C’mon. Not like his hair was photo-ready, either. She jerked away from him. “Helmet head. Similar to hat head, but worse, I imagine.”
He stowed both helmets on the handlebars. Then raked a hand through his own thick mane. “I’m not picking on you. I meant, when I met you in June your hair looked like it does now. But last night it wasn’t this strawberry color—it was wine red. And long enough to touch your butt.”
Aha. The seasoned detective picked up on tiny details. He wasn’t the only one, though. She’d noticed that he’d shaved this morning. And that the bump on his nose probably meant he’d either played football as a kid or broke it taking down a bad guy. Oh, and the way the hair on his legs felt crisp and silky at the same time. “The wig comes with the Club Eden uniform. Sorry, I don’t even notice it. Just like the false eyelashes they make me wear. Apparently all their customers want to be smothered in a blanket of hair.”
He tugged on the front strands again. “This is better. No smothering risk. It suits you.” Brad hooked the hair behind her ear, fingers tracing around and down to the lobe. It sent a full-body chill through Trina.
“Thanks.”
In one swift move he picked her up beneath her arms and lifted her off the motorcycle. Being a healthy, lust-filled twenty-seven-year-old, Trina took the opportunity to flatten her palms against a truly excellent set of pecs. Because when life gave you the chance to feel up a hottie, it’d just be stupid not to follow through.
His grip slid down to steady at her waist. “Are your legs wobbly? That can happen to first-timers on a bike.”
“No. I mean, uh, yeah. But I’m okay.” With a final pat, she stepped away. “I loved it.”
“Good. ’Cause if you hated it, you’d have a long walk back.” Flashing a quick grin, Brad took her hand. “Welcome to the eighth wonder of the world.”
Huh? Trina had been so busy trying to figure out how to unstraddle without plopping in a heap—not to mention all the thoughts directed at how soon she could straddle Brad—that she hadn’t noticed their surroundings. Which, now that she looked up, seemed impossible not to have noticed. Because they were standing in front of a gigantic fake elephant. At least six stories high.
It was a fantastic structure. Windows along the gray body, long tusks and a cute little tongue, a painted bright red and gold blanket and an elaborate roofed pavilion on top where people would sit on a real-life elephant. She was adorable and breathtaking at the same time. Oh yes, the bright purple toenails as big as paving stones clearly indicated the gender. What a beauty.
Trina whooshed out a breath. “Wow.”
“That’s what I said the first time I saw Lucy. My parents brought us here on vacation and I fell in love. She’s the oldest roadside attraction in America. More than one hundred thirty years, although she got a facelift a while back that hides her age well. That happened when they had to move her two blocks down to save her. Now she’s a National Historic Landmark.” Brad dipped his head. “I just turned into a tour guide, didn’t I?”
“Yup.” His enthusiasm was even more adorable than the giant elephant. “Quite the spiel you’ve got down. All you need is a felt hat with a miniature Lucy on top of it. Maybe a whistle to corral extra-curious visitors.”
His lips twisted into a wry grin. “Does that mean I shouldn’t mention that her twin that used to be at Coney Island was twice as big?”
Trina was starting to get the feeling there’d be a quiz before they drove away. And she wasn’t great with tests. “How about we let the first set of facts sink in before you hit me with any more? Maybe show me around in the meanwhile? I see windows. Can we go inside?”
A fast nod accompanied him leading her forward. “That’s the best part.”
After paying for their tickets, he took her in a door in Lucy’s back leg. Up a dark, wood-paneled spiral staircase so narrow and twisty that Brad had to turn sideways just to make it up. Not that she was complaining. Trina appreciated watching his tight ass on top of those tan quads. Heck, if she could follow right behind Brad, she’d be up for climbing all the way up the Empire State Building.
At the top it opened into one long, cavernous room. A double set of steps at the end led to a stage, with portholes that seemed to be where her eyes were. Easels dotted the room, supporting black and white photos illustrating her history.
“I spoke too soon. I have to know what this space was for.”
