Chapter Thirteen
Nursing his second beer, Ray had run through a few options in his mind, pulling out his phone from time to time and checking the feasibility of his plans.So far so good.Of course much of what he’d been thinking depended a great deal on a pretty blonde.
“This must be Emily.”Doug swiped his phone, then reading the text, nodded.“Yep.They’re on their way.Should be here shortly.”He pushed to his feet and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket.“You staying?”
Ray fingered his beer.“I’ll finish this and then head upstairs.”
Slapping a few bills on the bar, Doug nodded.“I’m sure we’ll run into each other tomorrow.”
Ray laughed.“No doubt.”The way the two groups of friends kept intertwining their wedding plans, anyone would have thought they’d all been friends for years.The nice thing, of course, was that, if not for everyone’s familiarity, he wouldn’t be sitting in the bar at this hour waiting to talk to Amy.
Once Doug was out of sight, Ray shifted to a seat with a clear view of the lobby and elevators to the rooms.If Amy was too exhausted to talk, then he’d hold off on what he had to say until tomorrow, but, excited for the first time in ages about his future, he couldn’t wait to see her.
Laughter floated in his direction.Women’s laughter.At this hour it had to be the girls.Sure enough, his sister, Tish, led the pack of cackling women.They all looked to have had a lot of fun, maybe too much fun.He counted, one, two, three more women, including Emily, but no Amy.Just then his sister looked up and caught his gaze.She turned to her friends, hugged each of them, and, as they stepped into the elevator, then spun around and headed in his direction.The laughter and fun mood slid from her face.What was that all about?
Ray wasn’t the only one watching Tish saunter into the bar.Except for him, one other guy and the bartender, the place was empty.Both the hotel guest and the bartender followed her every move all the way to the table.Ray resisted the urge to tell them to put their eyeballs back in their heads before he shoved them down their throats.He’d have never survived her teenage years if she’d been such a knockout back then.
Tish slid into the seat beside her brother.“I was wondering if I would see you again before the wedding.”
“The wedding’s not ’til Saturday.”
“You and Amy are getting pretty cozy.”
He tried not to blush.“She’s nice.”
“Yes.She is.”Tish blinked.“I like her too, but, if you don’t reel it in, she’s going to get hurt.Every time your name came up, she lit up like the North Star on black velvet.For once in your life, you’ve got to think ahead.”
“I am.”
“I don’t mean until Saturday.She’s a permanent kind of girl, Ray.”
Another wave of women’s chatter burst into the air.
“That’s the second cab load.”Tish pushed to her feet.“Think carefully.Please.”
Thinking was all he’d been doing for the last three hours.Tish met up with the rest of the wedding gang.This was the moment he’d been waiting for.He stood up, the chair scraping underneath him.The sound echoed into the lobby, and all the ladies turned their heads.Amy, the only one he cared about and with a bright smile that spread across her face, had him ready to crow like a territorial rooster.
Like his sister a few minutes before, she turned to the other women.Hugs and more giggles abounded, until Amy was the only one left in the lobby.He remained rooted to the floor, watching her make her way toward him.Her naturally blonde hair fell to her shoulders in a casual cascade.Lord, she was beautiful.
“Hi.”Amy came to a stop in front of him.
“Hi.”He felt like an awkward teen.Twice in the same week.What he wanted to do was scoop her into his arms, carry her off, and never let go.Relief flooded him when she pushed on tiptoe and gently kissed his lips.Too soon the soft feel of her mouth on his was over.
“Last call,” the bartender announced.
“What would you like?”Ray asked.
“Ginger ale.”
“Be right back.”All evening he’d nursed two beers.At the bar he ordered two ginger ales and brought them to the small table.“Bartender says, they’ll be tossing us out and locking up shortly.Would you mind taking these out to the terrace?”
“I’d love that.I want to suck up as much of Hawaii as I can before I have to go home.”
Ray held the door for her.“There are people who feel the same way about California.”
“True, but it’s still not paradise.”
“From what I’ve seen so far of L.A., I won’t argue with you.The traffic was insane.The horizon is more brown than blue, and a cup of coffee cost a week’s salary.”
