisioned, being stood up wasn’t on the list.
When ten o’clock rolled around, he called her. Straight to voice mail. “Hi, you’ve reached Pearl DeVane…”
Jace’s fingers tightened around the phone. He walked to the front window and scanned The Esplanade. Nothing. An occasional car drove by, but none slowed or stopped. Two teenagers holding hands walked down the opposite sidewalk and turned toward the beach.
Worry scratched inside his belly. Had something happened to Pearl? He thought about calling Dolly, but he didn’t want to wake her. Finally, he walked outside. There, parked far down on the left, he saw Pearl’s car. Empty.
Chapter Nineteen
Pearl trudged along the beach. Between the tears that came every so often, the salty air, and the breeze blowing her stupid hair into her face, she could barely see. It didn’t matter. He’d betrayed her. Jace had gone ahead in his business deal, snuck around behind her back to sway Dolly, and now the place that held all her happy childhood memories was about to be bulldozed and replaced by a twenty-story casino.
She wanted to scream. How on Earth had she been so blind? She’d missed it entirely. She’d misread his phone call, she’d misread Dolly’s recent distractedness, and now she had no one to blame but herself.
It’s not the end of the world, a little voice inside her head whispered. Weren’t you just telling yourself earlier today that you could leave Venice, and the earth wouldn’t shatter?
Yes, but choosing to leave and having your roots ripped out from under you were two totally different things.
She held her flip-flops, one in each hand, and walked along the seam where sand met water. The ocean lapped at the hem of her skirt. Far out above the horizon, a low half-moon cast fingers of light across the water. Ordinarily she’d stop and take it in, the simple beauty, but all she could see were Jace and Carl Evans shaking hands in the diner.
In the place where she’d learned to add and subtract, sitting at the counter after school while Uncle Bill made home fries.
In the place where she’d watched young couples on first dates, studying the way they sat across from each other and talked and blushed and held hands.
In the place where she’d first been kissed, really kissed, by a guy who took her breath away.
In the place which had shaped her life, her aunt’s livelihood, and her uncle’s final breaths.
Out of strength and out of tears, Pearl sank to her knees in the sand. Let go of it. It’s just a place.
But in her heart, it was so much more than that.
She wasn’t sure how long she kneeled there. After a while, when her feet fell asleep, she rearranged herself, legs crossed, elbows resting on her lap. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves. That sound, at least, always soothed her.
“Pearl?”
She froze. Her eyes flew open, and she glanced to the right. A tall, broad-shouldered figure was hurrying toward her.
“Pearl, is that you?”
Oh, terrific; he’d found her after all. She struggled to stand before Jace reached her. The last thing she needed was him standing above her, or worse than that, reaching down to take her hand and help her up. She didn’t need his charity or his pathetic explanations. She made it to her feet, barely, and managed to plant both hands on her hips as he bore down on her. She lifted her chin, ready to cut him with the first words she could get out of her mouth.
He didn’t give her time. Instead, he swept her into his arms and kissed her like they were the only two people left on the planet. One hand went to the small of her back, steadying her. The other went to her hair, then to her cheek, stroking her skin as his tongue slipped along her bottom lip and teased its way inside.
She couldn’t protest. She could barely think. Of their own accord, her traitorous hands went to his hips, pulling him close until she could feel him turn hard against her. Only then did she yank her mouth away.
“What are you doing?” She stumbled backward. “Why are you - how dare you -”
“What are you talking about?” His eyes, wild, searched hers. His hair stood up in the back, ragged and mussed, as if he’d been running his hands through it in angst. “I was looking for you. God, I was worried about you. Why didn’t you come to the diner?”
Her heart broke in that short, sharp moment. “I did.” Her voice trembled, and she pressed her lips together to steady it. “I was early. I saw you there with Evans.”
In the half-light, she could see his face pale. No explanation. No apology. Nothing at all.
“You son of a bitch.” She grabbed her flip flops and headed back down the beach.
“Hey. Wait a minute.” He caught up with her and took her arm. Then he dropped it, as if unsure of her reaction.
She took a deep breath. �
��You should’ve told me.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“When you got there. It was going to be a surprise.”
She choked out a laugh. “A surprise? Yeah, it sure was.”
“Hang on. Listen to me.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Dolly sold the diner, yes.”
