by Krista Lakes
“I think your phone is trying to defend your honor,” I said, sitting back on my heels. Noah glanced at the screen but didn't answer it.
“Can I take you out to dinner tonight?” His question took me off guard. I was expecting a quip, not a date proposal. Besides, I had promised myself no more dating tourists.
“You already bought me breakfast...” I stalled. I wanted to see him again, but I didn't want my heart broken when he left.
“Yes. I guess I'm going about it backwards. It's usually dinner then breakfast.” He gave me a naughty wink and I couldn't help but blush slightly at the innuendo. “So, dinner?”
I didn't want to date a tourist again. I knew we were going to have a great time, that I would love to be in his company- that I craved his company- but I didn't want to get attached. He was leaving. He wasn't permanent.
I looked up at him with every intention of saying no. Even after that mind-blowing kiss, especially after that kiss, I needed to stay away from him, or I was going to fall hard. But as I looked into his sky-blue eyes, his smile forced my mouth from the “no” shape to “yes” shape.
“Yes. All right. Dinner,” I stuttered. He was just too damn cute to say no to.
Noah beamed. “Excellent! What would you like to eat?”
“You mean you didn't have that planned already?” I teased. He hit the quiet button on his phone again.
“Nope. Just knew that I wanted to see you again today. Dinner seemed like a good reason. Anything you want?” He focused those blue eyes on me again, and I felt my temperature rising. Anything I wanted? I wanted him.
“Anything I want, huh?” I thought for a moment, but my brain just wasn't on food. “I want your favorite food.”
Noah's dark brows came together in a question. He ran a hand through his dark hair as he clarified, “My favorite food?”
“Yup.” I nodded.
“What if my favorite food is anchovy pizza with mustard sauce?”
“Then I will be eating pizza crusts for dinner tonight.” I gave him an impish grin.
“You know I'm half-tempted to do that now, right?” Noah's blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Please don't! That actually sounds terrible, and I would like to eat tonight.” I put my hand on his and my heart jumped in my chest.
“Okay,” Noah said with a grin. “How does seven sound?”
“Works for me,” I replied, going over my schedule in my head. No other plans for tonight, and Brooke would be busy with tagging her sharks.
“Where can I pick you up?” he asked, silencing his phone again.
“How about the parking lot of Adele’s?”
“What? You don't want to give me your home address? Are you afraid I might be a serial killer?” Noah narrowed his eyes as though he were serious, but his voice told me he was still playing.
“No, I don't want to give my roommates a reason to point and laugh.” I remembered the last tourist I had pick me up. The wolf whistles from the boys had followed us out into the street, and that was after Brooke had questioned his motives and made sure he had appropriate protection.
“So, you're embarrassed by me?” Noah gave a pretend pout.
“No!” I exclaimed and then took a breath. “I'm embarrassed of wolf whistles and embarrassing stories. My coworkers are like family and they think it's funny whenever I go out on a date. It took them two weeks of teasing before they realized that I was actually working at the bar and not just getting dressed up for fun.”
“They sound charming,” he said with a laugh.
“I love them, but they've decided that I'm their innocent little sister. They like to tease, but they're also very protective of me. They're like the older brothers I never had.” I shook my head and smiled. “I'm really just saving you from interrogation.”
“I don't know, I could go for some embarrassing stories of you,” Noah said thoughtfully.
I punched his arm. “You have to earn those stories. I don't let just anyone hear them anymore.”
“They must be good.” Noah shot me a wolfish grin, and I could feel the blush heating my cheeks. Luckily, the buzz of his phone saved me. “They're starting to get desperate.”
He hit "silence" once more and then brushed a strand of hair from my cheek and back behind my ear. In a graceful motion, he leaned forward, letting his lips graze the tender patch of skin at my temple in a gentle kiss. “I'll see you at seven.”
