Her Summer Crush

CHAPTER FIVE

“THIS IS A nice evening, isn’t it?” Luci said. “The air is extra fresh after the rain we had this morning.”

“It is,” Ben replied in a monotone. Driving up Main Street seemed to require all his attention.

He looked as neat as a pin, with his hair combed back from his forehead and his jaw clean shaven. He used a strong aftershave, not unpleasant but certainly noticeable. Underneath a lightweight blue windbreaker, he wore his customary formfitting shirt and navy slacks.

She’d debated what to wear herself, finally settling on a dark brown cotton skirt and a T-shirt with a scoop neckline. The butterscotch color set off her red hair, which she’d brushed until it shone.

She wasn’t sure what this evening was about. When he’d invited her to dinner, Ben had said it would be a good chance to talk more about the article on birds. But couldn’t they do that at the chamber office? Then she’d figured the bird talk was a cover.

Ben had probably seen her around the building and wanted to meet her. When he and Cody were on the fishing trip, Ben must have told Cody of his interest, and Cody said he’d introduce them. That was why Cody had brought Ben to her office that day.

He was nice, if a little stiff and formal. But that was okay. She looked forward to the evening. Maybe if she went out with other men, she could forget about Cody. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. Was she harboring her teenage crush? Or something more? Spending an evening with Ben might help her to find the answer.

Good thing it wasn’t much farther to the Beach Café, because her conversational well was already running dry. At the restaurant, they could talk about the food. And the view. And birds.

* * *

AT THE CAFÉ, Marlys, the hostess, greeted them. “Hello, Luci.”

“Hi, Marlys, I heard you were working here now.”

Marlys nodded. “Now that the twins are in preschool and Joe’s on day shift at the plant, I’m back at work. I love it.”

Luci introduced Ben.

“Welcome to Willow Beach,” Marlys said. “I hope you enjoy the Beach Café. The rest of your group is already seated.”

Their group? Before Luci could ask, Marlys picked up a couple menus and motioned them to follow her.

Luci pushed aside her concern and took time to enjoy the restaurant’s casual elegance. The place was light and airy with windows on the ocean side and elevated booths on the opposite wall that gave every customer a view. Paintings of nautical scenes decorated the walls.

They hadn’t gone far when Luci spotted Cody. It had always been that way. There could be dozens of people around, but if he was in the group, she knew it. And there he was tonight, sitting at one of the window tables. With a woman. Luci stared. His companion was Sylvie Ventura, from the souvenir store.

Was Cody on a date? With Sylvie? A queasy feeling that had nothing to do with hunger invaded Luci’s stomach.

She hadn’t thought Sylvie would appeal to Cody, but then, what did she know about his taste in women?

More importantly, why was Marlys leading her and Ben to their table?

Not until Cody rose and said, “Hey, you’re here,” did Luci get it. Cody and Sylvie were the group Marlys had been talking about.

Marlys placed their menus at the two empty seats. “Enjoy your dinner,” she said before heading to the front of the restaurant.

Ben pulled out Luci’s chair. She remained standing, looking first at Cody and then at Sylvie. “What’s going on here?”

“Didn’t Ben tell you we were meeting you?” Cody asked.

“Ah, it may have slipped my mind,” Ben said, looking sheepish. “But have a seat, Luci.”

She dropped into the chair and allowed Ben to scoot her closer to the table.

“So you’re Ben,” Sylvie said as he sat across from her. “I’ve been hearing such a lot about you.”

Luci frowned at Cody. Whatever was going on here, she’d bet he was behind it.

He met her frown with a grin, and his gaze roved over her. “Looking good tonight, Luci.”

“Thanks. You’re looking good yourself.” She didn’t want to think about how good. He’d dressed up for the occasion. A little, anyway. Although he wore his usual jeans, he’d chosen a cream-colored dress shirt instead of a T-shirt. The light color set off his smooth tan and dark hair. Of course, his camera lay on the table beside his place setting.

They studied their menus, but Luci had trouble concentrating. Her mind still churned—along with her stomach—over the shock of Cody and Sylvie.

The waiter appeared, pad and pencil poised to take their orders.

“I’ll have the scampi,” Sylvie told him.

Cody raised an eyebrow. “What happened to your favorite seafood salad?”

“Didn’t want to be the same old boring me tonight.” Sylvie batted her eyes in Ben’s direction.

“I’m having the salad, boring or not,” Luci said. “And knowing you, I bet you’re having the seafood fry.”

Cody nodded. “Am I predictable, or what?”

Ben opted for the baked halibut. He also ordered a bottle of wine. When it arrived, he tasted the sample and frowned, tilting his head this way and that. Then he nodded and said, “Yes, very nice.”

The waiter smiled a relieved smile and filled their glasses.

