Hope let out a yelp but quickly matched his pace, and by the time they rounded the large rocky outcropping into a protected cove, she was gasping for breath from laughing too hard.
Lucas stripped off his blazer and then grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt. “I’m ready when you’re ready.”
She stopped laughing and stared at him, willing him to lose his shirt. How long had It been since she’d seen his chest and eight-pack abs? Did he even have an eight pack anymore?
“Hey, Anderson. Eyes up here.” He used two fingers to point toward his face.
“Please. Like the minute I start de-robing you aren’t going to be staring?” she asked.
“Fair enough. But I know how you operate, and I’m not going to be the only one who gets naked. Either we do this together, or we’re calling it off.”
She threw her head back and laughed. It would be just like her to pretend she was going to join him and then bail at the last minute while he dove into the chilly water.
“See. I knew it.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward until she was pressed against his chest. His rock-hard chest. She leaned into him, soaking up the warmth radiating from him. “Are you all-in on this, Hope? Can I trust you?”
For a moment, she wasn’t sure if he was talking about skinny-dipping or their relationship. But then he added, “Because I’m not getting naked unless you do.”
She patted his chest and smiled up at him. “I’m in. On three?”
He nodded and took a step back. “On three.”
She counted backward, and when she got to one, she shrugged out of her sweater and started untying her wrap dress.
“Damn, you’re really doing this,” he said, his voice husky.
Hope paused. “Only if you start showing some skin.”
Grinning, he reached behind his shoulder and grabbed the back of his shirt to pull it over his head. Hope’s breath caught in her throat. How was it possible that he was even more beautiful than she remembered?
His hands paused on his belt buckle. “Are you still with me?”
“Uh-huh.” She quickly shrugged out of her dress, leaving her standing in her bra and panties.
It was Lucas’s turn to stare.
“I think you might be drooling,” she said.
“No doubt.” He made a show of wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and then he quickly climbed out of his jeans, leaving them both in their underwear.
“Are we going in like this, or are we going the full monty?” she asked.
“It wouldn’t be skinny-dipping if we’re still covered,” he said with a challenge in his voice.
“No, it would not.” Without hesitation, she unhooked her bra and dropped it onto her dress.
“Holy mother of sin,” he whispered as his gaze locked onto her chest. He took a step forward, reaching for her, but Hope stepped back out of his reach.
“Nope. We’re going in that water. And if you start that, we both know what will happen.”
“I’m definitely okay with that.” His voice was strained as if he was barely holding himself back.
Hope was in full agreement with him, but she still had enough wits about her that she wasn’t going to get down and dirty right there on a public beach. Skinny-dipping was one thing. But rolling around in the sand, getting it in places it was never meant to be, was not on the table. Besides, if someone did happen to see them skinny-dipping, it would be a funny story. Fornicating in public was an entirely different matter.
“That’s not going to happen. But if you drop your drawers, I might let you cop a feel once we’re in the water.” She shimmied out of her lace panties.
Lucas yanked his boxer briefs off, and after grabbing her hand again, they both ran full speed into the icy water.
“Oh, holy shit!” Hope screamed when Lucas pulled her into the surf, dunking both of them. She quickly popped up, gasping and shivering from the ocean water.
“Damn, that’s a lot colder than I remembered,” Lucas said in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands cupping her breasts.
With his hard body pressed up against the back of hers, suddenly she didn’t care about the cold. All she wanted was to stand there in the water with him wrapped around her forever.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“Yeah.” She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder as she covered his hands with her own. “I’m more than okay. I might even be perfect.”
He let out a low growl and bent his head to trail kisses down her neck. A shiver that didn’t have anything to do with the cold rippled through her. And before she could think better of it, she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had.
His mouth opened for hers, and she let herself get lost in him. He tasted of a hint of chocolate and coffee, and of love and home. She slid one hand into his wet hair and moved the other one down to slide it over his bare—
“Ahh!” A wave hit them and knocked them both over into the surf again, breaking the magic.
“Ohmigod, it’s too damned cold in here.” Her teeth started chattering, and without a word, Lucas picked her up and carried her back to the beach.
Once they reached their clothes, he set her back on her feet and started running his hands up and down her arms to try to warm her up.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded, her teeth still chattering as she fumbled with putting her underwear back on. “We really should’ve considered towels.”
“That would’ve killed the spontaneity,” he said, giving her a wide smile.
“It would’ve saved us from having to put our clothes on while dripping wet,” she groused.
“Here.” He handed her his Nirvana T-shirt. “Use this to dry off.”
She took the shirt but didn’t use it. “You’re going to freeze without this.”
“I have my blazer. Dry off so you can get back into your dress.” He stepped closer and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I promise; I’m fine.”
She gave him a grateful smile and dried herself off and handed the T-shirt back to him. He did the same, and they both quickly got dressed. Hope wrapped her sweater around herself and let out a sigh of relief. “That is so much better.”