I nodded, flood of want coursing though my stomach and stealing my words. Noah somehow had the ability to remove any coherent thought in my head and send my insides tumbling in the most pleasant way. I found myself wishing it was already dinnertime.
Noah stood and brushed the sand from his board shorts before giving me one last grin. If I hadn't been sitting, my knees would have gone weak at his smile. I waved as he turned, finally answering the phone with a curt greeting.
I watched him walk down the beach, checking out his perfect ass the entire way. In addition to being tall, dark, and handsome with eyes that could make a harpy melt, he also had a fantastic ass. He was as close to perfect as I could imagine.
I turned back to the sandcastle and put the last finishing touches on it. A few shells, some seaweed pennants, and finished digging the rest of the moat. I snapped a picture of it on my camera, wanting to save this sandcastle forever. It was perfect.
The waves were starting to creep up the beach with high tide. I dug the moat a little deeper to try and fend off the approaching waves, but I knew sandcastles were temporary. That was part of the beauty of them. They were only there for a short amount of time.
I stood and walked away, heading home. I didn't want to see the waves destroy our work. I knew that the sandcastle was the perfect metaphor for whatever was going on between Noah and me. Beautiful and amazing, but destined to fall apart. He was a tourist, and tourists leave. That's just what they do.
Chapter 8
I set the curling iron down and checked my handiwork. Beautiful, bouncing ringlets graced my head, but I knew that the second I stepped out into the tropical air they would go flat. I shook my head slowly at myself in the mirror. Even though I knew it was going to be straight by the time I got to the parking lot, I had gone to the trouble. Noah just had that effect on me. I wanted to look good for him.
“Oh, pretty,” Brooke said, poking her head in the bathroom door. We shared the small bathroom and technically the curling iron was hers, but with the tropical humidity she had stopped trying to curl her hair after the second day. “So, who's the date with?”
“What makes you think I have a date?” I asked, glaring at her in the mirror.
She shot me a cheesy know-it-all smirk “Because you don't curl your hair for bartending gigs.” Her smile widened. “And because you have been humming a Disney princess theme song for the past thirty minutes.”
I scowled at her and she laughed. I put my makeup box carefully away before turning to face her. “Don't tell anyone, okay? I don't need Lucas giving me a hard time again.”
Brooke laughed and stepped out of the door to let me back into our shared bedroom. She ran and jumped onto her twin bed in the corner, tucking her legs under her once she landed. One of her tabloid magazines slid off the bed and landed on the floor, but she just ignored it.
“Your secret's safe with me.” She held up her hand as though she were swearing in at a courtroom before a grin covered her face. “Now, who's the guy? Local or tourist?”
I went to the closet and pulled out my favorite light blue sundress. It was strapless and had a lacy bottom that made my legs look longer than they were. Brooke, with her amazing fashion sense, had picked it out for me at one of the tourist clothing shops. I loved it. It was the perfect dress to wear on my date.
“Well, you know what Lucas likes to call me...” I told Brooke as I carefully slid the dress over my head and dropped the bath towel.
Brooke squealed with delight and clapped her hands like an excited child. “Oooh, a tourist then!”
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I rolled my eyes at her once they cleared the dress.
“Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, after the last one...” Brooke's smile faded, replaced by concern. “I just don't want to see you get hurt again.”
I sat down into the small desk chair next to my bed and looked at her. “I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want to get burned again, but he makes my insides go all mushy just looking at him.”
Brooke nodded thoughtfully before moving from the bed to stand behind me. She began to mess with my hair, pulling it up and away from my face.
“Then don't get burned,” she said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. “Know that you're walking into the fire, so wear your protective gear,” she said. I turned and raised my eyebrows at her and she giggled. “That came out way dirtier than I had intended.” Brooke placed a clip in my hair to keep it out of my eyes. “But what I mean is, go enjoy your date. But don't get attached. Know that this is just for fun. You are the one leaving him at the end of this, okay? Not the other way around.”
