Gemma was still buzzing with excitement an hour later when they'd gotten their tray of food from the beachside cabana window and sat down at a wooden picnic table near the beach.
She had actually recalled something that had happened to her during the gap of time her brain had misplaced.
Louis began tearing the netting off their steamed bundles of food. He had to be burning his fingertips in the process.
Gemma eyed the bright red crustacean sitting in front of her without a clue as what to do next. "Um, I have a confession."
"What's that?" Louis asked, picking up a pair of steel lobster crackers.
"I don't exactly recall how to get the meat out of these things."
He chuckled. "That's not your memory, sweetheart."
Why did her heart skip a beat whenever he used the endearment? He said it very casually, the way one might address a friend. The problem was, with each passing day, she was beginning to view Louis as more than a friend. Each night as she prepared for bed, she was plagued with thoughts of how the two of them had spent the night sharing the same bed. One thing was certain—she was definitely attracted to the man.
Gemma couldn't quite decide yet if that was a blessing or a curse. Nor did she know what to do about it, if anything. Married or not, Louis was still barely more than a stranger. This must have been what an arranged marriage felt like. It was the closest analogy she could come up with.
She pulled her focus back to the mound of food in front of her. "What do you mean? That it's not my memory?"
"You can't forget how to do something you never did," he answered with a good-natured smile. "You don't know how to break a lobster open because I always did it for you." After taking in hand the object in question, he effortlessly cracked it open and placed the pieces on her paper plate.
Gemma dipped a small bit in the melted lemon butter and took a tentative bite. Her revelation earlier in the car was confirmed. It was good. Really good.
"How did you get me to change my mind?" A tug at the corner of her mind told her she knew the answer to her own question. But it was locked away tight and she had no key.
Louis shrugged, popped a small potato in his mouth whole. "Basically got you to try it on a dare. You were never one to pass up a challenge."
There was no way to miss the double meaning in his words. He was telling her to keep her chin up, stay determined. The hopeful expression on his face made her want to try.
She would start with now. She was going to enjoy a beachside picnic with the man who appeared to love her, whom she was growing more fond of by the day. Slowly, the tension squeezing her shoulders since they'd left Boston began to loosen its grip.
Despite the fact that she was as confused about her future as she was about her past.
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