"Did you have a place in mind where you wanted to go?" I asked, tossing him the keys.
"You want me to drive?"
"Yep, this is your party. Where are we going?"
"Santa Barbara?" He grinned back.
"Nope, I can't leave the greater Los Angeles area." I laughed, thinking there was nothing in the world I would like more than to drive to Santa Barbara with him.
"Well, how about we drive Sunset to PCH and then grab some lunch, sound good?" he offered, starting the car.
"Yes, I love driving Sunset, especially once we get past Hollywood. Top up or down?" I asked, my finger on the button. He looked at me, turning the full force of his green eyes on me.
"Top definitely down," he said, as his eyes left mine, moving lower across my body and then finally back up to mine. I let my breath out in a slow whoosh.
Damn.
"Whatever you want, Hamilton," I said quietly, my heart struggling to return to normal. This guy had yet to hug me, hold my hand, even touch me really, and with his eyes alone he had me coming apart at the seams.
"I'll remember that, Grace." He smiled sexily.
Double Damn.
***
As Jack and I made our way through the streets of L.A., we began the process of actually getting to know each other past all the banter. We talked about how long he had been in California and whether he preferred it to London. He didn't. I asked him about the film that was coming out in just a few months, pretending that I still knew nothing about the story. He gave me the CliffsNotes version. I prayed silently that he wouldn't reveal anything that happened late in the series as I was still only about halfway done. I would have to get on that.
Jack had been working in the industry for just a few years, having been spotted in London one day by a casting director. He auditioned for a small role in a movie for the BBC and then began working in independent films. After landing some breakout roles in a few high profile films, Hollywood had come calling. Being cast as the lead in Time had quickly made him an official 'star on the rise' and 'one to watch'. He called it all 'rubbish'. He loved acting, but I got the sense that he could walk away from it all and be happy working on a set somewhere in London's West End.
As Sunset wound its way through Brentwood towards the Pacific Palisades, we moved on to other matters. I discovered he had two older brothers, and that he had lost his mom to cancer when he was only sixteen. His father was still in London, but one of his brothers was now living here in the States, working for the embassy in Washington, D.C.
We both liked dogs and cats equally. We discussed the last few movies we had seen, whether we liked the current president, and I discovered that we shared a mutual love of Tina Fey. We laughed as we talked about our favorite sitcoms, and argued whether the UK or US version of The Office was better. I thought he secretly preferred the US cast, but being a proud Londoner, he could never admit that. And we found out that we were both massive U2 fans; he scored big points with me on that one.
As we talked, I found him to be delightful. He was charming and funny yes, but I could tell he was also very intelligent. He seemed interested in what I had to say as well, and I couldn't remember the last time I enjoyed talking to a guy more.
I had plugged my iPod in when we first took off and we'd been so busy talking that I hadn't even turned it on. I selected my favorite "driving" play list and turned up the stereo. When the song came on, he looked at me curiously.
"What made you turn this song on?" he asked, moving his eyes back to the road, which was beginning to get curvier as we got closer to the mountains.
"Oh, this is one of my all time favorites. This is my driving play list, when I just want to relax. Do you like it?" I asked, tucking my feet underneath me on the seat as I settled back. He didn't answer, but smiled at me.
I pulled on my ponytail, letting my hair spill out behind me and get picked up by the breeze. I could feel myself begin to relax further and a slow grin spread across my face.
"This song never ceases to make me happy. If I had a top five song list, this would be on it." I leaned my head back against the leather seat and let "Into the Mystic" pour over me.
I began to sing as we drove; I could never resist when this song was on. I sang along, keeping my eyes closed as I let my hand trail along in the wind. The sun was shining perfectly, warming my skin and making little patterns on the inside of my eyelids. It was one of those moments when you find yourself and your own little world in perfect harmony. I was content.
I could feel Jack's eyes on me, and when the song was over, I looked at him. The sunlight had caught his hair and was bouncing colors of blonde, wheat, toffee and vanilla around him. His eyes were burning green as he watched me. He hadn't spoken since the song came on. He looked at me for so long that I began to get a little self-conscious about my singing. Not everyone was a sing-along-in-the-car kind of person.
"Sorry, I tend to get a little carried away," I began, when he took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it on my arm.
"Shh," he said softly. "That was lovely, Grace," he continued, smiling sweetly at me as he lightly traced shapes on my skin.
OK, look. Whenever I hear people say that they felt "sparks", I usually think it's a load of poo. I mean, I have felt attraction to people, sure, and I have even felt some instant lust. But sparks? Please.
Then he touched my skin. Purposefully. Pointedly. Nowhere near platonically.
Sparks. Sparks. Sparks. Hot sparks. Flashing sparks. Lightening bolt sparks. Hal Sparks? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph sparks.
We were at the end of Sunset Blvd where it meets the Pacific Coast Highway. I pulled my gaze away from his and looked across to the Pacific crashing intently against the sand.
"End of the road, Grace. Where do we go from here?" he asked gently, still touching my arm.
"Gladstone's," I croaked out, breath catching in my throat.
Where?
"Where?" he asked, snapping out of his own reverie.
"Gladstone's," I said again, pointing to the restaurant on the other side of the PCH. "I need to eat."
My breathing was finally coming under control again, and he chuckled a little as he followed my finger.
"Ah, I see. Well, then let's get you fed." He grinned as he turned onto the highway and into the parking lot.
Chapter Seven
Gladstone's is one of my favorite restaurants, and although it's a little touristy, it is perfectly so. It's an indoor/outdoor restaurant, with a worn plank floor and concrete benches to sit on outside. We chose to do just that and had the entire Pacific Ocean as our backdrop. I ordered a beer immediately, which Jack joined me in as we continued to smile at each other. I know I must have looked like I had fallen asleep with a hanger in my mouth. I could still feel his hand on my arm, as if it had burned an impression there.
Our server came back with our beer and we ordered our lunch. Being a seafood restaurant, I always got the she-crab soup and the coconut shrimp. I'd been ordering the exact same meal for years. Even when I would come back to visit, I would always make Holly bring me here.
After the waitress finished taking our order, Jack raised his glass of Killian's Red to me and said, "To Van Morrison, and the sexiest version of "IntotheMystic" I've ever heard."