by Nancy Warren
Teaching surfing turned out to be not only a lot of fun, but also kept her too busy to brood. Sometimes she was even so tired from surfing and teaching that she got a few hours of sleep.
Of course, Kate knew that she couldn’t hide out forever, but for a few weeks no one expected anything of her. At some point, she needed to find a job, tell her friends she wasn’t getting married. Start doing whatever a bride did when the wedding was off. But not today. She could walk the beach, feel the sun on her skin, she could surf and she could cry and she could grieve.
She wasn’t overbooked with surfing lessons but there were usually one or two a day. Enough that Mike the surf shop owner let her keep the board and wet suit. Enough that she didn’t have to dip into her bank account or have too much time to wallow.
She’d developed a casual joking kinship with some of the other regular surfers and a guy named Manuel had invited her to join a bunch of them for a drink later. She knew the invitation meant they accepted her. She also thought that a bar and a crowd of young, hot surfers offered excellent opportunities for a woman who was planning to ruin her perfect reputation. She was wondering whether she’d go, and if so what she’d wear, when she headed up the beach after a few hours on the board.
She stopped dead.
Standing in her path was a man she would never, ever forget. A man she’d never, ever imagined she’d see again.
The man from the restaurant that fateful night stood blocking her path. He was a little sunburned, wearing casual shorts, a faded T-shirt, flip flops and dark sunglasses. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He looked as at home here on the beach as he had in a trendy LA restaurant.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Nick held out a familiar printed form. “I’m here for a surf lesson. I understand you’re a good teacher.”
“Are you out of your mind? Suffering from amnesia? I’m not teaching you how to surf.”
“Now that’s a shame. Because Mike at the surf shop assured me you were available.” He showed her the form. “I’ve paid in advance.”
“Here’s what you can do. Get on your phone and tell your boss, my former fiancé, that I am not coming home. I am not marrying him, and sending a private investigator after me will not encourage me to change my mind.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to marry him?”
She pulled herself up to her full five feet seven inches and then strained for an extra bit of height. “I. Am. Positive.”
His grin was both relieved and carefree. “Good. And I’m not here because Ted hired me.”
She was highly suspicious. “Really. You felt like a vacation and Carlsbad jumped to mind.”
“No. Look, have dinner with me tonight so I can explain.”
She sent him her most withering stare, though with the salt water stinging her eyes she wasn’t sure how successful it was. “The last time I had dinner with you, I ended up with a broken engagement. I don’t think so.”
“Come on, we both know I did you a favor. You needed out of that relationship. He’s not right for you.”
“So not your business.”
“Kate,” he stepped closer, “I came here for you.”
She closed the distance between them. Watched him watching her, expecting she would fall into his arms.
She snatched the receipt for the surf lessons out of his hand. “I’ll see you here tomorrow at 1 p.m.”