Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [10]
“Clayton?”
Unwilling to consider just what was happening to him, he took a deep breath and met Syneda’s bemused gaze. “What?”
“I asked what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me,” he replied, placing a hand in the small of her back and leading her toward the nation’s oldest jail. “By the way. Where’s the rest of your outfit?”
Syneda took a quick look at herself. She was wearing a printed backless skort set. The sides were held together in a few places by snaps. A wide-brimmed straw hat whose band matched her outfit covered her head. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”
Clayton raised his eyes heavenward. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra, and from the cut of the garment one would question if she was wearing underwear, as well. He was tempted to ask her but thought better of doing so. “There’s not much to it.”
Syneda laughed as she eyed Clayton from under her hat. “That’s the idea, Clayton. This is Florida. It gets too hot for a lot of clothes. The fewer the better.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Clayton replied drily.
Syneda raised a brow. “Why?”
“I’m going to be spending all of my time keeping the men around here in line.”
The guide led them back to the sightseeing train and then on to the next stop. After touring the Fountain of Youth, Zorayda’s Castle and the Lightner Museum, they caught another bus to have lunch in a popular restaurant in the Lincolnville Historical District.
Lincolnville constituted the heart of the city’s black community. It was a large residential neighborhood whose occupants could trace their ancestors’ origins to the city’s sixteenth-century founding.
After lunch they took a carriage ride through the Colonial Historical District before doing some extensive walking while touring the old homes along George Street.
It was midafternoon when they decided to call it a day. Clayton draped his arm across Syneda’s shoulder as they walked from the bus stop in front of the condos.
At the door Syneda turned to face him. “I can’t believe all the sights we took in today. There is so much to do and see here. And I can’t believe how architecturally grand the buildings are. They were simply amazing.”
“Yeah, amazing,” Clayton replied, feigning interest as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside. The only thing that had held his attention all day was her and that outfit she had on. He had been ever mindful of more than a few male stares sent her way. She hadn’t noticed but he sure had.
Syneda dropped her purse onto the entry table. “Where do you want to go for dinner, Clayton?”
“I’ll let you decide. The only thing I want to do right now is rest my poor aching feet.”
Syneda laughed. “Aren’t you used to walking?”
“No.”
“How do you stay in such good shape?” she asked as she eyed his masculine body outlined in the shorts and top he wore. He was in great physical shape. “Surely all those nights spent in bed with women didn’t do it,” she teased.
Clayton gave her a wan smile. “I keep in shape in a lot of ways. I work out at least twice a week at the gym, and I play basketball with the guys every chance I get.”
“Oh, I see.” She looked down at her watch. “It’s four now. How about if we go out for dinner around seven. That will give you a couple hours to rest up.”
“That sounds good to me. What will you be doing while I’m resting up?”
“I think I’ll go to the beach and build a sandcastle. The beaches