by S. E. Babin
“Yeah, well you’re on vacation. Relax and enjoy.” He slung his arm across my shoulder. “Your grandmother told me you loved it here growing up, maybe you can channel a little of that.”
He was right. Sunshine, sea air and now a hot guy with his arm around me. “I’ll try.”
“And for what it’s worth, it feels like the 1970’s threw up the Brady Bunch Variety Hour all over the inside of the club, so if you didn’t find it hideous, there’d be something wrong with you.” He grinned down at me.
I shook my head and lead the way, trying to swallow my smile.
The wedding rehearsal dinner was long. In order to keep my cynicism to myself, I took a sip of my drink every time I wanted to say something that would be unwelcome. That meant I was mainlining champagne. Connor pushed a glass of water my way before the main course arrived.
“Does the good doctor know nothing of hydrating?”
“Apparently not,” I said, sipping the water. “The good doctor is a white hot mess.”
He leaned in and pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. “You’re a very beautiful mess.”
I just blinked at him. I had no response to that. And then he was gone. Off to give a speech about his brother.
“So, I knew I had to speak at the wedding, but not today. This is a day for family and so I just want to say that Dave was always a great brother to me. We didn’t live together and we had long periods where we were separated, but he always had my back. I always knew if I needed him he’d be there. Anne, that’s the kind of guy you’re marrying. An honest man who you know will always be there for you. You’ve got one of the good ones. I hope your wedding is everything you hope it will be.”
Everyone raised their glasses and I may have swiped a tear away. Who was this guy?
I was spared making my own speech until the wedding. The only other speaker was Elspeth who probably wasn’t meant to talk, but any chance to perform to a crowd and she was on her feet. Her speech was equally lovely.
The night wound down quite quickly. The week before Christmas was a busy one for everyone. Add in a wedding and we all needed an early night.
I hugged the bride and groom tight when I said good-bye. I’d missed that sense of belonging. We were an odd bunch but we were still a family. These people were my family in ways that my own parents were not. They’d been with me year in, year out through boarding school, med school and everything since. I needed to visit more often. I looked across the room at Elspeth and noticed how tired she looked. Yep, it was time to give back.
“I’ll walk you home.” Connor hovered at my shoulder.
“You seem to like walking me places. Maybe you should get a puppy.” Had I just compared myself to a dog?
“Yeah, not the same thing.” He grinned at me. “You’re prettier than a puppy.”
“Your flirting could use some work,” I said, as we exited the club.
“I’m out of practice. The old ladies in town flirt with me, I don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting these days.”
“Did you used to be good at it?” I asked, kicking my shoes off and stepping down onto the cool sand. The moon cast a path on the water and a small breeze had come up while we’d been inside.
“I wasn’t bad. I got the job done.”
“Very romantic. Spoken like a true male.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s not about romance and sometimes it is.”
“But usually not,” I agreed. “At least not in my world.”
“That’s a shame.” He was walking beside me. One hand held mine, and the other held his own shoes.
“I guess it’s pretty life and death. That throws people together and tears them apart. Weird shifts, crazy situations, sometimes people just need to feel a connection, but more than anything you work crazy long hours and you’re too tired to make an effort.”
“Kind of sad.”
“Yeah well, everyone wants their life saved and someone has to do it.” I looked at him. “You haven’t always been a barista.”
“Nah, I used to run an ad agency. I sold it recently.”
I stopped and turned towards him. “How come?”
“I’d had enough. All I did was work and travel. I know that sounds spoiled, but I’d made enough money and I didn’t have that drive anymore. I’d done it all. It felt old and pointless.”
“So, you’re not a beach bum, then?”
“Oh no, I’m a total beach bum now. I’m not that other guy anymore.”
“Don’t you miss it?” Tired as I was, I couldn’t imagine walking away. It would feel like, well, I’d failed.
“I don’t miss the heart palpitations. I don’t miss waking up and having to remember where I am or what time zone I’m in. I don’t miss four hours sleep a night or forgetting my own mother’s birthday.” He made an excellent point. “Now I get to walk on the beach in the moonlight without a thought in my head.”
“Not a thought?”
“Well one.” And then he leaned in and kissed me. Yep, square on the mouth. A slow sexy kiss that had my lady parts standing to attention and my body inching ever closer to his. It was a sultry summer kiss that made me feel like a teenager again, in all the best ways. He leaned back and looked in my eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for hours.”
“Really?”
“Yep, really.” And then to prove it, he did it again.
* * *
“So what if it’s just a holiday fling. Who cares?” My best friend Cassie was talking to me as I searched my closet for an appropriate outfit. How I looked today seemed to matter a little bit more than it had yesterday. Now that there was a hot guy who wanted to kiss me in the mix, there were standards to be met.
“I don’t know. We’ll be vaguely related, and what if it’s awkward?”
“You barely visit, as it is. That’s just a cop out. You’re scared of having fun.”
