by Dee J. Adams
Her long hair was plastered to her shoulders and back and the morning sun highlighted incredible smooth skin over miles of tone muscle.
“You okay?” Brendan finally asked. It might be good to sound like a normal human instead of a drooling idiot. Those legs of hers were enough to suck the brains right out of a man’s head. He took a second to shake out his hair…and maybe clear his head.
“I…” She coughed again and held up a finger as she tried to clear her throat. “I will be,” she finally uttered in a raw voice.
He sat with her a few more minutes as she cleared her throat and coughed some more. He noticed two bottles of water where he’d picked up her towel and opened one before handing it to her.
She sipped gratefully then reached for the second and pushed it at him. “Here. For you.” Her voice was still raw, but she managed the words without coughing so he considered it progress.
Since he was parched after his run, he accepted her offering and slugged half the contents in one shot. He caught her watching him as he recapped the bottle.
“Thank you,” she said. She cleared her rough throat and pushed wet hair off her face. “Seriously. I have no idea how that happened, but thank you. You saved me.”
Now that she had the towel in her lap and hair pushed back, he saw the crazy blue-green of her eyes. His pulse skipped then steadied, then skipped again when she smiled at him. Brilliant white teeth. Plush lips. Full and inviting and very kissable if he let himself think about it, which he couldn’t since he’d just met her and didn’t even have a name. That problem he could remedy. He had to talk over the waves that crashed nearby.
“I’m Brendan. And you’re welcome. Glad I was here to do the saving.” Wasn’t that an understatement? He took a quick glance at the rest of her, noticing the flat stomach and sweet, sweet curves.
She stuck out her hand. “Casey…and I’m glad too.” Her palm was cool and Brendan thought of the ways he could heat it up. Heat her up. “Any chance I could say thank you with breakfast. On me. All you can eat.” She blinked. Salt crystals lodged in her long dark lashes and sparkled in the sun.
All you can eat. On me. His mind went to a very dirty place and he smiled at her offer. His mini vacation had been a complete surprise and he’d been lonelier than a lost dog, so her invitation sounded perfect.
“I guess it’s a good thing I like breakfast,” he said. He wasn’t picky either. He’d eat any meal. On her. He huffed out a breath, glanced at the aqua ocean and tried to clear his filthy mind. He blamed his older brothers, mostly Danny since his revolving door of women seemed never-ending.
“Something funny?” she asked.
“Nah.” He drew a line in the sand with his index finger. “Just thinking how my day suddenly got better.” No lie there.
That brought a breath-stealing grin to her full lips. What a mouth she had. God, he pictured all the things she could do with that mouth and his lungs nearly seized.
She nodded. “It’s the second sharp turn my morning has taken. The first was getting clobbered by that wave.”
“Which reminds me. Didn’t you see the yellow flag?” He pointed toward the lifeguard stand fifteen yards away. “You probably shouldn’t have been in the water at all.”
Her smile faded. “A yellow flag doesn’t mean you can’t get in the water. It just means the current is strong. I was barely in knee deep so I didn’t think I was in danger.” She stood up and reached for her towel, water bottle and small beach bag, her movements brisk.
“Hey, wait a minute.” He stood next to her, surprised at her height. She had to be close to six feet tall. He only had about three inches on her. “Is something wrong?” He gave her his best pout face. The one his mother caved to almost every time, the one his brothers ribbed him about because he “got away with murder with that look.”
She wouldn’t meet his gaze. Gone was the I want to eat breakfast then you for dessert look and in was the I can’t even look at you much less touch you stink-eye. Long seconds passed before she shook her head and sighed. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just…” She waved her hand in the air. “Forget it. It’s not important.” She started walking toward the hotel and Brendan kept her long-legged pace.
“How about we meet down here in thirty minutes? It’ll give us time to shower off the salt.” She faced him under the awning of the beach café, her cheeks flushed. “For breakfast,” he added when she seemed confused.
