Unfortunately after a half hour of staring at the blank page, she hadn’t come up with even a first step to take to see if this new career path might be viable. Why did Gabi and Emily think this was such a great process? It just made her realize how little she knew, not even the kind of questions she needed to be asking.
When there was a tap on her bedroom door, she welcomed the interruption. “Come in.”
It was her grandmother who looked in. “Ethan’s downstairs.”
Samantha glanced down at her old jeans and his football jersey and sighed. Of course he was.
“Tell him I’ll be down in a minute,” she said, already stripping off the jersey.
Cora Jane winked. “Good decision. That jersey’s a dead giveaway about your feelings for him, and he’s already seen you in it once.”
“I’m aware of that,” Samantha said tightly, rummaging in a drawer for something not only prettier, but less of a red flag emotionally.
She found a blouse with three-quarter sleeves and a few ruffles on the front. With a couple of buttons left undone, it was very feminine. She considered changing to capris and putting on shoes, then shrugged. He’d dropped by unannounced. This was as good as he was getting, she decided, padding to the stairs in her bare feet.
Downstairs, she found him in the kitchen with Cora Jane, Jerry and Gabi all studying him expectantly.
“Feel like going for a walk?” he asked, an almost desperate note in his voice.
Samantha might have enjoyed his discomfort if she hadn’t been so eager to get away from their speculative looks herself. “Sure. I’ll grab a sweater and my shoes.”
His gaze immediately landed on her bare feet with the fire-engine-red polish she’d chosen for her pedicure on Friday night. She intended to exchange the sexy shade for a more sedate pink for the wedding, but the red was obviously a very good choice the next time she had seduction on her mind. Ethan looked a little dazed.
As soon as she’d grabbed her things, they left the house. Only when they were heading toward town did he seem to draw a deep breath.
“Does my family make you nervous?” she asked, smiling.
“They didn’t until they started plotting. And I have to admit, Jerry scares the daylights out of me. He’s a big guy and he’s clearly very protective of you, Gabi and Emily.”
“Jerry’s harmless,” she insisted. “Unless Grandmother or one of us asks for his help. Just so you know, I haven’t felt the need to do that in a long time.”
“But you did?”
“Sure. When I worked at the restaurant, there were guys who came on to me. Most of them I could handle, but if I had any doubts, one glance in Jerry’s direction and he’d have my back.”
“A good man to have in your corner, I’m sure.” He studied her. “Were there a lot of jerks?”
“Sure. I was a teenage girl and there were always guys who wanted to prove what big men they were. I still run across a few even in the very fancy New York restaurant where I work as a hostess between acting gigs. Some men are genetically incapable of accepting rejection. Add in a few drinks and it can get ugly.”
Ethan frowned. “Does your boss there back you up?”
“You bet she does,” Samantha said. “I swear she had to have been a bouncer in a previous life. She can’t be much more than five foot five, but I’ve seen her escort men who had at least fifty to seventy-five pounds on her to the door so fast their heads must have been swimming. I think she has taxi drivers on the payroll or something, because there’s always one right outside, ready for whoever she’s ejecting. It’s actually awesome to watch.”
She grinned. “And the few she can’t handle are dealt with by the bartender, who’s six foot three and two hundred pounds of solid muscle.”
Ethan nodded, looking relieved. “That’s good, then.” He hesitated before asking, “Do you work there much?”
“More than I’d prefer in recent months,” she confessed. “It’s not a bad place and the people are great, but being there is always a reminder that things aren’t going so well with my so-called real job.”
“Ever thought of giving up?”
“Sometimes,” she said. “Especially recently.”
“What’s stopped you?”
“Stubbornness, mostly. I’m not a quitter by nature. I’m an optimist. I always think the next big thing could be just around the corner. Enough little things pop up to keep that hope alive.” She paused, then added, “Or at least they did.”
“Not so much anymore?”
She shook her head.
“That must be tough.”
“I can’t deny that it is,” she said.
“I guess I always thought of that world as being glamorous and exciting. I never stopped to think about the constant stress of not knowing what’s coming next.”
“It takes a toll,” she said, not really sure why she didn’t want to reveal just how powerful a toll it had taken recently and that quitting was more and more on her mind.
They walked to downtown Sand Castle Bay in silence, but as he led the way toward a small bar on the waterfront, she glanced up at him. “Were you just lonely tonight or is there something on your mind?”
“I need to talk to you,” he said. He gestured toward an available table with a view of the water and the bar’s host nodded. Ethan led the way, then held her chair.
Only after they were seated and their drink orders had been taken did he continue. “Something happened today and it has me worried.”
Samantha heard the real anxiety in his voice. “What happened?”
“Cass Gray stopped by my office.”
“Ah, I see,” she said, immediately grasping the problem. He wanted to warn her not to tamper with the girl’s emotions. “She told you
