Part 26 (1/2)

”Scenically, I mean.” He nodded toward his left and the back entrance.

”The beach is less than half a mile away from the rear parking lot, just beyond the houses. People like to come here for dinner and then top it off with a stroll along the beach.”

She felt uneasy as she resumed storing her material. She had a feeling she knew where he was going with this. And she wanted to go with him, which was what frightened her. She wanted to go too much.

Sara didn't look at him. ” ” At some of the prices I've seen on the menu, that's probably all they can afford to do afterward”

She was blocking every attempt he made to get by her barriers. Like a well-trained volleyball player, she was slamming the ball over the net every time it threatened to land in her court. Why was she resisting so hard?

”How long have you been a cynic, Sara?”

Her eyes grew distant as she remembered. ”Since I was fourteen. ”

He didn't believe her. He thought she was just being flippant But he would have liked to have met her before she had become so disillusioned. ”What were you like then?”

She roused herself. He was prodding again. Didn't the man ever give up? ”A lot younger.”

He laughed and shook his head. ”Would you have been game to go for a walk on the beach then?”

Sara switched off the machine and ignored the fact that her heart had gone into an accelerated mode. ”I'm game now, if someone would ask me.”

He took her hand as she reached for the computer's plastic dust cover She raised her eyes to his. She was trying to be brazen, but she was failing, he thought. ” ” I am asking . ”

She was twenty-eight, for G.o.d's sake. Why was her mouth going dry because a man was asking her to take a walk with him along the beach?

It only involved sand and water, not a lifelong commitment. Her mouth stayed dry. ” ” What about the restaurant? ”

”Antonio'll handle it. He keeps trying to shove me out of the kitchen every night, anyway. Says he'll lock up.” A fond smile creased his mouth and Sara suddenly remembered the way it had tasted. ”Personally, I think he's stealing the silEvery qqrware and selling it off to fund his retirement plan. But I haven't the heart to tell him to go home.”

He sighed. ”He likes to think he runs the restaurant.”

And Nik let him, she thought. He took umbrage with her when he thought she was challenging his authority, but he let an old man have illusions and order him around. She liked him for it even though she knew she shouldn't. ” ” Very understanding of you . ” Nik looked at her in surprise Her voice had grown soft, silky. ” It might be a whole new light to see you to. ”

He took her hand again and drew her from her chair. ”So, are you game?”

Too game. And too chicken. Maybe it went hand in hand, she thought. ”

” You were serious? About the walk? ”

”I was serious. About the walk,” he echoed with a gentle smile.

And, I think, about you, G.o.d help me.

Sara was very quiet for a second. She'd promised herself not to become emotionally involved with Nik, no matter how tempting the situation might be. And she always kept her promises to herself.

A smile spread on her face as a fresh wave of confidence came from somewhere. She couldn't deny that, though he was a pigheaded son of a gun, she did want to be alone with him. She found him attractive and stimulating, stimulating on more levels than any other man she had ever met before. What was she afraid of? She had always handled herself before. And she wasn't going to start running now. ”Okay, take me to your beach.”

Nik kept her hand in his as Sara retrieved her purse from the drawer.

She waited for him while he gave Antonio a few final instructions for the day. It reminded her of a parent briefing a baby-sitter before going out for the evening. And the restaurant was his baby.

He'd probably make a good parent, Sara judged. She'd observed him with Katie. The man who was all business when he donned his ap.r.o.n became all softness and putty in the little girl's hand.