Authors: Valerie Douglas
Smiling, he remembered Emily asking him about the dress, her protest about the cost of the haircut. It really had been pocket change for him, nothing in comparison to the jewelry he’d showered on other women.
Emily had the same values he had.
The reality of the breakup would have hit her now. She’d told him that Collier had asked her to get any of her things out of his apartment – while Collier was in the Hamptons, but it was adding insult to injury for Collier to let her know he’d be having a good time while she made herself disappear from his life.
It would only have made it worse.
He didn’t like the idea of her moping around her apartment alone.
Robert had a place in the Hamptons himself, although he rarely used it these days, he was just too busy.
*****
The weatherman had promised that the day would be sunny and warm, that the rain of the last two days had been banished and they would return to summer weather.
Emily had spent the previous day at Dan’s apartment, gathering her things. Now she put them away. And with them, all the hopes she’d had for the relationship, despite the problems, despite Dan’s sometimes erratic behavior.
The tears had come then as she’d gathered up the thin tee shirt and loose drawstring pants she’d worn around his apartment on days like this. She’d searched for, and found, the earrings she’d lost, along with a book she’d tried to read while Dan played with his computer.
More than once she’d fought anger, the desire to wreak havoc, to knock over the precious speakers to his stereo system of which he’d been so enamored. He’d spent a mint on them, far more than he’d ever spent on her. They were enormous, dominating the living room space.
Or emptying all his hair products into the tub. The man had spent more time on his hair than she did.
She’d done nothing. The temptation was there, but it was childish, she was better than that, and it would only make more trouble than it was worth. Especially at the office.
The thought of going there the next day with everyone knowing what had happened made her want to cringe, to crawl in a hole, but she knew she’d have to face it. In time it would get easier.
It had been strange, though, to look around Dan’s apartment as she dropped her key into the dish on the stand by the door. Only then had she realized how little of herself had been left there. An ache had settled around her heart as his door had shut behind her.
Curled in the window seat with Gizmo in her lap, she tried to focus on the book she’d been trying to read. At least now she’d have more time for things like that. The kind of things she’d done before Dan.
A glimmer of sunlight turned the street below into a ribbon of silver. Maybe it would be a nice day after all.
The knock at the door startled her.
Maybe Dan had had second thoughts?
Romantic fantasies ran through her mind, but she knew they were just that. He had someone else. He was gone.
Dislodging Gizmo to the little cat’s protests, Emily got up to open the door.
“Robert,” she said, and where a moment before she had been half-anticipating, half-dreading who she’d find there, to see Robert made her heart lift a little. She couldn’t help but smile. “What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?” Robert asked.
He hadn’t been sure of his reception, but the welcome in her expression relieved that.
“Of course,” she said, swinging the door wide without a thought, and then glanced down at herself in obvious dismay.
To his surprise, she blushed. He hadn’t thought anyone still blushed in this day and age.
Color flooded Emily’s face as she realized that she was just wearing another of her tee shirts and drawstring pants. No bra. Bare feet. No makeup. She’d only just run a brush through her hair.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said with a wave, spinning away to hurry into the bedroom. “There’s fresh ground coffee brewing in the pot, cups in the cupboard above it.”
Amused, Robert watched her disappear into another room.
He hadn’t missed what she’d been wearing, and had found a few fantasies dancing through his head. The little tee shirt hadn’t hidden but had hinted at much, clinging in all the right places.
Deliberately, he took a breath to get himself back under control.
“Change into something suitable for walking on the beach,” he called, drawn to the aroma of fresh coffee that filled the little apartment.
The bedroom door popped open and Emily’s head peered around it, her expression bemused.
“What?” she said, clearly bewildered and a little startled.
“It’s cool by the ocean,” he said, carefully keeping his voice even as he smothered a smile. “You might want to bring a sweater or a sweatshirt. Oh, and you’ll need a scarf for your hair.”
“Robert…”
“Admit it,” he said, “all you’re going to do is mope around your apartment.”
It was a very nice apartment for all its small size. She’d made the most of the space, creating a cushioned window seat by lining one wall with low, sturdy bookcases and covering them with cushions. Live plants anchored each end. The colors of the walls were all light, making the room seem larger. It somehow managed to be both cozy and bright. A small brindle cat peered around one of the potted plants at him.
Robert smiled.
“Wouldn’t a walk on the beach be better?”
He could see in her eyes the battle she fought, but in the end he and the beach won. She disappeared back into the bedroom while he helped himself to the promised cup of coffee. It was good coffee. It seemed they shared a taste for that as well.
Sunlight poured in the tall narrow windows. Being daring, the cat minced toward the band of sunlight, watching him warily, then stretched out to warm itself in the sun.
One thing was certain, Emily didn’t waste time getting ready as so many women did. When she returned she was still barefoot, but there was a pair of deck shoes in one hand. She wore simple clothes, khaki cargo pants and a thin sweater, with another tossed over her shoulders. She’d taken the time to put a little makeup on and brush out her hair, but she hadn’t gone overboard with either as one of his dates once had. Which had been a waste, all things considered.