Her face flamed hotter. “Right. Breakfast. I’ll… I’ll meet you back here.”
Before his impromptu ocean escapade, he’d been covered in sweat from his run. Usually his runs happened on treadmills in whatever hotel his boss occupied, so this spectacular scenery was a nice change of pace. “Perfect.”
She continued toward the hotel and Brendan followed. “Are you staying here?” she asked. Her eyes rounded in surprise.
“I am.” Something had definitely changed her mood and he pretended not to notice. “You too?”
“Me too.”
He couldn’t tell if she sounded more distressed or aggravated. Damn. He’d never seen her until now. “How long have you been here?” he asked.
“All week. I’m leaving tomorrow.” Apparently not soon enough by the tone in her voice.
“So I guess we’ll have to make the most of…” He almost said today, but noticed her mood swing so amended his word. “Breakfast.”
She nodded, but looked completely uncomfortable with the idea. So what had he said that upset her? She excused herself to the right side of the hotel, while Brendan headed left. He’d have to work on her at breakfast and get the smile back.
Twenty-nine minutes later, Brendan stood in the lobby. He’d thrown on a pair of cargo shorts, white T-shirt and cross-trainers. He hated not wearing his boots, but this was paradise and it was too hot to wear jeans.
He spotted Casey as she exited the elevator. It was virtually impossible to miss her. Wearing a tie-dye sundress of blues and greens, she could’ve been modeling for a catalogue. Hell, she probably was a model. Sure, he’d noticed her features when he’d scooped her from the water, but she’d also resembled a drowned rat. The transformation stunned him. She seemed larger than life as her colorful dress set her apart from the dark maroon carpet and white walls. She had every bit of his attention when she looked at him with those amazing aqua ocean eyes.
The one thing he knew for certain: He wanted a fresh start. Something had happened to turn her off and he wanted to flip that switch. So when she approached him with that leery look on her face, Brendan ignored it and hit her with his best smile.
“Hi. Brendan St. John.” He stuck out his hand the same way she’d done on the beach. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”
Casey glanced to the right then to the left then slowly put her hand in his. “What are you doing?”
“Starting fresh,” he said, enjoying the softness of her skin. They’d both been full of sand and salt after their aquatic acrobats. “Contrary to what my brothers may think I’m not a total bonehead. Something happened before we came inside and I have no idea what it was. I just want a second chance.”
A ghost of a smile crept across her lips. “Oh, no, it was nothing, it was me.” She blushed as a raucous family of five walked by dressed in beachwear. “Are you okay with the restaurant here?” She pointed toward the corner of the hotel where the main restaurant served breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The place wasn’t cheap, but nothing at this hotel was. He wouldn’t be staying here if his boss hadn’t been footing the bill. “Sounds good.” Who was he to decide if she could afford the place or not? Maybe her little frilly sundress had very deep pockets.
Since it was still an early hour, they were seated immediately at a table for two and ordered breakfast. Brendan had dodged the place mainly because of the linen birds. All the napkins at every table were folded in the shape of a bird and he felt guilty sticking his boss with the price tag. Not that his boss couldn’t afford it, but it seemed excessive
when he could grab a coffee and breakfast at the diner down the street for a fraction of the price. Seriously, it seemed crazy that people took so much time folding something that people were going to undo the second they sat down.
Birds aside, Brendan couldn’t keep his gaze off her. In fact, maybe his brothers were right and he was a bonehead, because he’d never guess that the wet fish he pulled from the sea would turn out to be this gorgeous girl.
“You’re staring,” she said with a shy glance.
He took a sip of his orange juice and felt his cheeks flush. “Sorry. You…”
She waited then prompted him with her head cocked. Her hair fell to the side in a silky wave so shiny he itched to touch it, to run his fingers through it, to wrap it around his fist and hold— “I…what?” she asked.
