“Why are they gonna drop? You still get time off, won’t you want to see her then?”
Yeah, of course he’d want to see her. The question was would she want to see him? She liked him, he knew that, but was it enough to put up with his job?
Lucas had no idea.
“Maybe.” He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He wanted to surf and forget about things for a while.
“I think you’re crazy,” Griff said, shrugging.
“Yeah, well the feeling’s mutual.” Lucas looked at his friend. “Now are we gonna stand around here all morning talking, or do you want to hit some waves?”
* * *
One of the best parts of living so close to the ocean was being able to spend time at the beach after work. Ember drove straight from school to the parking lot behind the boardwalk and ran into the café to change into her swimsuit. Ally was busy serving customers, but mouthed, “I’ll catch you later,” to Ember as she rushed out of the bathroom, shoving her skirt and blouse i
nto her beach bag, and slinging her towel over her shoulder.
Brooke had already set up her blanket a few yards away from the water, and was helping Nicholas find shells in the line of wet sand on the ocean’s edge. Ember called out to them, and they both turned and waved, Nick holding up a huge conch shell with a big smile on his face.
“Come and see, Miss Kennedy,” he called out. “If I hold it up to my ear I can hear the waves.”
“I don’t like to tell him that I can hear the waves without the shell at my ear,” Brooke whispered good humoredly as Ember reached the two of them. “And sorry about the Miss Kennedy thing. He still gets confused.”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind what he calls me.” It always made her smile when she saw her students out in the town. For a start they looked shocked that she would spend time anywhere but at school. And secondly they never knew whether to wave at her or to be embarrassed. She tried to make it easier on them by waving first.
Ember hunkered down in front of Nick, admiring the shell he’d found. “That’s a beauty,” she said, reaching out to trace the spiral that led to the pinnacle of the conch. “You’re a lucky boy.”
Nick’s face softened at her praise. “Did you know an animal used to live in here?” he asked her. “This was his home. Do you think he’ll mind if I take it to my home?”
She glanced over at Brooke who was looking amused. Somehow the tricky questions always seemed to land at Ember’s door. It was as though they thought she was taught how to answer them at grad school, along with how to organize a lesson, and the best way to format homework.
“I don’t think he’ll mind at all,” Ember said, smiling at her godson. “He’s not around to enjoy it any more. I’m sure he’d be happy that somebody admires it so much.”
“Where is he now?”
Ember side eyed Brooke. She was about to launch into a long explanation about the lifespan of sea animals when her phone rang.
Saved by the bell.
Winking at Nick, she pulled it out of her pocket, seeing Lucas’ name on the display. Almost immediately she felt her heart speed up, as she swiped on the screen to accept the call.
“Hi.” She couldn’t stop her lips curling up into a smile as she spoke.
“Hey. How was your day?”
“Not too bad. How about yours?”
“I painted the living area so I’m almost there.” He sounded as though he was smiling, too. “Do you want to meet tonight? I can make us something to eat in the new kitchen.”
“That sounds good.” It really did. “I’m at the beach at the moment, but I can come over afterward.”
Brooke waggled her eyebrows, and Ember rolled her eyes in response. She knew her friend would have a whole lot of questions as soon as she hung up from this call.
“I could meet you there,” Lucas suggested. She heard the rumble of his engine as he started his car up. “I hear the waves are pretty good today. Maybe I’ll bring my board. Then, when we’re ready, we can go home after that.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Me too,” Brooke mouthed.