Newport New Moon by Cindy Nichols

Author:Cindy Nichols
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prickly Pear Press

CHAPTER 17

"Man. You could give me a break, don't you think? I haven't won a single match with you since we met," Dirk said to Carrie as they pulled into the parking lot at the Balboa Bay Club after their weekly afternoon tennis match. Meeting for tennis had become a regular thing with them in the last few months, and even though they had to play a little earlier in the winter since it got dark earlier, they always went out for dinner afterward.

"Would you really want me to let you win?" she said, following the hostess to a table by the window. "You don't strike me as that kind of guy."

She pulled on her orange sweater that she'd made sure to bring since it got cold quickly after the sun went down.

It was Dirk's turn to pick the restaurant, and even though she made a face when he chose the Club, and she knew just what she was going to order. The same thing she always did, since she was a kid. Her favorite.

She paused as the hostess arrived at their table, one by the window. The view from the Club truly was spectacular, maybe the best in Newport. The sun had just set, and beyond the marina, across the harbor, the orange and purple clouds dancing in the sky were captivating.

As they were seated and handed menus, the Christmas lights on all the surrounding houses and restaurants and boats began to pop on. Across the water were hundreds—well, maybe dozens—of waterfront mansions, whose owners really took this season seriously. And with the Christmas boat parade coming up in a couple of weeks, many of the boats— yachts would probably be a better description—had already been decorated, ready to earn their spot in the line-up.

"I'm surprised you agreed to come here. Every time I've suggested it before, you've balked."

"Have I?" she asked, not aware that she had. But it didn't surprise her. She filled Dirk in on why—her parents had been members of the Balboa Bay Club since its inception, before Carrie was even born. She grew up coming for Sunday brunch, and she finally realized that her mother was there to "see and be seen", as they say, when she allowed Carrie to stop coming as a teenager.

Dirk raised his eyebrows. "I guess I can see how that might have been a chore when you were younger. You probably wanted to be at the beach with Jen. How'd you finally get out of it?"

Carrie laughed at the memory. "I tried several different things, but none of them worked. Dressing like a tomboy, in Hang Ten shirts and corduroys and wallabies. I had a phase where I only wore flowered dresses and puka shells. And round sunglasses. Oh, and platforms high enough to break my neck if I fell. I tried everything."

Dirk leaned back in his chair. He threw his head back and laughed so hard he had to reach for a napkin to wipe his eyes.

"I can just picture it.

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