But he wasn’t. He definitely wasn’t.
She jumped as she heard footsteps coming down the steps.
“He’s coming!” Sam announced redundantly, as Liam followed behind.
She was glad of the camouflage her sunglasses provided, because she couldn’t look away. Just like the night before, when he’d unexpectedly been at the night markets, instead of doing his hermit thing at home. Thank God Riley had whisked her off to look at jewelry, and then to eat, because she’d gone there to hang out with the girls and have fun, not to do battle with her own wayward desires. Now he was wearing board shorts and a dark blue sleeveless t-shirt that revealed the muscular breadth of his shoulders, and the substantial cut of his arms. She found herself tugging down the hem of her cover-up, and cursed inwardly at his effect on her. Maybe that sun stroke had permanently addled her brain. Actually, that might explain her moments of madness. Then she noticed what he wasn’t wearing.
“Where’s your hat?” she asked him. “The sun is brutal here, you know.”
He considered her for a moment, and she waited to see how he’d react to having his own words shot back at him. But he just flipped his beach towel over his shoulder.
“Maybe I’m not planning to stay long enough to need one.”
They looked at each other, and Jacinda got the distinct feeling he was testing her. But before she could reply, Sam piped up.
“You can stay as long as you want. I want to show you how I do a forward roll in the water.”
Liam smiled down at him. “Great. Let’s go then.”
They walked back to the spot where Danielle was waiting, Sam talking all the while about the need to tuck your chin into your chest, and the exact best position for your arms. Liam listened carefully, nodding and making all the right comments. Jacinda lagged behind slightly, trying to concentrate on the green slopes of Rangitoto rising from the sparkling water in the distance, instead of the man in front of her.
When they got there, Danielle sat up and took off her sunglasses. “Oh, Sam. You can’t keep bothering Liam all the time. He has work to do.”
Sam stood straighter. “I’m not bothering him. He’s my friend.”
She shook her head. “I’m sure he has better ways to spend his Saturday than going to the beach with us.”
“Not really, actually,” Liam said, dropping his towel on the sand. “And I was ready for a swim.”
“Oh.” Danielle said. “Well…okay then.”
“Awesome,” Sam said. “I’m ready too.”
“Right.” With one smooth movement, Liam took hold of his shirt at the bottom, lifted it up and over his head, then let it fall by his towel.
Jacinda swallowed. The effect of the shirtlessness didn’t seem to diminish, no matter how many times she saw it. And she didn’t miss the way Danielle’s eyes swept down his body, then back up again, before she looked away. It was exactly what her own eyes had done as he came down the steps. And did again now.
Sam had been looking too, but for a different reason. Now he tugged at his snug-fitting rash shirt. “Mum, do I have to wear this?”
“Yes.”
Her tone was final, and he sighed, obviously figuring he wouldn’t win that fight. “Okay. Let’s go, Liam.”
They headed down toward the water, Sam looking like a sudden gust might blow him away compared to Liam’s strapping height.
“Wow,” Danielle said. She looked at Jacinda, a smile playing on her lips. “I suppose he’s not such bad company. What do you think?”
She was trying her hardest not to think anything at all. “I think he’s a big show-off.”
“I bet something’s big,” Danielle said in a wicked tone, sticking out her tongue as she watched Liam walk away with Sam.
Jacinda laughed along with her, but the territorial pang that hit her took her by surprise. “Keeping it classy, huh?” she said lightly, ignoring the twist in her stomach. “We must be related.”
“Well, I am a woman on the rebound. And you know what they say about us…” She grinned. Then her phone rang somewhere in the depths of her bag. “It’s probably Mum,” she said, reaching in and digging around. “She can’t go more than a day without talking to every one of her kids.”
Her words sent a wave of guilt through Jacinda. Tomorrow it would be two weeks since she arrived, and she’d only called her mom twice. They usually talked regularly, and somehow, it helped keep Trina on the level. Phone contact seemed to be enough—when they spent too much time together in person, Jacinda couldn’t do anything right, and soon Trina would start stressing and fretting and becoming more anxious rather than less. Maybe that was why she’d chosen to live in Florida, far from Jacinda in LA…although she claimed it was because the climate suited her better than any other place in America. Then again, she’d know, given how many places she’d dragged Jacinda to in the years before they sort-of settled in Pleasanton. And despite it all, during those years they’d gotten closer than a lot of mothers and daughters ever did. Jacinda made a mental note to call her again soon.
Danielle finally pulled out her phone, but it had stopped ringing. “Damn, I missed it,” she said. Then she looked at the screen, and emitted a strangled squeak. “It was them.”
Jacinda craned to look. “Them?”
“The job. The…oh, God. Why are they calling on a Saturday? Is that good? Or bad?”
“Um…good, probably?”
She threw everything into her bag, still clutching the phone, then got to her feet and hauled up her towel, scattering sand over Jacinda. “Sorry, I have to…I have to call them back. Oh, God.” She bunched the towel under her arm and looked out to where Sam and Liam were bobbing in the water. “Can you…?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll keep an eye on Sam. Go. Stay calm.”