“Originally, to point out real estate from a high vantage point. But it’s also been a bar and a restaurant. For one summer in 1902, a family even lived in here.” Brad darted over to a small, glassed-in alcove. “Look, here’s the bathtub they used.”
She pressed her forehead against the glass. As bathtubs went, it was big and claw footed and nice. Not nice enough for her, though. Trina preferred enormous bathrooms with room to dance along to music while she brushed her teeth. Because you should be able to turn the most mundane things into fun. “Please tell me we’re not spending the night here.”
“No.” He laughed. “I think it’d be fun, but we’re only here for a quick visit. You haven’t seen the best part yet, though.”
They climbed another, shorter set of stairs back into the sunlight, coming out on the flat top of her back. The view took her breath away. To one side was the marshland, the cities, the expressway. Straight across was a white water tower painted with Lucy the Elephant. Clearly she was important to the locals. How could you not fall in love with her?
Crossing to the other side, there was a little strip of beach, and then the ocean. Wide and almost a powder blue, it was a picture-perfect backdrop. Brad leaned against the rail and crossed his feet at the ankles. Sunlight haloed around him. It turned the hair on his arms even more golden. “What do you think?”
“About what? The view? Lucy?” Trina hitched herself up onto the railing beside him. Hooked her feet beneath the lower railing for safety. And bumped his shoulder with her own. “Or you?”
He slid an arm around her hips as added protection against the open air at her back. It struck her that Brad couldn’t help himself from looking out for her. For him, slipping into uber-male protector mode was automatic, like breathing. So instead of being offended that he didn’t think she could keep her balance, Trina decided to take the gesture as thoughtful. Even though she’d taken six weeks of classes at trapeze school and could easily hang from this railing with no fear. Okay, maybe not easily. And with a great deal of fear. Nevertheless, Trina believed she could do it. If he dared her.
“I was asking about Lucy. But I have to admit, I’m kind of curious what you think about me.” His Adam’s apple bobbed once, twice. “Unless it’s bad. Remember, this is kind of a big-deal week for me. Or rather, it’s big because it isn’t a big-deal week. So go easy on me, okay?”
Truly, her heart melted. The big, burly cop was scared of what little old her thought? Geez, his ex really did a number on him. “Nope. I don’t ever hold back. Good or bad. But don’t worry. In this case, it’s mostly good.”
“Mostly?” His eyebrows furrowed.
That earned him an elbow to the ribs. “Nobody’s perfect.” She ticked the points off on her fingers. “You’re hot. You’ve surely gone through enough women to know the knee-weakening effect you’ve got on my gender. You’re close to your family. Got a great job. Heroic, even. And yet the motorcycle hints at just enough of a bad-boy streak to keep things interesting. All good qualities. You’re the whole package.”
Brad puffed up a little with mock affront. “So what’s with the mostly?”
It needed to be said. Trina just hoped this wouldn’t put a damper on the whole day. “You say you’re over Dana. That you don’t want to waste any more time thinking about her. Which might be true. What I can tell, though, is that you’re still thinking about whatever it was she said to you or however she hurt you when she broke things off. I don’t think t
hat wound is fully scabbed over yet.”
“I’m fine.” His gaze rolled away from her like the skeeballs had earlier.
Even without her recent training in body language tells, Trina knew that to be a half-truth. “What did she say?”
Now Brad’s head followed the trajectory of two seagulls flapping by. “It doesn’t matter.”
Did he really think she’d give up that easily? Were all his other friends too careful to push him on the topic? Too polite? Too willing to handle him with kid-gloves even after all this time? Or, more likely, were all his friends men, who generally didn’t delve into relationship chatter? Well, Trina was none of the above. “What did she do to you?”
His head lolled backward. Like the effort of holding it up under her scrutiny was just too great. “Nothing.”
“Did she lose all her marbles and cheat on you?”
Slowly, he straightened up to finally look at her. “Not...exactly.”
God, this woman had to be dumber than sand. Why would anybody cheat on such an upstanding specimen as Brad? “I’ll pester you until you talk. So unless you do want to end up sleeping in this elephant, you might as well spill. Right now.”
