I swallowed. I turned away from him and rushed down the hall, onto an open elevator. I pressed “lobby” and prayed that the doors would shut as soon as possible, that he wouldn’t follow me and squeeze in at the last moment.
He didn’t.
I was free.
Chapter 25.5
Claire
Eight weeks ago...
I walked into Dutchman’s, a small gift shop on the eastern docks, and followed Ashley and Caroline around. They’d insisted on coming with me to help pick out a birthday present for Jonathan, even though they hadn’t met him yet.
We’d been shopping up and down the pier all day, but we hadn’t had much luck.
“If you would let us meet whoever this guy is, this would be a whole lot easier.” Ashley picked up a plastic fish and smiled. “Does he like fish?”
“A hundred boxes of sardines, maybe?” Caroline shrugged.
Ugh...“I’ll take a look around...” I walked towards the back of the store and stopped once I caught a view of the ocean from the windows.
“Breathtaking isn’t it?” An older brunette stood next to me and smiled. She was dressed in an all-white suit that perfectly complemented her thin frame, and her hair was neatly swept into a high bun. Her eyes were stark blue with light wisps of gray, and they looked slightly familiar for some reason.
“Very...” I said. “What do you do when it rains though?” I noticed that the window was broken and the coverings desperately needed to be replaced.
“Well, we’re getting a brand new window next week, but as far as the coverings go...I don’t know. We still want people to see the view, rain or shine.”
“You should get bamboo shades—not the yellow ones because they’ll fade after six months. Get the brown ones with the smooth finish; it’ll look more authentic and bring out the earth tones in this room.”
Her eyes sparkled and she reached out to shake my hand. “I’m Denise.”
“Claire.”
“Well Claire, I was thinking more along the lines of the basic, plastic white blinds because they’re dirt cheap, but I’ll keep that in mind if this place ever makes a profit.” She laughed. “May I help you with something?”
“I’m looking for a birthday gift for someone I’m dating and I’m not sure what to get him...”
“I take it that this man loves yachts?”
I nodded.
“Come over here to the front then, honey.” She led me to the counter. “Now, there are many things you could get a man who loves yachts, but if he knows his stuff, you have to get it right. How serious are you two?”
I blushed. “I don’t know... I—”
“So, pretty serious.” She smiled. “I have just the thing for that.” She disappeared into a side room for several minutes and came back with a pretty brown box, sliding it to me. “This is what you want.”
“Mini metal anchors?”
She burst into laughter. “No, dear. These are sea hooks. They symbolize that you’re in it for the long haul, that you are—figuratively speaking, anchoring his ship. You get them personalized however you want, and if he knows his yachts like he’s supposed to, he’ll have the hooks welded onto his ship’s real anchor. This will be perfect.”
I rummaged through the box of hooks and pulled out a few golden ones, running my hands along their pointy ends. “I’ll take them.”
“You’ll take what?” “What are those things, mom?” “You’re getting your boyfriend toy anchors?” “What type of guy is this?”
Denise shook her head. “There’s a logic behind it girls, I promise. How would you like them personalized, Claire?”
“Well...How about my name on the bottom of the hooks and his name on the side corners?”
“Sounds great.” She took a pen from behind her ear and wrote on a pad. “And what is your boyfriend’s name?”
“Jonathan.”
“Oh! I have a son named Jonathan. It’s a great name!” She laughed. “Write down your number so I can call you when they’re ready, okay? And trust me, he’ll love them.”
Six weeks ago
I stepped off the elevator and walked over to Jonathan’s secretary. “Good afternoon, Angela. Is Mr. Statham available?”
She looked at me with a “Why are you even asking me that” expression and picked up her phone. “Mr. Statham? I have...” She rolled her eyes. “It’s Miss Gracen, sir...Right away. You can go in now, Miss Gracen.”
“Thank you.”
I smoothed my navy blue dress and opened the door, slowly walking inside. As soon as Jonathan’s eyes met mine, I smiled and felt butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
“Good afternoon.” He walked over and kissed me on the cheek. “You look amazing...” He led me over to the older brunette I’d seen weeks ago at Dutchman’s. “This is my mother, Denise Statham. And mother, this is—”
“Claire.” She smiled and reached out for my hand.
I was about to say, ‘It’s nice seeing you again,’ but she said, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I guessed he’d told her about me and she probably didn’t remember me ever being in her shop.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous...” she said. “Jonathan’s very lucky to have you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Statham.”