Love on the Malecon (23 page)

They drank white wine and Nicole joked that
it was a good choice because it matched the décor. The restaurant
offered a tapas menu and the two of them must have tried every dish
on it. The meal took all night. They began with goat cheese in a
tomato sauce with
crostini
to dip. They shared bacon-wrapped
dates and paella with prawns poached in a white wine sauce. They
sampled an array of different meats, seared and served with all
types of reduction sauces. They shared potatoes prepared in
mouthwatering sauces.

They talked about where to visit next and
what type of book she’d like to write. Derek couldn’t believe that
this was happening. He had been trying to prepare himself for a
long distance relationship. He would have made it work, but he
wasn’t sure how hard it would be. Now he didn’t have to. Now he’d
have her with him every day.

After endless dishes and two bottles of wine,
they decided to go back to their apartment. They were both drunk,
though not nearly as bad as their tequila night at the Samba.
Hector was waiting by the car in front of the restaurant when they
walked outside.

“Can we walk for a bit?” she asked him
sweetly.

“You heard the boss, Hector. We’ll be back in
a little bit.” Hector smiled and got back into the front seat of
the car. Derek held Nicole’s hand while they crossed the busy
street to walk along the water. He put his arm around her and she
leaned into his shoulder.

They wandered in silence, taking in the
surroundings. The night was gorgeous. He could not wait to do this
with her in endless towns around the world. She hadn’t even agreed
to be his wife and he could already imagine them honeymooning in
Venice. She would love it there.

When they made their way back to the
restaurant, Hector was there waiting and drove them to the hotel.
Nicole had apologized profusely for making him wait, though Hector
could not have been nicer about it. Derek was going to miss him
while they were gone. Early on in their business relationship,
Derek had officially put him on his payroll so that he would get
paid even when Derek was not in Vallarta. He didn’t like thinking
of him struggling to take care of his wife and two little sons.
Well, they probably weren’t little anymore. Derek knew that he was
nice enough to do it anyway, but, in Hector’s eyes, waiting half an
hour was part of his job.

When they reached the apartment, Nicole
couldn’t keep her hands off of him. The second the door closed, she
pounced. He laughed and matched her eagerness. He pushed her body
up against the wall and his hands explored all of her curves while
he kissed her neck. He felt her tiny little waist as his hands
roamed to her hips and back up to her breasts. He pulled down her
dress and eased it over her hips until it fell to the floor. He
scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. She was pulling his
shirt over his head and tugging at his pants as he laid her down.
She didn’t care if she ripped them; she wanted them off. Finally,
she had him naked and he climbed over her. She pulled his head into
hers for another kiss. She couldn’t get enough of him and it was
such a turn on. He loved how much they craved each other. When he
was inside of her, she let out a sigh of relief, as if she had been
waiting her whole life for his touch. He knew exactly how she felt.
He, too, had waited his entire life to feel this way.

He wanted to make love to her tonight. He
wanted it to be slow and sensuous. There were nights for fast and
loud; this wasn’t it. She had agreed to stay with him. He could
stop counting the days he had left with her. He whispered to her
about how much he loved her and how she had made him the luckiest
man. He told her how he wanted to show her world. She replied back
with sweet moans while she showed him what heaven must be like.

When they were resting afterwards in the glow
of it all, he silently thanked her father for bringing her to him.
Whether it was true or not, he liked the idea of it. He knew every
night wouldn’t be like this, but he loved that she would be there
for all of them.

Nicole woke up wrapped in Derek’s arms. He must have
opened up the wall to the balcony at some point, because she heard
the ocean crashing into the beach before she opened her eyes. She
couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in less than two
weeks. How was it even possible? She lost her father and had broken
up with Andrew. Now she would be an ex-pat living on resorts all
over the world.

With that thought, she realized that she
needed to give her resignation at work. There was no need for
someone to write remotely for a Chicago-based magazine. Then she
thought again. This lifestyle she had now could open up so many
possibilities. What if she offered to write about vacation options
for Chicagoans to escape the cold and snow in the winter months? It
wouldn’t be weddings anymore, but there could be a captive audience
for an article like that. She could focus on areas where she and
Derek were staying and write an in-depth review of the area. She’d
recommend his resorts, of course. That would be a win/win situation
for the both of them. She needed to call her editor and suggest the
switch. If he wasn’t receptive to the idea, then she would simply
resign her position. Still, she hoped he would consider it.

As she laid there thinking about everything
with work, Derek began to stir. She turned her body into him. It
still astounded her how handsome he was. His features were so
rugged yet perfect. Before he opened his eyes, he somehow found her
lips for a quick morning kiss.

“Good morning, love,” he said in the middle
of a yawn.

“Good morning to you,” she said with a
smile.

“How about having breakfast where the King’s
Head Pub used to be and then be off on our adventure?”

Nicole loved the idea.
“
Definitely,”
she said excitedly,
“
Also, let’s take the bus to Mismaloya.
That’s how my dad always got there.” She was glad that she was
telling, rather than asking. She didn’t want to start the
relationship with Derek thinking he’d get to make all of the
decisions. She wanted this relationship to work and that would be
an important dynamic to figure out.

“Sure, just because you can travel by private
jet now doesn’t mean you’re too good for the bus,” he joked with
her.

Did he really say jet?
“
You
have a plane? Are you kidding me?” she laughed.

“I guess I’m not used to mentioning that with
the ladies. Yes, you have a plane at your disposal. I can send it
for your friends as well. Make sure to tell Kate that she can visit
anytime she wants. She won’t need to pay for a flight.”