“Yes, I know. And didn’t you used to be too? It was one of the things we had in common.”
“Miranda, you’re a grown woman who hasn’t flirted, much less anything else, with a person not wearing scrubs and a stethoscope for nearly a decade. Let loose, be spontaneous, enjoy.”
“Enjoy?”
“Yeah, do you remember enjoying sex?”
“No one said anything about sex.” Whoa Nelly. That was … well, that would be probably pretty amazing, but sex was complicated.
“Just go with the flow.”
“Said the spider to the fly.”
“Yes. Now trust my Spidey senses and go have fun.”
* * *
I was meeting Connor at the Boatshed. Well, I wasn’t meeting him so much as turning up to get coffee at his workplace, which I had said I would do today. It wasn’t a date or anything like that. I mean yes I might have done my hair and chosen a particularly cute green floral dress that off-set my eyes, but that was just me relaxing into the holiday mode. Or so I told myself.
“You look nice,” Elspeth peered at me over the top of her newspaper.
“Thanks. I decided to take your advice and get into the spirit of the wedding and the festive season a bit more.”
“Good for you.” She smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
I leaned in and gave her a kiss. She smelled like vanilla as she always had. “Me too.”
“And I’m extra glad you’re staying for Christmas. It’s been years since I had you home.”
“I know. Then again you know Christmas has never really been my thing.”
The truth was ever since my parents had abandoned me for Hollywood, Christmas had been a letdown. I could talk myself through most of their choices and justifications, but when everyone else was celebrating as a family and my parents barely managed a phone call, it was hard to get in the spirit.
“I know honey.” She squeezed my hand. “You’re a grown-up now Miranda. Time to take back the holidays.”
“What?”
“Create your own traditions. Don’t let your past dictate your future.”
“Are we still talking about Christmas?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
I needed coffee. “I’m going to the Boatshed. Did you want to come?”
“No dear, you run along.”
That was lucky.
The café was as busy as the day before. Connor gave me a wave, and I put my bag at a table before placing my order.
“Good morning,” I said. Very formal. What a dork.
“Hi Miranda. Cappuccino?”
“Thanks.” I went back to my table and took out a notebook. I was staying for Christmas and I needed to double-check my list. Anne and Dave would be off on their honeymoon but I still had Elspeth and my aunt and uncle and a hoard of Elspeth’s friends to contend with. I wondered what Connor was doing for Christmas.
The man himself delivered my coffee and sat opposite me. “What are you doing?”
I stopped chewing on my pen to answer. “Christmas list.”
“Am I on it?”
“I don’t know. Have you been naughty or nice this year?”
“You know, a little of both. Want me to show you later?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe.”
“I can work with maybe.” He stood to go. “I’m off at one. Want to go for a drive?”
“I have to be back by five. Anne is expecting me. The wedding is tomorrow. I need to be the perfect bridesmaid for at least one day.”
“No problem. See you at one. Enjoy your coffee.” His eyes danced. “It’s on the house.”
Okay, so maybe this was kind of a date, even if my date was now back behind his espresso machine fixing beverages for a whole host of other people.
Between coffee and one o’clock, I bought champagne to take over to the bride later that evening and grabbed a few last minute items for my Christmas list. And maybe I might have googled Connor. My grandmother was right. He looked like a chilled-out surfer but he was one of the world’s best young advertising minds. He’d sold his business to an international agency for an absolute ton of money and walked away.
There had to be a story there. No one walked away at thirty-five. No one.
I was waiting out front when Connor picked me up. I didn’t know where we were heading, so I had a swimsuit, a towel, a hat, a jacket and about a million other things in my rather heavy bag.
“Travelling light I see,” he teased, hauling my bag onto the back seat.
“I like to be prepared.”
“Control freak,” he muttered.
“Hey, I heard that,” I said as he swung himself into the car.
“Am I wrong?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“It’s part of the job. I have to be in control.”
“Well, Miranda, you’re not at work now so how about you relinquish some control and relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“Tell that to the door handle.’ He was right. I was holding on for dear life. The car wasn’t even going and I was white-knuckling it. What a head case! “So, where are we going?”
“Relax and relinquish.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need your hippy crap, Connor.”
“Oh yeah, well I think you’re wrong. I think my laid-back, opt out, walk away hippy crap is exactly what you need … at least for today.” He gave me a big grin.
Okay, for today.
We drove with the windows down and the summer breeze blowing through the car. The ocean was to our right for a while, and then Connor took a turn left towards the hinterland. He took a small by-road and pulled to a stop beside a gate.
“Now we need to walk.” He wound up the windows and climbed out of the car.
“What should I bring?”
“You can bring that whole bag … or you can trust me.”
It felt like a test. “Is this a test?”
“It’s a choice, not a test Miranda.” He gave his head a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-her shake.
I chose to trust. He took my hand and led me along a path to a waterfall. It was beautiful and I’d never been here before.
“Welcome to my very favourite place, Chameleon Falls.”
