Read Online It's Just Love by Kate Richards - Free Book Online Page A

didn’t want or didn’t seem
to need such gestures. She didn’t get in, and he turned to see why.
    Coral rested a hand on her white-painted gate, frowning.
“Oh, a convertible.”
    He glanced from her to the car. “Yes, it was such a gorgeous
evening, I thought I’d leave the top down.”
    “Yes, it is nice isn’t it?” The dismay in her tone made him
doubt his decision.
    “I can raise it if you like.”
    “No, thank you.” She slipped past him and into the seat.
    As he closed the door, she flashed him a smile, and his
heart thumped. He jerked back and stumbled over the uneven sidewalk. Hurrying
to the other side of the car, he tried not to overanalyze the reaction. Or…he’d
just been dumped hard and Coral’s beauty was undeniable. It was her life that
made her wrong for him. Dammit, this is not a date. At least not for the
two of them.
    Leaving Venice and its narrow streets behind, he drove
through Santa Monica and onto Pacific Coast Highway, beginning the twenty plus
mile trip to the northernmost edge of Malibu. Still an hour or so from sunset,
the ocean to his left ruffled under the early evening breeze. Pelicans dropped
from the sky, scooping up fish and other aquatic tidbits, and seagulls cried
overhead.
    Without a bit of fog, the ocean called to him. “You know, I
have a sailboat I keep meaning to take out.” He turned toward her and stared,
forcing his gaze back to the road, bemused. Her silky strands whipped around
her face in a tangle of platinum and gold. A mermaid for sure. But judging from
the way she gripped the armrest, an unhappy sea denizen. “Is everything all
right?”
    “What?” Her voice floated above the roar of the wind. “I
can’t hear you.”
    He rolled up the windows, which served to send her hair
flying over her head, but she grabbed it and held it in one hand while she
pulled a large silver barrette from her purse and pinned the tangled mass to
the back of her head.
    “I asked if you were all right.”
    “Just fine, why do you ask?”
    Maybe it would be better to drop the subject. “Nothing,
never mind.”
    He guided the car along the twisting highway, focusing on
the way the car clung to the curves, trying not to think of his companion. They
passed the city center of Malibu.
    “We’re almost there,” he said.
    “Good,” she replied. He watched out of the corner of his eye
as she straightened in the seat, adjusting her skirt around her knees. “I can’t
wait.”

Chapter 8
     
    Chez Boulangerie clung to an ocean-facing cliff west of the
highway. The low-slung façade appeared as if it were built of driftwood and sea
glass, a battered fantasy. Gage pulled a U-turn to arrive at the valet station
and stepped out, dropping his keys in the hand of a young man dressed in a
white button-up and black slacks paired with blinding white cross-trainers. He
hopped into the driver’s seat and zoomed away.
    “I’m surprised they don’t wear dress shoes with that
outfit,” Gage said, taking her arm and heading for the door.
    From behind them, the remaining valet cleared his throat,
and they turned back. “The parking lot is up there.” He gestured to a narrow
roadway up the canyon across the highway. “And we have to hike back each time.”
    Coral stared. “That’s awful.”
    He shrugged. “It’s a job. And sometimes—when the patrons
notice—the tips are good.”
    “I can see why,” Gage said.
    “Oh, and most of us are involved in some sort of sports at
Pepperdine University.” The valet laughed. “Coach considers it part of the workout.”
    Gage chuckled and led Coral into the restaurant. “I don’t
know if I was ever that young, or in that good a shape.”
    Coral considered the tall, broad shouldered man next to her.
“You look like you’re in pretty good condition. Do you work out?” Shut up. If
you keep saying things like that, he’ll think you’re hitting on him.
    “I hit the gym as often as I can. It’s important to keep in
good health.” His