Nicole could barely wrap her head around that
idea. That fact alone made it even easier to stay with Derek. She
could have her friends here whenever they could come.
“
Give
her a suite to stay in and she’ll be here every weekend,” she said,
half-joking, half-waiting for the answer so that she could pass
along the good news to Kate.

“We’ll book her the best room in the
resorts.” He kissed her again and got up out of bed. For a second,
she could barely breathe. Kate was going to lose it and Nicole
couldn’t wait to tell her. She would honestly love Derek no matter
what (she had loved the man when she thought he lived in Detroit,
of all places), but this was a really fun perk to find out
about.

Nicole was so excited to focus on her dad for
the day that they were ready in no time. They each dressed for the
beach, with tennis shoes for comfort, and headed to breakfast.
Since the restaurant was close and they were taking the bus, there
was no need for Hector drive to them.

The restaurant was just down the street from
the hotel. It was no wonder her father had stumbled upon it one
day. It was tiny as well. As they walked in the door, Derek began
to tell her how it was set up when her father frequented it. The
walls were now brightly colored, but he explained that it used to
be almost all wood in order to resemble an English pub. Along the
wall were three bar tables, oversized for the space. Now, five
little white tables were in their place. The bar was located along
the wall across from them. Derek said the size of the room hadn’t
changed and Nicole couldn’t believe there was even space for a bar.
Now, it had more dining tables and a wait staff area for drinks and
supplies. There was a little register in the corner. She could see
just slightly into the kitchen and imagined that’s where the pub
food was prepared.

While Derek found them a table, she tried to
imagine everything as her father saw it. She sat down and closed
her eyes, trying to see if she could feel his presence. She wasn’t
sure. She liked being there; it had a welcoming feel to it. She
wondered if that was her dad. For once, Derek wasn’t on a first
name basis with the employees. She figured it was because he had
breakfast in his apartment most days. Derek ordered an omelet and
Nicole chose a breakfast burrito and they both had a latte. Her
breakfast was fabulous. The pico de gallo tasted so fresh that it
had to have been prepared just moments ago. She savored every
bite.

When they finished, Nicole was happy to see
that there was a bus stop right in front of the hotels. She knew
that must be the stop her dad took. It made her smile as they
waited. Derek must have noticed, because he put his arm around her
and kissed her head.
“
Thank you for letting me be a part of
this,” he whispered into her ear,
“
I wish I could have met
him. I would have told him that his daughter will always be loved
and cared for.”

With that, Nicole was ready to cry. She
fought back the tears and just leaned her body into him as a thank
you. She hadn’t really put it together that her father had to die
for her to meet Derek. Could the universe really have sacrificed
her dad in order to make a chance encounter happen? She wasn’t sure
how she felt about the idea. She liked the idea that when her
father died, he pulled some strings to have their paths cross. Not
the other way around. He truly would have loved Derek. She couldn’t
imagine that he could have hand-picked another man that was more
suited for her. They would have drunk beers together and discussed
business. She pictured them up till all hours of the night talking,
just as she could with Derek.

Luckily, the bus arrived to pull her away
from her thoughts. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it
was nice, cute and clean. Derek paid the fare with coins and they
sat down in the first available row of seats. The bus was about
half-full of mothers with their children and a few men that looked
like they were construction workers. There was an older woman who
appeared to have bought a few things at the market. Now that she
knew to some extent how wealthy Derek was, Nicole was surprised
that he didn’t look out of place. He fit right in. There wasn’t a
pretentious bone in his body and she loved that. Andrew would have
stuck out like a sore thumb.

She needed to stop comparing him to Andrew.
That relationship was officially over now. Derek was her
future.

The bus ride to the Conches Chinas beach took
about half an hour. Their stop was right next to a large outdoor
bar and restaurant. Immediately, she felt like she could see her
dad hanging out at the bar, having a shot of tequila. She was
beginning to feel like an alcoholic with all of the day drinking,
but a shot of tequila with Derek was exactly what she wanted just
then. As if he could read her mind, he grabbed her hand.

“Let’s do a shot for your dad.”

“You do know me, don’t you?” Nicole said with
a laugh and they walked towards the bar.
“
I still have some
of the seashells he brought me back from this very beach,” she
said. She wondered if there was something special she could do to
display them.

“We’ll have to get those and keep them with
us wherever we stay,” Derek said thoughtfully.

“What are we going to do about my stuff?”
Nicole asked, realizing that she hadn’t even thought about
that.

“I already told Andrew that I would have your
things sent to Kate’s, but we can have them put in a storage unit
and take a trip there to go through everything. I do travel light
between places, but I have some meaningful items in some of the
apartments I visit most often. I understand if there are things,
like the shells, that you’d like to bring to each place.”

“Thank you. There are some things of both my
mother’s and father’s that I’d love to have.”

“I’m going to ask Gael to meet tonight. I’ll
try to plan a face-to-face meeting with the people in Chicago soon
and we can take care of both things. I want to meet Kate and any of
your other friends as well.”

Nicole started laughing at the idea of them
meeting.
“
She’ll be so excited. She already searched you on
the Internet. I forgot about that. I want to see you back in your
fighting days. I’m trying to picture you fifteen years
younger.”

“Imagine less grey,” he said bluntly, giving
her a smile.

“It’s really not fair that men look better
when they grey and women just look old,” she responded with a
playful scowl.

“I will love every grey hair on your head,”
he said and kissed her.

They took their shots of tequila and ordered
beers to take out onto the beach. They walked together and Derek
asked to hear more stories about her father while they searched for
shells to keep. While they inspected shells, Derek told her that
the name of the beach roughly translated to
“
Chinese Sea
Shells”. They were beautiful- brightly colored and larger than any
she’d seen on beaches before. Most of the ones they found were
smaller than the ones her dad had brought her. He must have waited
to bring back the rare ones.