That ritual dispensed with, Sylvie leaned across the table and said, “I’m so glad to meet you. I need your help.”

Ben frowned as he regarded her over the rim of his wineglass. “You do?”

“Yes. I have the souvenir shop on Main Street, you know, and I ordered these birds—”

“Birds? Live birds?”

“No, no, made of wood. Hand-carved and painted the loveliest colors. But, except for the seagulls, of course, I don’t know what kinds of birds they are. And when the customers ask, I don’t know what to say. When Cody said you were a bird person, a, ah, what do you call it?”

Ben smiled. “Ornithologist is the term, but ‘bird person’ will do. Anyway, sure, I’d be glad to help.”

Luci was about to say there were any number of books in the library or at the Book Nook that Sylvie could use, not to mention the internet, but sensing Sylvie was on another kind of mission, she kept quiet.

Cody leaned forward. “Luci, remember that little bird you found on the beach that day the Herald had their company picnic?”

Luci nodded. “With the broken wing. Poor little thing.”

“And we took him to Doc Harper’s. And you cried when Doc told you he might not be able to save it.”

And you put your arms around me and told me not to worry. But she didn’t say that aloud. He probably wouldn’t want to be reminded. He probably didn’t even remember.

“But he did save it,” she said. “So that story has a happy ending.”

Ben launched into a tale about a bird they’d saved at the sanctuary where he volunteered. Sylvie listened, her wide-eyed gaze glued to him. Soon he was talking more to her than to the table at large, and when he and she discovered they both liked the old Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds, that led to a discussion of other old movies.

Their meals arrived. Luci concentrated on her salad, which was as good as she remembered, loaded with fresh shrimp and crabmeat and chunks of salmon. Cody dug into his seafood fry, although he still attempted to get a word in when either Sylvie or Ben stopped talking long enough to take a bite of their food.

Later, over crème brûlée, Sylvie and Ben were still talking only to each other. The conversation had moved from old movies to, of all things, sword fighting. Luci sipped her coffee and gazed at the dunes, where the grass waved rhythmically in the wind. Beyond the beach was the ocean, where an orange sun dipped low over calm waters.

Cody was looking out the window, too, and fingering his camera. He caught her eye. She looked pointedly at the camera and then back at him. They both smiled.

Luci sighed. She knew Cody well. Too well.

When there was finally a lull in Sylvie and Ben’s conversation, Cody said, “How about a walk on the new boardwalk?”

Sylvie blinked at Cody and then at Luci, as though suddenly reminded of their presence. “That’s a good idea. I love the new boardwalk.”

“Ever been to Atlantic City’s boardwalk?” Ben folded his napkin and laid it beside his plate.

“Why, no,” Sylvie said. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

Ben’s account of the famed landmark led them all the way outside and down the path to the beach. Luci marveled at Ben. After barely speaking to her on the way to the restaurant, his words spewed forth, as though a dam had broken. He was eloquent, too. And gesturing, as if he were onstage. She guessed he was, playing to an audience of one.

They reached the boardwalk and climbed the ramp. As they began their stroll, Luci buttoned her jacket against the stiff breeze. She was glad she’d worn flats and marveled that Sylvie could walk in her high-heeled sandals.

Pointing to a mounted telescope, Sylvie sped up into a trot. “Oh, let’s look,” she called over her shoulder.

Ben took off after her.

“Don’t you want to look, too?” Luci asked Cody.

“I’ve got my scope right here.” He patted his camera.

Sylvie and Ben reached the scope. He dug into his pocket, pulled out some coins and stuck them into the slot. Sylvie bent to look in the eyepiece. He stood behind her, putting his arms around her to grasp the scope and turn it from side to side.

Cody raised his camera and aimed it at Ben and Sylvie.

Sylvie spotted him. “Oh, there goes Mr. Cameraman.”

“Look through the scope again, Sylvie,” Cody said. “There, that’s it. Now, Ben, lean over again, like you’re showing her how to use it.”

“He is,” Sylvie said.

Luci rolled her eyes.

Finished with the scope, Sylvie and Ben stood at the railing with the setting sun as a backdrop, and Cody took their picture.

“Okay,” Cody said, “now, Ben, I want one of you and Luci.”

“Me and Ben?” Luci asked.

“Yes, ah, at the railing, too, but, let’s see, looking at each other. Silhouettes of your profiles against the sunset. Yes, that’d be good.”

Luci stood at the railing and turned to Ben. He faced her, too, but instead of looking into her eyes, his gaze drifted over her shoulder. Standing nearby, Sylvie folded her arms and tapped her foot.

Cody continued his picture taking. By the time they’d reached the end of the boardwalk and were turning around to head back, the sun had set and the water had turned a deep turquoise. Ben was beside Luci again, and Cody walked with Sylvie. Nobody said more than a few words, and when they reached Cody’s SUV and Ben’s truck, their goodbyes were brief and polite.