“I’m calm. Very calm.”
As she hurried away in the direction of home, she looked anything but.
Jacinda smiled, then settled in to watch Sam. And if Sam’s friend Liam was in close proximity, she supposed she’d have to watch him too…
After a few minutes, she noticed Sam waving to her, beckoning her into the water. She got up and shaded her eyes, trying to see what he was getting at. His waving intensified, so she went down to the water’s edge.
“I want to show you my forward roll,” he yelled.
“Okay,” she yelled back.
He shook his head. “You have to come in!”
Damn. Feeling self-conscious, she took off her cover-up and sunglasses, and tossed them back up on the beach, on the dry sand. Then she waded into the sea, sucking in a breath each time the water hit a new, sensitive part of her body. By the time she reached them, it was too deep to stand. “Why are you so far out?”
“I need more room, otherwise I hit the bottom,” Sam said.
“Okay, well, show me then,” she said, doing a slow doggy paddle to keep afloat, acutely aware of Liam just a few feet away.
He took a giant breath, and went under. At the exact same moment, the wake from a boat came through, knocking her off-guard and washing salty water into her mouth. As she gasped and coughed, Sam emerged again, grinning like a cartoon fish.
“Did you see me?”
She wiped water from her face. “I’m sorry, Sam. I missed it.”
He frowned. “I’ll do it again. Make sure you see me this time.”
Liam spoke up. “I’ll hold you steady.”
For a second, she thought he was talking to Sam. Then she realized they were both looking at her.
“Good idea,” Sam said. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Liam came over. He was so tall that the water only came just over his shoulders, and he picked her up easily, holding her against him so that she had no choice but to put her legs around his hips.
“You could have lifted me up the other way,” she told him.
“I know.” Something that could have been amusement flickered on his face. “Are you watching Sam or not?”
“Yes,” she huff
ed. “I am.”
He turned sideways so she could see. “We’re ready,” he called to Sam.
She tried not to think about the warmth of his body in the water, his steady strength, and the way her legs were wrapped around him, just like they’d been that one night in her bed…
Sam tucked in his chin, positioned his arms just so, and executed a perfect somersault in the water.
“Did you see?” he asked, tipping his head to get the water out of his ears.
“I did,” she called back. “It was amazing.”
He was suddenly distracted by something on the beach. “Mum’s back,” he said. “I’m going to see if she has anything to eat.” And he was gone, powering through the shallows and toward his mother in search of food.
“Okay, he’s gone,” Jacinda said to Liam. She wriggled slightly, signaling that he could release her. “You can let me go now.”
“I know,” he said again. But he didn’t let her go.
“We’re finished here,” she told him. But she didn’t let go either.
His arms were under her bottom, holding her up, and her arms were around his neck. His body was hard and strong between her thighs, and even though her breasts were pressed up against him, he didn’t look down. He looked at her. All at once there was just the ocean, and the sky, and the deep, dark blue of his eyes. She was seventeen again, with a boy, at the beach, with a look in his eye.
Except she wasn’t. And the boy was a man, and the look in his eye was something more than his brother’s lust and mischief. It was a question, and a promise.
“We’re finished,” she repeated, her voice suddenly unsteady.
He held her gaze, and her heart raced in her chest as he spoke.
“Are we?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
At that moment, a trio of stand-up paddleboarders skimmed past a few feet away, shouting to each other across the water. She twisted in his grasp, and he let her go, then watched as she kicked off and swam for shore. Shit. Why had he even said that?
He set off after her. When she reached the shallows, she stood up, and the water sluiced off her, running down her body, over those delicious curves, and down her legs. The droplets left behind caught and reflected the sunlight, each one a jewel on her golden skin. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it off her face, and the dark strands fell around her shoulders. As she stopped on the sand and bent to pick up her things, he specifically did not look. Did not sneak a glance at a certain part of her anatomy.
Well, only for the briefest moment.
They walked silently up the beach to where they’d left their things. Danielle was there, her face aglow. She passed Jacinda her towel. “Guess what? I got the job!”
Jacinda clapped her hands. “That’s awesome, congratulations!”
“I’m so happy.” She shimmied on the sand. “Seriously, I can’t believe it.”
“Congratulations,” Liam said, blotting himself dry with his own towel.
“When do you start?” Jacinda asked. “Soon?”
“The week after next,” Danielle replied. “Which is when Sam starts school. It’s perfect.”
Listening to them talk, something suddenly occurred to him. If Danielle had a job, and Sam was starting school, they wouldn’t need Jacinda’s help anymore. And they would both be there to look after the kittens until Nana Mac came back.
Which would mean she had no reason to stay.
No reason at all.
“It is perfect,” she said to Danielle. “I’m so happy for you.”
He glanced at her. She was looking thoughtful. Probably planning her exit already. Well, good. Easier for all of them. He could carry on with his life—wherever he ended up—and she could get back to enjoying the career Ethan never had. It was all good. All good.
