The rest of the evening was exactly what I had originally imagined. Luxurious and fun. The dinner was so delicious that I almost asked Colin if seconds were possible, but I held my tongue. Good thing, too, because dessert was a serve-yourself buffet of cakes. I sampled three different cakes, ensuring mysugar levels had a decent enough spike to keep me going for at least another hour.
Colin stayed by my side the whole time, including me in all conversations and singing my praises to all who asked me what I did.
“She takes care of her department. They’d be lost without her. The agency would be lost without her,” he said to a board member.
“That’s not true,” I said, touching Colin lightly on the arm.
The man looked at my hand and back at the two of us.
“You two are dating? What does your father say about that?” the man asked. Since I’d met several board members, I had trouble remembering his name.
Colin put his arm around my waist but maintained a serious countenance. “I suppose we’ll find out when we give him notice.”
“He’ll blow a gasket,” the man said with a chuckle. “You know how he gets about anything that can potentially blow up the company.”
“Thanks, Ron. I’ll keep that in mind. Excuse us,” Colin said, guiding us away.
“Did your dad know you were bringing me?” I asked. He must have. Malia had greeted us as if it had all been planned out.
“Yes, ignore Ron,” he said. But his face didn’t look like he was ignoring anything at all.
We weren’t even a couple yet. This was only our third date, technically. No need to stress out about such a thing. Right?
A few minutes later, I was being introduced to M Flame. Maggie’s father. He was a good-looking older man, not at all unlike Colin in his demeanor. He seemed quiet and serious, but our interaction was positive until he moved on.
Colin danced with me, but I sensed he did it to appease me and that he had no interest in being on the dance floor. After a couple of dances, I let him off the hook and said I wanted towalk along the beach like the others we’d seen strolling by on the shore.
His smile showed he liked my idea, and I took his arm as he helped me off the tent floor. I’d already kicked off my heels and walked with them in hand, but he took them from me and let them dangle from his other hand. I delighted in how helpful he always tried to be. It was so refreshing.
The moon was out above the water. Though it wasn’t a completely full moon, it lit up enough of the shore that we were able to see well once the lit torches were behind us. We passed several couples. Some were talking, some were laughing. One group dared each other to go into the water.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I said to Colin.
“I did do that. Fastest I ever came out of the water was when I saw a fin coming straight at me.”
“A shark?” I gasped.
“It had to have been. But Stephen didn’t believe me. He didn’t ‘feel’ like getting in the water after that though, so maybe he believed me enough to be spooked by it. Anyway, I learned my lesson after that. Though I have been swimming with sharks before off the Bahamas, but that wasn’t in the evening when they’re more likely to feed.”
“You’ve been swimming with sharks?” I gasped again.
“I’ve also gone bungee jumping and hang gliding,” he said.
“How haven’t you told me this?” I asked.
“We’re still getting acquainted. I have to leave a little mystery to me so you don’t get bored.” He squeezed my hand.
I laughed. “I wouldn’t have ever guessed it in a million years.”
“I’m not always serious,” he said.
“True. I’ve seen many sides of you. But I can’t keep up with any of that adventurous stuff. I don’t even like roller coasters,” I admitted.
“But you like dancing. You were great at talking to everyone, keeping the conversations flowing. We all have our strengths. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to jump out of a plane with me.”
“Good, because I’m pretty sure that I’d die before even getting up in the air. And I won’t make you dance anymore.”
“While I won’t beg you to go dancing, getting to hold you close has its advantages. I won’t say no to that,” he said. This timeIsqueezedhishand.
