Page 117 of Here & Now
He paused and read about a tropical storm building off the coast of southern Florida. He’d seen many such warnings in his lifetime, and they’d never given him much pause. This time was different, though, because of the beautiful woman he’d fallen in love with.
Bree’s mom had expressed concern over this very thing, and her fears were valid. A tropical storm could quickly escalate and become a full-blown hurricane. He’d seen it happen before, though his home and business had never suffered significant damage. There’d been downed trees and temporary power outages, but that was about it. He’d been lucky.
He said a quick prayer that his luck would continue. Aside from worrying about his home, business, and parents, he had Bree to worry about too. It struck him that he’d never felt this protective of a woman before, other than his mom.
A knock on his front door made him look up from his phone. Crap! He was late for his date!
He jogged to the front door and swung it open. “Sorry. I was… Holy wow!”
“Do you like it?” She smiled and did a little pirouette on his porch.
“I love it! Is it new?”
“I brought it with me, but I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”
He smiled, wondering what he’d done to deserve this woman. “You look phenomenal.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
He glanced down at his outfit and chuckled. “This is about as dressed up as I get.”
“It’s the island way.”
He stepped outside, locked the door, and accompanied her to the Jeep. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, and it wasn’t just the dress, though that helped. It was deep blue with sexy cutouts in the front and back. The skirt swung gracefully above her knees, and she was wearing high-heeled shoes to match. She looked like a princess and way too good for the likes of him.
He opened the passenger door and helped her in. Naturally, he noticed her silky-smooth legs as her dress raised a bit. Her sunburn had healed, and now her skin had a golden-brown glow.
He hopped into the driver’s seat and started to back out. Then he realized something. “I should probably put the top up.”
“How come?”
“The wind might ruin your hair.”
She laughed. “That’s why I put my hair up, so we can keep the top down.”
Instead of her trademark ponytail, she’d assembled her hair into an intricate bun; at least, it looked intricate to him.
They were quiet as they drove to the restaurant, though they kept glancing at each other and smiling. It was one of those perfect October nights, where the air was warm but not hot and with a nice breeze. It was hard to believe a major storm was heading their way.
“So, where are you taking me?”
“Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille. You mentioned you’ve never been there.”
“In all my visits, we somehow skipped that place.”
“Your grandparents probably didn’t want to take their grandkids to a bar.”
She laughed. “You’re probably right.”
He soon pulled up to the restaurant and parked. “Stay put,” he said as he hopped out.
“Ooh, I like it when you’re bossy,” she teased.
He went around, opened her door, and helped her out.
“I feel like Cinderella.”
“Only you don’t have to be home by midnight.”
