He waved a hand in front of my face to completely grab my attention. “Hey.”
“Oh what? Hey.”
He tipped his head and stared at me. “You okay?”
My thoughts were all over the place, but slammed back into me all at once. Mitch wanted to talk.
“Are you finished work soon?”
“Umm, yeah.” I clicked on the keyboard and sent a few things to the printer.
“Great. Can I pick you up from Amber’s place in an hour?”
“But I have our car?” We shared one, and when I left that night, I took it with me. “I can pick you up.”
“Please.” There was an edge of firmness to his tone. “One hour.” Without another word, he sauntered into the attached hanger through a side door.
I logged out and raced to my friend’s place. For some reason, the butterflies were swarming in a mad tornado-like spin, and I was looking forward to spending time with Mitch, even though I was still mad at him. He was a hard guy to getover.
Chapter Thirteen
I was waiting in the pub when he waltzed in late, my heart hammering in my chest. He looked so devilishly charming, I had to get a second take. His wavy hair was brushed off his face, make him appear more like Jude Law than I’d seen him appear in years. His overalls were replaced with a pair of crisp pants and a nice button down. The man was positively handsome, and my heart tripled its beat.
“Oh no. Not in here, Mister.” Amber stalked out from behind the bar and stormed right over to Mitch. “Out you go.”
Perhaps I should’ve said something when I came down a few minutes ago. I’d mentioned I was going out, but I didn’t expand upon that. Hopping off my stool, I joined the pair before they made a scene.
“It’s okay, Amber. I’m going out with him.”
She glared at Mitch before she tossed her gaze over to me. “Are you sure about this?”
“We need to talk and air everything out. I promise, it’ll be okay.”
Amber spun on her heels to face Mitch. “I swear, you hurt her again–”
“Amber,” Mitch began, his voice was soft and soothing. “Thank you for giving my Cedar a safe place when I couldn’t be the man she depended on.” He placed his hand upon her shoulder. “I promise, we’re just going to talk. She’ll be okay. I promise not to hurt her again.”
Amber squared her shoulders and narrowed her gaze. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d risen up and challenged people, but I’d never seen her do it with someone I truly knew. “You better not.” She wrapped her arm around me and whispered in my ear. “Call me later, just to let me know if you need me to leavethe door unlocked.”
Mitch offered his arm, and I hesitated before looping mine through it. From the bottom of my purse, I dug out the keys to the car. “You can drive.”
“Perfect. I have a place in mind we can go to and talk.”
We walked out to the parking lot and he held open the door for me. It was like we were on a first date of sorts. Making sure I was tucked in, he hopped over to the driver’s side.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I glanced around as he backed out and headed onto the main road leading us out of town. After a few minutes, he took another turn and we were heading north on the highway, past the airport. I still had no idea where we were going, but I was intrigued. We’d passed the turn off to Stewart Bay, where the southern tip of the best beach on the west coast was.
Finally, he parked at a little roadside café I’d never been at or remembered. Mind you, it wasn’t often that I drove past the airport. There was no need. Everything I wanted was in Cheshire Bay.
“Be right back.”
From my vantage point, I had a clear view to the ocean where a few surfers were out riding the waves. Eric had tried to convince Mitch and I to try it, but I wasn’t a strong enough swimmer. Amber was pretty decent, and I heard Lily used to be, back in her younger days.
Mitch returned and set two paper bags of steamy and savoury food in the backseat.