She’ll need more than the average. Take her to the club. Everything will be set up for you there.
I didn’t need his help, and the club wasn’t more than average for her. Bad idea, Cope. I replied, The club is her norm. It’s not special. Why would I take her there?
I waited for a response for at least five minutes, which pissed me off. I was pulling into my parking lot when the phone finally buzzed in my lap. Just do what I say.
Dickhead.
Nan
The club? Was he serious? This was where he wanted us to have our first date now that we were trying again? The guy who wrote me those notes was not the same man who was taking me to the club on a date.
I tried not to roll my eyes, but I was positive I did when he pulled his truck up to the valet stand at the club. The attendant opened my car door, and I picked up my clutch before stepping out of the truck. Maybe I should have expected this. Major was a country boy. He’d been raised in Texas, for God’s sake. He probably thought the club was a nice date.
“Good evening, Mr. Colt. We have the Bentley waiting for you right over here.”
Bentley? He had the Bentley reserved?
“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Major said, sounding almost as surprised as I was by this information. But when he turned to look at me, he was smiling like he’d had the best idea in the world. He held out his arm for me to take, and we walked over to the Bentley. Apparently, we weren’t staying at the club. We just needed one of its Bentleys for our evening.
After we were both in the backseat, I’d turned to Major to ask exactly where we were going when the driver spoke up. “We will be at your destination in five minutes, sir.”
Major nodded and said, “Thank you.” Then he turned back to me, a pleased smile still on his face. “You didn’t really think I’d take you to the club for dinner, did you?” There was a teasing in his tone that caused me to smile. I enjoyed Major when he was like this. Playful and entertaining.
“I guess I did. But I’m so glad that wasn’t our final destination.”
Major smirked and leaned back in his seat, looking smug. An image of Gannon flashed into my head. He never looked smug. He looked sure of who he was. He didn’t need praise. You either accepted him or you didn’t. My chest tightened, and I pushed that thought away. I wouldn’t let myself dwell on that brief affair. Because that was all it had been. He had known how to make me want him, and he’d played his cards well. I was almost sure I’d fallen in love with him or maybe with the idea of who I thought he was. The intelligent danger that he possessed fascinated me. I doubted I’d ever experience that again.
I glanced out the window, determined to change my thoughts, and I recognized exactly where we were. I hadn’t been here in years. Not since Blaire had walked into Rush’s life. I’d stopped coming here then.
“How did you know about this place?” I asked, as the car came to a stop.
Major looked a little startled by my question. Why was he acting so weird tonight? This was his idea of a date. If he’d gone through all this to figure out my special place as a child and most of my life, then he had dug deep. Only Rush could have told him about the garden. My garden.
It was a secret place I’d found as a child one day when I’d attempted to run away from life. I’d never gotten far, because I’d known it would likely be days before my mother would realize I was gone, and I could very well be abducted or starve by then.
The garden hadn’t looked like it belonged in the coastal town of Rosemary Beach. It had been very English, and in my imagination, it had been plucked from one of my favorite fairy tales and placed here just for me to escape to, where there had been no country club, tennis lessons, cocktail parties, or endless line of men parading through my house to see my mother. Here it had been just me. My pretend place where I’d been a beloved princess and my parents adored me.
Rush had found me here when he’d returned from a weekend at his father’s. I’d been missing all day, and my mother hadn’t noticed. Rush had gone down the street calling my name in a panic, and when I’d heard him, everything had been right again. Someone had cared about me. Someone had wanted me safe. Rush had been my hero then, and he still was to this day.
From that moment on, this garden had been my escape, especially on the weekends when Rush had gone to stay with his dad. He’d always come and find me here, and we’d pretend together. He’d gone along with my silly princess fantasy to appease me. He’d always tried to appease me.
“I asked around,” Major finally said now, as if he wasn’t sure that was the correct answer.