We walked into the store and were greeted by a woman with bright red hair. “Mason, honey, how have you been?” I couldn’t ignore the red nails or the red lipstick.
“Good, Renee. How are you?”
She tried to wipe off the smudge of lipstick on his cheek after she kissed him. I stood back and watched the exchange.
“Darlin’, I’m trying to stay inside where it’s cool. What brings you in here? And who is this pretty thing?” She smiled at me.
“This is Sydney Paige. Maybe you’ve read some of her work. She’s a reporter for the News & Record.”
Her arms were loaded with fluorescent bangle bracelets that rattled when we shook hands. “How did you manage to get Mason in here?” She winked. “I want to know your secret.”
I blushed. I had no idea who this woman was, but she seemed familiar with Mason.
“We have a day at the beach planned, Renee. Could you hook us up? We need it all. Umbrella, cooler, sunscreen.” He eyed me. “And throw in one of those cute bikinis over there.”
“Well, give me a second, sugar. I’ll get everything you need.” She hustled to one of the displays and started dumping bottles and towels in a basket.
I whispered to Mason, “I have a bathing suit.”
“I know, but I want to get you something new.”
Renee shuttled me in one of the dressing rooms and pulled a curtain in front of me. “Wait right here, and I’ll pick out a few things for you to try on. Although I think Mason wants to pick them out.”
I stood behind the curtain wondering how I ended up in a dressing room, while bikinis passed through an opening. Mason and Renee talked while I tried on three different suits. I finally settled on the green.
I got dressed and handed the green bikini to Renee. “Honey, I hope you two have fun at the beach. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen this one out there.” She cast a motherly look at Mason.
“Is that so?” I teased.
“Hey, I spend plenty of time on the beach running. I’m out there almost every day when I’m in town.”
I smiled when Renee handed me two of the bags. Mason lifted the cooler over the counter, and secured the umbrella under his arm.
“Ice is on the deck, Mason. Grab a few bags. You’re going to need it today.”
“It was nice meeting you, Renee. Thanks for the help.” I waved goodbye.
“You come in here anytime, honey.”
We walked out into the sun. Mason stopped by the ice machine and reached for the twenty-pound bags of ice. With the top down he could wedge the cooler in the backseat.
“She seems like a character,” I commented, strapping the seatbelt over my chest.
He laughed. “You have no idea.” He waited for a car to pass before pulling out of the parking lot. “I credit Renee for everything that happened at the Palm.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was able to help me see things differently. And she wasn’t afraid to tell me I was being an ass.”
I laughed. “You an ass? No.”
He parked by the boardwalk. “Come on, let’s get changed. We’ll leave all this here.”
I hurried up the stairs after him. I cut the tags from my new bikini and changed into it while Mason grabbed drinks from the refrigerator.
Within a few minutes we were lugging our bags and cooler onto the beach.
He dug a hole in the sand and wiggled the umbrella post until he was certain it wouldn’t fly off in the wind.