Chapter Eleven

Stephanie sipped her tea and glanced out the wide French doors that led to her deck.  It was still raining.  It had been raining all week and there was no end in sight.  She sighed. She had actually been looking forward to today.  Her week had been busy with work and she had gone to dinner with Darcy the other night.  She was starting to feel like she was finally get back into the swing of things.  She wasn’t just floating through her days waiting for them to be over so she could crawl back into her bed and try to lose herself in sleep. She was actually finding things to do and having a good time doing them.

And now, today, the day she had been most looking forward to all week, was a washout.  He wouldn’t come over in the rain.  Standing, she put her mug in the dishwasher and caught the mess of her office as she straightened.  “Might as well put that room in order finally” she told herself as she crossed to the room.  Flipping on the light she docked her iPod and hit play.  Her favorite Jersey Boys sang to her as she reached for the first of too many boxes.

The wave hit her as the first flap unfolded.  All the things he had used to make their home office his were in this first box.  His Rocky action figures, his superman figures, his model cars.   She sucked in a tremulous breath.  She was going to do this without crying damn it.  Pulling each item out, she set them on the desk.  She hadn’t been able to part with the action figures.  

Rocky had been his favorite movie.  Hell, she used to kid Mark about his “Rocky Radar” all the time.  He could find any one of those movies on any given day on whatever channel it might be playing on.  It was a little eerie truth be told.  Picking each one up in turn, she set them on the antique curio in the corner.  Her Jon and Richie figures already had their shelf. Now Rocky Balboa and Clubber Lange had theirs.  Superman would be packed away for now.  The model firebird however, that would have to go somewhere.  She looked around the room before making her choice.  She set the black firebird in one of the cubby holes of the desk.

Sitting back in her chair she glanced down at the desk.  Her blackberry was showing she had a text message.  “Hmmm.  Must not have heard it over the music.”  Picking up the phone she smiled slightly.  It was from Richie.

[12:01 PM]  Hey darlin’ R U home?

She glanced at her watch, he had just sent it.

[12:04 PM]  Yes.  Why?

Standing on her front porch Richie sighed in relief.  He hadn’t been sure she’d be home when he got here.  Her car wasn’t in the driveway and her garage door had no windows for him to look in to see if it was there.  He hadn’t gotten an answer when he knocked on the door either.

[12:05]  Can you let me in?  I’m at UR front door.

Stephanie jumped up and hurried to the door.  “Oh my God, you’re getting all wet, come in, come in.”  She closed the door behind him and he toed off his shoes.  “Did you knock or ring the bell?  I didn’t hear anything.”

He nodded.  “I did both.”

She frowned.  “I must have had the music too loud.”  She studied him for a moment.  “I didn’t think I’d see you today.”

He unzipped his jacket.  “Why’s that?  I told you I’d come by.”

She took his coat and hung it in the closet.  “I know, but it’s raining and I’m not washing my car today.”

He followed her down the hall and into the kitchen.  She had dressed for staying indoors today. Her black pants looked like she might wear them for working out and her hoodie looked awful cozy, like he could just pull her in and cuddle her close.  He reached for her hand, grasping just the tips of her fingers before she could go any further.  “I still wanted to see you.”

Her gaze traveled from their tangled fingers up his arm to his face.  His golden brown eyes were darker at the edges and trained on her.  “Oh.”  She still couldn’t believe that this man wanted to have some sort of relationship with her.  Her eyes slid back to their fingers.  She opened her mouth to say something and just then a crash of thunder shook the house and the lights flickered.  She jumped and Richie wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s all right” he soothed and held her close, tucking her head under his chin.  She fit so well right there.  Turning his head he rested his cheek against her hair and as he breathed her scent tickled his senses.  She smelled different again today.  Berries and Vanilla.  That was just one more reason he wanted to come back.  Heather had worn the same perfume the entire time they had been together.  Denise had too.  So did Nikki.  This woman was a mystery.  He never knew what she would smell like and that made him want to come back again and again.  It was a little unnerving just how much he had wanted to see her again.

He felt her tremble against him as the thunder continued to rumble outside.  He ran his hands lightly up and down her back.  It had been a long time since he’d had to ‘save’ someone from a storm.  Ava had gotten over her fear of thunder storms a long time ago.  She barely needed him for anything these days, except his wallet and his car so he could drive her here, there and everywhere.  It was nice to be needed. 

