Antique Virgin

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

When Bryce entered the coffee shop early the next morning he found his father seated at his usual table. After getting a cup of coffee for himself he took a seat across from his father, who had his eyes closed. His lips were curled at the corners in a smile. On the table in front of his father was his usual cinnamon latté. The cinnamon scent made Bryce warm inside. The comfort of the usual was important to Bryce. The world was a crazy place and things like cinnamon latté were the anchors that made life worthwhile.

Bryce smiled to himself and raised his cup of black coffee to his lips and took a small sip. Dad sure loves his cinnamon lattés. The irony of him marrying a woman named Cinnamon wasn’t lost on him. Especially since she wasn’t the woman he loved and certainly not the woman he wanted to marry.

His father opened his eyes and they twinkled. “Good to see you, son,” he said. The corners of his father’s mouth twisted and laugh lines formed around warm blue eyes and grew deeper as he smiled.

“Hey Dad, can we talk about the wedding?”

His father’s brow wrinkled. “Is there a problem?”

Bryce looked over the brim of his coffee cup at his father. He was such an i***t for thinking he could fool his father. Of course his father would think something was wrong. “No, of course not.” I’m such a coward. “I thought we needed some alone time.” He knew he should tell her he didn’t want to marry Cinnamon, but he was afraid. His father seemed to have his heart set on the wedding. “Ya know, some father and son time, like the old days.”

His father smiled. “Good.” His tone lacked any conviction. I wonder if he really means that?

Father and son looked away from each other across the sundeck of the Coffee Hut overlooking the white capped waves rolling into the beach far below.

After a few minutes of silence his father finally said, “We need to finalize travel arrangements for the guests.” His father turned toward him and locked eyes with him. “After all, I did agree to pay for this wedding and I want to keep some of the expenses within the budget.” He paused and grinned. “It’s not like everyday my number one son gets married, is it?”

Bryce smiled and leaned back in the chair. “No. Especially when I’m the only son.”

Bryce breathed in the salty air before he took another sip of his warm coffee as he took in the panoramic view from the coffee shop’s sundeck. The seagulls swooped and cried as they rode the breeze above the restless Pacific Ocean, reminding him of his visits to the coast with his father and mother.

He had such fond memories of those days. The memories of Glad Beach flitted through his head and he realized he was at peace in this place.

Glad Beach had been his refuge from the bullies at school who picked on him because he was smart. The scars were still there hidden beneath the surface.

When his family vacationed at Glad Beach it was the one place in the world where he could be himself and not suffer from the constant bullying at school.

He’d shown those bullies when he developed a revolutionary software program for the U.S. Air Force.

He retired at thirty four. But having money and all the leisure time you could use wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. You could only party so much and play golf so much. Sure, it was fun but he needed stability in his life. And he wanted a family. A real family. Unfortunately, this was a big barrier between him and Cinnamon. She didn’t want kids and he did.

But his father had his heart set on Bryce marrying Cinnamon. He didn’t want to let him down. He loved his father too much to disappoint him.

“What are you planning for this morning?” his father said, breaking Bryce’s introspection.

“I’ve had my sailboat moved to Pearson’s Perch. I thought I’d take Cinnamon sailing.”

His father pursed his lips.

Bryce’s brow furrowed. “Bad idea, Dad?”

His father chuckled. “No. No. Of course not. It’s just that Margaret told me she and Elizabeth were taking Cinnamon to the spa for an apple-cucumber-rose-petal-grape-juice treatment,” he rolled his eyes, “Whatever that is. All I know is it’ll cost me five hundred bucks. Minimum.”

“Oh. Really? Cinnamon didn’t say anything to me.” Bryce drained the rest of his now tepid coffee. Of course, he thought bitterly. He had no say about anything around here. After the marriage he was convinced it would be even worse. He’d be the family puppet.

“How about you, Dad, you wanta go for a sail? We can talk about the wedding plans some more.”

His father shook his head and waved him away. “No. The wedding stuff can wait. We’re in no hurry. And besides I’m a landlubber by birth. Don’t worry about me, I’ve got that new Cussler book to dive into this afternoon. That’s as close to sailing as I like to get.”

A thought occurred to Bryce. Sax Edwards. He wanted to see her again without Cinnamon and Pep tagging along. He really liked her. From the second he’d met her it seemed they had an inexplicable connection. It was like they’d known each other all their lives. He’d never been as comfortable with anyone so quickly. And he wanted to apologize for Cin and Pep’s behavior toward her. It bothered him they were so rude to Sax. No one deserved to be treated rudely.

Sax certainly was cute. And he really loved her sassy attitude and great smile.

He hoped she’d agree to go sailing with him because she might know her way around the coastal waters. The last thing he wanted to do was end up smacking into a rock or something.

He frowned. Cinnamon didn’t like sailing. In fact she didn’t like most of what he enjoyed. They had very little in common. He doubted she’d even care if he went on a date with another woman. Not that he was going on a date with Sax. She was nice but he’d just met her and he’d never been comfortable being forward with women.

“Hey, Dad, maybe I’ll ask that Saxony woman I told you about from the antiques store. She’s a local so she’ll hopefully know the coastal waters. And it’ll give me a chance to talk to her about the decor for the house. That rattan stuff in the house now is really bad.”

His father finished his drink with a loud slurp. He set the empty mug on the table with a click just as a sudden gust of wind swept over them.

Without waiting for his father’s reply Bryce got up and started for the door to the parking lot where his truck was parked. As he opened the door the traffic noise on the highway filled his senses. Before the door closed behind him he thought he heard his father say, “You don’t have to be a fortune teller to foresee rough waters ahead.”

What was that supposed to mean?