by Amy Lamont
While she waited for him to get there, she smoothed out the blanket a bit and started to set the picnic up. She pulled out a box of fried chicken she’d picked up at the diner right before she headed to the beach, cornbread, and fruit salad. She left the chocolate covered strawberries in the cooler, hoping they wouldn’t melt before she and Mace got a chance to eat them.
Before she’d finished setting out napkins and utensils, she looked up to see Mace striding across the sand. This was the first time she’d seen him really walk and she cursed herself as she realized the one thing she hadn’t taken into account when she made her plan—Mace’s injury.
Damn. She sat back on her heels and bit her lower lip as she watched him move toward her. He walked with a hitching gait, his limp obvious, but he moved at a fast clip, obviously in a hurry to get to her and protect her.
She felt ill. The way he moved had to exacerbate his pain. And for what? So she could remind him of their feelings for each other? How selfish could she be?
She hopped up from the blanket and started jogging toward him, closing the distance between them quickly.
“Mace, I’m sorry. I never should have called you like this.”
He raked her with his gaze from head to toe and then turned to check out the beach around her blanket. “Where are they?”
She wrinkled her brow. “Who?”
He twisted his head to stare down at her, his dark gaze intense. “The guys who were bothering you.”
“Oh, them.” She dropped her gaze and kicked her toes into the sand. She took a deep breath and peeked up at him from under her lashes. “Um, I might have exaggerated just a little tiny bit about the whole danger thing.”
She held up her thumb and forefinger with just a small space between them to illustrate her point.
He stood silently for several long beats and she let her hand drop back to her side. His head swiveled and he took in the beachgoers several yards away from where her blanket was set up. His eyes traveled over the picnic lunch, taking his time to drink in every detail before he glanced back at her.
“By exaggeration do you mean complete lie?”
“Maybe?” She offered him her brightest smile. “But, I did make you lunch.”
He looked back at her blanket and then around the beach once again. “What’s going on here, Serena?”
She shrugged and tried to look innocent. “I ran into your sister and she mentioned you haven’t been getting out very much since you hit town. I thought the fresh air and sunshine might be good for you. After last time I, um, saw you...I knew there was no way you’d come if I just invited you. So I might have come up with a little fib to get you here.”
“A little fib?”
She held up her pinched together fingers again.
He stared down at her for a long moment before the start of a small smile turned the corner of his lips up. She didn’t think she could be any happier seeing that teeny, tiny almost smile then if he dropped to a knee and proposed to her.
“I got fried chicken the diner,” she said in her best cajoling voice.
He shook his head. “So after scaring a few years off my life with your phone call and lying to me about being in danger, you think you can make everything better with fried chicken?”
“I got some corn bread, too?” She tilted her head to the side and batted her lashes at him.
He huffed out a breath and shook his head, looking down at his boots in the sand. He finally picked his head up and admitted defeat. “Fine. Lead me to the chicken.”
She beamed at him but didn’t give him a chance to change his mind. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the blanket.
How the hell did he end up sitting on a picnic blanket on the beach with his boots kicked off and his cargo pants rolled up? He didn’t have to think too hard to get his answer. He shifted his eyes to the woman beside him. She sat with her long, tanned legs stretched out in front of her, her arms braced behind her, while she soaked up the sun.
He’d wanted to be pissed at her. God knew he had every right. He hadn’t been lying when he said her phone call took years off his life. For the first time in months he moved like he had a purpose. His vision tunneled and a red haze fogged his gaze. He didn’t think about the pain in his leg, his limp, or any of the other things that he’d been so focused on since he’d woken up in the hospital. All he could think of was getting to the beach and smashing whoever caused that trembling in Serena’s voice.
And then he got to the beach to find out she’d been lying.
He wished he could say he got pissed at her. But the truth was he took one look at her flirty smile and her cleavage in that bathing suit and he all but forgot what she did.
If the idea of spending the afternoon in the sun with the woman he loved didn’t convince him, the pain in his leg did the trick. After all but running over the uneven sand, his leg screamed at him to sit down.
Sitting next to her now was bittersweet. She insisted he take his shoes off and roll his pants up, but aside from that they’d mostly eaten in silence. He looked around the beach, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin and the company of the woman who starred in every dream and fantasy he’d had since he was sixteen years old.
This was what he’d always imagined his life would be like. Last year at this time, he thought Serena and he would be married by now. They’d manage their lives around his assignments, but he pictured lots of days like today, lots of make out sessions like the one she instigated last time he saw her, and lots of nights where they explored every inch of each other thoroughly.
“I love this beach,” Serena said with a contented sigh. “You said you’ve been back here since that summer, right? I seem to remember you telling me that in your emails.”
He looked down at her and his grandmother’s words about Serena bringing the sunshine with her came back to him. She smiled, peering at him over the top of her sunglasses, her eyes dancing with joy at the simple pleasure of basking in the sun.
“I came back here a few times to visit my grandmother. Right after I graduated high school and a couple of times over summer breaks when I was in college.”
