What is she saying—no one’s ever been a gentleman with her?
Fuck.
“No more shop talk tonight,” I decide, and she arches a brow.
“That a rule?”
“Yes. Besides, you might have already solved the equipment problem.”
She grins, and I can’t help but return it.
I want to show her something different.
We order tacos and find a spot to sit on the beach. Before Rae can sit, I spot a beach hut where I can purchase a towel embroidered with crabs so we can eat without getting sand in our food. Ash would piss himself laughing if he could see me now. We talk about all kinds of things.
“Most embarrassing moment?” I ask.
“A show in New York during arts school. I was mixing from my notebook, and it tried to run an update installation midcycle.”
I laugh silently.
“What about you? I have a hard time picturing you embarrassed.”
“Fuck, there are loads,” I insist, scanning my memories. “Oh. Initiation the first year of boarding school, we were at the beach, and some other boys stole my swimsuit. I had to walk back to the dorms with a piece of food wrap”—I hold up the paper from my taco—“to cover myself and explain to the headmaster why I was out without a uniform.”
Her shoulders rock with laughter. The humiliation was worth it for this one moment.
“Favorite TV show?” she asks once she’s recovered.
“Great British Bake Off.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am not,” I insist. “And if you so much as think of telling another human, you won’t live long enough to do it. What’s yours?”
“South Park.”
I shake my head. “Unbelievable.”
“That I like a cartoon?”
“Mhmm.”
No. That I’m falling for a woman who likes a cartoon.I finish my taco, mostly managing to avoid dropping coleslaw on the sand.
“Proudest moment?” she asks me.
I don’t have to think about it. “I’ve bought my share of venues, but I was twenty-five when I opened the first one I built from scratch. The moment we turned on the sign and those lights lit up the night, I swear I could feel my parents watching me. It was the first time I felt as if I was doing the right thing.”
Rae studies me without blinking. “Well, that’s intense. What was it called?”
“Brillante.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t name it something more personal.”
“It never occurred to me,” I say honestly. “Would you have? You never stay in one place long enough for anything to become personal.”
“If it was a building, brick and mortar… I think I would.”