Turning her head she rested her cheek against his chest.  It was warm and solid under her cheek and she could hear the steady beat of his heart.  And damn, he smelled good, like the woods and the musky warm scent of a man.  For the first time in a long time she felt safe and unafraid.  For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel so all alone.  Inhaling deeply she took a slight step back and angled her head so she could see his face.  “Sorry about that.  Forty-two years old and still the thunder gets to me.”

Without thinking he leaned down, his mouth just a whisper from hers.  “No problem Sweetheart. Glad I was here.”  

She jerked her head back, turning so he grazed her cheek with his lips.  They were so soft, just like she knew they would be, but she wasn’t quite ready for that yet. 

He straightened, keeping a hold of her fingers.  She wasn’t ready yet, he could understand, he was disappointed, but he understood.  He turned his head toward the music pouring from her office.

There’s a time and a place and a reason...

Could the lyric have been any more perfect?  “What is that, Def Leppard?”

She took a step toward her office.  “Yeah, I was finally cleaning up in there” she shrugged her shoulders and found a smile, “and I have penchant for eighties bands.”

He chuckled as he followed her.  “Really?  Who’s your favorite?”  He was fishing, but he didn’t care.  A little stroke to the ego never hurt.

Turning the volume down to a more reasonable decibel she turned to look at him.  “There were so many, how am I supposed to choose just one?”

He glanced around the room, “I’m sure you could if you thought hard enough.”  His eyes landed on the curio in the corner.  There were the decent enough replicas of him and Jon on the top shelf.  He picked up the miniature him.  “I bet I can guess.”  He set himself back down and moved to the next shelf.  “Where did you get these Rocky figures?  They’re great.”  A woman who liked Rocky, could he get any luckier?

“They were Mark’s.  He loved those movies.”

Richie nearly winced.  He hadn’t meant to bring up the memories, but how could he have known?  “How about you, do you like those movies?”

A smile curved her lips, “yeah, I do.  I would never let on to Mark though.  It was a running thing between us.”

Richie nodded his understanding.  He and Heather had had little things like that too.  He missed that.  Wanting to change the subject, he circled back to the question that had brought them into the room.  “So, are you going to tell me which 80s band is your favorite?”

Thunder crashed again before she could answer and the lights went out.  Reaching over she flipped the light switch up and down.  Nothing.  “Well shit, that’s not good.” 

Taking her hand, Richie led her from the room out to the kitchen where they could see each other in the dim, rainy light of day.  “Where’s your breaker box?”

She pointed to the garage, “out there.  But you don’t have to do that.  I can handle it.”

Before she could stop him he was across the room and opening the door.  “Got a flashlight sweetheart?”

She rummaged in a drawer and crossed the room to him.  “Here.”

He flicked the switch.  Nothing happened.  His lip twitched and he tried to fight back the laugh.  “Got batteries?”

She shook her head and laughed.  “How about a candle?  I got a bunch of those.  I even have matches.” 

They were still laughing as she stood next to him holding the candle and he flipped the breakers.  Nothing was working.  “Well sweetheart, I hate to say it, but it looks like you’re out til the storm is over.”

Heading back into the kitchen she blew out the candle.  “Great, just great.”

The thunder kept rumbling outside and he could see her trembling as she put the candle back in the holder.  He didn’t want to leave her alone, but he wasn’t sure how receptive she’d be to his idea either.  “Why don’t we go to my house?  I’m sure I still have power and we can watch movies this afternoon or something.” 

She watched his face.  The ‘or something’ had her hesitating.  No, this was Richie, he was being sincere.  He wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want or wasn’t ready to do.  She could trust him.  “Okay.  Can I bring my crock pot though?  It’s got my dinner in it.”

He looked over to the counter, reached across to unplug it and picked it up.  “What’s for dinner?”

Chapter Ten

As her footsteps retreated down the hall, Richie looked around the family room.  The over-sized chair and wide sofa looked comfortable, inviting.  The prints on the walls added color to an otherwise quiet, unassuming room.  Quiet and unassuming, he would say those words could describe Stephanie, if he hadn’t seen her smile and had more than one conversation with her.  

His gaze went to chaise end of the couch.  He could see her sitting there wrapped in the throw that was lying in a heap on the cushion watching a movie or reading a book.  That image was more than a little appealing.  

