Seaside Kisses

by Stacy Claflin

  She didn't deserve that. What Amara deserved was a nice guy who could give her the white picket fence and two-point-five kids every sweet girl from Kittle Falls dreamed about. Rafael wanted neither an ugly white fence nor children.

  Besides, she deserved better than to be his rebound. It had only been a few months since everything imploded on him in the southern part of the state. He needed to ignore the growing feelings he had for her.

  Amara stirred again, and Rafael jumped back. He needed to go to another room before he gave into his desire to kiss her. He adjusted the blanket around her feet and then went back to his bathroom. After being around the clothes from the previous night, he'd be wise to shower again.

  He had a lot to do today, and even more now that he had to deal with his garage door and getting a new cell phone. Why hadn't he bothered to have a landline set up? Now he couldn't even call his dad to talk about the door, or call his insurance company to see if they would cover it. There was probably a waiting period, and he certainly wouldn't have met it, but he had to at least try. With all his business expenses, he didn't have the money for any extras.

  Rafael found his laptop and emailed Zachary and Cruz, both of whom still lived at home. He asked them to tell their dad he'd stop by to talk with him soon.

  Zachary, who was probably writing his story, responded right away, saying he would, and asked if everything was okay. Not wanting to get into it, Rafael said yes, that he'd just broken his phone. No need for anyone to worry about the break-in or his new cat allergy.

  After showering and wearing fresh clothes, he felt as good as new. Checking in the mirror again, he couldn't see any signs of last night's reaction. He was back to normal, except for the confusion toward the beautiful woman asleep in his living room. He shaved, and then felt good to go.

  He stepped into the hall, and his mouth watered before he registered the delicious smells of bacon and coffee.

  Rafael went to the kitchen to see Amara standing over the stove, flipping a slice of bacon. She was even wearing his favorite apron—and she rocked it much more than him.

  His heart leaped into his throat. No woman had ever worn one of his aprons before, and he couldn't get over how much he liked it on her.

  He cleared his throat.

  Amara looked over and smiled. "I hope you don't mind, I decided to make some breakfast. I heard the shower, and thought you might be hungry."

  "I am." But it wasn't only for breakfast. He glanced down at her curves, but then forced his gaze up to her face. He couldn't allow himself to think of her like that.

  "Want me to make some orange juice?" he asked.

  "Make some?" she asked, her eyes wide.

  "Of course. You don't think I'd buy the store bought stuff, do you?" He realized how stuck-up that sounded, so he smiled, hoping that would make it seem less obnoxious than it had come out.

  "I don't suppose I would. Do you like your bacon crispy?"

  "However you like it." Rafael pulled his gaze from her and went to the hanging basket with the oranges. He rinsed, peeled, and then stuck them in his juicer. He added just a dab of organic sugar, and before long, had a full pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice.

  He turned around and found his table set for two. She'd made bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Two steaming cups of coffee sat next to each plate. Amara was something else.

  "That looks delicious," he said.

  She beamed. "But not as good as the juice. I can't wait to try it."

  Rafael couldn't help smiling. He poured two glasses and then carried them along with the pitcher to the table. The food was as good as it looked, but he couldn't take his attention off Amara. She was beautiful, caring, talented, and sweet. Essentially, everything he'd ever wanted in a woman, but had given up hope that someone like that existed in his generation. Yet there she was—in his kitchen, wearing his favorite apron.

  But he wouldn't allow himself to get too close. It was for her own good—he didn't deserve someone like her.

  She rose, smiling. "I'll clean this up. I'm sure you have a lot to do. Then I'll get out of your hair."

  Rafael looked into her eyes—he didn't dare look anywhere else. "I can't thank you enough for everything. You've truly gone above and beyond the duty of a neighbor."

  Something flashed across her face—disappointment?—but then she smiled. "Anything for an old friend."

  He flinched, feeling like he'd been jabbed. Was he reacting to old or friend?

  Rafael smiled back at her. "Well, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'll help you clean."

  "Nonsense. It'll only take a few minutes. Don't you have to call your insurance?"

  Rafael frowned. "It'll have to be later. I broke my phone last night."

  "It was really a bad night for you."

  Not that bad. He shrugged. "It's just my will being tested before I open my store. What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger."

  "That's the spirit. Here, you can use my phone." She dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

  "Are you sure?" he asked. "I was just going to use my parents' phone."

  Amara shrugged. "It's up to you."

  Rafael didn't think he could stay in the kitchen a moment longer without throwing himself at her. He took the phone. "Thanks, Amara."

  "No problem." She picked up the plates from the table.

  He knew he should help her clean—he could practically hear his mom chastising him that she'd raised him better than that—but he turned around and went to his bedroom. He couldn't think straight around Amara, especially with his apron clinging to her as it did.

  Rafael dug out the paperwork for his insurance company and called, knowing they would be closed on a Sunday. He left a message, being as detailed as possible. He paused before giving his phone number. With any luck, he'd have a new phone with his old number in a few hours, so he gave them that number.

  Then he called his dad to make sure he'd gotten the message that he was on his way.

  "Is everything okay?" asked his dad.