“You don't think I'm an idiot then?” I asked her quietly as she finished messing with my hair.
She stepped forward so that she could look me straight in the eye. “No. You just love too easily.” She smiled to soften her words. “Besides, have you seen the men I've dated?”
I giggled. Brooke went through boyfriends like water went through a sieve.
“Listen,” she said, kneeling in front of my chair. “If he makes your insides mushy, then he's got to be good-looking. If he's a tourist on this island, then he's got to be rich. Good looking and rich? Enjoy him. Just make sure you have a little fire jacket around your heart this time.”
“Fire jacket?” I asked.
“You know what I mean,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “Though the other kind is good to have too.”
“So, don't fall in love with him. Just enjoy his company,” I summarized and Brooke nodded. I picked up my purse and put on my cute heels.
“There is a third part to this as well,” she said, her eyes dancing.
“What?” I racked my brain trying to think of what else she could add on that would be better than a 'little fire jacket.'
“You have to tell me all about it later.”
I laughed and headed out to meet Noah.
***
The sun was warm on my shoulders as I waited patiently at the entrance to Dominic's Bar and Adele's Restaurant. The sun was just beginning it's descent but hadn't yet transitioned into the golds and shadows of sunset. I watched the normal parade of beat-up cars pull in and out of the parking lot while I waited for Noah to arrive.
Two local boys waved to me as they walked into Adele's with their mom, and an obvious tourist couple snapped photographs in front of the giant dolphin sculpture in front of Dominic's Bar. The woman with the khaki shorts I had seen earlier stomped into the bar with a scowl on her face. I had a feeling she was getting a drink to soothe a rough day, and after wading around in the mangroves without proper shoes, I would want a drink too.
I glanced at my watch to see the digital numbers flip to seven. I bit my lip and glanced around, but I didn't see him anywhere. My dress ruffled slightly in the tropical breeze. I hoped he wasn't going to stand me up. On the other hand, though, if he stood me up I wouldn't have to deal with the problem of dating a tourist. He would just be another jerk who’d blown me off.
Only he wasn't a jerk. I knew that. He was handsome and funny, and had a sweetness that I couldn't explain. He made my world seem brighter than it was before. My hand drifted up to my lips, my fingers touching my face where he had kissed me. I wanted to kiss him again.
“Don't fall for him,” I whispered softly to myself. “He's just a tourist. Don't get in too deep...”
“Too deep with what?” A strong masculine voice asked, surprising me.
I yelped and spun around to see Noah leaning up against the building. I wondered just how long he had been standing there watching me with that crooked grin. He took my breath away. The sun glinted off his dark hair, and his blue eyes matched the sky. A crooked half-smile made his face somehow more handsome. In a nice, light blue polo shirt and expensive-looking tan shorts, he looked good enough to eat. I hoped for a second he was what was for dinner.
“Nothing,” I said, hoping I wasn't blushing too badly. “Just talking to myself.”
He straightened from the wall and offered me his arm like I was royalty. “You look beautiful, Izzy.”
I blushed as I took his arm in mine, feeling the warmth of his skin under my fingers. His muscles flexed slightly as I touched him, sending a thrill up my fingers and down my spine.
“What are we having for dinner tonight?” I asked. I realized I didn't actually care. I would have been happy to eat sand if it meant that I got to sit at the same table as Noah. I would have eaten it with a smile on my face.
“It's a surprise,” he answered, leading me back behind the bar and down a path that ran along the beach. I rarely used the path because it ran down to the beach houses, which would make sense why Noah had used it instead of driving to the restaurant. He was staying at one of those beach houses.
“Are we going to the house where the party was?” I asked as he guided me along the path.
“Yes,” he answered. I faltered slightly in my step, remembering all the people at the party. At least some of them must be staying at the giant home. I was hoping for a slightly more romantic dinner than that.
