Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a good reason to maintain the contact as they walked down Benefit Street and toward a parking garage near her office building.
“This is me.” She stopped alongside a dark green Mustang and used the key fob to unlock the door. He remembered Jen’s excitement when she told him she’d finally bought her dream car.
Jen opened the door. “I’m glad we met tonight.”
“Me too.”
“Good luck on Monday. Let me know how it goes.” She tossed her bag in the car but made no movement to get in despite her earlier comment about her dog being starving. Instead her eyes dropped to his lips and then quickly met his again. “And if you’re in Providence again let me know. We can meet for coffee or lunch.”
He interpreted her statement to mean they were on the same page. “Are you free Saturday?”
“Uh, yeah. Free all weekend. Why?”
“Let’s go to the beach and work on your tan.” In more than one of her e-mails she’d talked about how much she enjoyed the beach. If the weather was as nice as predicted, they could spend a good portion of the day there.
Actual concern, an odd reaction to his invitation, crossed her face. “The beach,” she said rather than answer him.
“We can do something else, but you did mention your tan earlier. And I haven’t been to the beach in a while.” He didn’t date often. When he did ask out a woman, he didn’t get turned down. Actually, never in his life had a woman turned him down.
“It is supposed to be a nice day. Okay, sure. A Saturday at the beach sounds nice,” she said, sounding uncertain.
He’d sent her enough letters to have her address memorized. “How does 0900….” Brett stopped. “Sorry. Is nine o’clock too early?”
A smile replaced her concerned expression. “I knew what you meant. My dad was in the Army. Nine sounds good. See you then.”
Before she could get behind the wheel, he stepped closer. “Have a safe drive home.” His eyes zeroed in on her lips. With his target acquired, he leaned toward her. Before he reached his destination, she moved and dropped a quick, sisterly kiss on his cheek.
“Bye.” She jumped into her car like a jack-in-the-box going in reverse.
Brett stood and watched her drive away. He hadn’t been looking for or expecting it, but a unique relationship had developed thanks to their letters. He wouldn’t quite label it as a romantic one yet, but something damn close. He’d asked to meet so he could better gauge what did or didn’t exist between them. So far, his preliminary findings pointed in the right direction. This weekend he’d continue gathering intel, a mission he was definitely looking forward to.
Chapter Three
Jen looked back at her sister. Needing a little moral support this morning, she’d called Kristen. Her sister hadn’t hesitated to come over. “What was I thinking?”
Jen tossed another bathing suit on her bed. She didn’t wait for Kristen to answer before continuing. “I should’ve suggested we go for a hike or a bike ride. Maybe a movie. Do you think it’s too late to call and reschedule?” Unless you were a fashion model, the beach was a terrible place for a date.
“I’m not letting you reschedule.” Kristen picked up the newest suit to land on the bed. “And you cannot wear this one.” She tossed the purple bathing suit back at Jen.
She caught it and then held it up to check for any holes or worn-out spots. She didn’t see any. In fact, she didn’t see anything wrong with it. The one-piece was her favorite color and the attached skirt covered the scar on her hip nicely. She’d worn it to the beach earlier in the summer. “Why not? I only bought it last year. It looks fine to me.”
Before answering, Kristen came over, grabbed it, and stuffed it back into the drawer under the pile of underwear. “Because it’s a granny suit.” She riffled through the drawer and pulled out the white bikini buried at the bottom. “This is what you should wear.” She held the swimsuit up.
Jen eyed the bikini. Her last boyfriend had bought it for a cruise they took together. She’d worn it then to make him happy, but she’d been uncomfortable every time. Now she only wore it if she was lying out alone in her fenced-in backyard and working on her tan. She grabbed the bikini and tossed it back in the drawer where it belonged. “Yeah, no way am I wearing that today.” She walked to her bed and grabbed the two tankinis from the pile. “How about one of these?”
“I still think the white one is the way to go, but go with the red one. It’s better than all the frumpy one-piece suits you have.”
She liked to swim and made a point to visit the gym at least twice a week to get in some laps. Modest one-piece bathing suits were ideal for that. “They’re not frumpy. They’re practical.”
“Whatever you say, as long as you leave them all buried at home today,” Kristen said.
Jen stuck her tongue out in her sister’s direction before carrying her clothes into the master bathroom. Most of the beaches she visited had changing facilities. Some even had shower stalls. She had no idea where Brett planned to go this morning, so just in case there was no place to change, she’d wear her suit under her clothes. The sundress she’d chosen dried quickly, so if she had to put it over a damp swimsuit later, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“What else are you doing today?” Kristen’s voice carried through the closed door.
Excellent question. If Brett had other plans for them, he hadn’t shared them with her. She hadn’t asked in any of the numerous text messages they’d exchanged since their meeting earlier in the week either. Instead she’d avoided the topic of today’s outing altogether, because even thinking about it made the excited knot in her stomach grow exponentially.
“No clue.”