A sob broke from her lips before she could help it.
“Pearl.” He took her hand, and this time she didn’t stop him. She had no willpower left. “It was only a matter of time before she turned it over to someone else. It was too much. Someone else could fix it up, expand it, invest more money into it. But Dolly - she’s trying to do all of that by herself, and on a shoestring budget. Plus, she’s spent how long running that place? Thirty years? More? She needs to retire, rest, take a vacation. You know that.”
Okay, maybe she did. Maybe she’d known it in her heart of hearts a long time ago. After Bill died, things had never really been the same. Dolly had never been the same.
“I just…it has such a history,” Pearl said. More than that, it held her history. “I don’t want to see it destroyed.”
He reached out and took her hand. “It won’t be. That’s what I wanted to tell you. The deal I worked out includes keeping the diner as part of the bigger complex Evans has planned.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I told him how important the place is.” He stepped closer and slipped both arms around her waist. “I did some research on its historic value.”
“And?”
“And it turns out a few important conversations took place there over the years. Political ones, so I’m told.”
“Really?” All she knew were the pictures on the walls and the stories Bill and Dolly told. She never dreamed there were important stories behind them. Then again, weren’t there stories everywhere?
“Really.”
“But I still don’t…what does that mean for the diner? And Evans’ plans for it?”
Jace smiled. “He’s going to restore it and keep it as an old-fashioned diner. Keep the pictures in the back and everything.” His thumb rubbed the back of her hand, and the sensation melted her insides.
“Seriously? It’ll stay the way it is?”
“Pretty close. Just updated a little.”
Her heart swelled with gratitude. Pearl’s eyes closed, lost in the sensation of his touch and the music of the waves close by. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” He kissed her softly. “I didn’t even tell you the best part.”
She opened one eye. “There’s something better?”
“It’s written into the contract, what he’s agreed to name the diner once it reopens. So you and Dolly will always have a connection to it.”
“And what’s that?”
His hands worked their way up to her face, steadying her gaze on his as he said the words. At them, she fell.
“Pearl’s Place.”
Chapter Twenty
Three months later…
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Dolly clutched Pearl’s arm as they boarded the cruise ship for its holiday sail. They rolled their carryons behind them, their other luggage secured at boarding. Four days at sea would culminate in a fireworks show on Christmas Eve, just in time to arrive back in Tampa for the holiday.
“I thought you and Bill cruised before,” Pearl said.
“Once. For our honeymoon. And I was sick the entire time.” She patted Pearl’s arm. “Don’t worry. I brought all kinds of medicine.” She pulled her hair behind one ear. “Plus, I’m wearing the patch. Motion sickness doesn’t have a chance this time.”
Pearl laughed. “Good.”
“There you are.” Strong arms slipped around her waist from behind, and she turned just in time for Jace to kiss her.
I will never get tired of this. Her arms went around his neck, and she closed her eyes and basked in the taste, the feel, the absolute pleasure of him. His mouth took hers, certain and teasing, and his tongue snaked inside as if to hint at everything that waited for her in their cabin. One cabin this time, and one bed.
“Hi there,” she said when he finally broke the kiss.
“Hi yourself.” He rested his forehead against hers, and for a moment all the noise and the crowd went away, and it was just the two of them.
I’ve known you forever, her heart seemed to say. From the time I was young, just waiting to grow up and start life and find you waiting for me.
“Dolly-o!” Bryce grabbed Dolly around the waist and swung her in a circle. “So glad you’re here! What’s it been? Five years? Six?”
Dolly pinked. “Something like that.”
“Congrats on selling the diner,” he added. “I’m sure it was bittersweet.”
“It was. But it was time. I was ready.” She spread her hands wide. “Gives me more time to take lavish vacations like this one.”
Bryce laughed. “We’ll spoil you every minute of the cruise, I promise.”
She shook her head. “Look at you. About ten times more handsome than you were in high school, and that’s saying something.” She winked at Pearl and Jace. “Just as much of a heartbreaker now as you were back then, though, I’m willing to bet.”
Bryce laid a hand on his chest, as if feigning shock. “Me? A heartbreaker?” Then he laughed. “Maybe a little.”
“Haven’t found the one to tie you down yet?” Dolly asked as they stepped onto the ship. They skirted the crowd waiting at the elevator and followed Bryce upstairs.