Turning, he stepped over to study the gallery of photos that covered every available space on the mantle of the corner fireplace.  The picture of Stephanie and another woman laughing, smiling and holding their martini glasses high caught his eye.  That had to be her sister.  The two women looked too much alike to be anything but.  He glanced further along the row of colorful frames.  Most of the photos had to be family.  There was a young man and woman with two little girls.  Taking a closer look, he decided the man had to be her brother.  They had the same eyes, same face shape.  There was a photo of an older couple he guessed were her parents.  She seemed to favor her father.  Looking at all the photos, she was in nearly all of them.  

Except one.  

There was one picture, of a man and a young boy, that she was suspiciously absent from.  Was she the one behind the camera?  And who were the boy and the man?  He picked up the picture for a closer look.  The boy bore a striking resemblance to her, but she hadn’t mentioned having a child.  He looked at the man.  He had dark hair and blue eyes and bore no resemblance to anyone in the other pictures.   She hadn’t mentioned a significant other either.

“What are you doing?”

Startled, Richie nearly dropped the picture as he set it back in its spot.  He had been so wrapped up in the pictures and his thoughts that he hadn’t heard her come back.  He looked her over, she had changed her clothes and was now wearing socks.  Hence her silent entry.  “I was just looking at your photo gallery.  Are they all your family?”

Reaching around him, she straightened the picture of Mark and Ben.  “Yes.”  She pointed to the other ones he had been looking at.  “I have a sister and brother-in-law, a brother and sister-in-law and several nieces and one nephew back home, along with my parents.”

He didn’t miss the hint of pain and sadness that crossed her features as she fussed with the pictures.  Whoever was in that one photo, they were important to her and the cause of some serious hurt.  He picked up the photo, “who is this?”

She took the picture from him and turned toward the kitchen.  “Let’s have lunch.”  She knew she was going to have to tell him about them at some point.  Apparently that time was now.

Sitting at the breakfast bar, Richie sipped raspberry iced tea and watched as Stephanie put together a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato for him, cutting it half she added a side of tortellini salad and set it in front of him.  “Looks great.  Thanks.”

She joined him on his side of the breakfast bar with a half a sandwich and salad.  “You’re welcome.”   Taking a tiny bite of her sandwich she picked up the picture and set it on the counter between them.  “This is Mark and Ben.  They were my husband and son.”

He finished chewing slowly and set his sandwich down even slower.  His stomach was now somewhere around his knees.  Husband and son?  Why hadn’t she said anything before?  He looked over at her.  She was staring at the picture, her eyes were clouded.  Wait, she had said ‘were’.  They were my husband and son.  “What do you mean were your husband and son?”

“Just what I said.”  She pushed her plate aside, her appetite suddenly gone.  “They were my husband and son.  They’re gone now.”

He looked from the her to the picture.  Gone?  Did they go back home or did she mean something else he didn’t want to think about?  “What do you mean gone?”

Getting up, she scraped her lunch into the garbage.  “They’re dead, Rich” she nearly whispered.  Sitting back down she toyed with her glass.  “One year eight months and seven days ago.”

He stared down at his plate.  Shit, that was the last thing he expected her to say.  His thoughts immediately went to Ava.  What would he do if anything ever happened to her?  He didn’t think he’d survive it.   Out of the corner of his eye he saw her hand resting on the counter.  Unconsciously his pinkie reached out and curled around hers.  “What happened?”  And how the hell had she lived through it?

Glancing down at the contact she closed her eyes and took a breath at the jolt of electricity that ran up her arm.  She slid her gaze to his face.   He hadn’t offered the normal platitudes and sympathy.  She was grateful.  She’d heard enough of that to last her a lifetime.  

As the sun shifted and the clouds rolled in, she told him of the tragedy of the day that was forever burned in her brain.  Mark and Ben had gone to a basketball game an hour away from home.  The weather hadn’t been that great, but Mark was careful and took his time.  In the end it hadn’t mattered.  A truck driver on the road for too many hours, had entered the freeway on too little sleep and and dozed off, drifting across three lanes.  He broadsided Mark’s car at sixty-five miles an hour, giving them no chance to do anything but close their eyes and pray.   

She didn’t cry as she spoke, but her eyes were wet and the tears threatened.  But she didn’t let them fall.  “After I got the call, the rest is still a blur until the funeral.  I’m still not sure how I got through those first few days.”  