“Ready?”
She dropped the shoes on the floor and slipped into them. “Ready.”
Emily snagged her purse as she went out, letting the door with its automatic locks shut behind her, very aware of Robert’s hand at the small of her back.
Only moments before she’d been thinking of Dan, and now…? All she could think of was Robert.
Then even that thought was chased away as she spotted the car, a little light-blue BMW convertible.
Now she understood Robert’s request for her to bring a scarf.
She smiled in pure delight. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”
Just the thought of feeling the wind in her hair, the sun on her skin, was enough.
That expression of open pleasure was all Robert needed to see as he held the door open for her.
With the top down, it was nearly impossible to talk much, but it wasn’t necessary.
It was obvious that Emily knew where they were going once they neared. Robert slowed to match the speed limit, making it easier to talk.
“I have a place here, too,” he said. “It’s on the beach although I don’t use it much. I thought you might enjoy it.” He glanced at her. “This has nothing to do with your ex. I enjoyed your company the other night and just thought you might be able to use some time away.”
That was reassuring. Emily relaxed as they drove. She hadn’t risen quite high enough in the company, or made the kind of contacts that had homes in the Hamptons.
Until now.
Some of the houses were simply enormous for what were called beach cottages. They were painted the colors of sherbet with white accents, while others with their cedar shingles were more rustic.
They pulled up in front of a lovely house painted a pale olive green with sandy accents so it blended into the sea grass and dunes.
Even so, it was easily a large as some of the others.
“Are none of these houses small?” Emily said.
Robert grinned and gestured. “This one is mine. And I have a boat.”
Chagrined, Emily blushed. He still found that charming.
He let her off the hook as they walked up the steps.
“Most of these houses are as much for entertaining as they are a place to live. For much of the year there’s a party going on somewhere.”
Robert swung the door open.
Stepping inside, glancing around, Emily remarked, “When you said you don’t use it much, you weren’t kidding.”
Dust cloths covered most of the furniture. The curtains on the windows facing the ocean were tightly closed, to keep the sunlight from fading the carpet.
“How long has it been since you were here last?”
Drawing off one of the dust covers, Robert shook his head, thinking. “It might be a couple of years.”
In all honesty he couldn’t remember the last time. He’d used it once or twice as an escape, and a few times for parties, but Emily was the first woman he’d brought to the house.
He walked over to the windows, pushed back the curtains to reveal the ocean glimmering beyond the dunes. This house hadn’t suffered as others had from the weather because the original owner had wisely built it far enough back from the highest level of storm surge. Even so, the surge had come close.
It still had a great view, though. He’d forgotten that.
Waves rolled, sunlit and gleaming. It struck him that they were about the color of Emily’s eyes.
Pushing back the curtains set dust motes dancing in the beams of light. Seeing Robert standing there among them, the beams of light glinting on his hair, his blue eyes brilliant, was almost too romantic for words.
Emily suddenly found herself conflicted, mourning the end of one relationship even as she was attracted to another man. She had to remind herself that Robert was way out of her league, he could have any woman he wanted, and there were plenty of women who would want him. He was just being kind, and that was fine with her. Or so she tried to tell herself.
The doors to the deck outside swung open as Robert unlocked them and pushed them open. The ocean breeze swept in to blow away the musty smell.
“Go on out,” Robert said, “I’ll be right there.”
That was an offer Emily couldn’t turn down. It was beautiful outside, if still a little cool after the storm
Cedar deck furniture, the cushions removed and stored, were scattered along the length of the deck.
Beyond were the dunes, and the ocean. Waves rushed and crashed – the sound huge. The air smelled fresh and clean, salt-tinged. Gulls cried and called as she walked down the steps and out to where she could get a better view.
Shore birds scrambled in the wake of the retreating waves, and then dashed back up the beach to escape the next.
It was just what she’d needed; the power and beauty of the ocean making the problems of life seem small.
Robert walked out onto the sand to see Emily standing at the top of the rise, her hair and dress fluttering in the wind. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, smiling. Lovely.
He could almost see his father in his mind’s eye. They were sitting on the porch of the old house in which Robert had grown up, rocking in the chairs his parents had shared while Robert himself sat on the steps. His mother’s funeral was just over, all the neighbors were gone. It was the first time they’d had a few moments to themselves, and his Dad was reminiscing.
“I remember the first time I saw your Mom, Robbie,” the old man had said, his head against the back of the rocker, but his gaze was inward. “You won’t remember her that way, but she was a beautiful woman, and stayed beautiful until the end.”
“How did you know she was the right one, Dad,” Robert had asked.
The old man had smiled. “It just felt right, so I was pretty sure. Then I kissed her…”
His father’s seamed face turned wistful, and Robert could see the loss and grief there.