Brad hinged off the rail to pace the small, square confines of the platform. His sneakers squeaked across the linoleum. “Dana didn’t leave me for another man. She left me for her career. She said she valued money and promotions more than me. Opportunities kept arising to make money hand over fist. According to her, I was holding her back.”
What? Seriously? This had to be the worst reason to break up ever. Or at least the weakest. The kind of excuse that showed Dana to be a shallow twerp of a woman. “How?”
He stopped. White-knuckled the rail and stared out at the ocean. Brad’s entire body was stiffer than Lucy’s permanently raised trunk. “That whole package you just described? There are lots of rich, well-connected men even better looking than me. Plus, they actually have the whole package. Money. Networking skills. They know how to work a room, how to schmooze at a party. There were dinners, social stuff like the Hunt Cup where Dana needed me on her arm. Lots of times I couldn’t go if a case turned hot. Or if I did go, I disappointed her. The bottom line? Her job was more important than me. That’s what she loves.”
Trina still couldn’t believe it. It might be grinding salt into the wound, but she had to triple check to be sure she didn’t misunderstand. “She left you...for a job?”
Her question ended on a near-squeak of flabbergastedness.
“Not just a job.” Brad made air quotes with his fingers. “A career with fast-track potential.”
“Did you know that nowadays people change careers an average of four times in their life?” Trina shook her head. A ball of heat grew in her belly. Heat that she wanted to belch out right at Dana’s puffed-up, idiotic head. Instead, a torrent of words rushed out. “A career can’t keep your feet warm before the electric blanket kicks in during a snowstorm. A career doesn’t hold your hand when the heartwarming Christmas coffee commercials start to play. And when something goes monumentally wrong, as it always does, a career doesn’t pat you on the back and tell you that you’re still just as special. A career is fun. Money is nice. But love...love is everything.”
Aaaand he was back to white-knuckling the railing. “Not to everyone. That, or she was never really in love with me. Either way, I wasn’t enough.”
There it was. The half-scabbed wound. If nothing else, Trina could at least slap an emotional bandage on it. “You’re enough for me. Right here, right now.” She canted sideways to get right in his face. “Isn’t that what this week is supposed to be about for you—living in the moment? Living it up?”
Suddenly his eyes sparkled more than that whole huge expanse of blue off to the side. “Yeah. Nothing serious. Just have fun.”
“I’m fun.” Trina licked her lips. Mmm. Lemon lip balm. She was ready for action. “Wanna have me?”
“You read my mind.”
But instead of going for her mouth, Brad dipped his head to nip at her neck. Below the soft warmth of his lips, teeth scraped just hard enough to contrast. Opposites that worked so well together. A full-body goose bump broke out. Trina swayed backward. Sure enough, Brad’s arm was there to catch her. Still, she unhooked her feet from the rail and wrapped her legs around Brad’s waist. Purely for safety. Then fisted her hands in that thick hair and tugged his mouth up to meet hers.
The warm sun beat onto her back. But all the heat in the world pressed against her front. Or maybe it was that touching Brad fired her up from the inside out. Every kiss scorched her. Every lick seared nerves up and down her torso. Every pulse beat seemed to notch her center closer to Brad.
Trina swirled her way into Brad’s mouth. A serious, hard, tongue-thrusting kiss that let him know she meant business. Hopefully, one that showed him just how much she wanted this. Wanted him. From the growl he let out, her message got through loud and clear.
Oh they’d have fun, all right. Serious fun. It was obvious that Brad didn’t just need cheering up. He needed a rebound fling. The kind that would recharge him. Trina didn’t know where she’d be in a month, or what she’d be doing. A relationship was the last thing that would possibly interest her right now. But she did know that a passion-filled week at the beach sounded like perfection for both of them.
