He winked and strode off with a sexy gait. I needed to smack myself for how I was acting. He had simply been a nice guy. I finished my margarita and laid down a twenty for a tip.
Leaving the restaurant, I meandered for hours, walking the riverfront and going through different stores. My life had changed drastically and I was ready to embrace it. There was a loneliness within me, knowing I didn’t have any family anymore, but I couldn’t let it consume me or I’d wallow in it and never escape the sadness.
Push forward, don’t look back, embrace change, everything happens for a reason.
That had been my motto for as long as I could remember after my parents died. The moment my father had pulled the trigger, something changed within me, not allowing me to dwell too long on what could have been.
I was lost in my thoughts, looking at the charcoal cobblestone street, when I ran into someone.
“Shit.”
There was a mess of limbs as we tumbled down. Strong arms came around me and only my right shoulder hit the ground. I felt safe in these arms.
I tried to sit up and the vice grip around me relented. “Are you okay?”
That warm voice was familiar as I glanced up. It was the same warm, brown eyes that had turned my insides into liquid lava earlier. Gael.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Gael asked while looking me over for any signs of distress.
Lifting me up, we stood on the sidewalk. “I’m fine. I’m more worried about you, Ashlin, but I think I managed to break the fall. I was leaving for the evening.”
He remembered my name. I wanted to swoon and at the same time slap myself for being so ridiculous. A few people walked by Gael and exchange hellos as I stood there and smiled politely. “Thank you for breaking the fall. I was lost in thought and wasn’t paying attention. I’m really sorry.”
The sun sat as the bit of daylight shone bright behind Gael, illuminating his physique. “It’s really okay. Do you want a ride home?”
The chill of the night started to set in. “No, it’s okay. I’ll walk.”
“It’s late, let me at least take you to the cab line.”
“Okay.”
I turned and walked when Gael came up beside me and put his hand on my lower back. My body instinctively wanted to lean in and relish the feeling of security he gave. Instead, I kept the appropriate distance and continued to walk.
“The cabs are right up this way. What are you plans tonight?”
I nodded. “Thanks. I need to finish going through some more of my aunt’s things before I start working again tomorrow. I’m a habitual organizer. I like everything having a place.”
Feeling Gael’s hand flex on my back, he asked, “What do you do?”
I liked how heat radiated out from his touch along my lower spine, warming me.
“I’m a web designer, which works out pretty well considering I’ve relocated from New York to Georgia in a matter of days. Tomorrow, I plan on working. For lunch, I think I’m going to Oglethorpe Park. Sophia had been there in the one of the journal entries I’d read. I thought it would be a neat place to read the next entry.”
I stopped, realizing I was rambling on for no reason. Gael seemed to bring that out in me, the desire to tell him everything which was not normal for me.
More people greeted him as we walked. “Why haven’t you finished the journal when obviously it’s intrigued you?”
The street lights came on and it added to the old-timey feel. “I think because it gives me a connection with my Aunt Leelyn, and I’m not ready for that to end. I want to prolong it and give myself something to look forward to each day as I try to figure out what my next move is.”
“That makes sense.”
We climbed some steps and more people said hello to Gael. “Why does everyone know you?”
He shrugged. “I’ve had the restaurant for a few years and grew up here. Savannah may get numerous tourists, but it still has that small town feel with the locals. We know what’s going on in each other’s lives.”
We approached the place to catch the cabs. I turned to Gael. “Well, thank you for dinner, lending an ear, and breaking the fall for me when I ran you over. I think that about covers my afternoon of humiliation.”
He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and I stood there, momentarily stunned at how incredible the brief contact of his lips felt. Gael spoke as he pulled away and his breath tickled my ear. “I’d say without a doubt you were the most beautiful thing that happened to me today. Thank you. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”