His heart gave a little flicker. He couldn’t be the person that told her this would never work out. The tears were already forming in her eyes. He put his finger under her chin. “And I won’t let you be. I believe that you’re a good person. A good person who got caught up in lifestyle she couldn’t maintain.” He gave her a grin. “I’m not going to give you a credit card, you know. In fact, I’ll probably hide the ones I’ve got while you’re staying. Would that make you feel better?”
This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea.
He’d never lived with a woman before. He’d never wanted to live with a woman before. Colt liked his own space. He liked to sit on his quiet deck at home alone, watching the waves on the beach. He liked early morning and quiet evenings. He liked order. Everything in its place. Selena thrived on chaos. She’d already told him she was messy. She would probably drive him nuts. They were total opposites. Not only that, she’d ruined the trust he had in her. He didn’t think for a moment that she’d steal from him or destroy his property. But he was only half joking about hiding the credit cards—it might actually be a good idea.
But somehow it just felt right. No matter what had happened between them. A whole lot of other stuff had happened, too. Selena hadn’t reacted to his scars, hadn’t been put off at all. She reached out to touch him where others hadn’t. No matter how conflicted he felt, just looking at her now made the blood start to surge around his body. He just couldn’t help how he felt around her. Five days. It was time limited. He could help her for that long.
Her tense muscles relaxed, and her shoulders sagged as if all the panic was starting to drain out of her body. Her adrenaline and nerves must be shot. She placed her hands on the front of his chest, lifting her heavy eyelids to look at him with those haunting green eyes.
She nodded. “Just friends?”
The tone of her voice made him move closer. His finger traced a line down her cheek. “Friends, lovers, whatever you like. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
It was important that she didn’t feel pressured. He wanted this to be the right decision for her.
“Whatever I like,” she repeated as he cupped her face. Her voice wavered. “And you’ll give me some house rules to follow?” It was as if she was trying to sort it in her mind. Make it simple. Keep herself straight.
His head was still imagining his house in an uproar. Selena’s pink thongs littered all over his white sofa and her fuchsia lipstick on his glasses.
“Oh, I can give you a whole list of house rules.” He smiled. “After all, I have no ulterior motive.” He lowered his head and brushed a kiss against her lips. “None whatsoever.” He kissed her again and looked around the room. “It’s purely a health-and-safety issue.”
This was the right thing to do. It was. Even though he still had a few doubts.
“Health and safety? Really?” Her hands had moved up the planes of his chest and settled around his neck. She pulled him toward her.
He could feel her warm breath on his cheek. Buzz. There it was again. Every time he came into contact with Selena. “Sure. Health and safety. No one is allowed to stay overnight in the spa area. It could be a fire hazard.” His lips plundered hers, curling her toes and scrambling her senses.
“I kind of like being known as a fire hazard,” she murmured as their bodies melded together.
He couldn’t keep his hands off her. They moved around to the front of her body and he felt her hardened nipple under her thin cotton top. It brought him back to his senses. They’d already risked the thrill of being caught in a compromising position once before.
He stepped back, taking in her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. He grabbed the bags, which had dropped at his feet. “How much stuff do you have? Will it fit in my truck?”
She nodded. “The monster truck? Are you joking? Even I don’t have that many clothes.”
He smiled. “Then let’s go.”
“Great. You get the bags, and I’ll get my clothes.” She grabbed her still-wet items from the dryer and started stuffing them into the bag. “Do you have a master key for the lockers?”
He grabbed the keys from his pocket. “There should be one on this.”
“Thanks.” She fumbled around with a few and finally managed to open one of the lockers. There were her clothes hanging pristine inside, all on individual hangers. She turned the key on the next locker and it opened to reveal an identical sight.
His arms were beginning to ache—she had more stuff than he’d thought. She raised herself up on her tiptoes and dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Just the shoes—and you won’t even begin to imagine where I hid those!”
Her hand was on the door to the locker room, ready to leave, but she stopped and turned back around. “Thank you, Colt. I won’t forget this. Thank you for looking out for me.”
The words had a strange effect on him. Selena could be fun. Selena could be snarky. But now she was being sincere. Now, she was showing some humility and it cut him to the bone.
Leaving him with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Opposites attract. He could testify to that. But could opposites live together?
He took a deep breath. “Please don’t let me live to regret this.”
Chapter Ten
Her stomach jittered the whole way along the freeway, her fingers twiddling with her hair.
Colt pulled up outside a beachfront house in Malibu that was wood paneled and painted in shades of blue and cream. He hauled her bags out of the back and unlocked the door while she stood nervously on the step.
Tears had formed in the corners of her eyes and she struggled to hold them back. The door swung open and he pressed some digits on an alarm. Colt had been so kind to her, but her brain was scrambled. Was he doing this only because of her situation, or because he actually wanted things to move forward between them? Their blossoming relationship wasn’t exactly under wraps from those at the clinic, but how would he feel if their colleagues found out she was staying with him?
Part of her wondered if he was embarrassed to let people know he was seeing her—the girl who couldn’t keep her credit-card spending under control. She took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back, pasting a smile on her face and trying to be casual.
