Ashland knocked on my door a few minutes early, but thankfully I was ready to go. As I climbed into his car, I waved goodbye to Bette.

“You look great!” He gave me an appreciative smile. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, going out on a date with my boss. He was out of my league, really, but he had asked. I tried not to think about the why too much.

“Thanks. You did say casual. Where are we going?” I fastened the seat belt and put my small purse down by my feet.

“Do you like seafood?” The car slid through the tunnel that led to the causeway across Mobile Bay. “This area has some of the best. You’ll never have shrimp like Gulf shrimp, I promise!”

My stomach grumbled, and I was happy to chit chat with him. “Oh yes, I love all types of seafood. Are we going to a restaurant?”

“No, I thought we could have dinner on my boat.” The sun had fully set, and the stars shone brilliantly over the bay. I gasped as a meteor whizzed across the sky. “Look at that!” I squealed with delight, rolling down the window so I could see the sky better.

“See, I’ve even arranged for entertainment.” Ashland laughed and rolled his window down too. A few more flew by—we were in a genuine meteor shower. We crossed the bay in a few minutes and pulled up to the Fairhope Marina. “I’ve never been on a boat before,” I confessed.

“No worries. It’s a big boat, and the seas don’t look too rough tonight, so it should be pretty smooth. We won’t go out far, just outside the bay, and then we’ll have dinner. I’ve cooked something special for you.”

“Gee, I hope you didn’t go to any trouble, Ashland.”

He looked at me thoughtfully. “That’s nice.”

“What’s nice?”

“You calling me Ashland. I like that.” He stepped out of the car and went to open my door. I was finding that he was a true southern gentleman. I liked that.

“Do you trust me?” He gave me a wide smile. God, he’s handsome!

I nodded once, accepted his hand and stepped out of the car. I promised myself I would not trip this time. We walked down the planks to the boat, and my eyes widened. It was a big boat. As a matter of fact, it was the largest one in the marina, as near as I could tell. I could hear the tinkling of glasses and people laughing. Apparently lots of people had planned to watch the stars fall tonight.

I chuckled at the boat’s name, “Happy Go Lucky.” We stepped aboard, and Ashland gave me a tour. It had several rooms, an ample kitchen and a full-size bathroom complete with Jacuzzi tub. I felt like I was in an old episode of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. Well, okay, maybe not quite that luxurious, but it was close.