Chapter 3 – Coffee
Rick Castle stretched as he contemplated the rising sun, squinting as the glinting surface of the sea caught his still sleepy eyes. He felt the breeze ruffle his hair and ran his hands over it in a futile attempt to comb it down. He felt relaxed for perhaps the first time since the book tour had got underway. Perhaps the absence of Paula and Gina had something to do with that, he thought in wry amusement. In the distance he could just make out the blue and white hull of a local fishing boat, the uneven put-put of the engine carrying over the calm water. It reminded him of his intention to go round and visit Bembe, maybe he'd have some fresh shellfish for him, or one of those sea bass he'd enjoyed so much last time he'd been on the island.
He'd turned and been about to head indoors when the figure halfway along the beach caught his attention. He couldn't be sure, but something about the lithe form seemed familiar and he also got the impression she'd been watching him, though she was now walking slowly towards him, head bowed. He moved to the balustrade, set his hands on the still cool wood and watched her approach, he couldn't be sure, but he had the feeling she was last night's beach walker.
Her face was partially in shadow, caramel blonde hair falling over what little he could see of it, a simple white cotton dress failing to hide the slim figure underneath and something about the walk made him stop to watch. It wasn't the slinking catwalk stride that always looked so artificial to him, though he had no problems in envisioning her on one … no, it was a confident stride, one which made a statement, despite her bare-footedness and the slightly sloping beach which could always ruin the best of walks. He leant his elbows on the wooden rail, admiring the vision in white who was now that much closer.
He couldn't be certain, but he thought she'd just thrown him a glance from under her hair, but then again, he could have been wrong, she was back to watching her feet and the sudden squawking of some seagulls out to sea made them both turn to look. He twisted his head back to watch her watching the gulls, her profile suddenly clear to him and he quickly pushed himself up and headed inside the bungalow.
Rick had already started the coffee percolating before going out onto the terrace and he now quickly poured the contents into a cup and prepared a second one. It was one of those Moka pots that you filled with water in the bottom half and added to ground coffee to the filter before screwing both halves together and sticking it on the stove to percolate. He cursed as he almost burnt himself, the towel he'd used to unscrew the two halves having slipped a little.
With the coffee on the simmer he set out a tray and a couple of cups, added the sugar bowl and the carton of milk from yesterday and glanced out through the window. He could make her out much closer now, bending down to retrieve something from the sand and then stepping closer to the water's edge to rinse it.
By the time she resumed her walking, the coffee was gurgling in the pot and he lifted it off the heat, tipping the lid open and checking the amount. He poured the first cup back into the top of the pot and added it to the tray before carrying it out and placing it on the table. A sudden puff of wind blew in off the sea and he watched as she turned her face towards it, sweeping her hair back off her brow, the dress clinging to her body and giving him an almost perfect picture of long legs and jutting breasts. Moments later she had resumed her walk and was now almost level with the bungalow, steadfastly ignoring him. He couldn't help the grin as he leant on the rail and called out, "Could I offer you a coffee?"
He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but as she came to a stop and turned to face him, he felt his jaw drop. He'd been sure she was attractive despite having really only seen her clearly in profile, but as she looked upwards, eyes wide in surprise and lip caught between her teeth, he felt the air rush out of his lungs. A part of his brain, a very small part, suggested he could find fault in her, but the rest of his brain could only drink in the large eyes, the curved lashes, the glimpse of white teeth clamped over red lips, the shoulder-length hair with golden highlights catching the morning rays and softening the pronounced cheekbones, the small mole just north of the jawline which added just the right amount of imperfection to perfection. Standing there below him was his vision of paradise.
There was a flash of something in her eyes, surprise, astonishment, recognition perhaps? It was there and gone, a widening of eyes, dilating pupils, raised eyebrows, then there was colour flooding her neck, adding blush to her cheeks and he could already see the hesitation taking over, the doubt clouding her eyes.
He did the only thing he could, walking quickly down the wooden steps till he was standing before her, looking down and hearing her breath hitch, watching as her mouth opened slightly and her teeth released her lip. "It's freshly made … and I hate having breakfast alone!" Suddenly he felt like an idiot, a dork asking the prom queen for a dance, a fleeting image of Homer Simpson on Jeopardy flashed into his mind …
Maybe it was his pleading expression, maybe it was just his puppy dog eyes which he knew were killers, maybe it was just the offer of coffee, whatever it was, he caught the hesitation changing to amusement, the lip once again being incarcerated by the teeth … he felt the urge to pull it free and kiss it to oblivion … and perhaps he shouldn't have thought that because his face must have shown his intention and suddenly she was taking a step back, hand coming up in disconcerted defence and he became aware of his head having tilted forwards slightly, so he pulled back, took a deep breath and tried to get his brain back into first gear, dropping his head and mumbling a barely audible 'sorry'.
A quick glance back up at her face showed him a kaleidoscope of emotions; surprise, speculation, amusement … luckily no disgust and he allowed himself to breathe again. "Maybe I should start again," he said, sheepishly holding out his hand and adding "Hi, I'm Rick".
Her hand went from defensive, to hesitant, to moving to meet his. It felt tiny inside his large hand, yet firm, confident, a slight callousness to the tip of the index finger he'd speculate about later, right now he needed to get her and those incredibly hazel eyes up onto the deck. "Hi, I'm Kate" she said in a soft, slightly amused voice, her hand still engulfed in his and just in time he remembered to release it.
He waved his hand up the steps and offering a little bow asked "Can I tempt you to some freshly made coffee and maybe some fruit, or toast … or a barbequed rib eye steak?"
There was a gurgle of laughter and then she nodded to him, moving up the steps and throwing over her shoulder a "Coffee's fine for the moment, thanks!"
He grinned at the 'for the moment' wondering if she was aware of how promising that sounded to him, tried to keep his eyes off her swaying hips as she climbed the steps and quickly followed her up onto the deck, pulling out one of the rattan chairs and indicating she should take a seat. Picking up the pot he poured coffee into one of the cups and raising an enquiring eyebrow asked "Milk? Sugar?"
"Just some milk please," said in a pleasantly familiar accent, not bridge and tunnel, no trace of the boroughs, probably Manhattan. He tried to keep his excitement down.
He added a small amount of milk from the carton, checked with her to see if it was ok and then set the cup on the saucer and handed it to her before pouring his own plain black coffee, dumping a couple of spoons of sugar into it and sitting down.
"Well Kate, welcome to my humble abode … and I hope you'll excuse my somewhat bumbling efforts just now, I wasn't expecting to find such an attractive woman walking past at this time of day" he said with a grin, raising his cup in a sort of toast and suddenly wondering if she was alone, or on the island with a husband, a boyfriend, a partner …