Serena’s family had long since moved away from Kismet Beach by the time he returned for visits. But still, he’d been inexorably pulled to this beach, the place they met and spent most of their time together.
“I came here for spring break once when I was in college. I kept hoping I’d get back here for one of your visits. It just never seemed to work out that way.” She flashed him another grin and slid her hand over his. “But looks like we finally made it here together.”
She was right. And for the first time since the IED detonated and blew through his leg, he felt a tingle of hope. Staring into her gorgeous face, he started to let himself think he might actually have a future.
“Aren’t you happy you came?” Serena asked with a grin as she tossed the remains of their lunch in the picnic basket.
As much as he wanted to take her down a peg for scaring the crap out of him, he couldn’t bring himself to spoil her cheerful mood. This was the Serena he’d carried with him the last eight years—sweet, funny, always ready to laugh. He’d thought he remembered all of it, but being close to her again showed him his memory hadn’t held half of what made Serena who she was.
“Yeah,” he said and smirked when her eyes widened in surprise at his response. He stopped in the process of gathering up the blanket they’d been sitting on and reached over to tug the dark tendril of hair that danced around her face with the breeze. “I’m happy I came.”
And he couldn’t resist her another second. He leaned down and kissed her. She froze for a beat as his lips hit hers, but in an instant she molded her body to his. He groaned into her mouth as her soft curves melted into his body. How many times had he dreamed of having her back in his arms?
Like a starving man, he fed on her mouth. He licked the seam between her lips, once and then again, until she opened for him. He snatched her tighter
in his arms and dipped his tongue into her mouth for a taste.
“Delicious,” he ground out against her lips.
“Mmm.” She pressed herself closer.
“Get a room.”
The call from a group of teenagers walking by made him pull back slightly. He grinned down at her, admiring her kiss-swollen lips and the slumberous look in her eyes. “I hate to break this up, but I think the kid might have a point.”
She blinked at him, remaining pressed into him for a few seconds before she shook her head a little.
She gave him a rueful smile. “You're right.” She pressed her fingers to her lips and took a step back, putting some distance between them. “Jeez. Thank goodness he said something. I think you made me forget my own name there for a second.”
“Maybe we can find a more private spot and I can try to help you forget again.”
Her eyes widened and she stared up at him in wonder. “Really?”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, hard and fast.
“Really.”
Chapter 7
Giddy happiness shot through Serena, making her hands tremble as she worked to stow the rest of the picnic gear away. Today had gone far, far better than she could have ever hoped. She’d half expected him to turn and walk away from her the second her realized she’d cried wolf.
Even after he agreed to have lunch with her, she’d assumed it had more to do with the pain in his leg then his desire for her company. She’d scrambled for something to talk to him about as they ate. She’d thought of and rejected two hundred and forty-seven topics, most of them weather related, before she finally broke the silence with her question about how often he returned to the beach after they parted.
She’d wanted to bang her head against something hard. All her planning and she hadn’t thought to figure out what she wanted to say to him once she got him alone.
But something about the memory of them together here years ago must have gotten to him. Because this time when they kissed, it wasn’t her springing a surprise attack to try to shock him back to reality.
Nope. That kiss had been all him.
And what a kiss. She hadn’t been lying when she told him he could make her forget her own name. She’d forgotten where they were and that they weren’t alone. The only thing that existed for her was Mace and his hot mouth and hard body.
She almost let out a whimper at the thought of being pressed against that hard body. The reminder made her pick up her pace so she could get him alone and forget the world some more. She scooped up the picnic basket and turned to see Mace standing there with the folded blanket tucked under his arm.
“Ready?” she asked.
“So ready,” he said on a low growl.
She shivered and smiled up at him, a warm glow filling her chest with happiness while a hotter more liquid sensation rippled through her belly. “Let's go.”
She almost didn't recognize her own voice. It came out breathless, just above a whisper, and filled with all the desire she’d been saving up for years.
Mace gave her a knowing smirk and leaned in to grab the picnic basket. “I'll take that.”
Thinking about how hard it must be for him to navigate the sand without any added burdens, she bit her lip. She looked up at him and noticed the hard set of his jaw. As if he knew what she was thinking and he didn’t like it a bit.
Not knowing any way to get out of it without wounding his already bruised pride, she handed over the basket.
“I’ll trade you.” She snatched the blanket from under his arm before they set off down the sand.
She made a conscious effort to keep her pace unhurried, despite the fact that part of her wanted to race to Mace’s car so she could get him alone that much sooner.
Hmm. That brought up a few interesting ideas. He might not have been willing to let things go too far between them when they were only teenagers, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t fogged up their share of car windows.
“Remember that old beater of your grandparents’ that you used to drive?”
He laughed. “God. I guess that should tell you how much I wanted to see you back then. I always wanted to make sure I had someplace we could have a little time alone before your curfew.”
She giggled. “I was just thinking of that.”
