Page 25 of Luck Be a Genie

Once we were seated, we both looked at our menus. The only thing that I kind of wanted to try was the lobster bisque soup. I wasn’t a fan of lobster, but the rest of the ingredients sounded good. And because I knew that wouldn’t fill me up, I decided to see if I could ask the server if I could get them to leave off the shrimp on the shrimp fettuccini.

The restaurant was classy with low lighting, romantic now that the sun had mostly set, and wide windows that looked out on the beach. The dress code here was more upscale than where we’d eaten before, so the people seated at the tables around us were in nicer clothes. I people watched as Nick decided what he wanted.

Finally deciding, he set his menu down and looked across the table at me. A votive candle was flickering in a small glass jar surrounded by fresh greenery in the center of the table.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

It was difficult for me to really feel the compliments people gave me sometimes. Because inside of me there were these nasty voices telling me I was worthless. That I was ugly. That I was fat. That I was dumb. I knew those nasty voices had come from my parents, but over the years they had morphed into my own voice. And it wasn’t even something I heard anymore. It was just something I went around always feeling. Like there was this black hole inside of me that was always empty. And when someone said something kind to me, I always tried so hard to really feel it. To let it light me up and fill me, making me feel all glowy inside.

But it didn’t.

Sometimes it felt like it couldn’t.

I felt broken.

Swallowing back the tears and the pain, I reached for Nick’s hand. His face lit up at my touch, but I think he was onto me, because he was more attentive than normal while we waited for our food, and that was saying a lot for him.

When our food finally came and I didn’t end up wearing the lobster bisque or my soda, we dug in.

“Mmm, this is actually good,” I said in surprise.

Nick paused eating. “You’ve never had it before?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m not much for seafood, actually, but this is really good.”

He gently set his fork down. “Then why are we here, Lucks? We could have gone somewhere else.”

I shook a roll at him, and then buttered it. “No way. You have been so excited about this place, and that makes me happy. Besides, I found something I like!”

Happy as a clam, I nibbled on my roll, then dipped a piece into my soup. Mmm, that was good.

Hesitantly, Nick went back to his food. But it was too delicious for him to be tentative for long, and he soon cleaned his plate.

After we’d paid the check, we walked along the beach for a while to walk off our meal.

It was low tide, so the wet sand on my toes was really silty and squishy. The soft coastal wind blew through my hair and made my dress billow around me.

After a few minutes, Nick stopped walking and gently turned me to face him, then wrapped his arms loosely around my waist as he gazed down at me.

“Am I moving too fast for you, Lucks?” His voice was low and rough with emotion.

I shook my head, surprisingly not even needing to think about it. “No. I like this pace. Everything feels easy with you.”

“It feels easy with you too.”

He caught my hair in one hand, and held it back from blowing in my face. “Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

I swallowed. “You’d better.”

He moved in closer, his warm, low chuckle and his nearness making my stomach flip.

“Are you threatening me, Lady Luck?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Good to know.” Then he leaned down, and softly, tenderly, kissed me.