front of them and smiled. “Don’t you both look refreshing?”
Avery turned a full circle as if on a runway. “Why thank you.” She reached out and touched the edge of Victor’s shirt. “Much better for Tulum.”
He lifted both palms to the air and cocked his head to the side. “I have to admit, shopping with Dylan wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it would be.” His eyes found Shannon’s and held.
“I’m impressed,” Shannon said after searching for the right words to offer approval without too much personal praise.
His grins were starting to appear more often. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’m sure they won’t come often,” she teased.
He laughed.
“We were just headed to dinner. Would you like to join us?”
Avery’s invitation caught Shannon off guard. Inviting Victor had not been on the agenda.
Shannon opened her mouth to quickly offer Victor an out and subtly brush him off but found him talking over her.
“I would love that, Avery. Thank you.”
She snapped her lips shut, held her hands in front of her, and smiled.
His eyes lit up and he paused. “Unless you’d rather not, Shannon.”
He knew he was pushing his way in and was testing her resolve. “I’m sure the restaurant can accommodate three instead of two on the reservation.”
Victor turned toward the busy road and looked both ways. “Taxi? Or can we walk?”
“It’s less than a New York avenue block,” Avery said before leading the way.
They walked on the side of the road in single file to avoiding being run over. Not that the cars were going very fast, but the pedestrian shoulder was barely two feet on either side. Avery led, Shannon walked behind her, and Victor caught the tail.
Shannon felt the heat of his gaze. Every time she glanced behind her, Victor wasn’t looking at her, but she felt his eyes when she turned back around.
“I didn’t realize how many places there were to eat here until I went shopping today,” Victor said.
Small talk? He’s making small talk?
“Where did Dylan take you?” Avery asked.
“The better question would be where he didn’t take me. We grabbed a taxi that took us up the road a good two miles and then walked back. I’m sure the last time I shopped like that my mother had been involved and I was returning to school after summer.”
“Sounds like a good day,” Shannon said.
His voice moved closer behind her.
“I had my fill for the year. I bought enough clothes to last the rest of the vacation and a few things I’m sure I won’t get around to wearing.”
They crossed the street to the jungle side of Tulum’s beach road and approached the hostess at Arca. The five-star restaurant specialized in the unexpected, cooked on a wood burning stove, and had a swanky atmosphere you would expect in the heart of a major city and not the wooded section of Tulum. The entire restaurant was outside, including the kitchen.
Avery spoke to the hostess while Victor and Shannon stood back to avoid crowding the small podium the greeters used.
Victor pointed to a smoldering pot at the entrance to the space framed only by an outdoor bar and the outdoor kitchen in the back. “What is that for?” he asked Shannon.
“I’m guessing the mosquitos.”
He nodded once. “They must have a lot of them.”
Shannon and Avery had practically bathed in repellant before leaving the hotel. On the beach side, with the breeze off the ocean, the nasty little bloodsuckers didn’t stick around. But out here, where the air was still and the forest was thick, they might be in need of a blood transfusion if the insects had their way.
“You put on bug spray, didn’t you?” she asked.
The expression on his face said he hadn’t. “I haven’t had a problem so far.”
Avery waved them over, and they followed the hostess to their table.
Victor took a seat opposite the two of them and studied the wine list. “Would you mind if I picked?” he asked.
Shannon glanced at Avery.
“You know your wines?” Avery asked.
“I’ve tasted a few.”
Not only did Victor know his wine, he knew his food pairing as well. Then he surprised her by carrying much of the conversation with stories about his and his brother’s teenage years.
Unlike Shannon and Avery, Victor had grown up in a middle-income family with financial restrictions that depended on frugality to afford vacations. “A place like this would never have been on the radar,” he told them. “I’ve tried to send my parents on trips, but my dad won’t accept my help.”