  Rafael explained the damage to the garage door.

  "Don't bother coming here," his dad said. "I'll be over in about a half an hour."

  "Are you sure?" Rafael asked.

  "Of course. I just need to let your mom know where I'm going."

  He ended the call and started toward the kitchen, but then stopped. He went into Amara's contacts and added his number. Then he found her number and went back to his room and scribbled it down on a pad of paper. Then he went into the kitchen, finding it sparkling already.

  "All done," Amara said, hanging up his apron on a hook with the others.

  Rafael handed her the cell phone. "Thanks."

  "No problem. I hope today goes better than the rest of your weekend." She smiled, and then surprised him with a hug.

  His arms wrapped around her instinctively. It felt good holding her in his arms. Comfortable. No, more than that, but he needed to focus on the innocence of it.

  She stepped back, much to his disappointment. "I'll see you around."

  "See you," he said, watching her leave. He felt like he should say more, or at least walk her to the door, but he'd already said thank you, and he didn't trust himself. He was surprised he hadn't kissed her again already.

  The door closed behind her and he felt guilty, but he knew he shouldn't. He had to protect her from him.

  He stood there until a few minutes later, his dad arrived. Rafael found himself both relieved for the distraction from his swimming emotions and looking forward to some long-overdue bonding with his dad.

  It was the perfect diversion.

  Ten

  Amara picked at her food, pretending to eat. Janelle had made her famous scones and sweet crepes. It looked and smelled heavenly, but after filling up with Rafael, she had no room for more.

  "You tired?" Janelle asked, wiping fruit from her mouth.

  "Yeah. Sorry."

  "So, what was it like spending the night with Rafael?"
Janelle looked eager to hear the answer.

  "It's not like that," Amara said. "Nothing happened."

  "Nothing?"

  "He crashed on the couch, and I waited until all his symptoms disappeared before going to sleep—on the recliner."

  "Well, you still had a better night than me."

  Amara smiled, thinking about having kissed him—even if he didn't know it.

  "What's that sly grin about?" Janelle asked.

  "It was just nice watching him sleep."

  Janelle shook her head. "You're hopeless, my friend."

  "Well, you have to admit, it's better than all those hours I spent staring at his picture growing up."

  "You mean pictures?" Janelle emphasized the s at the end of the word.

  Amara's face heated up, remembering how many times she'd brought her camera to school and took pictures of Rafael for the school paper or yearbook, but really took most of them so she could stare at Rafael's face and imagine herself with him. The imaginary Rafael had seen past her acne and thick glasses, giving her flowers and compliments every day. Much like the real one had that morning, replacing the flowers with homemade OJ.

  "I can't believe you still have a crush on him all these years later. Is that why you've never had a boyfriend?"

  "I've had boyfriends," Amara snapped.

  "Anything longer than a summer? Ever with a local?" Janelle arched a brow.

  Amara gritted her teeth. Janelle was right that her only boyfriends had been summer tourists. "What are you getting at? The point is, I've had boyfriends."

  Janelle's face softened. "But you never got over Rafael, and now he's back in town… and sexier than ever." Janelle sighed. "Did you see his pecks before he zipped his jacket?"

  "I don't want to talk about this," Amara said.

  "Does he have any available friends?" Janelle asked.

  "I wouldn't know. I think Cruz is still single."

  "Oh, not him," Janelle said, shaking her head.

  "Don't like tattoos?" Amara asked.

  "It's not that. Cruz is hot—and the tats certainly add to his allure—but I refuse to be a cougar."

  Amara laughed. "He's, what, five years younger than us?"

  "Pretty sure it's six."

  "I think you have to be ten years older to be a considered a cougar."

  "It's eight," Janelle said as though she were the expert, "but six is close enough for me. I know what everyone would think of me."

  "That you're hot and managed to snag one of the Hunters?"

  "Let's focus on your Hunter stallion, shall we?" Janelle asked.

  Amara laughed, getting store-bought orange juice up her nose. Once she got it out, and it stopped stinging, she said, "Stallion?"

  "You know it."

  Amara shook her head, but then yawned. "I think I better get back home. I'm going to need a nap before I do any work today. Want me to help clean this up?" She indicated toward the food on the table.

  "You've helped enough this weekend," Janelle said. "First, getting my living room and bedroom rearranged, and then taking care of your boyfriend all night."

  Amara ignored the boyfriend comment. "I'm glad you like the new setup. It's definitely more you, and less Kyle."

  "Now to work on the rest of the house."

  "Have fun."

  They hugged, and then Amara grabbed her things and got into the car. She was glad it was only a short drive because her eyelids grew heavy as soon as she pulled out of the driveway. She opened the windows and blasted music to stay awake. If she hadn't been planning to go to bed, she would have gotten a coffee, too.

  Once she got home, Amara barely locked the door and slid off her shoes before heading for her bed and falling asleep on top of the covers. At one point, she woke up enough to climb under the covers.

  When she finally opened her eyes, feeling rested, it was dark. She rubbed her eyes, wondering what time it was. Not that it mattered since she was too awake to get anymore sleep.