She could do this. She could.
“Whoa. This is a joke, right? You don’t actually live here?” Selena walked around, almost frightened to touch anything in the perfect room. “I didn’t know you lived in Malibu.”
The home was drop-dead gorgeous. A mix up of Houses of the Stars and Luxury Homes in LA, her two favorite TV shows.
He dumped her bags and moved across the immaculate white kitchen, starting the coffee machine. “Where did you think I stayed?”
She shrugged. “I sort of figured you for a penthouse apartment guy. Not an I-own-my-own-part-of-Malibu-beach kind of guy.” She looked out at the view of the sun-drenched beach. One whole wall of this house was glass-fronted, giving the type of views real estate agents would die for. The glass door led out to a private balcony deck with a set of steps leading down to the beach.
It was like a little piece of heaven.
And Colt was going to let her stay there.
Which gave her a hard dose of reality: he lived in a palace, and she was currently a pauper.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the crashing waves and sagged down into one of the designer cream-clad chairs. It molded to her body instantly, making her feel as if she were meant to sit there. “You’ve got that whole OC thing going on here.”
He shook his head. “Wrong county.”
“I get that. I was talking about the TV series.”
Colt laughed. “Well, this place didn’t look like that when I bought it. The only original feature is the deck and balcony.” He walked over to the windows. “I always did mean to replace them with something more modern.”
“Don’t you dare. I love the balcony and deck. It’s warm. Inviting.” She held out her arms. A whole world away from w
hat she could ever imagine for herself. “Yeah, it’s like your own personal invitation to step on down to the beach. How can you resist? Drinking coffee on the balcony every morning with this perfect view? How fabulous.” She sighed and rested her arms on the balcony. “My idea of heaven would be sitting out here, drinking one of those strawberry daiquiris I had the other night, watching the sun go down.”
Colt raised his eyebrows and walked back into the kitchen, searching through the cupboards, pushing things from side to side and opening and closing about every door in the kitchen. “Finally,” he exclaimed as he pulled out a blender.
“I take it you don’t do much in the kitchen?” she asked.
“Wait a minute. I whip up a mean cocktail.” He took some crushed ice from the freezer and strawberries and limes from the fridge. The bubbling coffee machine was forgotten. “Now, where is it?” Seconds later he found the rum and added a hefty dash to the mixture, taking two glasses from the shelf while the ice whizzed noisily next to them.
He poured the thick liquid into the glasses and added a straw. “There you go. Colt’s Special Strawberry Daiquiri. Don’t let it be said that only a young barman can make it for you.”
Selena smiled and took a long sip, grimacing as the tartness hit her. “Think you forgot the strawberry schnapps. But it’s lovely. Thank you, Colt.”
Wow. How many women would kill to be in her shoes right now? Sitting in a million-dollar house with a view to die for, and a man who looked as if he’d walked off a movie set. This was the thing that dreams were made of.
“Want me to show you to your room?”
Her room. Yes, there it was. The reality check. Because he wouldn’t want her in his room, would he? “Sure, that would be great.” She stood up quickly, carefully setting her glass down, and followed him up the stairs.
Colt had picked up an armful of clothes, still on hangers, and opened the door to a bedroom facing onto the beach. He walked over to the closet and hung them up while she watched the view. It was even more perfect from up here.
The wide bed faced directly toward the window. She could lie in bed at night, watching the stars and the waves crashing on the beach.
“This is gorgeous, thanks. Don’t worry—I know it’s only temporary. I’ll try not to get under your feet. I promise.” She grabbed some lingerie and hurriedly stuffed them into a nearby set of drawers.
Easier said than done. But she had to say the words out loud. As a reminder to herself not to try and live the fairy tale. This was someone else’s life. Not hers. She had a responsibility to get herself back on her feet. Without relying on anyone else.
Colt went to walk out the door, then hesitated. He brushed his finger down her cheek, catching a lock of her hair. “I don’t want you to think I invited you to stay here because…”
“Because we’re sleeping together?”
He blinked. Sometimes she was too direct. Too blunt. But it was best to get these things out in the open.
“What I meant to say is, I don’t expect, I mean, I don’t want you to think—”
She pressed her finger up against his lips. “Shhh. I know exactly what you mean, Colt. You’re a friend helping out a friend. Like you said. Nothing more, nothing less. I think we can both live with that for a few days.”
He pressed his lips together. “We agreed a few days, but if you need a little longer, then let me know. We can work something out.”
He looked relieved, the tension dissipating out of his shoulders, and her heart sank. She’d said the words, but didn’t really believe them. It was what she thought he wanted to hear.
He’d been straight with her. And deep down, she knew he was feeling obligated to her. She hated that. She only wished he’d invited her here because he wanted her here.
“So, what are the house rules?”
His eyebrow arched. “You have no idea what I want to say right now.”
She laughed. “No. I don’t. But give me a rundown.”
“It’s kind of difficult. I’ve never lived with a woman before. I’ve never even let one stay.”