Dressed in his jeans and blazer, Lucas balled his wet shirt up in one hand and draped his arm over Hope’s shoulder as they walked back to his truck.
“Thank you for this,” she said, leaning into him to soak up his warmth.
“No need to thank me. I’d do this every day of the week if you were game.”
She laughed. “Maybe next time we try a hot tub.”
“There’s going to be a next time?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “There’s definitely going to be a next time.”
Lucas stopped suddenly, spun her around, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was possessive and full of fire and over far too quickly, leaving her breathless. Lucas pulled back slightly and said, “I wanted to seal that with a kiss.”
She smiled up at him, completely charmed and slightly overwhelmed. This was why she always found her way back to him.
The thought slammed into her and made her step back to put space between them. She cleared her throat. “We should probably get going.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then nodded. “You’re probably right.” He held his hand out to her, and even though she hesitated, she still wrapped her fingers around his and let him lead her back to the truck.
The ride to her house was only a few minutes, but the silence between them made it feel like forever. When he finally pulled up in front of her house, she was ready to jump out and run inside. But he killed the engine, and as he always did, he opened her door and walked her up to the front porch.
“I had a really wonderful time tonight,” he said.
“So did I.” She chuckled to herself. “I can’t believe we went skinny-dipping.”
“I can.” He brushed he
r wet hair back and asked, “When can I see you again?”
Hope wanted to say tomorrow night. But something niggled at her that maybe she had plans. Was that with Grace or Joy? She couldn’t quite remember. So she said, “How about Sunday brunch? We could meet at that farm-to-table place. Blueberries?”
“Sounds perfect. But I’ll pick you up at ten.” Before she could answer, he pulled her into him again and brushed his lips over hers in a soft, sweet kiss as his hands roamed down her back and squeezed her butt.
Hope melted into him, and if her mother hadn’t been inside, she was certain she’d have opened the door and tugged him straight to her bedroom.
Lucas let her go and stepped back. “Goodnight, Hope.”
She brought her fingertips to her lips and whispered, “Goodnight.”
She stood on her porch with her hand on the knob and waited for him to get into his truck before she finally went inside and closed the door gently behind her.
“Looks like someone had a good evening,” Angela said from her spot where she was curled up on the couch.
“I did. But I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
“You can’t keep running from him forever, bunny.”
Hope gave her mother a curious look. “Why? I don’t see you tied to anyone.”
Her mother’s expression turned sad as she shook her head. “You’re right. It’s not in the cards for me. I need too much space to make a relationship work, but anyone with eyes can see you and Lucas belong together. If you both hadn’t been so stubborn, you’d have already worked out a way to be together.”
“You really don’t think there’s a quiet man or woman out there for you?” Hope asked, her heart aching for her mom. Hope had been so focused on her own feelings of abandonment that she hadn’t taken the time to really understand what the curse had meant for her mom.
She shrugged. “I’ve dated some. I’m better off alone. At seventy-four, I’m not about to change my ways now. It would be very hard for me to make room for a partner in my life.” Angela got to her feet and moved to her daughter. She pressed a kiss to her cheek and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I’m headed to bed.”
“Thanks. Goodnight, Mom.”
Angela moved past her down the hall. Just before she slipped into her bedroom, she added, “Next time, try the beach on the north side of town. You’ll have more privacy.”
Chapter Fifteen
Hope woke to the sun streaming over her face. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and groaned when she saw that is was past ten. Her thoughts were cloudy from sleeping too long, and her head was aching from the lack of caffeine.
After rolling out of bed and wrapping herself in her terry cloth robe, she shuffled into the kitchen, desperate for coffee.
“Morning, bunny.” Her mom was fully dressed and sat at the table with her feet propped up on one of the other chairs, sipping from a mug.
“Morning,” she mumbled, fully focused on her mission for caffeine.
“I ran into Maggie Peters this morning while I was at the Pointe of View Café listening in on people. She said she booked you for a wedding shower next month,” Angela said.
“Yeah. That’s right. Her daughter’s getting married in October.” Hope poured the last of the coffee into her mug and took a long sip before going to work on making a fresh pot. One cup wasn’t going to cut it.
“She wanted me to give you a message.”
Hope glanced up at her mother. “What’s that? Did she want to change the venue again?”
Angela shook her head. “No. Actually she said she needed to cancel. Something about a scheduling conflict.”
“Cancel? What?” Why the heck was one of her clients telling her mother they wanted to cancel? Why hadn’t Maggie just called so they could work something out?
“She told me there was a scheduling conflict, but I think it’s really something else.” Angela handed her a blueberry muffin from the bakery takeout box on the table.
Hope took it and waited for her mother to continue.
“As we were standing there, I heard her thinking about someone named Peggy and how grateful she was for the heads up.”
“Heads up about what?” Peggy Pitsman was Hope’s competition. What exactly had she told Maggie?
“I have no idea. Do you know Peggy?”
Hope nodded. “She just started doing events. Mostly showers and birthday parties.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “Is she sabotaging your business?”