The green eyes he wanted to see more of shimmered and he could see her fighting not to let the tears fall.  It had to be that same strength that had brought her through the worst thing imaginable and brought her out here to California.  And she had done her fight better than he had.  “You’re a strong woman Steph.  I’m not sure I would have survived that.  I nearly didn’t survive my own tragedy and it wasn’t anything near what you went through.”  Losing his child, he couldn’t even fathom it.  

“It still hurts, everyday is a little easier, but I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.”  She squeezed his hand.  “Thanks for listening.”  She got up and put their dishes in the dishwasher.  Looking out the window over the sink she frowned.  The sky had darkened with the late afternoon and clouds and the window was spattered with rain.  “It figures.  I wash my car and it rains.”  

Richie slipped off the stool and moved to stand behind her, his hands on her shoulders.  He wanted this woman in his life.  He couldn’t explain it, but sometimes there is no explanation, you just know.  “I want to see you again darlin’.  I’ll come back next Saturday and help you wash your car again if you want.”

She gave a little smile.  She wasn’t sure she was ready, but it felt good to have a man’s hands on her again.  She leaned back against him.  His warmth radiated through her and she felt oddly comforted.   Maybe he could help heal her broken heart.  She didn’t know but, ready or not, she wanted to find out.  “I’d like that.”

Chapter Nine

Setting the bucket next to her car, Stephanie turned the water on and aimed the hose at her car.   What a week she thought as she hosed down the car.  Her new job was going well, she had a manuscript she was finishing up that sounded promising and she’d managed to make some new friends.  Jack and Darcy had even talked her into going out for drinks last night too.  It had actually been fun to be out, even if she had only stayed for one drink and been home before nine on a Friday night.

Shrugging, she grabbed the sponge from her bucket and slopped the soapy water on the car.  Once a week she washed her baby.  A couple times a year she got waxed too.  That was next today.  Her house was clean and now her car would be too.  She smiled.  Her and Mark had spent many a Saturday taking care of their cars.  When Ben was old enough they got him involved and had their own little family car wash once a week.  The three of them usually ended up as wet as the cars, but it was all in good fun.  Sadness crept into her smile.  She missed those moments.

As she worked her way around the car, her thoughts turned to Richie and their encounter earlier that week on the beach.  They had spent a long while sitting on the beach just talking.  She had eventually told him her name and, before they went their separate ways, she reluctantly gave him her number.  He had said he wanted to see her again, but no call had come so far.  She picked up the hose to rinse the car.  It didn’t really matter.  She was sure he was just trying to be nice to her.  There wasn’t really anything more to it than that.

Singing along with radio as she worked she didn’t see the little silver sports car drive by and turn around, slowing to a stop in front of her house.

Crouching to work on the tires she didn’t see the man standing at the foot of the driveway until she stood and nearly hit him with the spray from the hose.

“Hey!”  He quickly stepped back out of the way of the stream of water.  “Watch where you aim that thing.”  He quickly drank her in.  Her jeans hugged her hips, had wet spots on the knees and were rolled up above her ankles, her t-shirt was damp and her feet were bare.  Her hair was pulled back in a long tail at the nape of her neck.  She looked damned cute and his whole body reacted to this fresh faced beauty doing an everyday normal thing.  None of the women he had been involved with lately would have been caught dead looking like she did.

She jerked her head in the direction of the now very recognizable voice.  “Richie?!  What are you doing here?”  Her pulse started to race.  How did he know where she lived?  And did he have to look so damn good in jeans and a t-shirt?

Seeing that she still held the hose in her hand, he took a tentative step forward, his hands raised in defense.  “Don’t shoot.”  When she lowered the hose he continued.  “I had an appointment in Burbank this morning and happened to see you out here as I was driving by.”   He stepped closer; her car gleamed in the sunshine.  “So I thought I’d stop.”  He motioned to her car.  “She looks great.”

Stephanie smiled.  “Yeah she does, but she’s not quite done yet.  She gets her winter coat of wax today.”

“I like a woman who knows how to take care of her car.”

Stephanie moved to shut the water off and grabbed a couple of towels.  “I think you just like my car.”  She started wiping the car down, “you going to just stand there?”  When he didn’t move she tossed a towel in his direction.  If he was going to make her all nervous and jerky, the least he could do was grab a towel and help her out.  “I assume you know how to wipe off a car, right?”

Grinning, he picked up the towel.  She was in a feisty mood today.  “Yeah, I do.”

