“Okay.”
“I lost my son to cancer six years ago, and my wife and I divorced five years ago. She’s remarrying soon to a guy named Carlos. I’m happy for her. He seems like a decent enough man. I mean, he’s kind of a recluse and opposite of me, but I’m happy she’s going to be happy.”
“Your son died?” I said as tears started to roll down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”
I didn’t want to cry because he wasn’t crying as he told me, but I just couldn’t stop myself. My heart hurt at the idea of a sweet little boy losing his battle with cancer.
“It’s okay. I’m better now. It wasn’t anything we could control,” Brandon said as he handed me a napkin.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. Connor is my life; I can’t imagine if anything would ever happen to him.”
Brandon smiled and held my hand and comforted me as I cleaned up my tears. What a thoughtful man. There I was crying over the loss of his son, yet he was comforting me.
“I think this date has gotten too serious,” he said. “I’ve got an idea. Do you have a little more time free?”
“I’m supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but I’ve got a few hours.”
“Then come with me,” he said as he held his hand out for me and lead me to his car. “There’s a place that I’d like to show you. You might need that bikini you have in your car, though.”
We stopped at my car, and I grabbed my gym bag out of the back. The only reason I had a bikini in there was because Mattie and I had planned to go to the gym that afternoon and I didn’t like going into the sauna without clothes. She always teased me about being a prude, but I just wasn’t going to sit in a room full of steam without anything on.
“I don’t normally carry a bag with a bikini in it,” I defended myself as we drove off.
“It’s an unusual thing to carry in your car, but you strike me as an unusual woman.”
“I’m actually pretty boring,” I said.
“I doubt that. You said you like going to art shows? Have you gone to any recently?”
“Yes, I just went to one. The artist was amazing. Luckily, I volunteer at a few galleries, so I get invited to events. Normally, they don’t invite people who c
an’t buy their artwork,” I laughed. “There was this one beautiful painting that sold for a million dollars. I know that seems like a lot, but I think people who love a piece of art are willing to pay because of the way the art makes them feel.”
He smiled and didn’t say anything for a long time as we drove toward the coast. It was unusual how calm I felt around him now. Something about us both sharing our history of loss had really connected me to him, and I didn’t feel nearly as jittery as I had when our date had first started.
“I’m not a huge art fan, but I think you’re right about how much art costs,” he said. “If someone likes it enough to spend that kind of money on it, then more power to them. Artists deserve to make a living, and their artwork is about emotions, not the actual paint they used to make the work.”
“Very true.”
“Have you been to Planter’s Pier before?”
“Nope, I’ve never even heard of it. Where’s it at?”
“It’s north of Venice. A very small beach, with a…” He paused and smiled as he seemed to be thinking about how much he wanted to tell me. “How about I just show you?”
“Sure, I’m game.”
Chapter Six
Brandon
I was one hundred percent confident that Delilah wasn’t some girl looking for a sugar daddy. She had been telling me the truth when she shared about losing her husband; I saw the pain in her eyes as she told me about him.
It might have struck other guys as weird that someone would tell something so personal on the first date, but I knew exactly how she felt. Of course, my loss was my son and was totally different – but that loss was part of me and if I wanted to actually date a woman, she would need to know about it. Of course, if I was just taking her home for the night, I wouldn’t share any of that.
Telling Delilah about the loss of my son had shocked me a little. Not that I told her because I had told other women in my past – it shocked me at how easily I told her. I had never met a woman who had such an equally painful loss in her past, and I hadn’t suspected Delilah would have been a widow. She was ten years younger than me and had already lost her husband; that was a huge thing to have to deal with.
After hearing about her loss, I knew I wanted to spend more time with this girl. I didn’t just want to go have a bagel with her; I wanted to actually spend some time with her. I was glad she had agreed to come to the beach with me.