  She found her phone and checked the time. It was almost four. That would throw her sleep schedule off, but she couldn't stay in bed any longer. She was ready to start the "day." Her stomach rumbled, reminding her how long it had been since she'd fed it.

  Amara got up, made herself a sandwich, and turned on her laptop. After briefly checking her email, she logged into the back office of her online store, going over all the new orders. Most of them were easy enough. Just putting together packages of candy she had on stock in Alex's old room.

  There were a few special orders requiring her to make chocolate and use her handmade molds. She gathered the ingredients and made a big batch of chocolate. It wouldn't be enough for all of the orders, but it was a good start, and she'd be able to mail out at least half of the special orders later that day.

  Once it was ready, she double-checked the orders, got out the molds she needed, and started pouring the warm, liquid chocolate. Most of the orders were Halloween shapes. Her most popular one was a black kitten based on a childhood pet, Spooky. Everyone seemed to love him as much as she had.

  After completing that batch of special orders, she went into Alex's room and put together the candy packages. By the time she was done, she could see natural light coming in through the blinds. Luckily, their shop opened later this time of year.

  Amara hurried and finished the orders, packaging and labeling them. Once she had everything in her trunk and backseat, she checked the time and saw she had just enough time to snag a coffee before getting to the candy store.

  On her way there, Amara stopped in front of Rafael's shop. A notice in the window caught her attention. It was an announcement for his grand opening. The weekend after next.

  Amara pulled out her phone and made a note to ask him about it. She could offer to help out in some way. Maybe help plan—and what a great excuse to spend some more time with him. She practically skipped the rest of the way to her shop, feeling as giddy as a kid again. When she got inside, Alex gave her a curious glance.

  "Good weekend?" he asked.

  "Yeah. I helped Janelle rearrange her place. Looks like hers instead of Kyle's now." She hoped that answer would satisfy him. "Did you have a good one?"

  "The kids are a little sick, but other than that, it wasn't bad. It's just that time of year."

  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you guys need anything?"

  Alex shook his head. "We'll be fine. It's just colds—not the flu or anything serious." He sniffled.

  "Sounds like you have it, too."

  "Unfortunately, I might."

  "If you need to go home and rest, just let me know. I'd be happy to take over here. I just need to mail some packages first."

  "Oh, that's right. I was going to help out with that. Sorry, Amara. I really dropped the ball."

  "Don't worry about it. I was busy this weekend, and ended up filling orders at odd hours."

  A customer came in, and Amara helped him. They actually had a steady stream of business most of the morning, making the time go by quickly. That was one of the nice things about October, though. November would slow down because everyone would be focused on other things, but then it would pick up again in December. That was when Amara made it a point to focus on stocking stuffers and holiday displays. Some people really liked their candied centerpieces.

  After things had slowed down, Alex told her to go to the post office. She went outside and saw Rafael talking to one of his brothers just outside his shop. She thought it was Zachary, but it was hard to keep them straight, especially since most of them had moved away and had only recently returned.

  She waved as she walked by, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Rafael stopped, whispered something to his brother, and then came over to her.

  "I wanted to thank you again for staying to make sure I was okay. You really know how to be neighborly."

  Ouch. She forced a smile so he wouldn't see her disappointment. "Like I said, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to you afte
r I left. I'm just glad you're feeling better now."

  "Thanks again."

  There was an awkward silence. Or was she the only one who felt it? When she was around him, she couldn't help feeling like the long-hidden goofy teen she'd left behind. Even after such a nice time over the weekend. He'd seemed to enjoy the breakfast, but now that they were back near the boardwalk, everything had just turned back to normal. The I regret kissing you normal.

  "I should get going," she said.

  "Right. Of course."

  She walked away, wishing she'd thought of something more interesting to say. She would never even have a chance at winning him over if she kept acting like a shy, awkward nerd. Apparently, she could change the outside, but not the inside.

  Amara would always be… Amara. It was no wonder everyone in town still saw her as she used to be. She really hadn't changed.

  When she got to her car, she slammed the door. She would never be the kind of girl Rafael would be interested in. Her style had improved, sure, but he probably couldn't stand the clothes she wore. In fact, he probably felt sorry for her. And why not? Everyone else did. And for good reason.

  She was probably the only person in town to make it to thirty-three unmarried. She couldn't even attract a small-town guy, what made her think she had any reason to hope she would even have a chance with a sophisticated, well-built man like Rafael?

  Tears blurred her vision as she started the car. She was a fool for still having her childish crush on him. He probably had some beautiful model girlfriend back in LA. Surely, as he was used to seeing models and other gorgeous women in his industry.

  Of course, Amara was nothing more than a kind neighbor.

  He probably didn't see her any differently from anyone in town, except no one else had the disadvantage of being Four-Eyed Fowler. She wiped her tears away, getting a streak of mascara on her hand.

  Amara forced herself to stop crying. She had a booming business between the shop and her online store. Her niece and nephews adored her. Maybe that was just her lot—not everyone was meant to be a wife and mom. And looking at the heartache it had brought Janelle, Amara might just be better off without it and everything that came with it.