Together they wiped down the car and when they were through Stephanie took the towels back into the garage and came back with the can of carnauba wax and two more cloths. “What are you doing here Rich?”  She rubbed the wax on the hood of the car while she waited for him to answer.  She needed to keep busy.  She didn’t want him to see how he made her pulse jump and race.  It wasn’t right.

Reaching around her he tugged the cloth out of her back pocket and rubbed the wax off as she rubbed it on.  She smelled different today.  Like citrus and sunshine with a hint of the beach thrown in just to drive him that much crazier.   “I told you I wanted to see you again.”

She swallowed as his hand ghosted across her lower back and nodded, “you did.  But you also said you’d call me.”

“I know.  But I got busy this week and, well, here I am in person instead.”  It had been totally unplanned, but when he saw her out in her driveway, he couldn’t just drive by.  He had to stop.  “I was going to call you this afternoon.”  He stopped and turned her so they were facing each other.  “Should I go home and call you instead?”

Looking up to his face his dimple was out in full force and a very girly giggle escaped before she could stop it.  “No.  You just surprised me.  I was sure I only gave you my phone number the other day and not my address.”

He shrugged.  “Just one more coincidence to add to the others from last week I guess.”  He tugged his sunglasses down and narrowed his eyes playfully.  “Are you sure you’re not stalking me?”

She couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.  “No.  And if you look around, it’s MY driveway you’re standing in and MY house your car is parked in front of.  I’m starting to think you’re the one who’s stalking me.”

“Damn.”  His smile broadened as he looked around.  “You figured me out.”

“Yeah well, you’re easy to read.”  She took the wax and rags back into the garage and shut the radio off.  “Now she’s done.”

Richie rocked back on his heels.  He wasn’t ready for this interlude to be over with yet.  He glanced down at his watch.  “Can I take you to lunch?”

She coiled up the hose and looked down at herself.  Her jeans were damp; her shirt was smudged with dirt.  She was a mess.  “I’m not really dressed to go out anywhere.”

He shrugged.  “So go change, I’ll wait.”

She stood looking at him for a long moment trying to figure him out.  He was a world famous rock star and he wanted to have lunch with her; a woman who was more than a little broken and trying to find her way.   She opened her mouth intending to say no, but the words that came out surprised even her.  “Why don’t you come in and I’ll make us some lunch?”

Without waiting for his answer, she moved past him and up the walk to the door.

Chapter Eight

The sand was warm and wet under her toes as she walked along the water’s edge; the light breeze fluttered the wrap around her thighs and lifted the ends of her hair.  This was a vacation of a lifetime, a romantic getaway just for the two of them.  He had surprised her with the trip out of the blue.  Just because.  Pulling her gaze from the rolling waves, she smiled as she turned. He was walking down the beach toward her.

Having loved him for more than half her life, she’d know him anywhere.  His dark hair was covered by his hat, his shoulders were broad and tanned, his waist trim.  He had always kept himself in good shape.  She wished she could see his eyes.  They were hidden in the shadow of the brim of his hat.  They were the most incredible shade of blue.  How lucky she had been to find him twenty years ago.

She took a step toward him as he drew nearer.  He opened his arms and she went to him willingly.  “There you are darlin’.  I was beginning to think you left me.”

Looking up she frowned.  That wasn’t her husband’s voice.  This voice was all whiskey-tinged-with-jersey.  Her eyes met his.  They were a warm, velvety brown not the incredible blue she loved so much.

“Richie?  But you’re not…”

She opened her eyes slowly, a tear slid across her temple and got lost in her hair.  That wasn’t right.  She shouldn’t be dreaming of Richie.  This was crazy.  Getting out of bed she stood before the window, staring out at the backyard.  How could she be dreaming of another man?  Just because she had run into him a couple of times, literally last night, that was no reason to be dreaming of him.  At the soft throat clearing sound behind her she turned and found Catte watching her from the bathroom doorway.  

“Are you okay?”  Showered and dressed for the day, Catte had watched her move from bed to the window, wiping her face with her hand.

Stephanie nodded.  “Just a weird dream.”  She turned to squint at the clock and her eyes widened.  She had slept half the morning away.  When was the last time she had done that? She hadn’t even taken a pill last night.  Sighing, she pushed her hair back from her face and turned back to straighten the bed.  She needed to put all this out of her head and enjoy her friends today. 

