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I inhale a steadying breath and decide to give tonight an honest try.
Jas is right. It's time. And there's nothing wrong with me going to dinner and spending a few hours staring into the bourbon-brown eyes of a gorgeous man.
After all, it's just Sully.
I can handle Sully. I can handle being soft.
Can't I?
Chapter 12
Sully
* * *
Violet is practically vibrating with nerves, and I'm not sure how to set her at ease. So I ramble.
I talk about the beautiful night sky and the full moon shining overhead. I tell her about Hudson Blackwell and how the cougar-loving playboy of the firehouse found himself carrying a ninety-five-year-old woman in his arms from the beach back to the boardwalk, and how she'd said it reminded her of her wedding night.
That earns one of Violet's smiles, and I think hard to come up with more stories that will garner the same reaction. I love her smiles, and she doesn't do it nearly enough.
We get to the hotel parking lot, and I go around the front to her door. She's already opened it, but I'm in time to gently grasp her elbow and steady her as she hops down from the lifted cab.
We head toward the entry, and I shift my hand from her elbow to the small of her back, feeling the gentle sway of her hips as she walks. The boots she's wearing are flat, which puts her head at my shoulder, and whenever I glance down, I notice something new.
The curve of her gently flushed cheek, the fullness of her lips. The length of her long legs.
I've been to the hotel a couple of times for inspections and the occasional prank fire alarm but never on a date. The place has that upscale, super-nice atmosphere and a part of me always thought if and when I brought a date, she'd have to be special.
Violet is that and more.
Walking beside Violet is totally different. Heads turn to take us in, and despite her insistence on our friend status, my ego preens like a peacock at being with the most beautiful woman here. Heck, the most beautiful woman in Carolina Cove. At least to my eyes. Whether grumpy with a messy bun and Beach Babe Burger shirt or dressed like the knock-out beauty she is tonight, she's one and the same to me.
The wait for the elevator is awkward. She's worrying her lower lip with her teeth, and I'm about to start rambling again when an older couple joins us. They look to be in their eighties but are holding hands with love in their eyes as they gaze at each other before noticing us.
"What a beautiful couple," the woman says when she sees us. "Aren't they, Arthur?"
"Yes, my dear," the man says, peering up at us from his stooped position over a cane. "Are you newlyweds or is this an anniversary?"
"Oh, we're—"
"Celebrating our first date," I say before Violet can burst their bubble with talk of friendship. "And you?"
"Sixty-five years today," the woman says.
"Every one of them happy," Arthur adds.
The woman scoffs and gently swats at his arm. "Hardly. Don't let him fool you. We've had our moments. But love is a choice one must make every day. Even on the bad ones."
"I chose well," Arthur says with a smile that warms his eyes as he looks at his wife. "My Genevieve is my rock."
I slide my arm around Violet's shoulders and feel her tense. "My girl's still trying to figure out if she likes me."
The couple chuckles at my joke while Violet flashes me a death glare softened by a tight upward curve of her lips. It's not quite a smile but close enough.
"I know that look," Arthur says with a wink. "Usually a kiss would get me out of trouble, though."
I glance down at Violet in time to see her cant her head toward me with a warning shake, daring me to try it.
