Page 72 of Building Courage
“That’s Martin. I think he was going to a play with Chad, his partner. They must have just gotten back.”
Tucker opened the door.
*
Surprise widened Martin’s eyes for a second, then a grin flared across his features. “You have to be Tucker,” he gushed and stepped forward into the room.
“And you’re Martin.” Tucker extended his hand, and Martin gripped it with both of his own.
“So good to meet you. Brynn has mentioned you several times.”
Tucker’s mouth quirked. “She’s mentioned you, too.”
“Of course, she has. I’m her bestie.” Martin sashayed in. “I love going to Spreckels. It has such a historical ambiance—and the play was good. Even Tate liked it.”
“I’ve been there. It’s an impressive theater,” Tucker said.
“You have?” Martin turned to face him.
“Yeah, I went to a ballet there.”
“Really?” Martin’s brows shot up.
“Yeah. A friend was going to take his lady and had ordered tickets. Something came up, and they couldn’t go, so he offered the tickets to me. Ballet isn’t really my thing, but even I can appreciate how much training and dedication they put into their craft. The strength and physicality of it. And my date loved it.”
“Do you like the ballet, Brynn?” Martin asked.
“I’ve never been. I’d love to photograph one, though. I haven’t done that yet.”
“You are both cretins,” Martin said with a hand flip.
She and Tucker both laughed.
“The ballet is about passion and movement, and expressing and telling a story through both.”
“I used to love to dance, so I’m sure I’d love the ballet, Martin,” Brynn said.
He threw up a hand like a traffic cop. “You’re just trying to placate me.” But as he turned his head, he was grinning. “Anyway, I just came over to tell you that Tate and I will be leaving in a little while. We’ve decided to take some time for ourselves and will be going to Salon de Bellezza for a few days.”
That particular spa was extremely expensive. “Wow. That sounds exciting.” She wanted to ask who would be footing the bill but bit her tongue.
“We’ll be back on Saturday, probably about noon.”
“I hope you have a wonderful time.”
“I do, too. You have a spare key if you need anything. I have a three-day feeder that floats around in the fish tank, but if you could go over and drop another one in to feed the fish about Thursday, I’d appreciate it.”
“I will.”
“What do you two have planned this week?” he asked.
“Brynn will be doing her second ocean dive tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she asked. “I thought you said Wednesday.”
“We can call in the morning and see if Grant can take us out. If he can’t, we’ll do a walk-in at La Jolla. With all the interruptions we’ve had, we need to take every opportunity for you to practice your skills.”
He was right, but… “Alright. I’m in.”