“Whoa. You’re breaking all kinds of rules already then.” She looked around again. “You already told me you were a neat freak. You really meant it, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Guilty as charged. I don’t really like mess. I hate wet clothes and towels lying on the bathroom floor. As long as you’re tidy, hang your clothes up, and pick up after yourself, we should be fine.”
A million little explosions were going off in her brain. The whole prince-and-pauper thing kept floating through her mind. He really had everything. A job he loved. Workmates who respected him. He was smart. He was together. He was totally committed to supporting a really worthwhile charity. She felt a million miles away from what he was now. What on earth did she have to offer him?
Even on a most basic level she didn’t like to admit it, but housekeeping was not her best skill. She was going to have to be on her best behavior for the next few days.
He gave her his slow, sexy smile again, the one that always made her legs turn to mush. “Can I take you out for a late dinner then? My cooking leaves a lot to be desired and my favorite restaurant is a five-minute walk away. Linguine clams, crab cakes, seafood risotto, and their special sunset clam chowder. Can I tempt you?”
More than you know.
She straightened her shoulders. “Sure, why not. Let me get changed.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek and ushered him out the door, closing it behind him so he wouldn’t see her sag against it. The sky was inky black with a thousand silver stars scattered through it. Together with the sound of crashing waves it was simply perfect.
There was so much here to fall in love with.
And that was entirely her problem.
…
Colt gunned the engine as he waited for Selena. Patience wasn’t his best virtue, and he wasn’t used to waiting for someone in the morning. No. Scratch that. He wasn’t used to having someone around in the morning.
For him, every day started the same. A run along the beach and a quick dip in the ocean before heading back up his steps just in time to smell the freshly percolating coffee. He had it timed to perfection.
What he hadn’t counted on was the half-dressed woman, messing up his kitchen with her hair wound up and skewered by a pair of chopsticks. As for the pineapple juice running down her chin…
He stuck his head out of the car window. “Selena! What are you doing in there?”
He watched as she ran out, with her bag in one hand and her pink stilettos in the other. She bumped the door closed with her behind and he tried not to fixate on whether her underwear matched her shoes. She’d distracted him enough this morning.
He was trying not to think about the lingerie he’d glimpsed lying on her bedroom floor. Or the fact she’d left her cutlery in the sink instead of stacking it in the dishwasher.
She climbed into the truck and slammed the door. “Sorry. Someone got my hair all wet in the shower this morning.” She shot him a smile. “It takes ages to dry and straighten.”
Her hair was glorious, hanging in a perfect blond sheet. But he kind of liked it better when it had been all mussed up with the chopsticks. She pulled lipstick from her bag and started to put it on in the mirror. Fuchsia. This woman was going to be the death of him. “Have I made you late?”
He frowned as he maneuvered amongst the early morning traffic. Colt usually missed the rush hour. His pager sounded loudly, causing them both to jump. He glanced down at his waistband and saw the clinic security number flashing.
Selena rolled her eyes. “Seven thirty in the morning. It’s got to be Magdalena. She’s the only person who would think you were at her beck and call. I thought her surgery went well?”
“It did.” Colt frowned and pressed the button on the dashboard to connect to the clinic. “Ramon? It’s Colt Travers. I’m on my way in. Is there a problem?”
“Take the rear entrance.”
“What?” Colt felt his hea
rt sink like a stone. “What’s happened?”
There was only one reason Ramon would tell him to use the rear entrance.
“We’re under siege here, Dr. Travers. I’ve called your mobile four times. Magdalena’s picture is everywhere. There’s been another leak, and it’s all over the press this morning. I’ve ordered extra security, and it’s going to cost a fortune. We’ve had to lock the front gates to keep out the press. There’s even a helicopter circling above us.”
Colt cursed and fumbled in his jacket for his mobile. Dead. He’d forgotten to charge it after taking Selena to dinner. Probably because he’d been so distracted by her.
Selena turned pale. “What does that mean?”
Colt jerked the wheel, overtaking a small sedan and putting his foot to the floor. He was furious. “It means we haven’t managed to plug the leak.” He dodged in and out of the traffic, taking a smaller road leading them up to the back of the Seacliffe complex. The road was rarely used, and only regular staff even knew it existed.
“You realize everyone will see us come in together?” Selena voice had a slight tremble.
She was right. Helen would already be in a bad mood and seeing them arrive together would only make it worse. Colt shook his head. “With any luck, she’ll be too busy to notice. If not, I’ll deal with Helen later.”
A picture of Magdalena’s face in its current state would make the front page of every newspaper in the world. It didn’t matter how good a surgeon he was. A face-lift was still major surgery—with all the bruising and swelling that went along with it. There was no way to hide it.
Please don’t let them have a picture.
Two of the security guards were standing at the back gate. The thwack-thwack of the helicopter blades roared above them and the fierce current of air blasted their clothes through the open window. The security guards gave him a nod and moved to let him pass. “Ramon’s waiting inside for you, Dr. Travers,” the guard shouted then added, “And that woman’s been creating hell for the last half hour.”
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