Summer by the Sea (36 page)

“I know you like understated places, and you’re not up for a lot of glitz and glamor. But today, since it’s a
date
, I wanted to take you to a different beach—one of my favorites. It’s a little fancier than what you’re used to though. Tell me you’ll humor me.”

“Okay. Is it far from here?” She was very curious.

“Not terribly.”

He turned on to an exit leaving the Outer Banks and headed across the bridge toward the nearby town of Manteo.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’ve had breakfast.”

“Great. Me too.” He looked over at her, his eyes wanting to take her all in like they had that day on the boat—she could tell—but he quickly turned back to the road.

“What beach is it?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“It’s a surprise,” he smiled, and her stomach did a flip. Faith loved surprises. She just hoped it wouldn’t be a disaster like the Tides. She knew him a little better now, though, and she’d be able to talk to him if she felt uncomfortable.

As they drove, they were getting farther away from the coast, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out where he was going, but then they snaked back around, and, after quite a few minutes’ drive, she realized she was at Dare County Municipal Airport. Jake turned the silver Mercedes into a parking spot and cut off the engine. On the runway was a small, white private jet, the steps lowered, awaiting passengers.

“We aren’t driving to this beach,” he said.

Jake greeted the pilot as they stepped up to the plane. They were talking a bit about the flight path, but Faith didn’t hear them. She was too busy looking at the gorgeous aircraft in front of her. She’d never been flown anywhere on a date before, let alone traveled on a private jet.

The pilot gestured for them to head inside, and he followed, taking his seat behind a door at the front. Faith couldn’t decide what to look at first—the beaded lighting behind a ledge outlining the top of the plane, the tan leather interior, the wood-grain tables with brass cup holders, the thinly carpeted floors in matching beige, or the televisions throughout. A silver bucket filled with ice sat on one of the tables, the neck of a bottle protruding from its center. Two crystal glasses sat beside it.

“Is this your plane?” she asked as they took a seat on either side of the table and belted themselves.

“No. I rented it, but I’ve flown with the pilot many times. I always make sure to get Thomas when I fly. I trust him.” The pilot came over the speaker and greeted them. He then said the skies were clear without a lot of turbulence, and he’d get them to their destination as quickly as possible. “You may want to hold on to your glass just until we’re in the air. It’s fine, but I’d rather not spill anything on you.”

Jake looked so relaxed as if this was totally normal, and she wondered if he was really comfortable with all of this. He had so much money that he could rent a jet whenever he pleased, drink champagne first thing in the morning, and fly wherever he wanted to go. Yet he chose to have his primary residence on the rural coast of North Carolina where he’d grown up. He was so down-to-earth that when he did show his wealth, it was startling.

When they got into the air, he pulled the champagne from the ice and wiped it with a towel. “We should be there in about two hours,” he said, the cork making a loud, hollow
pop
as he pulled it from the bottle. “That gives us a lot of time to talk.” He reached out for her glass, and she handed it to him.

As he filled her glass, the bubbles nearly jumping out of the top of it and dissipating in the air above, she got a good look at Jake Buchanan. In this setting, pouring champagne, wearing his Lacoste shirt and pressed shorts, his hair perfectly imperfect, his wealth was apparent. This was certainly a far cry from his paint-splattered overalls and tool-filled work truck. Which was more him: that work truck or this plane? She was willing to bet it was the work truck.

Even though she knew he probably didn’t care, she was glad she’d worn her most expensive outfit.

She took a sip from her glass, the bubbles fizzing up against her top lip, to try and calm her own nerves. Then, she decided to ask him. “What do you enjoy more: working on cottages and driving your work truck around town or flying to exotic destinations like we are now?”

Although he was more outgoing than she was, and he was open more often, he still hid his feelings sometimes. She felt that all this—the plane, the restaurants, the hard-nosed businessman—it was all in an effort to prove himself. His ex-wife had done a number on him, it seemed, and Faith wondered if he was trying to show her and everyone who knew him how successful he could be. But why? Didn’t he realize that he was perfect without all that?

