“Sounds good. See you around five-thirty then. Sleep well,” he said, rolling up the window before I could protest.
“You too,” I said under my breath and turned to unlock the gate.
I sighed with relief as I locked the door behind me, nearly collapsing on the tiled entryway floor. I changed out of my dress and into sweats faster than Superman changing back into Clark Kent. I set my alarm and crawled into bed.
I yawned and rolled onto my side. As much as my brain wanted to over analyze the evening, a tequila-induced sleep forced my eyelids to close and I passed out.
>>>><<<<
I had hoped Ian wouldn’t show up. Most people didn’t like getting up before the sun, but he arrived just before five-thirty and we headed out for the day. He was quiet most of the morning, no doubt still feeling the effects of the sandman, but he didn’t take his eyes off me the whole time. It felt like he was waiting for something to happen, like I would magically sprout wings and fly away. I tried to ignore him but I couldn’t help feeling exposed and vulnerable as he tracked my every movement.
I finished shooting a few photos and we watched the sun rise over the water. With any other guy, I might have thought it romantic to watch the fingers of dawn stretch across the sand, but with Ian the sky couldn’t brighten up fast enough.
“How about we get some coffee?” Ian suggested. He stood, dusting the sand off of his jeans.
“Coffee sounds great. I know just the place,” I replied. Ian reached for my elbow and helped me to my feet. Robert’s face flashed across my eyes and his voice echoed in my head, “Violet, I need you to look at me.”
I pulled away from Ian and dusted myself off without looking at him. What the hell was that? I thought.
“Stand up too fast?” Ian asked.
His voice startled me. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a little light-headed.” I lied. Ian’s blue eyes flittered over me and a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about Ian was off and I was ready to be rid of him.
We pulled up to the Java Beach Café and instantly I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It was packed with people and the familiar scent of fresh donuts and coffee filled my nose.
“This must be the place to be,” Ian said with a smile as we walked inside.
“You betcha. Java has the best pastries within a hundred miles.”
We put in or orders and found a place to sit outside.
“So does your family also live in Pismo?” he asked as we sat down.
“No, they don’t.” I fiddled with the napkin dispenser, avoiding eye contact and hoping he’d switch to a different subject.
“So you’re not originally from around here, or did they move away and you stayed behind for the view?” He wiggled his eyebrows and a feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach.
A small, plump woman bustled over to our table and quickly distributed our coffee and breakfast.
“I moved here after college. My parents aren’t around anymore and I needed a place to start over.” I tore a piece of my donut off and popped it in my mouth as I waited for my coffee to cool a bit.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Ian sipped his coffee and for the first time today, took his eyes off of me.
“Yes you did,” I said, calling him on his bullshit.
“I’m just trying to get to know you. Man, you’re a hard nut to crack, aren’t you?”
I sighed. “I just don’t talk about my past much. I try to focus on the future.”
“I understand. I lost my dad when I was ten and my mother was never the same after. It was like a piece of her died with him.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…” I trailed off.
“It’s alright, it was a long time ago. Thankfully I had my uncle. He took me under his wing and kind of became a surrogate father.”
“Same with my aunt. She took care of me after my parents died but unfortunately we haven’t stayed very close over the years.”
“I’m sure she’s always looking out for you, one way or another.”
“Maybe,” I mused. This conversation was making me feel uneasy. I was being too free with my past, something I never did. I could feel the unnatural desire to open up to him cling to my chest like a bird to its prey. The words he wanted to hear bubbled out of me without my consent. I felt compelled to answer him and tell him whatever he wanted to hear and it terrified me.
“What about siblings?”
“Nope, it’s just me.” I tried not to answer, but the words just popped out. I took a sip of my coffee as panic gripped me.
“That’s lonely.”
“It’s all I’ve ever known.” I shrugged. “What about you? Any brothers and sisters?” I tried steering the conversation toward him to get the heat off of me.
“An older sister, but we don’t stay in touch. After my father died, she went away to school and we took different paths in life.”
“It must be hard to have family and not be close to them.”
“Not really, my uncle is my family,” he said, his voice cold and hard.
Whatever had happened between him and his sister must have been pretty bad. I couldn’t imagine having a sibling and not being close to them. I let the topic of family drop as we quietly sipped our coffee. If it were me, I wouldn’t want some stranger digging into my family history. Then again, a stranger was currently digging into my family history and I was letting him. I couldn’t figure out why; even Becky had to work to get details out of me sometimes and we’d been friends for years.
“So, no parents, no siblings, no husband, you’re all alone. That’s kind of sad actually,” Ian said. He frowned and reached across the table to hold my hand.
“I’m not alone. Just because I don’t have blood family doesn’t mean I don’t have people in my life that I care about.” I pulled my hand back and placed it in my lap.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. New topic?” He leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his bagel.
“Sure.” I took a sip of my coffee and let it warm me from the inside out. Despite it being a beautiful day, I felt cold to the bone.
“So, how well do you know the Maxwell family?”
I froze, my donut halfway to my mouth. Did he know something about what happened?
“The Maxwell family?” I managed to sputter out.
“Yeah, Becky said you two worked that wedding. I figured you had an in,” Ian explained.
“Oh, well no. Annabel hired me to photograph the wedding but I’d never met them before that.” I felt like I was walking on thin ice. He narrowed his eyes as if analyzing my every word.
“Interesting family aren’t they?”
“How so?” I sipped my coffee, playing it cool.
“Well you know how it is, wealthy families always have skeletons in their closet.” He let out a low chuckle but the set of his jaw was serious. He was definitely up to something and the compulsion to tell him everything I knew about the Maxwells was taking over. The more I fought against the feeling, the stronger it got.
His phone rang, startling us both, and he excused himself from the table. I let out the breath I’d been holding and I could feel the compulsion to divulge any more information slowly fade as he walked away.
He stood out of earshot but his face was serious. Whoever was on the other end of that phone meant business. He looked my way and the corner of his mouth turned up in a handsome smirk.
He hung up the phone and in a few long strides returned to our table. “I’m sorry to do this, but that was work and I have to run,” he said.