“Yes,” she sighed. “Here’s a tip for you: don’t promise a woman an adventure and then take her home. What kind of adventure is that?”
“A bad one.” Sam nodded his head passionately. “It’s a horrible adventure. I can’t imagine why anyone would do such a thing. Especially if the date is going so well.”
Stella had the distinct feeling Sam was making fun of her, but she couldn’t work out why. Was it because the date wasn’t going as well as she thought? Was this his way of telling her he was having a bad time, which was why he was taking her home?
It seemed out of character for Sam, but only if she assumed her judgment of his character was correct. What if he had a cruel streak she didn’t know about? Maybe that was why he didn’t date often. Surely, one of the Baldwins would have mentioned it to her, but then again, maybe not. Stella was only a guest at the inn, after all. Their kindness could simply be good customer service. Stella had imagined them as friends of sorts, but perhaps that was naïve.
Suddenly, Stella was too afraid to say anything, lest it give Sam more reasons to tease her, so she crossed her arms and stayed quiet.
She stayed quiet as Sam drove up the road towards the inn. She stayed quiet as the sprawling lawn and wide, white façade of the inn swam into view.
And she stayed quiet as Sam took a right just before the inn’s driveway and continued on down the road.
Only when the inn was once again out of view did she say anything, her voice soft and embarrassed. “You weren’t taking me home?”
Sam pursed his lips together, holding back a laugh. “No, I wasn’t. Though, I have to admit I’m flattered the idea upset you so much.”
Her embarrassment quickly shifted to a playful annoyance, and she swatted at him with the back of her hand. “And to think I thought you were so nice. That was a mean trick!”
“You think I’m nice?” He batted his lashes at Stella, and she couldn’t work out if she wanted to hit him again or laugh. In the end, she did both.
“So where are we going then?”
Sam reached across the truck and patted Stella’s knee, still chuckling to himself over the misunderstanding. “One of my favorite places in all of Willow Beach.”
Two minutes later, Sam pulled his truck off the road, parking along the overgrown shoulder of the road in the shadow of a row of trees. He hopped out of the truck and jogged around to open Stella’s door before she could do it herself. His smile was so genuine that even though Stella wanted to feign annoyance with him for a few more minutes, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She took his hand and let him lead her away from the truck and the road.
“Your favorite place in Willow Beach is barely in Willow Beach.” They were walking through a crop of trees, but Stella could smell the salt of the ocean and hear waves lapping against the shore.
“It’s on the very edge of town, which is why it’s my favorite. Not very many people know about this place or care about it. The main beaches are where the tourists like to go since they can ride the tram back and forth from the shops and restaurants on Main Street. This place takes a little more effort to get to.”
The evening was warm, and the air felt heavy with moisture, but the air just off the water was cooler, and Stella shivered. Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the smell of him surrounding her, and Stella forgot what this felt like.
All of it: the excitement, the nerves, the self-doubt. It’d been so long since she cared seriously for a man that she forgot the constant roller coaster of emotions.
Three days ago, she was sitting in her living room watching a soap opera on television, and now, here she was—living one.
Well, maybe not exactly. She didn’t have a long-lost evil twin or a dearly departed husband who came back from the dead. But Stella had romance, and that was more than enough excitement for her.
The trees opened up all at once like curtains being pulled back on a stage, and Stella gasped at the sight before her.
Tall grass gave way to rocks and sand, and the earth sloped down to the water. Illuminated only by the silver light of the moon, the water seemed to glow a deep emerald. Rocks hemmed in the pool on all sides, with two openings on either end feeding water in and taking it away.
“It’s a natural lagoon as far as I can tell,” Sam said. His voice startled Stella because, for a moment, she’d forgotten he was there. “If it was man-made, they did a great job. You’d never know it.”
“How is this place a secret?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” He shrugged and rubbed warmth into Stella’s shoulder with his hand. “In my experience, good things often go underappreciated.”
She wasn’t sure if he was talking about her or himself, but in either regard, she had to agree.
They navigated the slope carefully, Sam holding tightly to Stella’s arm to make sure she didn’t fall, and then found a flat, dry rock along the water’s edge to sit on.
“Richard and Georgia used to bring the kids out here to swim,” he said, looking out over the water, old memories playing behind his eyes. “It’s a bit warmer than the rest of the Atlantic, probably because the water is shallow here and it pools long enough to be warmed by the sun.”
“So, it’s not a complete secret?”
“I guess not,” he admitted. “But it’s a family secret.” He said it easily, without any hesitation or doubt.
“The Baldwins really are your family, aren’t they?”
“They were the only family I had for a while. My parents both died when I was
