Page 90 of Banter & Blushes #1

A quick glance at the adults, their lips twitching like mine, confirmed that they’d all seen more than their fair share of the popular movie.

Zaki and I stayed to chat for a few moments until more campers began to arrive.

We hugged the girls goodbye and strolled hand-in-hand back to the main lodge.

We had a breakfast date planned at the Cliffside Diner.

At the reception desk, the assistant manager, Jordan, handed Zaki a set of keys. “The golf carts are parked around the side. Yours is pale blue with a white awning.”

We thanked him, and a few moments later, we were cruising leisurely down Cliff Walk Lane toward the main road and the ocean. I held on to my hat and basked in the early morning sunshine. The air still held a bit of the crisp overnight chill to it, but the sun was warm on my skin.

When the traffic cleared, Zaki crossed and turned left. The diner, a refurbished train car, was just up on the right. We pulled into the parking lot and found a parking spot. Zaki ran around to help me down, and I let him.

I loved his chivalry.

His hand guided the small of my back as we walked to the entrance.

He pulled the door open, and the inside was just as I imagined.

A long counter featuring a baked goods display and vinyl stools cut a third of the car in two.

Booths lined the front windows and the built-on extension that ran at a right angle toward the back of the property.

“Reserved for Officer Saunders,” I read on one of the stools. “Aw. Damon has his own seat.”

“That man’s a hero!” Two booths down from the door, a little old lady with a pouf of white hair grinned at us. Across from her, a woman a few years older than me hid a smile behind her hand. “And he’s my grandson.”

“We just met him and his family at camp drop-off,” I said, walking up to the booth and extending my hand. “I’m Arwyn. You can call me Wynnie. And this is my fiancé, Zaki.”

“Daisy Mae Saunders. Call me Meemaw. I know all about you,” she said, waggling her eyebrows at him. “And your team. Your goalie is from Georgia and will be here later this week. I’m going to meet him.”

This time, the woman across from her couldn’t hold in her laugh. “I’m Lanie. Meemaw here is obsessed with Jason Dexter. And his sister, Bailey. It’s kind of my fault. I might have gotten her into hockey.”

Meemaw raised her brows and turned back to Lanie. “Might have?”

Lanie threw her hands up. “Okay, okay! I take full responsibility.” She looked back to us. “I’m a physical therapist at the sportsplex outside Boston. My best friend, Sarah, is a trainer for the professional team that’s based there.”

“And let’s not leave out the fact you dated Alexei Kriz before he was traded to Palmer City.” Meemaw smirked.

“No way,” Zaki said. “Small world. He’s a great guy.”

Lanie’s face flamed. “Very small.” She took a sip of her iced tea. I noticed blueberries floating in it. How interesting.

“And now she’s married to my grandson, Matt. They have two beautiful children and?—”

“Daisy Mae!” Zaki and I turned toward the source of the voice. Behind the counter, a woman with curly gray hair piled high on her head shook a pen in Meemaw’s direction. “I will not have you scaring away new customers!”

Meemaw waved her off. “Sadie, if they scare that easily, they need a faintin’ couch and a fan.”

Zaki snorted, and I did a terrible job holding in my laughter.

Sadie shook her head. “Sit wherever you like. I’ll be right over.”

“It was great meeting you both,” I said.

“We’ll see you again.” Meemaw winked. “It’s a small town and a short week.”

“Gotta love the small-town grapevine,” I said to Zaki as we settled into a booth around the corner. The window offered a view of the lighthouse in the cove. “I wonder what she knows about everyone else coming in for the wedding.”

“That’s something I loved about living in Palmer City,” he said.

“That feeling that everyone knows you and has your back. You’ll miss that in Quebec.

” He stretched out his arm over the tabletop to take my hand.

“Remember, if I sign with Montreal, you can fly back to Colorado whenever you miss it. And we’ll spend a month there every summer with the girls. ”

“Zaki,” I said gently. It was time to truth-bomb him.

I knew he worried about me adjusting to city life.

“Home is wherever you and the girls are. My house in Palmer City is just a dwelling now. It’ll be empty with you three and the pups not in it.

Going back won’t ever be like it was before you were there. ”

He squeezed my hand. “You say that now, but…” He looked out the window, and it became clear to me what was really bothering him.

“I’m not going to leave you because I miss my town and my friends. Not now, not ever. When I make a promise, I keep it. I’m not her, Zaki.”

