California Bored and Tourism (4 page)

“Take your time. We have all night.” That
was the last thing Faith remembered.

She finally woke up to the sound of melodic
ocean waves rippling in her ears. She felt like she’d awoken from a
crazy, lucid dream that included dancing fairies and magic
cigarettes that compelled one to tell the truth, but reality
shadowed the dream because she was wearing a beautiful, colorful
sundress, not the carpenter shorts and blue t-shirt she’d arrived
in. She lay nestled in the comfort of Nick’s arms. “What time is
it?”

He glanced at his watch. “Eleven.”

“Aren’t you late for a tour?”

“I called the office and Josh agreed to
cover for me.”

Faith sighed. “I don’t want to be blamed for
your absence.”

“I doubt anyone would notice. Josh is a
pretty boy. Women love him. Makes me look like a dog.” He
laughed.

“Really?” She smiled.

“So, now you want to go on the tour?”

“Nah.” She punched him on the shoulder. “Do
you know why I am wearing Emogene’s sundress?”

“You and Emogene hit it off and decided to
become blood sisters. When you both realized how messy that would
be, you decided to switch clothes instead.”

She vaguely remembered hugging Emogene and
several murmured words between them, but she did not recall the
clothes switch. “Oh my. I don’t…”

“Normally do that?” He raised an
eyebrow.

“No. It’s taken me three months to give
someone my phone number before.” She quipped. “Did I do or say
anything embarrassing?”

“Not really.”

“Tell me. What did I say?” She shielded her
face with her hands.

“You said,” Nick started as he pulled her
hands from her face, “that you were afraid your life would never
amount to anything.”

That’s exactly how she’d been feeling for
years but was always too scared to utter the words.

He continued, “You also said when you first
met me you thought I was a typical shallow, California, pretty boy,
but you were glad you were wrong about me. You said my kindness
during this trip made you feel special. Then you kissed me.”

“What?” She swallowed hard. “You’re making
that last part up.”

“Hey, Marty!” Nick yelled to his friend who
was having a cup of coffee. “Did Faith kiss me last night?”

“Yes, she did. Laid a good one on you.”
Marty chuckled.

“I can’t believe I did that.” Faith closed
her eyes.

“Hey, I didn’t say it was terrible. As a
matter of fact, I didn’t mind at all.”

She gave him a sideways glance.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time
now.” Nick leaned over and kissed her. Although she didn’t remember
the kiss last night, his lips felt soft and familiar.

Faith exhaled. “Isn’t this crazy? We barely
know each other, but I feel I’ve known you all my life.”

“No, I’ll tell you what’s crazy. My whacky
friend Tia came to me three months ago and said she had a message
for me from one of the spirit guides she communicates with. Her
guide told her I would soon find ‘faith’ on one of my tours.”

Faith laughed. “You do tours all the time.
How would you know where you would find faith?”

“Faith, I don’t do tours. I own California
Scenic Tours. I have fifty-five tour guides that work for me and
total, a seventy-four-person operation. Every once in a while, if
we’re short handed, I pitch in. I usually give the
specialty
tours to Jason. Business has been booming. When your friend Kendra
called and was so persuasive on the phone, I couldn’t turn her
down. She emailed me the names of all the people who would be on
the tour, and I saw your name. At first, I thought it was a wild
coincidence so I called Tia to joke with her about it. She didn’t
think it was funny. She told me this was my sign and I should
personally do the tour. It was either this tour or a VIP tour to
some ambassador’s kid.” He smiled.

“That explains the
Jaguar
.” She
laughed.

“I am financially able to take care of
myself.”

“Indeed. Well thank you for making this a
very memorable vacation.”

“You’re welcome.”

She moved closer to him and gave him a
hug.

“Well, my reality is beckoning.” She smiled.
“Have to pack. Leaving tomorrow.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. How would
you like to extend your vacation?”

“I have to start looking for another
job.”

“You could be a tour guide.” He smiled. “God
knows you’ve read everything there is to know about California. I
think you would be good at it…but on one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’ll only employ you part time. You should
go to cooking school. I have a friend who is teacher at a cooking
school. He said he’s sure he could get you in.”

Without thinking too hard, she replied, “I
would need a place to stay.”

“I have a guest cottage next to my house.
Total privacy. Also, I have a huge kitchen in the main house so you
can do your culinary homework assignments there.”

She continued to ask more questions, but
Nick seemed to have a good answer for all of them. After last
night’s spiritual voyage, a new awareness opened within her, and
she could see Nick’s determination on being her guide. Not to guide
her around California. He was meant to guide her to the next phase
of her life. She sighed, “Don’t you think it’s all too much and so
fast?”

“It may seem that way but life goes by even
faster. Five years ago, I thought my wife and I would be having
adventures and a ton of kids. Didn’t see the cancer coming.”

Faith gripped his hand. Nick’s pain was very
apparent, but he seemed to somehow be at peace with it all. She
couldn’t see how he’d be able to care for, let alone love, someone
again. Maybe his offer was some sort of goodwill mission on his
part?

He covered her hand with his. “I will always
love her, but I wouldn’t open up to you and be hung up on my late
wife at the same time. I wouldn’t do that to you, Faith.”

Tears welled in Faith’s eyes. “You have to
forgive me. I think I was born a skeptic. I have never taken a leap
of ‘faith’ in my life.” She laughed. “Ironic, huh? Coming from a
woman named Faith.”

“I think you are just trying to find your
way, and I think I am supposed to be in your life to catch you when
you’re courageous enough to take that leap, Faith.”

Faith smiled. “And what do you get for
putting me up, helping me get into cooking school, and giving me a
job?”

“I’m hoping, one day, you will cook for me?”
he said sweetly.

Faith didn’t know if it was the hope in his
eyes or the softness of the words, but she knew what he meant.

“If I’m going to be a chef, I’m going to
need a lot of practice. Who knows? You may even get three squares a
day.” She smiled.

Rhonda Laurel is a
contemporary romance writer whose two great loves are writing and
landscape photography. She uses both as a vehicle to convey the
complexity of the human spirit and the beauty of the world around
her. The author is happily building her backlist.

www.rhondalaurel.com

www.sweetcravingspublishing.com