He snapped his head around to look at her with leering speculation. “Oh, really?”
She nodded and bit her lip under his watchful gaze.
She opened her mouth to remind him of the fogged windows but before she could get a sound out, they hit a spot where the sand dipped down, and Mace tripped. He took two big steps forward and managed to keep himself from tumbling to the sand. But the picnic basket flew open and its contents spilled out onto the sand.
“Fuck.”
“Are you okay?” She rushed to his side, eager to offer her help. His pain was obvious, his face leeched of color and his lips pale and twisted together in a grimace.
“Fuck. I'm fine. I don’t need you coddling me, Serena,” he bit out through clenched teeth.
She shuffled backward. She couldn’t have been more shocked had he physically hit her. He sounded nothing like the man she’d been talking to a second ago. Nothing like the man who made her lose herself in his kisses just a few minutes ago.
She backed away from him, her eyes wide. She looked around the beach, not sure what she should say or do. She finally settled on bending to snatch up the items that fell out of the basket. She hastily shoved them back inside. When she finished, she looked up to find Mace standing over her, his face pale and grim. His lips pressed tightly together.
“I-I think I got it all.” She swallowed hard, wishing she could find the right words to bring back the laughing, smiling, flirtatious Mace of moments ago. It was the first glimpse she’d had of her Mace in so long. Judging by the look on his face, her Mace had disappeared to wherever he'd been hiding before.
And now she stood on the beach where they fell in love with this unsmiling, grim-faced Mace. His pain was obvious, but she knew he wouldn’t appreciate her pointing it out or offering help.
“Let's go.” He turned and moved toward the parking lot, his limp more pronounced. He didn’t make any more offers to carry her things. She gripped the handles of the soft basket firmly and scurried to catch up.
When they got to his car, which was actually Miss Abigail’s old Jeep, he opened the tailgate and gestured for her to throw her stuff inside.
“No, that’s okay, Mace. I can walk home.” She pointed in the direction of her little house. “I live right up the road.”
He gave her a hard look. “I’ll take you.”
Okie dokie. She wasn’t about to argue with this Mace.
She threw her blanket and basket in the back of the Jeep and didn’t wait to watch him close it. She all but ran to the passenger door and got in, buckling her seatbelt in short order.
Other than giving him a few quick directions to her house, they rode in silence. When he pulled up in front of her cottage, she unbuckled her belt and opened her door in one swift motion. “I'll grab my stuff. You don't have to get out.”
He didn’t object, so she did just that. The moment she slammed the tailgate down and stepped onto the sidewalk, the Jeep pulled away from the curb with alarming speed.
Well, crap. Serena fought back hot tears as she watched the vehicle until it disappeared from sight.
She let herself into her house and stowed her beach stuff. Her mind went over each detail of the afternoon. Had she pushed him too far, too fast? She must have. Nothing else could explain the whiplash-inducing changes in his behavior over the last few hours.
Normally when she had some girly drama going on or needed to dish about Mace, she’d call Mandy. She hadn’t realized what a good friend Mace’s sister had become until right this moment. She hated the thought of telling Mandy what happened today.
She didn’t want to give her friend any false hope that Mace was on the mend. Judging by his erratic
behavior, he definitely wasn’t okay. And maybe more importantly, it felt disloyal to Mace to share his personal life with his sister.
The irony of the situation didn’t escape her. The one good friendship she’d formed over the months she’d been in Kismet Beach was with the sister of the man she’d been pining for forever.
“God, I sound like a stalker.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed the bucket of cleaning supplies from under the sink. “And now I’m talking to myself. Just great. Maybe I should get a cat.”
The idea that she could easily see herself turning into the neighborhood’s resident spinster cat lady made her grab a sponge with an abrasive side and a bottle of earth-friendly cleaner and start scrubbing the kitchen countertops.
The rest of the afternoon went much the same way. Her thoughts whirled round and round as she tried to figure out how to deal with Mace. And the more she thought, the more she scrubbed, polished, dusted, and washed.
By the time the sun started to sink low in the sky, she’d missed dinner, but her house was spotless. She fell into an exhausted heap on the pale blue sofa in the spic and span living room. She might be dirty, tired, and hungry, but she’d decided sometime during her cleaning spree that she was going to give it one more try. No matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to give up on Mace. At least, not yet.
With that in mind, she stood and went in search of a phone number.
Mace sat in his car in the beach parking lot. He didn’t know how much time had passed until a blaze of color started to touch the horizon, indicating the sun was about to drop from the sky. He clenched the steering wheel, unwilling to go back to his grandmother’s house and face questions about how he spent his afternoon. He’d have to go back soon, though, or his grandmother would call his sister. And Mandy wouldn’t hesitate to call out the National Guard. Or her Marine pilot husband.
He resisted the urge to bang his head against the steering wheel. He had no idea where to go from here, but one thing was clear, he had to go. He did no good for his grandmother, his sister, or Serena by staying around, giving them hope where there obviously was none.