Catte stopped her.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

Stephanie sat heavily on the edge of the bed.  She did and she didn’t.  She was tired of feeling sad and depressed and she didn’t want to bring her friends down, but maybe if she talked about it, her chest wouldn’t hurt quite so much.  “I was dreaming of the last trip Mark and I took.  The one he surprised me with.”

Catte nodded her understanding.  Steph had e-mailed them all excited about a romantic get away he had planned for the two of them.  “I remember you telling us about it.”

“About what?” 

Steph and Catte turned to find Hath and Willow in the doorway.  Stephanie motioned for them to join her and Catte on the bed.  “About that last trip Mark took me on.  I had a dream and I was just starting to tell Catte about it.”

The girls settled on the bed to listen.

“Anyway, I was standing on the beach by the water and turned to find Mark walking toward me.  Only when I stepped into his arms, it wasn’t Mark.  It was Richie.”

After what she had told the girls last night about her run in with Richie in the hallway in the restaurant, the girls weren’t surprised.  The girls all waited for more.  “And?”

Stephanie shrugged.  “And what?  That’s when I woke up.”

Catte turned to the girls, “she was crying when she woke up.”

Steph shook her head, “one tear does not constitute crying.”

“Why were you crying?”  Hath got the question out first.  “Because it was Richie instead of Mark in the dream?”

Stephanie shrugged.  “I don’t know, maybe.”

“Maybe after all the times of running into him in the last few days you just have Richie on the brain?”  Willow smiled at her.

Steph giggled.  “That’s probably it.  Not to mention he invaded a very intimate memory for me.  That trip was the first time Mark every did anything like that for me.”  It was also the last.

Shaking her hair back, Stephanie stood and headed into her closet.  “Enough of this; let me get showered and dressed and then we can hit LA.”

~

The day sped by.  After lunching on hot dogs at Pinks, the girls went to the Grammy Museum, drove down Hollywood Boulevard, walked the Hollywood walk of fame, tried to take their picture with the big Hollywood sign, toured the Walt Disney Concert Hall, voted that Universal was a little too pricey and decided that walking up and down Rodeo Drive and quoting the movie “Pretty Woman” would be more fun.

They ended their day with dinner at Spark Woodfire Grill on Ventura Boulevard.  Stephanie had been too busy enjoying her friends to even think about anything else.

Monday morning came all too soon.  Before the girls knew it, they were packing their suitcases and loading back into Stephanie’s car and heading back to the airport.  With a near tearful goodbye, Stephanie left her friends standing in the line to go through security to get to their flight.

Sitting behind the wheel Stephanie tried to figure out what to do.  She didn’t want to go back to her empty house just yet.  She looked up to the sky, the sun was shining again.  She put the top down and left the airport, heading out Route 1 toward Malibu.

Finding a parking spot at Zuma Beach, she tossed her shoes to the floor, locked the car and headed down the beach.  She could smell the salt in the air and the sand was warm under her feet as she walked.  The breeze teased the ends of her hair as she tucked a lock behind her ear. 

There weren’t many people out on a Monday morning, but it was October and school was in session.  That didn’t bother her.  She was getting better at being alone.  And, it gave her time to think.

Sitting to roll up the cuffs of her jeans she looked up and down the beach.  There was someone else out taking a walk.  Rising from her spot she dusted the sand off her butt, preparing to continue on her way.  She stopped as she noticed the other person again.  Raising a hand to fend off the sun’s glare she waited.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d swear you were following me.”

He smiled, his dimple winking at her.  He had seen her car when he pulled up and couldn’t help himself.  His run was going to wait until after he talked to her and found out her name.  When he came upon her sitting on the beach, he had all he could do to keep his pace even the closer he got to her.  “I could say the same.”

She smiled back.  “What are you doing here?”

He sat down in the sand, gesturing for her to do the same.  “I was coming out here for a run and saw your car.”

“My car?  Do you have a crush on my car?”

He smiled sheepishly.  “No.  Maybe.  A little.  I can’t help it, it’s a sweet car.”

She ducked her head, trying not to laugh.  “I agree; it is a sweet car.  But what is it you really want Richie?”

Turning, he slid his sunglasses off, “you left the restaurant so quickly the other night I didn’t get a chance to ask your name sweetheart.  That’s what I want."

Reaching over, he slid her sunglasses down her nose so he could see her eyes.  "Will you tell me your name darlin’?