Love on the Malecon

Love on the Malecon

by Aubrey Parr

Copyright 2016 Aubrey Parr

Smashwords Edition

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Thank you for respecting the hard

work of this author.

This novel is purely a work of fiction. Any
characters, names, or events are the product of the author's
imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is
purely coincidental.

This book is dedicated to...

Katie – For keeping me writing so she could keep
reading.

and

Kelly – For seeing me as a writer from the
beginning.

Prologue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Connect with Me

Sneak Peek: Love on Ocean Drive

“He just
walked out! Good riddance to him then!” Nicole was practically
yelling now. She held the phone to her ear with her shoulder. She
was throwing clothes into a suitcase, barely noticing what she
chose. She knew that Kate was going to try and calm her down.
That’s what she always did. Kate was far more even keeled than
Nicole. That’s probably why their friendship had lasted for so many
years; they balanced each other out.

“Breathe, Nic,” Kate reminded her,
“
You just got back from the funeral. You need to just take
some time for yourself.”

Oh, done!
Nicole thought to herself.
She wasn’t ready to tell anyone, even Kate, that she had booked a
ticket to Puerto Vallarta. Well, anyone but Andrew. And look how
that turned out. He just left.

It was the first open-ended plane ticket that Nicole
James had ever purchased. It came with a return flight, of course,
but somehow this felt more like a one-way trip. She had just buried
her father and this seemed like the best tribute to his life. It
was the least she could do since she didn’t get to say
good-bye.

As soon as she had found out that she hadn’t
made it to him in time, she knew what she wanted to do. Booking the
flight was the easiest decision she had made in a long time and it
felt like the right one. It didn’t come without its risks. Her
editor at
Chicago Home Magazine
was not thrilled with the
last minute extension to her time off. Then again, when someone’s
father dies, one is usually given a little more leniency.

There was also Andrew to consider. He chose
to skip the trip with her and Nicole took that as a bad sign for
their relationship. The heap of self-help and relationship books
that weighed down her carry-on bag was going to help her figure out
that situation. Andrew didn’t even know her return date wasn’t
booked. No one did. Two weeks sounded like a nice length of time
but she wasn’t ready to commit just yet.

The pilot came over the intercom and informed
the passengers that they were starting their descent into Puerto
Vallarta. She smiled at the thought of the 90-degree temperature
that waited for her below. It had been years since she had been to
Mexico. Her father’s work had taken him around the globe several
times over the past decade and he had always said that Puerto
Vallarta was his heaven on Earth. Nicole wondered if her father’s
heaven was really made up of cobblestoned streets, little
restaurants, and a Malecon the stone seaside walkway he could
stroll for all eternity.

Her head started to spin again at the thought
of her father. She was not prepared for his death. Although
suffering a slow death would have been awful, Nicole couldn’t help
but think that some forewarning would have been nice. But accidents
don’t work that way. Still, she would have loved to spend a few
minutes with him by his hospital bed to have some closure. There
are so many things that she would have said. But he had been too
far gone. Even if they were in the same city, she still may not
have made it to the hospital in time. No plane would have been fast
enough, but she still had had to try. She lost her mother so young.
It had been the two of them for as long as she could remember. Now,
one careless decision made by a stranger driving a car had taken
her father from her.

Lost in her thoughts, Nicole barely noticed
that the plane had touched down.

“We landed dear. You can relax,” the elderly
woman next to her said as she patted her hand. Nicole didn’t
remember grabbing onto the arm rest.

“Oh, thank you,” she smiled, adding a
half-hearted laugh.

As Nicole sat there in a daze, waiting for
her turn to disembark, her thoughts turned to Andrew. Andrew Hanson
was the complete opposite of her previous boyfriends. Nicole always
had a thing for bad boys and too many had broken her heart by the
time Andrew walked into her life. A complete change was just what
Nicole thought she needed.

He was a lawyer and certainly looked the
part. His chestnut brown hair was always just so and his suits were
always immaculately pressed. He was classically handsome with
tanned skin and blue eyes. His nose was perfect and he had a sweet
smile. She admitted to her friend Kate once that he kind of
reminded her of a Ken doll. She was a little scared that it wasn’t
a compliment. And though she had never witnessed it, she suspected
that he even ironed his jeans. Another mystery was his tan. He was
tan year-round and they lived in Chicago. How was that possible?
Was he hiding a membership to a tanning salon along with the closet
jeans ironing?

Andrew never seemed to be entirely
comfortable in his own skin. And although she loved him dearly, he
was a little too stuffy for Nicole at times. Nicknames made no
sense to him. He didn’t even use terms of endearment. He never
liked it when anyone tried calling him Andy. In his eyes, that was
not his name. Nicole was simply Nicole.

He was sweet and gentle, in his own way. They
went to fabulous dinners at nice restaurants and he indulged her
love for the theater. Though she appreciated those things, she
loved the casual side of life as well and there was still the part
of her that missed hanging out in a hole-in-the-wall pub or a beach
bar. She laughed to herself at the thought of Andrew walking into a
grungy dive. He’d probably wipe down the barstool with hand
sanitizer before sitting down.

Their last conversation had been short. She
told him that she needed a vacation and wanted to visit her
father’s favorite place on Earth as a tribute to his life. That was
all she was able to say before
“
no” came out of Andrew’s
mouth. Nicole wasn’t sure if he was saying that he didn’t want to
go or if he was really trying to tell her that she wasn’t allowed
to go herself. As if she was a child asking permission. She didn’t
wait to find out the answer. She told him to leave their apartment
while she packed and he had left without any other
communication.