“I like them both.”

“That’s a cop out. You have to pick. Which one would you give up?”

He took a swig of his champagne and tipped up the glass as if studying the bubbles, but she knew he was stalling. She knew what he was going to say; she just wanted to hear him admit it. “I’ll bet I can guess your answer. You just don’t want to say it.”

He looked at her, a slight smile on his lips. She knew she had him.

“What’s your guess?”

“You’d give up this plane before you gave up working on cottages and driving your work truck.”

“And what makes you think that?” He was suppressing a smirk.

“When you chose where you wanted to eat lunch on a regular day before you met me, you chose Dune Burger, but when you wanted to try and impress me, you chose the Tides Wine Bar.”

“Are you reading me now?”

“It seems so,” she said with a smile. “But it looks like you didn’t read me very well after all. You should’ve known that first day you met me what kind of person I was, because I was at Dune Burger too.”

His face showed contemplation but it also showed fondness, and she knew she’d made her point. What she hadn’t expected was the kind of look she was getting now. And she knew exactly what he was thinking. He was thinking how right she was, and how good it felt to be with someone like him. She knew that because she felt it too.

By the time they’d finished the bottle of champagne and the small talk had given way to an easy, comfortable quiet, the pilot announced that they were a few minutes out from their destination. Faith looked through her window, and as far as she could see, the ocean stretched before her. It was amazing but she hadn’t once thought about her surroundings or taken a look at the view because she was so caught up in Jake. Out her window was the brightest color she’d ever seen, very different from the waters of the Outer Banks. It was a green-blue color, almost turquoise, swirling gray sand showing beneath it in patches. As they neared land, she could see boats scattered along the coastline. They were so small that they looked like snowflakes against a blanket of blue. As the plane descended, she started to make out buildings and trees, the flap on the wing going up and down as they neared them. It was totally silent except for the static noise of the engine as the plane neared the runway. Then, with a gentle bump, they were on the ground.

“Welcome to Key West,” the pilot said over the speaker and Faith locked eyes with Jake, making an effort to keep her mouth from wagging open. He’d taken her to Key West!

“We’re in Florida?” she asked, nearly unable to contain her excitement. Her whole life she’d wanted to go to Key West, and now, he’d made her dreams come true.

Jake nodded, that fondness once more in his eyes, and she had to catch her breath.

“Why are you doing all this for me?” She was so overwhelmed. She’d never really had anyone do anything for her and certainly nothing so spectacular.

“You said that you wanted to share it with someone. I’ve been here tons of times but I’ve never shared it with anyone. I wanted to share it with you in particular.”

“Why?” She was still trying to get her head around it all.

“Because I think you’ll see it the way I do. And because I wanted to watch your face when you got here.” He grinned at her, and she knew that the day was only going to get better.

By the time they’d disembarked, called a taxi and arrived in downtown Key West, it was nearly eleven o’clock. “I thought we’d get an early bite to eat,” he said. She was glad for that for two reasons: One, she hadn’t had anything since breakfast and her tummy was rumbling, and two, the champagne, coupled with the flight and everything that was going on between her and Jake, had made her feel lightheaded.

The taxi pulled up outside a gorgeous old red-brick building that looked almost like an enormous version of the Victorian homes she’d seen in the small towns around her growing up. Its style was unique, however, with its red, textured roof and arched doorways and windows. They walked a block or so before Jake led her down a long pier at the end of which there was a small speedboat bobbing in the swell. Before Faith could ask him what was going on he helped her in and they were heading off into the ocean. He helped her in, and she was glad she’d pulled her hair back as the boat got going. The balmy southern air was different here. It was humid but fresh and clean as it came off the ocean. She took in a deep breath to keep the memory of it. She wondered where on Earth this restaurant was.