On the drive home, Luci thought about trying to make conversation, but, in truth, she didn’t have the energy. Ben lapsed into his characteristic silence. No, not characteristic. Sylvie had pushed a button and, like a mechanical doll, Ben had come to life.

“Thanks for dinner and the nice evening,” she said when they reached her apartment.

“You’re welcome. I’ll walk you to your door,” he added but made no move to silence the truck’s engine.

“No need. It’s right there.”

“Okay. Good night, then. When you want to talk more about birds, give me a call.”

“I most certainly will.”

* * *

“SO WHAT WAS that all about, Sylvie?”

“What was what all about?”

He took his gaze from the road long enough to meet her innocent eyes with a glare. “You know what I’m talking about. You were flirting with Ben.”

She pressed her lips together and fingered her purse, which was balanced on her lap. “I couldn’t help it. I took one look at him and our eyes met and, well, I just knew that he was special.”

“I thought you’d sworn off men. After Eddie gave you such a bad time.”

“I thought I had, too, but, well, our eyes met and—”

“You already said that.”

She shrugged. “There’s not much more to say.”

Cody set his jaw. He’d wanted to help Ben and Luci, directing the conversation, seeing that they got to know each other better. And Sylvie? Well, she was along for...for the seafood salad, like she’d agreed. Only she hadn’t fulfilled her end of the bargain.

“You should know better than to try manipulating people,” Sylvie said.

“I wasn’t manipulating, I was, ah, assisting, guiding, mentoring.”

“Manipulating,” she said, more emphatic than before.

He slowed the SUV to turn off Main Street, heading for Sylvie’s house. “So what now?”

She shrugged. “What do you mean?”

“Did he ask to see you again?”

“As if that’s any of your business.”

“I think it is. I’m the one who got you into this.”

Sylvie heaved a deep sigh. “Okay, no, he did not. But he will.” She nodded, setting her topknot in motion.

Cody snorted. “How do you know that?”

“A woman just knows, that’s all.”

“Are men really that transparent?”

Sylvie grasped her purse, lifted it and plunked it down on her lap again. “I’d better shut up, before I give away too many secrets of the sisterhood.”

Cody shut up, too, and they rode on in silence.

They reached her house, which was enclosed by a rickety fence strung with fishnets, colorful buoys and pieces of driftwood. The yard was a mixture of sand and crushed seashells, with tufts of grass sprouting here and there.

She opened the gate and led them up the path to the front door. A wind chime made of seashells hanging next to the door clacked in the light breeze.

“Thanks, Cody.” Sylvie stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

“You’re welcome—I think.”

She turned to slip her key in the lock but then stopped and faced him again. “Oh, I almost forgot. Can I have one of those pictures you took of Ben and me tonight? I want to put it on my Facebook page, to let Eddie know I’ve moved on.”

“Sure, but you just said Ben didn’t ask to see you again.”

“He will,” she said and smiled. “He will.”

* * *

“WHAT CAN I help you with, Mom?” Luci asked. After a stressful week at work and the so-called date with Ben Shapiro last night, she looked forward to a relaxing Sunday with her family.

Anna stood at the island in the spacious kitchen, slicing a head of lettuce on the chopping board. She pushed a lock of hair from her forehead with the back of one hand. “Hello, honey. You can work on this salad while I baste the roast.”

Luci sniffed the air. “It smells wonderful.” Picking up the knife where her mother had laid it, she sliced the lettuce while Anna crossed the room to the stove.

The children’s voices drifted in from the screened-in porch adjacent to the dining room. “Sounds like the kids are having a good time,” Luci began, but just then a scream rent the air. “Uh-oh, somebody’s not happy.”

Anna closed the oven door and straightened. “That sounds like Megan. She has trouble getting along with the older kids, sometimes.”

Arliss entered the kitchen, holding a tearful Megan by the hand. “Maybe Grandma can find something you can help with,” Arliss was saying. “Oh, hi, Luci. How was your date last night?”

Luci’s mouth dropped open. “How’d you know about that?”

“You forget Don and Cody are buddies?”

Anna handed Megan a stack of paper napkins. “Here, darlin’, put one of these at each place at the table. Okay?”

Megan pouted, but she nodded, took the napkins and trotted off to the dining room.

“Buddies, humph,” Luci said. “More like gossips.”

“So how was it?” Arliss lifted a pot of potatoes from the stove and moved to the sink to pour off the water.

“It was...okay.”

“You like Ben?”

“He was nice.” She looked around. “Where’s Fran?” Usually the four of them worked together in the kitchen.

Arliss set down the pot and gave a dismissive wave. “Oh, she’s on her phone. Big open house today in Oceanside.”

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