He looked down at her, his dark eyes sharp, seeming to take in details that she knew nothing about. “That is a very pretty name, Faye,” he replied.
He pronounced her name as if it were a lullaby. Something melted inside of her and she smiled up at him. This day just kept getting better and better, she thought. “Why did you imply that I was the cause of the accident back there?” she said, gesturing absently with her hand to the area that was now behind them.
“You were doing yoga on the beach,” he explained, his voice deep and gravelly.
She chuckled. “Let’s just examine this for a moment,” Faye said, stopping and smiling when he stopped as well. “You’re saying that I’m the cause of the accident. And yet, I was minding my business over there on the beach. The subjects of the accident are the four men who weren’t paying attention to where they were going.”
“And yet, you were the distraction.”
Again, Faye shook her head. “They were distracted. I was not distracting them. I was not an active participant in their distraction. You are saying that men are too weak to concentrate. If that’s true, if men are too easily distracted, then perhaps they should not be allowed to drive.”
He didn’t respond to that and Faye’s features brightened even more. Finally, he grunted, and Faye wasn’t sure if that was acceptance of her argument or a dismissal because her comments didn’t fall into place with the normal arguments that women should always cover up to avoid being a “temptation” to men.
She squinted up at him, trying to translate that sound. “Were you a bear in a past life?” she asked.
Her question clearly startled him, and she might have laughed at his odd expression but he took her arm as they crossed the street. With any other man of her acquaintance, she would have been peeved at his possessively protective gesture. But for some reason, his hand on her arm felt good. It felt right. Hot, almost, singeing, yes. But also right.
The man named Zantar waited until they were on the other side of the street before responding, telling Faye that her safety was his main concern. That was sort of sweet, she thought.
“Explain your bear question. I don’t understand your meaning,” he growled, his eyes scanning the area ahead of them.
She grinned but her attention was caught by Efin, the waiter who was currently waving at her from the café. “You’re going to love this coffee!” she whispered, hurrying along the sidewalk. As soon as she stepped up into the fenced off area of the coffee shop, she threw her arms around Efin, then stepped back. “Oh, isn’t today a glorious day?”
Efin smiled, but glanced nervously behind her. A moment later, he focused his attention back on Faye, his greeting becoming more teasing now. “Faye, you say that every morning is glorious.”
She laughed, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet, her energy high this morning. “Well, every morning is beautiful, isn’t it?” She twirled around, her wrap-around skirt lifting to float around her legs. She lifted her face up to the sky and smiled, absorbing the warmth of the sunshine. “It’s just amazing here! We don’t get sunshine like this back in Georgia! It’s hot and humid but this…” she sighed and lifted her arms up. “This dry heat is amazing!”
Efin laughed, rolling his eyes. “Sit!” he ordered. “I get you coffee!”
Faye stepped back, grabbing onto Zantar’s arm. “Efin, I have a new friend who is going to join me for coffee today. Efin,” she said, then looked up, “this is Zantar. Zantar,” she smiled over at the shorter man, “this is Efin, one of the best providers of coffee in the world!”
She laughed at the grunting sound coming from Zantar, hugging his arm before pulling away again. “Can you make that two cups of coffee?”
Efin nodded, then his eyes narrowed on Zantar’s features. A moment later, he seemed more nervous, but Faye couldn’t understand why.
“Yes!” he gasped, stepping backwards. “Yes, of course.” The man seemed to bow, but since he just about tripped over the chair behind him, the bow wasn’t very effective.
As soon as Efin had disappeared into the coffee shop to get their order, Faye turned to look up at Zantar. “What was that about?” she asked with a laugh, then shook her head as she dismissed the waiter’s less than graceful departure. “We can sit over here. As much as I love the sunshine, the morning is getting warmer and I’ve discovered that this table’s umbrella shields me from the sun better than the others.”
He walked over and pulled out the metal chair for her. Faye was startled, not sure how to handle a man pulling a chair out for her. “Oh!” she gasped, stepping back slightly. After a brief hesitation, she sat down, feeling odd for a moment while she waited for Zantar to take the chair opposite her. Forgetting about Efin’s odd behavior, she leaned forward, clapping her hands. “Okay, so tell me all about yourself! I’m dying to know how a man as big and tall as you are can stand wearing a suit in this kind of heat.”
Faye stared into the man’s dark eyes, fascinated.
“You’re an interesting woman.”
She laughed, waving his comment away with a sweep of her hand as she leaned back against the chair. “I’m nothing special,” she replied. “But you,” she countered, her eyes moving over his shoulders. “You’re a linebacker, right?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Close enough. What are you doing here in Skyla?”
Her grin widened. “I’m an art teacher back in Georgia. I teach high school art classes now,” she started off. “I’m actually working on my PhD at the University of Georgia. I’m eager to move to the college level.” She shrugged slightly. “I want to teach students who are more interested in art than what they anticipate to be an easy A.” Her smile faded. “I’m here in Skyla working on my thesis.”
“What is your topic?” he asked, but before Faye could reply, Efin arrived with a tray filled with two cups of coffee, cream, sugar, sweetener and a platter of pastries. He set everything onto the table, then bowed uncertainly, stepping backwards. “Compliments of the manager,” he stated, stepping nervously to the side before he turned and hurried back into the coffee shop.
Faye stared at the now-closed door, confused. “Well, that was odd,” she said as she turned back around. “Efin knows that I don’t eat pastries.”
She lifted her cup of coffee to her lips, taking a long sip. “Oh, this is so good!” she sighed. “We don’t get coffee like this back in Georgia! I’m going to miss this when I’m finished here.”
One dark eyebrow lifted in question as he took a sip of his own coffee. “You are going back to Georgia after you finish your research?”
“Yes,” she explained, twisting her cup slightly. “I’m writing my thesis with funding from a federal grant during the kids’ summer break, but working over at one of the big hotels to pay my extra living expenses. My research grant wasn’t large enough to pay for everything during this period.”
One dark eyebrow lifted with that explanation. “You are working two jobs?” he asked, his tone revealing his surprise.
“Oh, yeah,” she laughed. “There’s no way I could afford to live here while working on my thesis without a small bit of extra income. It’s too expensive. Unfortunately, school teachers don’t make very much money.”
There was a slight narrowing of his eyes and Faye remained still under his perusal, allowing him to mentally work through whatever was going on inside that head of his.
“You were going to tell me about the subject of your doctoral research.” He lifted one of the pastries and took a bite before placing the remainder back on the napkin.
Ah! A subject she could discuss with enthusiasm!