They arrived at an island, and Faith had never seen anything so beautiful. A restaurant with a colossal porch stretched out in front of her—tiled floors, white pillars the size of redwood trees, paddle fans whirring above them. There were tables with white linen tablecloths, their edges dancing in the breeze, with wicker chairs pulled up to every table, giving them an unfussy feel. The only color besides the brown of the wicker was the electric blue of the ocean, the white of the shoreline, and the hundreds of palm trees scattered around them. Jake hopped out of the boat, and reached over to grab her hand. She took it, and he didn’t let go as they walked the short distance to a village of white buildings. The two of them snaked around the buildings until they were seaside and Faith stopped. She couldn’t walk. The view in front of her was breathtaking.

“You like?” he said, smiling down at her, his hand still in hers, and she could hardly pull her eyes from the sight to respond.

When she finally did make eye contact, the look on Jake’s face was one she’d never seen before. His eyes were intense, his lips slightly smiling, yet there was a seriousness that made her feel like this was as big a deal to him as it was to her. She let go of his hand and grabbed him by the waistband of his trousers, pulling him toward her. Then, he put his hands on her face and kissed her. This kiss was different than the others, slightly more urgent but still gentle. Was he letting his guard down?

It was as if they thought the same thing, and they both pulled away from each other. Jake reluctantly let her go and she turned toward the restaurant that was in front of them.
This,
she thought,
is the kind of fancy restaurant I can live with.
It was perfect.

“This is gorgeous,” she finally managed, and she turned to him, pushed herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek. She felt his hand at her back, as if he were holding onto her. She wished he’d never let go.

He smiled down at her. “I’m glad you like it.” Then, he eased his hand away from her when a waiter began approaching them.

The waiter promptly introduced himself and took them to their table. She didn’t want to know how much a place like this probably cost, let alone the plane, the taxi, and then the boat ride over. But it wasn’t the money she was impressed by. It was the fact that Jake had known that this was what she would like and had gone to the trouble of organizing it for her. Jake pulled out her chair.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” she said.

“I wanted to.” He quietly scooted his chair closer to the table and leaned on the white linen with his forearm. Even in this atmosphere, he was still relaxed. “I wanted you to see this beach.”

Jake had said himself that things like champagne and flowers didn’t occur to him. Yet this did? What was happening between the two of them? Something had changed in Jake.

“Do you come here often?” she asked carefully.

“When I want to get away. It’s my favorite place to relax.” He was leaned back slightly in his chair now, his arm still on the table, but his shoulders politely squared. “It gets too cold in North Carolina in the winters, and I board up my cottage during hurricane season. I’ve been lucky not to have too much damage each time.”

“And you come here?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you just live here? It’s so beautiful.”

The waiter brought glasses of water for both of them, the ice cubes clinking together as he set them down. Jake gave him a polite thank you as he left them alone.

“I don’t know. I suppose it’s because I like the Outer Banks. I can keep busy there more easily. There are people I know who’ve been there my whole life, and there’s so much to do. I can fill my days with cottage work and boat building.”

“But this is amazing,” she said, pressing him, her gaze landing on a sailboat in the distance, the sail looking stark against the turquoise water—a very different view from the ones she’d seen at the Outer Banks. She considered his answer, and thought how it spoke to what she loved about the Outer Banks. He didn’t say he loved the resort that he was building. He said he loved working on the cottages and boats.

“That’s not to say that I don’t love this view. I just don’t need it all the time.” He looked out at the water. “If I see it too much, I worry that it will lose its effect on me. Things are good when they’re still new.”

Had he meant something else by that comment? Was he worried that she wouldn’t affect him the same way once they were settled into a routine?

They ordered lunch, and Faith found that even though she had quite a few questions, conversation was always easy. He had a way about him that made both the times they were chatting and the quiet lulls between comfortable. She didn’t have to think about it; the conversation just flowed. When their food came—on fancy white plates with perfect zigzags of drizzle—they settled in and let the conversation slow. The weather was different here, the heat noticeable, the wind gentler up by the restaurant. Even the smell of the air was different. Faith liked it, but she understood what Jake had meant when he said he liked North Carolina too. She did feel after seeing this place that flashy could be fun sometimes, but like Jake, she just wanted to sit somewhere nice and read a book. She thought about how great it would be to do that with him.