I twined my fingers with hers, and we sat back, enjoying the view around us.
“I can’t believe this is almost over,” I said. “This week flew by so quickly.”
“Vacations have a way of doing that,” she said. “But we’ll be back someday.”
“We will?”
She let out a quick breath. “That is if you want to. I wasn’t suggesting you had to—”
I silenced her rant with a kiss. She melted into my arms.
Water’s Edge Trattoria didn’t look like much from the outside. The parking lot was small, so I was happy I went with a driver that night since there weren’t any empty spaces left.
With low expectations, I helped Jess out of the car and walked up the outdoor stairs to the front door of the establishment. Though she seemed excited to be there, so I didn’t voice my opinions on my first impression of the place.
When we entered the building, my assumptions were proved wrong. The outside might not have been much, but the interior was lavishly decorated. The dining room was a wide open space with only about a dozen tables inside, most of which had couples already sitting at them. On the far end of the room, a large bar area took up half the length of the space. The bar was made from an off-white marble that added to the luxury of the interior.
“This is so nice,” Jess said in awe.
I agreed with her.
“Do you have reservations?” the hostess asked.
“Yes, for Stone,” I said.
She tapped on her tablet and then lifted two menus from under her hostess station. “Right this way, please.”
I’d asked for a window seat so we could enjoy the view and I wasn’t disappointed. We were mere feet from the sand, and I could hear the crashing ocean waves from where we sat. With the sound of the waves mixing with the instrumental music coming from the speakers above us, the mood was relaxing, making the view that much more breathtaking.
We placed our drink orders and checked out the menu. I didn’t bat an eyelash at the prices, but I knew Jess was calculating how much everything cost.
“It’s nice to come to dinner without a toddler,” I said, sitting back in my chair. I’d already picked out my appetizer and entree. While planning the date, I browse the menu as well. “I feel like I can relax.”
“She’s the best behaved toddler in a restaurant that I’ve ever seen,” Jess said.
“We haven’t had a chance to eat a meal alone together yet.”
“That’s right,” she said with a smile. “Wow. So this is a real date.”
“The car, flowers, and the expensive restaurant didn’t give you that impression?” I teased.
“Of course it did,” she said, lightly bumping me in the leg with her foot.
When the waiter returned to give us our drinks, we placed our order. I wasn’t rushing by any means, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to go to the hotel room if that’s what she wanted.
“Tell me about some of your memories here,” I said to her. “The happier ones.”
She thought about that for a moment before speaking. “I used to go to the bigger beaches and surf when I was in high school.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was a place for me to go when things were tough at home.”
“You should show me how.”
“No way,” she’s said. “I was a novice then. I’d probably kill the both of us.”
Other than surfing, Jess wasn’t the sporty type. I, on the other hand, was an all-star in high school and college.