“I don’t think the words tied down and my name will ever be in the same sentence,” he said as he led them to a private lounge. He opened the door and dropped his voice, whispering to Pearl and Jace so Dolly couldn’t hear. “Unless we’re talking about silk scarves or handcuffs. In which case, tied down might be a very nice place to be. Temporarily.”
Pearl followed him and Jace into the owners-only lounge. As she looked around, her jaw dropped. Plush chairs and couches filled the room, all looking out on a gorgeous view of the water. Baskets of fruit lined a counter along one wall, next to platters of pastries and trays filled with bottled water and soda of every kind. Next to that sat a bar. She counted ten bottles of wine, top-shelf liquor, and at least four varieties of bottled beer.
“Wow. Perks of the job?” she asked.
“Something like that.” He poured himself and Jace scotch in high-ball glasses and then popped the cork on a bottle of champagne. “I believe it’s time for some celebrating.”
“What are we celebrating?” Pearl asked. He handed her a glass, and the bubbles tickled her nose and made her sneeze.
Bryce lifted his glass. “Jace closing his first big deal and managing to keep everyone happy in the process.”
Jace grinned, and Pearl couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though his chest puffed up a little. That’s okay. It was a hell of a deal; he should be proud. Plus, she knew what that chest felt like bare, under her fingertips, so he could puff it up all he wanted.
“Bryce getting promoted to CFO of the cruise line,” Jace said as he drained his scotch and took a glass of champagne.
“You did?” Pearl said. “That’s amazing. Congratulations.”
Bryce’s jaw twitched a little. “Thanks. The old man finally gave in.”
“Wasn’t a give-in. You put in your time,” Jace said.
“Old Man Anderson is a task-master,” Bryce said with a grimace. He finished his scotch and poured another. “We’ll see how long I last.”
But Pearl had a feeling he’d last a good long while. Bryce might be a playboy extraordinaire, but he was also a damn hard worker. She remembered more than one night back in high school when he’d stayed at the diner long after dinner, poring over his books. She wondered if any of the other guys knew that.
“Pearl finished her semester with a four-point-oh,” Dolly said. “I’d say that’s also cause for celebration.”
Bryce whooped. “Absolutely! Beauty and brains, McCli
ntock. You better hold onto her.”
“Perfect GPA?” Jace said into her ear. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I just found out this morning.” One more semester, and she’d be finished with her degree. She hadn’t told Jace yet, but she’d applied to the University of Tampa to continue her studies. With all the weekends she’d already been spending at his place, she was hoping he’d be happy with the news.
He wrapped one arm around her waist and clinked his champagne glass to hers. “Bryce is right. You are a smarty pants. Always were.”
She cocked her head. “Thought that’s one of the things you liked about me.”
“Correction,” he said, lowering his voice so his breath feathered her ear. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”
Love…
She bit her lip as the feelings rushed through her. I love you, too. She’d been teetering on the edge of admitting it to herself for months, and there it was. Out in the open, in front of them, as if it had been there all along just waiting for them to notice it.
“Hey, where’s Toby?” Bryce asked. He checked his watch. “We’re sailing in twenty minutes. If he’s not -”
Someone knocked at the door.
“Hey, man,” Bryce said as he pulled it open. Toby stepped inside, unsmiling. “Where’ve you been?” He ducked out into the hall. “Where’s Brittany?”
“Not here.” Toby went directly to the bar and opened a beer.
“Where is she? Couldn’t decide how many suitcases to bring? You told her it’s only a four-day cruise, right? She only needs six, seven bathing suits, tops.”
Pearl elbowed Bryce. Something was wrong. “You all right?” she asked Toby.
“She dumped me.” Toby gripped the beer bottle so tightly his entire hand had turned white. “She left me a note on the kitchen table telling me she was moving back to her mother’s house and she wasn’t in love with me anymore.” He gulped in a breath. “A goddamned note.”
“Shit.” Jace went to him and clapped him on the back. “I’m sorry, man.”
Pearl was glad he didn’t make any stupid remark about Toby being better off or Brittany being a cold-hearted bitch. He was, and she was, but it didn’t need to be said out loud right then. She walked over. “I’m sorry, too. But I’m glad you still came.” She kissed Toby on the cheek. “You’re a good man. It’s her loss.”
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