It sure sounded like it. “I don’t know, but I’ll call Maggie and find out what’s going on… after coffee." Hope started to move back toward her bedroom, hoping that a shower would help her aching head. But just before she left the kitchen she glanced back at her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”
Angela’s expression brightened as she smiled warmly at her daughter. “You’re welcome.”
* * *
After a shower and some pain killers, Hope settled into her home office and gave Maggie a call. It went straight to voicemail.
“Great,” she muttered and then left a message asking her to call as soon as possible to work out the cancelation details. Then she went to work on pulling together some possibilities for Skyler’s dog wedding event. She spent a fair amount of time on the internet, checking trends and making a bunch of notes, and then she checked out a barkery website to see what kind of treats might be appropriate for a canine wedding. After she printed out pictures of different options, she moved on to checking the details of a grand opening for a handmade glass gallery. The event was a couple weeks out, and Hope still hadn’t gotten an answer on if Yasmeen wanted to offer the mini cheesecakes or the mini cupcakes. She was going to need to let the bakery know soon.
She once again grabbed her phone.
“Oh, Hope. It’s good you called,” Yasmeen said by way of greeting.
“Good morning, or should I say afternoon?” Hope asked, eyeing her wall clock. It was just after noon, and the day was slipping away from her.
“Um… listen,” Yasmeen said hesitantly. “I think it’s best if we cancel the plans for the grand opening.”
“What happened? Do you have to move the date?” Hope asked.
“No. It’s not that. I’ve just decided that something lower key is probably better for us.”
Hope was momentarily stunned. Lower key? What did that mean? Hope had been planning something similar to what she’d done with Lucas’s open house, which meant some food and drinks, a couple of artists doing demonstrations, and plenty of press. “If it’s a matter of my fees, we can work something out—”
“It’s not that,” she said quickly and then sighed heavily. “Listen, Hope, I don’t really have a lot of time right now. I know I’m forfeiting my deposit. Let’s just leave it there.”
“Yeah, okay. I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” Hope said.
“So am I.” Yasmeen ended the call, and Hope tossed her phone onto her desk and tried to process what just happened. Two cancelations in one day? It was rare for her to have one client cancel, and when they did, usually they just rescheduled rather than canceling all together.
Hope opened her email and immediately found one from the town’s senior fundraising group. The subject line said, Need to Cancel. Hope’s heart started to race. She clicked on the email and ground her teeth. The event to raise money for the town bike path was supposed to be a casino night that they’d asked Hope to coordinate. Apparently, the event was still on, but Hope’s involvement was no longer needed. Norma, the president of the group, hadn’t said why, only that if Hope had incurred any expenses so far that she should submit them to their group’s accountant.
“This is ridiculous!” Hope cried, jumping out of her chair. Something was going on, and she needed to get to the bottom of it. She tried calling Maggie again, and when that was unsuccessful, she tried the president of the fundraising group. Again, the phone went unanswered.
Pacing, Hope decided she had two choices. She could confro
nt Peggy Pitsman or find Maggie or Norma and get some answers. Since Yasmeen hadn’t been forthcoming when they spoke, Hope decided she was a lost cause for now. She didn’t know where to find Norma since her group only met twice a month at the library. But Maggie owned a bike shop not far from the square.
After grabbing her keys, Hope stormed out of her house and drove to the middle of town. It was a gorgeous day with clear blue skies and a light breeze that blew in off the ocean. It seemed as if the entire population of Premonition Pointe was out enjoying the fall day. But it was all lost on Hope. She was single-focused. Her business was suddenly on fire, and she needed to put it out.
Parking near the square proved impossible, so Hope chose a spot a few blocks away in front of Lucas’s store. She was so determined to find Maggie that she barely even glanced in his shop. She made out the shape of a couple of people and assumed he was working with a customer. There was no time to say hello anyway.
Hope walked so fast she was nearly out of breath when she finally found Maggie’s bike shop. She rounded the half dozen bikes that were lined up outside and ducked into the store.
A young man who couldn’t have been older than twenty looked up from where he was assembling a bike. “Can I help you?”
“Is Maggie in?” Hope asked, craning her neck to get a glimpse in the back.
“Nope. She’s out to lunch. She should be back in thirty minutes or so. Did you want to leave your number?”
“No. I’ll come back. Thanks.” Hope didn’t trust that Maggie would get in touch with her. Not after the way she’d canceled by giving her mother the message. Hope stepped back outside and scanned the area for somewhere to sit so that she could see Maggie when she returned. But as she eyed the area, Maggie’s bright red curls stood out in the park where she sat at a picnic table.
Hope straightened her shoulders and made her way across the square to the grassy area, and without asking to be invited, she sat down opposite Maggie and said, “Hello.”
Maggie jerked her head up, clearly startled, and that’s when Hope noticed the ear buds jammed in her ears. The woman tugged them out and said, “Hope. What are you doing here?”
Witching For Hope: Premonition Pointe, Book 2 Page 11