Read, Write, Love at Seaside(18)
“Mm.” He closed his eyes and savored the sweet, tangy flavor. He finished that helping and made himself another. He’d never tasted anything like it. The bread was fresh and also a little sweet. He took the basket inside before he devoured the whole loaf.
A few hours later, with the afternoon sun high in the sky and his fictional victim safely tucked away in the cellar of the villain’s secret hideaway, Kurt closed his laptop and stretched his legs. He’d written a fair amount and chewed on the idea of bringing Leanna her clothes at the flea market. He should write more. Another four or five hours and he would be comfortably ahead of schedule.
A few days ago this would not have been debatable. He’d stretch, freshen his ice water, and return to the keyboard inspired and ready to write for hours.
A few days ago he hadn’t known Leanna.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Kurt took a quick shower, threw on a pair of khaki shorts and a short-sleeved, button-down linen shirt, and headed toward the flea market. His cell phone rang as he pulled onto the main road. He clicked his Bluetooth button and answered his sister’s call.
“Hi, Siena. How are you?”
“Hey, Kurt. I’m great. You? How’s the Cape?”
“Perfect.” Almost.
“Are you doing anything other than writing, or do I need to come out there and drag you down to the beach? It would be a hardship to spend time at the Cape and all, but if you need me to…”
Siena was a model in New York City, and he pictured her wide smile and bright blue eyes with a glint of tease in them. Siena and her twin, Dex, were Kurt’s youngest siblings. He’d always felt protective of them, but not in the same way as his brothers Jack or Sage had. They had no issue prying into their siblings’ lives or forming an intervention of some type—gathering all the siblings together to take a stance—and giving their two cents. Kurt preferred to remain in the background, and when he took issue with something, he’d talk with his siblings privately. Siena, on the other hand, took far too much pleasure in prying into all of her brothers’ lives.
“Actually, I’m on my way to the flea market right now.”
Siena gasped. “No.”
“Yup.” He smiled, because he knew she wouldn’t believe him. He left his keyboard only under duress. She’d had to bug him for seven weeks before he’d agreed to go on the blind date with her friend, and then he’d accepted only to shut her up. “Listen.” He clicked off his Bluetooth and held his phone up in the air, then brought it back to his ear. “I’ve even got the top down.”
“Holy cow, Kurt. Are you sick? Have you lost your mind? What will your poor laptop do without you there pounding away at it?” She laughed.
Kurt smiled. It was just the reaction he’d expected.
“I’m actually calling about Jack’s wedding. Do you need me to do anything for you here in New York? Do you have your suit? Are you coming straight from the Cape, or are you going home first?”
Kurt lived just outside of New York City, and when he summered on the Cape, Siena often took care of things for him back home. “Thanks, sis, but I’m going straight from here. I’ve got my suit, and my flight arrangements are all set. I land in Colorado the night before the wedding.”
“Perfect. Are you really going to a flea market? That’s so unlike you.”
“Yes, I really am. Hey, listen. I’m pulling in, so I have to run. How are you?”
She sighed. “Good, although dating is a nightmare in this town.”
Siena was bossy, noisy, and gorgeous, but she also had a softer, more vulnerable side.
“Don’t stress over men, sis. You’ll find the right one soon enough.”
“Let’s focus on finding you the right woman. I’m going to start advertising for a woman who can drag a six-foot-something man around by his ear. Once I find her, I’ll send her your way.”
He thought of Leanna and almost told Siena about her, but he didn’t want to deal with the litany of questions that would surely follow. “You do that,” he teased. Siena had been saying the same thing for five years. He knew he was safe from her doing any such thing. Despite the blind date a few weeks back, Siena had been all talk. “Love you, sis.”
He ended the call and pulled onto the grounds of the Wellfleet Drive-In. There were only about two dozen cars in the parking lot, and when he glanced at the clock, he realized it was already four. Each parking place had a metal pole with a speaker attached, which were used to hear the movie playing at the drive-in theater. Kurt had never watched a movie at the drive-in. He parked by the snack bar, and as he stepped from the car, Leanna came into view. He wondered what it would be like to go to the drive-in theater with her. Actually, he’d like to go anywhere dark with her.