“I know.” He smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I squeezed him back. “Sadie’s coming.”

“Welcome to the Cliffside Diner.” She handed us the menus. “Can I get your drinks while you look over the menu?”

“What is it that Lanie was drinking? With the blueberries?” I asked. “I don’t see it on the menu.”

“Ah!” Sadie smiled. “We’re testing a new blueberry tea.

It’s Molly Dalton’s latest healthy food experiment.

She’s selling the tea leaves at Seaside Stories—the gift shop a few doors down—and we’re serving it up to locals cold with the berries to entice them.

Antioxidants and blah blah blah. They have it at the resort, too. ”

I grinned back at her. “I’d love to try it.”

“Got it down for ya. And for you, hockey guy?”

Zaki flashed his teeth. “Ice water, no lemon, please.”

“Be back in a jiff.”

Zaki and I had a lovely breakfast. I splurged on buttermilk crepes with fruit and whipped cream, and he had the Mainer omelet with lobster, tomatoes, mascarpone, and freshly chopped dill. We said goodbye to Meemaw and Lanie on our way out, our bellies and hearts full .

“How about a stroll on the beach?” Zaki asked, pointing to an entrance to the Cliff Walk, a paved walkway that stretched the length of the cliff. “There’s a stairway to the shore a little ways down.”

“Sure.” I tucked my arm into his and sighed. “It’s so beautiful here.”

“You’re beautiful,” he said, bending down to sneak in a kiss on my cheek and dislodging my hat.

I laughed. “Did you know that lighthouse is a guest suite?” I asked. “Meggie said she and Flynn will be staying there the night of the wedding. There’s a tour of it online.”

“Oh yeah?” Zaki asked. “That sounds cool.”

We reached the steps marked “Private Beach. Cliff Walk Resort Guests Only.” He gestured for me to descend first. It was a long way to the bottom, and I had to hold up my skirt to avoid tripping on it.

The beach was buzzing with activity. A rental shack, covered in colorful buoys, seemed to be the hub of activity. Kayaks, floats, and loungers dotted the sand and sea. Families splashed in the water and built sandcastles.

“I’m glad the camp has a beach day tomorrow,” I said. “The girls will love this.”

“They sure will.” Zaki stopped to scan the beach. “Let’s go over there. See those boulders in the shade of the cliff? Looks like a good place to sit.”

“It does.” A nice, private area to sit and enjoy the ambience was just what I’d been thinking.

We removed our sandals—Zaki insisted on carrying mine—and trekked down the beach to the rocks. He dropped our shoes at the base of the boulder and helped me up onto it. When he hesitated, I patted the rock. “Come sit.”

He shook his head. “I think I’ll head to the shack and get us bottles of water.

Gotta stay hydrated. Be right back.” He blew me a theatrical kiss, complete with a bow, and jogged off with a grin.

I pulled my small sketchbook and a pencil out of my satchel and began to draw the lighthouse on the water.

Zaki returned with the waters, but he still didn’t climb up. And he looked really nervous.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

He shrugged and reached up to me. “Come on down for a second?”

“Okaaay.” I set my sketchbook and pencil down and took his hands, then carefully slid off the rock and onto the sand. He turned me so that my back was to the shack and the sea was to my right. “You’re acting really strange.”

“So, normal then,” he assessed.

I shook my head. “Not your normal strange. Different strange.”

“Well … I had an idea. Hear me out?”

I regarded him curiously. “Of course.”

He swallowed. “Will you marry me? Right here, on this beach, in Crane’s Cove? Sunday morning?”

I blinked up at him. “Hmm? Here? What about our church wedding in Montreal? ”

Zaki bent forward, pressing his forehead to mine.

He spoke earnestly. “We can still do it. Have a marriage blessing ceremony when we get to Montreal. We won’t have to change any plans, just the priest’s words.

I don’t want to wait any longer, Wynnie.

When we get married in Quebec, I’ll only have two weeks before the season starts.

The girls will be with their mom. If we get married here, the remainder of the summer can be our honeymoon. ”

“And you wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor of the RV for the rest of the trip,” I teased.

“Yeah, I definitely feel like I haven’t gotten my money’s worth out of that king bed.” He waggled his eyebrows roguishly. “But there’s something else. A bigger reason.”

“There is?”

He nodded. “Turn around.”

I pivoted slowly and squinted at the figure walking toward me. My heart raced, and I took off in a run, arms out and ready to hug.

“Mom!”