“How do I not know about these? They’re beautiful.” It was a tropical oasis like one sees in the movies, and it was hidden only a half an hour from town.
“They’re on private property,” he said. “So they’re not exactly advertised.”
“Are we trespassing?” I wasn’t much of a law-breaker these days.
“Nope, I own them. I own the mountain and about twenty acres.”
Wow, I mean I knew he was wealthy so I guess that made sense. “It’s beautiful. “
The area was rainforest so the water fell between ferns and palms and vines into a pristine pool. The sun shone, birds sang, and the water sparkled in the pool beneath the falls. It was magical.
“Yeah, that’s why I bought it. I want to preserve it.” He gave me a cheeky smile. “Oh and also I want to be able to swim here whenever I feel like it.”
I laughed. “You liked the waterfall so you bought it huh?”
“Something like that. My mum brought me here as a kid and we had a really great day.”
“Have you brought her back here?”
“She has MS.” He lowered his gaze to the ground. “She can’t come here in her chair.”
“I’m sorry.” I gave his arm a squeeze. “That sucks.”
“Is that your professional opinion doctor?”
“Damn straight.”
I gave him a grin. He was spreading out a large picnic blanket on a rock. He took off the backpack he’d brought with him and unpacked a picnic. “I brought lunch.”
“Yum!”
“Swim or eat first?” My stomach growled.
“Okay, I think we have a winner.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” We sat down on the blanket and he opened a bottle of wine, handing me a glass.
“Thanks. This is all so nice,” I said, raising a glass. “To new friends.”
“To new friends.”
We made small talk as we ate. He told me about the café and moving to town. I told him a few funny stories from the hospital.
“Do you love it?” he asked.
I had to pause for a moment. Did I? I didn’t even know anymore. “I used to love it. I still love helping people, making them better or whole again, but there are a lot of people I can’t make whole. It wears you down sometimes.”
“I can only imagine. I got burned out and my job was way less stressful.”
“So you quit?”
He laughed. “See, I knew you’d use the word quit. Over-achieving people like you, still stuck in the hamster wheel always say I quit. I didn’t quit. I made a new plan.”
“Semantics.”
“Seriously?” He shook his head. “That’s a typical overworked Type A personality response right there. I built a successful company, I ran some amazing campaigns and I made a lot of money. I was repeating myself. So I sold up, gave someone else a chance and created a new life. Do you really think I should stay working fourteen-hour days for another twenty years just because I was good at it, even if it made me miserable?”
“I guess not. It just seems … a shame.”
“Or maybe it was really brave to walk away?” he suggested. “A leap of faith.”
Maybe he was right. I mean he was lying here on a rock beside his own waterfall drinking wine at lunchtime. I was the stressed out one with no social life whose colleagues had as good as thrown her out of the hospital. I drained my glass rather than answer.
“Speaking of leaps. You want to jump in?”
“My swimsuit is in the car,” I said.
His eyes roamed my body. “You don’t need a suit.”
“Skinny dipping? Are you serious?” I had done my fair share of skinny dipping as a teen, but it usually involved the cover of darkness and not some hot guy I barely knew.
“I saw most of the good stuff yesterday.” He winked at me. “Anyway you’re a doctor. I would have thou
ght the naked human body was nothing to you.”
“Other people’s bodies are no big thing to me.”
“Well, I’m other people.” He shrugged.
“And you’re saying you’re no big thing?”
“I didn’t say that.” He threw his head back and laughed. “And there’s only one way to find out. Are you game?”
Hell no, I wasn’t. But sometimes you just have to throw caution, and your clothing, to the wind.
* * *
Connor looked even better naked. He peeled off his shorts and stood with his back to me ready to dive in. I was still in my bra and undies and got distracted by the sight of him.
“Are you coming in, Doc, or are you just going to ogle me?”
“Eyes forward,” I instructed him.
Then I tore off my underwear as fast as I could and ran past him, taking a flying leap into the water and landing with an inelegant splash.
I heard the sound of Connor landing as I broke through the water and came up for air. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t exactly warm either.
Connor’s head popped up a few feet away. He wore a huge grin on that sexy face of his.
“See, this is both naughty and nice, right?”
“It certainly is that.”
“You know,” he said, treading water beside me, “Anne has told me some pretty wild stories about you as a teenager and your grandmother’s version is of this sweet, serious girl. I wondered who was right. Now I see they both were.”
“I had my share of crazy summers here but Elspeth was never one to rein me in. She only sees the good in people, even the deadbeat boyfriends she probably should have run off with a stick.”
I swam towards the waterfall. It was loud. That was good. Then I didn’t need to talk. I was not one for talking about my past - or my present for that matter - and talking naked just added an extra layer of vulnerability.
I ducked under the curtain of the waterfall into the cool cave behind it and Connor was hot on my heels.
“Do you swim here often?” I yelled.
“As often as I can,” he yelled back.
“Naked?”