Ladies' Night by Andrews, Kay (popular books of all time .TXT) 📕

“My pleasure,” Grace said.

Anna leaned over and put her head next to Wyatt’s. “She’s cute, dude,” she said in a stage whisper. “Classy, too. Don’t screw this up, ’kay?”

37

“Sorry about that,” Wyatt said, when they were alone again. “Anna’s worried about my love life. She keeps trying to get me ‘back in the game,’ as she calls it. But she’s about as subtle as a slap in the face.”

“You haven’t dated at all since your split?” Grace asked.

“Me? The only other woman in my life besides Anna right now is Joyce Barrett.”

“Who’s she?”

“Our eighty-year-old bookkeeper slash office manager. I love Miss Joyce to pieces, but I seriously doubt she’s interested in starting a new relationship.”

As the waitress passed by, he gestured to her to bring the check. “It’s still another hour ’til sunset, and Bo won’t be back from putt-putt ’til after eight. Would you like to go someplace else for a drink? Or just take a walk on the beach?”

“Sweetie would probably love a stroll on the beach. And so would I,” she said.

*   *   *

Grace stepped out of her sandals and stuck them in the back pocket of her pants, and after a moment of hesitation, Wyatt tied the laces of his Top-Siders together and slung them over his shoulder. They walked through the powdery white sand to the shoreline, and Grace stood and let the mild breeze blow through her hair. They walked for a while, close, but not touching.

The bright blue sky gradually darkened to deeper layers of dark blue, violet, silver, and then ochre and pink. The wind began to whip whitecaps on the incoming waves. Families lingered on beach blankets with coolers of drinks, radios playing softly. Closer to the dunes, at every pathway from the road, knots of people stood beneath the clumps of Australian pines, sea oats, and beach myrtle, waiting for the sundown ritual to begin.

The county had an ordinance against dogs on the beach, but Sweetie stayed close to Grace’s side, and, as if by tacit agreement, other law-breaking dog walkers passed by and nodded in a conspiracy of silence.

The sun dipped lower, glowing gold, and when they came to a dune walk-over with an empty bench, they sat down to watch the show. Sweetie hopped up onto Grace’s lap, and Wyatt stretched his arm across the back of the bench; when his hand brushed the bare skin of her shoulder, she smiled to herself.

She leaned back, resting her head against his arm, and the warmth of his skin on hers felt familiar and exciting at the same time.

“Look,” Wyatt said, pointing with his free arm. Out in the waves, the graceful gray backs of a pod of dolphins curved through the water. There were four or five larger ones and three or four smaller ones. “Some moms and some calves,” he said.

“I’ve been watching dolphins in the gulf and the bay my whole life,” Grace said. “But it never gets old. I used to love it when we’d go out on my dad’s boat and they’d follow us, waiting for us to throw in some bait or a too-small fish.”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said with a sigh. “Kind of reminds you why you live here, doesn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The sun was sinking lower and the clouds above growing purple and midnight blue. “You ever see the green flash?” he asked, his hand grazing her shoulder.

“You mean the thing that happens the moment the sun slips below the horizon? Yes. We used to make a big ceremony out of it when I was growing up. My dad had a cowbell he’d ring at that exact moment.”

But there was no green flash tonight, just another bright yellow glow, and then striations of deepening colors.

“This is nice,” Grace said, snuggling back against his arm as the air grew cooler. She leaned against his chest, inhaling his clean, woodsy scent, feeling his warmth seep into her bare shoulders.

“You cold?” He wrapped both arms around her. “We could go back to the car.”

Grace shook her head. She wondered if he would ever get up the nerve to kiss her again. Or if she would have to be the one to initiate things. In the meantime, she closed her eyes and told herself to enjoy the moment.

At some point, she must have enjoyed the moment so long that she dozed off. When her eyes fluttered open, it was dark.

She sat up with a start.

“What?” Wyatt asked. “You finished your nap?”

She yawned and laughed. “I’m sorry. I’ve been working so hard every night, I fall asleep as soon as the sun goes down. She glanced at her watch and jumped to her feet, grabbing Wyatt’s hand and pulling him up, too. “Come on, Cinderfella. I regret to remind you that at eight o’clock, you turn into a dad again.”

He groaned. “I’ll text Anna, tell her to play another round of putt-putt. On me. That’ll give us another hour, at least.”

“No way. She’ll think I’m seducing you.”

“Anna’s a hopeless romantic. She’d probably offer to get us a room.”

Grace sighed. “Bo’s expecting you to be home when Anna drops him off. I don’t want to be the one who causes you to break promises to your son.”

“I hate it when you talk sense,” Wyatt grumbled.

They walked hand in hand back down the beach, with Sweetie staying close at their heels. Wyatt stood awkwardly beside her car as she unlocked the door. She sensed his nervousness, and found it touching.

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “About that dating-reentry counseling you mentioned—maybe we could take a class together.”

38

At exactly 8:15 A.M. Wyatt hopped out of his truck and dashed into the house on Mandevilla. He found Grace sitting on the floor in the back bedroom, taping off baseboards.

“Gotta run,” he said, setting Sweetie down beside her. “I promised Bo I’d throw him some extra batting practice before the game.”

“Okay,” she said. “How about if I just drop Sweetie off