Nicole replayed the short scene over and over
in her head. She couldn’t quite believe how quickly he had walked
out. How could it have been so easy for him? She wasn’t even sure
he knew where she had gone. Sure, she had told him numerous times
that Puerto Vallarta was her father’s favorite place. But would
Andrew remember?

Nicole also surprised herself at how easy it
was for her to board a plane without her boyfriend of three years
having any idea where she was headed. Frankly, she liked the idea
that she was unreachable. She wasn’t even sure she would turn her
phone back on now that they were on the ground. Her only family
left was gone. Her friends were grown adults with lives to lead.
Everyone could survive a hiatus without reaching her. No one could
blame her for disappearing for a bit and soon enough everyone would
know she was okay. Well, no one could blame her but Kate.

Kate was her matter-of-fact, hilarious,
there-for-you-no-matter-what type of friend. Not letting Kate know
her whereabouts would be inexcusable in Kate’s eyes. And she could
keep Nicole’s secret from Andrew if needed. She reminded herself,
yet again, that it was only two weeks, right? Then that sneaking
suspicion popped back in her head, the one that told her that this
felt like a one-way trip. She brushed it off, attributing it to her
state of mourning. Surely she wasn’t quite in her right mind at the
moment.

Nicole’s back began to ache even more as it
was finally her turn to head up the aisle. As she stepped off the
plane onto the platform, the sunshine was a smack in the face, like
a splash of cold water awakening her from her haze. She was there.
She had made it.

She immediately thought of her father. She
was happy and sad all at the same time. Nicole imagined old Bill’s
face, the mischievous smile he would have as he would set foot in
his favorite place on Earth. Images of her father filled her head,
from as far back as she could remember to the last moments she had
spent with him. Maybe that was his way of telling her that he was
there with her. She took a deep breath and smiled at the idea of
that.

All of the passengers filed down the stairs
and piled into a waiting bus to take everyone to baggage claim and
customs. Luckily, she was one of the last to board the bus and the
entire process at the airport was actually rather quick. It seemed
like a nice start to her trip.

Her taxi pulled up to the Playa Vallarta
hotel. It was right in the middle of the Romantic Zone of Puerto
Vallarta. Nicole had been to Mexico before but she had always
stayed in Cancun at a variety of huge resorts. This trip was all
about her father. She wanted to experience his Puerto Vallarta. She
wanted to stay at his favorite hotel, frequent his favorite bars,
and eat at his favorite restaurants. One of her favorite stories
was hearing about when he met the owner of The King’s Head pub down
the street from his hotel. It was a British pub in the middle of
Mexico. The owner had spent his
“
holiday” in Puerto
Vallarta, returned to England, and sold all of his belongings to
come back to open the pub. Nicole always thought that was such a
fun story and she couldn’t wait to visit and hear it for
herself

She immediately felt her father’s presence in
the Playa Vallarta and fell in love with the place right away.
There was an open air lobby with trees inside. Just past the desk,
tables spilled out from the restaurant. There was a large lobby bar
and a swimming pool, all before an entrance to the beach. It wasn’t
a huge hotel like so many of the resorts in Mexico can be. Though
Nicole had always been drawn to the all-inclusive resorts where you
didn’t have to leave the property, in this very moment, she
couldn’t figure out why.

Playa Vallarta was quaint, clean, and
inviting. It made her feel like she would be a guest, not just a
number. She had begun to pull her suitcase behind her when a little
man in a crisp white summer suit came up and took it from her.

“Please allow me to assist,
señorita
.
My name is Hector and I will be here for you,
mi amor
.”
Nicole smiled and let him help with her bags. He was so little and
absolutely adorable. It seemed as though someone had stuck a normal
sized man in the dryer and shrunk him just a hair. He had kind eyes
and a bright, happy smile. Nicole knew instantly that they could be
friends.

“Thank you,” she smiled,
“
I’m hoping
to get checked in quickly so that I can relax a bit after my
trip.”

Hector nodded in agreement,
“
Of
course,
señorita
, I will make certain you are assisted
immediately.”

He waited patiently for her to check in and
then showed her to the elevators. As she followed Hector, Nicole
noticed the beautiful color of the wood in the lobby bar- brilliant
tan with bands of orange that sparkled in the refection of the sun.
It was huge, with a thick elbow rest, and seemed to go on forever.
There was a heavy overhang above, in the same amazing colors, with
beautifully colored glasses dangling from it. Each style of glass
was a different color and made Nicole want to order all kinds of
fun mixed drinks with umbrellas in them. There were plants placed
randomly all around the shelves above with vines hanging down that
added a natural warmth to the area. There were a few guests
scattered around the bar, some in bathing suits, taking a break
from the sun.

Nicole was wondering which barstool would
have been her father’s when she noticed a man sitting there,
aimlessly stirring his drink. She felt a chill all over as she
realized he had been watching her. He looked like he was most
likely American, maybe forty, with salt and pepper hair. (Why was
it that a man could become more attractive when he grayed but it
just made women look old?) His face was angular with a sharp jaw
line and it looked as though if he didn’t get up the energy to
shave in a few days, he would officially have a beard. So far that
may have been her favorite thing about him. She loved everything
from a five-o’clock shadow to a full-on beard; it made a man look
rugged and exciting. He was in a casual t-shirt and tan linen pants
with flip flops dangling off his feet. He looked like he had just
come from a walk along the beach. Her heart skipped a beat when she
saw edges of tattoos that were peeking out from beneath both
sleeves of his t-shirt. Nicole loved tattoos; she had a few small
ones as well. She preferred meaningful little accents for herself
but with men, the more the better. Andrew didn’t have any tattoos.
And no matter how many times she suggested he consider one, he
wouldn’t budge.