Chapter Five
For the second time in less than twelve hours, someone was pounding the hell out of Brad’s hotel room door. At least this time he was wearing more than a towel. He buttoned his dark slacks and fastened his belt as he crossed the room. The undoubtedly drunk idiot on the other side of the door would have to deal with him being shirtless while he yelled at them for disturbing the peace. The day of fun with Trina had wrapped up with a late lunch after their visit to Lucy, and now she was back doing a shift at Club Eden. So he knew the knocker couldn’t be for him. Nobody else in the whole town knew Brad was here.
“You’ve got the wrong room,” he said as he yanked open the door.
“Really?” asked the dark-haired woman beaming at him. “Because you’re hunky, blond and already half-undressed. It sure looks like the right room to me.”
“Darcy? I can’t believe you’re here.” Brad pulled her in for a tight hug. Noticed that her stacked heels brought her tall frame almost even with him, height-wise. Quite a shift from hugging her petite best friend.
“Yeah, and she’s not alone, so how about you get your hands off my girl?”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Brad said as he laughed over her shoulder at his cousin loitering in the hall. Seeing Cooper was like looking in one of those funhouse mirrors he could probably find on the Boardwalk. Just enough differences to make someone blink twice at Brad’s longer hair and darker eyes. Coop was the same height, same build. The DNA they shared from their mom’s side of the family ran strong. Lots of people assumed they were brothers instead of cousins. Brad didn’t mind a bit. They were brothers in all the ways that counted.
With a frown, Coop said, “You and I are sworn to serve and protect all ten tenths of the law. Don’t think for a second that you’re keeping Darcy on a technicality.”
Brad released Darcy and pulled him into a back-slapping man-hug. Despite having planned to spend this week alone, he was damn glad for all this surprise company. Running into Trina had turned out great. Add in his best friend and a girl he already loved like a sister, and this was suddenly turning into a far better vacation than he could’ve imagined. Hell, at this rate, maybe he’d even have a run of good luck at the tables.
“Come on in,” he said, with a wave at the room.
Coop planted his feet and pulled Darcy further into the hall. “No way. You’ve been here two days already. I don’t want to imagine what’s gone on in your room so far, and I sure as hell don’t want to see the wreckage left behind.”
“What do you expect? That I stuffed a pillowcase with used condoms and left-behind panties?” He grabbed his vintage black and tan bowling shirt off the chair—covered in the same blue and white seersucker as his grandpa’s good summer suit—and shrugged into it. All it took to finish getting ready was to pocket his room key and wallet.
“Yeah.” Coop shuddered as they all headed toward the elevators. “That’s pretty much exactly what I expected.”
“Stop poking at him,” Darcy scolded. “Are you surprised to see us?”
He swerved to avoid a scavenged room service tray on the tan carpet. “Definitely. Didn’t the captain pitch a fit about you not being in the squad room with me already gone?”
Coop’s navy sport jacket lifted as he shrugged. “I put in a full day before we hit the road. We’ll go back Sunday night. I only miss one shift tomorrow. Not a big deal.”
But Brad knew it was a big deal. Coop must’ve offered up one heck of a favor to the captain in order to get the schedule changed at the last minute. Which meant he now owed Coop a favor. When the first snowfall finally hit, probably next month, he’d head over early and dig Coop out. Maybe a couple of times.
“Let us take you to dinner,” Darcy offered. They got into the elevator already stuffed with a bellhop, a luggage cart and an old couple wearing their casino players cards on lanyards.
“Only if you let me buy the wine.” He drummed his fingers against his leg. Happy as he was to see them, it felt weird. Brad didn’t want to be pitied. Or have people worrying about him anymore. Enough of that went down all summer long. “Seriously, did you drive all the way up here for proof of life? ’Cause a phone call would’ve saved you two hours and a fat hotel bill.”
“I didn’t think there’d be anything more serious going on with you than a killer hangover. Dana’s a speck in the rear-view mirror of your life.”
Damn straight.
The elevator doors swooshed open. A wall of sound banged at them before even setting one foot in the lobby. Three lines of people all clutching wheeled weekender bags jammed the space in front of the check-in desk.
Love on the Boardwalk Page 6