Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Yes. Maybe cat one, possibly two. If we’re lucky, though, the colder water will downgrade it to a tropical storm. Still not good news, but it’d be better than a hurricane.”
“Shit,” I mumbled. “I suppose they want everyone on call.”
“Yeah. You’re scheduled to work the day it’s projected to hit. We’ve got a few cargo ships that have already said they can’t anchor and ride it out, so Tim wanted you to get mentally prepared for embarking on some vessels during the storm.”
“It won’t be my first time, nor my last, I bet.”
She sighed. “Well, anyway, that’s all I was calling about.”
“Okay, Trish. Talk to you soon.” I hit End and ran my hand down my face. Fuck.
“Who was that?”
Spinning around to answer Adelaide…I froze. I opened my mouth to speak, but it took me a minute. All I could do was take in the stunning sight in front of me. “Holy. Shit. You look beautiful, Addie.”
She smiled and did a little spin. The green dress swirled around her legs until it fell straight once more. I took in her cleavage, then moved down to the cinched midriff that showed off her waistline. The dress went to her calves, and I wasn’t sure why that little bit of exposed leg looked so goddamn sexy.
“Jesus,” I whispered, making my way to her. She looked up at me with those gray eyes of hers, and I could see them sparkling with delight. She clearly got the reaction she’d been looking for. “You are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Her cheeks turned pink as she smiled and looked down at herself. “You’re making me blush.”
“And that makes you look even more beautiful, if that’s possible.”
Her hair was pulled up like how she’d worn it for our high school prom. Her makeup was done in a way that you could barely tell she even had any on. Her soft pink lipstick matched the pink in her cheeks.
I placed my hand on the side of her face and leaned down, kissing her on the forehead so I wouldn’t mess up her lipstick. “I’m the luckiest sonofabitch in Seaside. Hell, in the entire world.”
“You certainly know how to make a woman feel good, Mr. Wilson. And might I add, you look handsome in your black suit.”
“I only speak the truth and thank you. And to answer your question, that was Trish on the phone. She works at the port authority and basically keeps the ships coming in and out and the office running smoothly.”
Adelaide raised her brows. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. She wanted to remind me about something for when I get back to work. Ready to go?”
Adelaide narrowed her eyes as if she knew I wasn’t telling her the whole truth. I promised myself I would tell her everything later. I didn’t want to spoil our evening. I smiled, and she returned the gesture and reached for her purse and a white sweater, seeming to let her doubts slide away.
“I am so ready to go,” she responded.
Her phone buzzed, and she quickly checked it. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Palmer wants us to take a selfie.”
Laughing, I took her phone and held it out. “One, two, three.”
After snapping the picture, I handed Adelaide her phone back. She looked at the picture, smiled again, then sent it off to Palmer.
“Okay, let’s go!”
“How’s everything tasting?” our waitress asked as she looked from Adelaide to me.
“Everything’s delicious. I’ve never had such amazing seafood!” she said.
“It’s truly incredible,” I added.
Once she walked off, Adelaide put her fork down and wiped her mouth. “Is Pete the chef?”
“He is.”
“Wow, that’s so awesome. Where did he learn to cook like this?”
“In a small coastal town in Italy.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise. “Italy? Amazing! That explains the Mediterranean influence.”
“He lived there for five years, was a soux chef under a renowned chef. He loved it and honestly didn’t want to leave.”
“I don’t blame him. Italy is on my bucket list.”
I chuckled. “Well, according to your sister, you should be ticking off that bucket list while you’re still young.”
“This is true. Maybe someday.”
“What about for a honeymoon?”
She froze. “A…a honeymoon?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened once more. “I think Italy would be a beautiful place to go for a honeymoon.”
“Me too.”
Adelaide stared at me, and I had to fight to hold back my smile. I wanted to ask her to marry me more than anything. I was completely ready to move on with our lives. We’d already lost too much time as it was. Could I ask her to marry me so soon? I’d have to ponder that for a bit.
Clearing her throat, Adelaide reached for her glass of wine and nearly downed it.
“More wine?” I asked.
She simply nodded, and I poured her another glass from the bottle we’d ordered.