“Don't worry.” Noah must have felt my hesitance. He put his hand gently over mine, his voice soft and low. “I'm renting a little bungalow on the property. We aren't actually going to the house.”
“Oh, so you're taking me to your place then?” I batted my eyelashes up at him. “Maybe I should have made you run the coworker gauntlet.”
The path ran through a grove of banyan trees. I had always liked this part of the path because it reminded me of being in a big tree fort. The brown, woody limbs tangled above us, creating a sky of green. The sunlight flickered through the gaps, dappling the ground and casting warm shadows across our bodies.
“My intentions are mostly honorable.” He winked.
“Mostly?”
“Well, there might be some things I would like to do with you that an older brother wouldn't necessarily appreciate.” Noah's eyes caught mine, their blue depths holding a dark warmth that sent shivers of desire all the way to my toes. “But I can guarantee, you'd enjoy it.”
I let out a slight gasp of want. The idea of doing things that my 'older brothers' wouldn't approve of stirred the coals deep in my belly. I wanted to kiss him again right there, and possibly just take him in the trees to be my own.
“Shit,” he murmured, making me frown. With a strong tug, he pulled me off the path and behind a tree.
“What are you doing?” I gasped, but my words were muffled by his hand as he concealed us from the path. I fought him slightly, but his grip was sure and strong. It would take a good fight to break free, and I wasn't sure what was going on yet. Through the tree branches I could just make out the path. I tried to see what was going on, but I was too distracted by the feel of his body pressed against mine. He was solid and warm on my back. Despite my best efforts, my body was melting into his. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, his scent enveloping me with its deliciousness.
He held a finger to his lips, asking me silently to be quiet. I nodded and he released me, but kept me pressed against him with his arm. I wondered if he could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. I could escape him now if I wanted, but I was glued to his body as if he had me tied to him with ropes.
The woman with the khaki shorts came down the path. I was beginning to think she was following me since she kept showing up wherever I happened to be. The angry look plastered on her face told me that I did not want to run into her.
“I swear I saw them come this way,” she muttered under her breath as she passed in front of our tree. I held my breath, afraid that she might
hear it and find us. She continued on down the path, her mumbling growing quieter with every step.
We waited for a long time, silently pressed against one another until he was sure we were safe. Thoughts ran through my mind. Why was he hiding? Who was that woman? And of course, my mind went to the darkest places it could while we waited. Maybe he's a wanted criminal and she's a bounty hunter. It's his wife. It's his boss. He owes her money. She was his last girlfriend and she followed him here and she'll kill me out of jealousy. Each thought was more absurd than the last, but in the quiet of my mind, my imagination ran wild.
The sun began to touch the horizon, deepening the shadows of the branches. Noah stepped onto the path, motioning me to stay put while he checked it out. He took a few steps and then smiled and waved me back to the path.
“I think she's gone. The path loops around past the house, but she shouldn't have a reason to turn around.” He reached out his hand for me.
“Who was she?” I didn't immediately take his hand. “Why were you hiding from her?”
Noah ran his outstretched hand through his dark hair, the muscles in his arm stretching the fabric of his shirt. “Danica Lewis. She's a reporter.”
“A reporter?” That possibility had not been one of the billions running through my mind as we hid behind the tree.
“Yeah.” He sighed and took a step toward me, his eyes honest as he spoke. “My company just went through a big lawsuit. We won, but we weren't popular because of it. She wants an interview. I think she believes that a scathing interview with the 'Devil of Real Estate' will jump-start her career. I told her no. I have no idea how she followed me here.”
“They call you 'The Devil of Real Estate?’”
He gave me a small smile. “Figuratively speaking.”
I nodded, and he reached for my hand. I let him take it, his large hands wrapping my smaller ones with his warmth. I loved the way his hands felt.
“I'm sorry if I scared you.” His thumbs caressed the back of my hand. “I just don't want my vacation ruined by an over-eager reporter. She's not exactly a nice person.”