The kitchen officially closed at ten, and it was a little after eleven when Nick was able to call it a day. Usually, on a Saturday night he grabbed an after-work drink with one of the guys in the kitchen. As long as they changed out of their work clothes, they could have a drink or two on the property at any of the bars or restaurants. But tonight, no one was able to join him. Usually if no one was available, he just went home. But Nick was feeling energized after running around all night and he wanted to go out.

He decided to have a drink at the outside bar that overlooked the ocean. It was the most casual of the hotel’s bars. It was a beautiful night, and he loved that view.

There was one open seat at the bar, which was u-shaped and held about thirty people. The seat was on the end, next to the cocktail station where the servers waited for the bartender to make their drinks. That’s why it was open. Nick didn’t care, though. He knew all the servers, so at least he’d have a few people to chat with when they came to the bar.

He slid into the seat and Frank, the bartender, came right over. Frank was in his mid-fifties and had worked at The Whitley for as long as Nick could remember.

“Hey, Nick, what are you having?”

It was a warm, sticky night, hot for late May, and a beer seemed like a good idea. “I’ll have a Whale’s Tail draft. Thanks, Frank.”

When it arrived, Nick took his first sip and relaxed as he looked around the bar. It was mostly couples. He was sitting next to a woman, but she hadn’t turned his way and all he could see was that she had almost black, chin length hair. He figured she must be with the guy sitting next to her.

He sipped his beer and chatted with Sue and Jamie when they came to pick up drinks. They were busy still with scattered tables on the big patio. There was entertainment, too, two guys on guitars playing easy listening music like Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor. The crowd loved it.

He was almost finished with his beer and was going to ask for his tab when the woman sitting next to him turned his way, smiled and his whole world shifted. There was something about that smile. It lit up her whole face and it was directed at him. So much warmth. Her eyes were pretty, too—they were a blueish gray and stood out against her dark hair.

“I’m so sorry. That’s rude of me to have my back to you like that. I thought the seat was empty.” Nick noticed the guy that had been sitting next to her was gone.

“Oh, no worries. I snuck in a few minutes ago. I’m Nick.”