He scrubbed his hair dry with violent force. Maybe that would shake the stupidity out of his head.
As he lowered the towel again, he couldn’t help noticing that both women had their eyes on his body. They both averted their gaze quickly, but it was too late. With a certain sense of satisfaction, he took his time pulling his top back on. His board shorts would drip dry in no time.
As Jacinda dried herself and put her cover-up back on, he looked around for Sam, and saw him farther down the beach talking to a couple of kids. A woman stood with them.
“Did Sam find some friends?” he asked Danielle.
She laughed. “They recognized him from last night at the markets, and came to talk to him. Such a celebrity. They’re going to have a play date, and I’ll have coffee with their mum.” She slipped her feet back into her flip-flops. “Catch you guys later.”
She went to join Sam and his new friends, and they all started down the beach.
“Looks like he ditched me,” Liam commented, watching them go.
Jacinda put her sunglasses back on. “Yup. You’ll have to play with the grown-ups again.”
Automatically, he replied, “That’s overrated.”
“Really?” she said, and started walking away.
And just like that, all the playing they’d done was suddenly front and center in his mind again. That kind of playing was definitely not overrated. He followed after her, catching up within a few strides.
As they headed for the alley, she was silent. What was she thinking? Should he say something about that moment in the ocean? What did he think about it, come to that? Lately he’d been blurting out things without thinking…before he even knew he thought them at all.
The silence was doing his head in, so he grabbed onto a safe topic.
“Great about Danielle’s job,” he said.
She nodded. “Really good.”
He glanced sideways, but her eyes were hidden by her sunglasses, and her expression was giving nothing away.
“I guess you’ll be going, then?” he asked, not sure what he wanted her answer to be. But…was that a slight trip, a break in her stride as she heard his question?
“Yeah, I guess,” she said. “They won’t need me anymore, so…”
Okay. Maybe it was just the uneven sand. Not a stumble at the thought of leaving. It was only him who’d tripped up on the idea.
They went down the alley and came to his gate, but she kept walking right past. And all he wanted to do was reach out and stop her. He scrambled for something to say.
“Would you…uh...like a drink?”
She paused, then turned back around. As she looked at him, inscrutable behind her sunglasses, he felt his fist tighten around his towel, and his breath stop in his chest. Why would she want to come in for a drink? They were finished, she’d said in the water, and he knew what she meant. If there’d been a flicker of confusion in her eyes as she looked at him, it was only because he wouldn’t let her go, like a total prick.
He was excelling at that lately.
But then she shrugged. “Okay.”
“Oh.” He wasn’t expecting that. “Okay, great.”
They went through the gate and up onto the deck. He had no clue what he was doing, only that he wanted her around. He wasn’t going to ask himself why. Make conversation, he told himself. Be pleasant. He unlocked the side door and stood back to let her in. “That was really nice what you did for Sam last night.”
“Yeah.” She kicked off her sandy flip-flops, then stepped inside. As they went into the kitchen, she put her sunglasses on her head and added, “On the other hand, you were a dick.”
He flinched. “Well…it turned out okay.”
“No thanks to you.”
Ouch. That was rugged. He took two tall glasses from the cupboard and set them on the counter, then turned to her.
“I had my reasons.”
She made a skeptical sound. “What? To disappoint a little boy?”
“No.” He leaned against the counter, noting the hard edge in her eyes. “If you really want to know—and maybe you don’t, but I’m going to tell you anyway—it’s because I didn’t want to be up there in front of everyone. This is t
he first time I’ve been back since…” The words wouldn’t come, but judging by the look on her face, she knew what he meant. “Since then. And I didn’t want to go up and stand in front of everyone, like a goddamn sideshow. It was bad enough fending off their loaded questions and their sympathy one by one.”
He paused. Her brows were knit, and she was worrying the edge of her lip. Maybe he was getting his point across. “I think you know about wanting privacy, right?” he added.
“Oh.” She looked down. “Right.”
“Yeah.”
They stood just a few feet apart. The only sound in the room was the slight hum of the fridge.
Then she crinkled her nose. “Sorry.”
“Yeah,” he said again. But this time, it came out softer. She looked up at him, the hardness gone from her face. Her hair was drying all wavy, and there was a smudge of sand on her cheek. The front of her translucent cover-up was slightly damp in the two spots over the triangles of her bikini top. She was tousled, salty, and, God help him, completely stunning.
Forcing himself to focus, he picked up the glasses and walked around her to fill them from the water dispenser in the fridge door. Even after being in the ocean, her fragrance lingered around her. The ice clattered into the glasses, jarring in the quiet. Then he filled them with water, and handed one to her. As she took it, their fingers briefly touched, and she avoided his eye.
“Sam did look like he was having the time of his life,” he said, as she took a sip.
A smile crossed her face. “He did.”
“Born for the stage,” he said, putting his glass down. “Like someone else I know.”
Satisfaction hit him as he watched her cheeks flush pink.
“Pfft, whatever,” she said.
One Distant Summer Page 18