He exhaled and did a mental shake to clear his head, then picked up that little bird napkin and spread it across his lap. “You surprised me.”
“How?” Damn she was smooth. Cool and in control as her steady gaze pinned him to his spot.
“I don’t know. I just didn’t expect to meet anyone and all of sudden…there you are.” It was like winning the lotto and not knowing you entered. Thank you, very much, yes, I’ll take some of that.
“Are you here on vacation?” she asked, smoothing her finger over the rim of her tea cup.
“It started out as business, but it’s turned into a vacation I wasn’t expecting when my boss’s plans changed.” He’d been a little put out at first because he’d been expecting to keep busy. He didn’t have anything against paradise, but spending time on his own wasn’t his idea of fun. He didn’t have a brother to explore with or a girl to keep him occupied in other ways.
“That doesn’t sound bad.” She took a sip of her chai latte and Brendan didn’t see any rings. Not that he expected to find one, but it was good reassurance just the same.
“It’s not. I just hadn’t planned for so much down time.” He liked to keep busy, keep moving. He wasn’t great at standing still and even in paradise he’d learned that he still watched his back. Would he ever really get over being kidnapped? Years had gone by but sometimes anxiety still threatened to eat him alive. “What about you? Vacation or business?”
She laughed and the sound carried very little humor. She leaned forward and lowered her voice as a group of people walked behind her to their table. “You want to know the truth?” When he nodded, she looked around and moved even closer. Brendan caught a whiff of her perfume, something flowery and fresh. It made his mouth water. “I’m on my honeymoon.”
Brendan pulled back and looked around the spacious room, sure to find a giant guy with beefy arms crossed over his beefier chest and ready to murder him for having breakfast with his bride. So much for the lottery win. So much for the plans to spend more time with her. Didn’t it always happen this way?
Casey shook her head and her smile faded as she set her hand on his arm. Her warmth sent a hot sizzle through his bloodstream. “No worries. The wedding never happened, so technically this isn’t really a honeymoon. It’s just a honey. Or a moon.” She shrugged. “Or a vacation for one. Take your pick.”
Brendan had too much information to process. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he heard her right. “You mean to tell me that some douchebag had a shot to marry you and bailed? Clearly he’s nuts.” His relief returned in increments and those failed possibilities were back on the table.
Casey cocked her head again and a small grin played on her magnificent lips.
Brendan returned the smile and took her hand. “So why did Mr. Douche bail? Any idea? Please don’t tell me you caught him with one of your bridesmaids.” That would suck a huge wad.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “It comes down to this. He gave me an ultimatum and when I didn’t do what he wanted, he cut me loose. Simple as that.”
“What was the ultimatum?” Brendan wanted to know what could possibly cause a man to let a woman like this go. Granted, he didn’t know her, but so far nothing struck him as whack job. She was adventurous enough to set foot in a rough ocean, which although not extremely smart, lead him to believe she wasn’t a sissy. She hadn’t cried like a baby after he’d pulled her out of Mother Nature’s clutches and she’d offered him water when she could’ve used the second bottle herself. So yeah, off the top of his head, she didn’t seem like the kind of girl any sane man would dump.
“It doesn’t really matter,” she said, gesturing the problem away. “The longer we were together the more controlling he became.”
“How long were you together?”
“Total? Four years. But the last two were pretty miserable. This was just the final straw. After a couple of days when I realized I was more broken up about the work of returning everyone’s gifts than I was about losing my fiancé, I realized I was better off without him. I can’t imagine what being married to him would’ve been like. He did me a huge favor.”
The most random thought hit Brendan. His brother, Blake, had fallen in love with his girlfriend at first sight. Brendan had secretly scoffed at the idea. Love at first sight? Seemed highly unlikely. But the second Casey had looked at him with her ocean eyes, Brendan had a sense of what his twin felt when he met his girlfriend, Abbey.
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, feeling a spark of something new and wonderful streaking through his veins. “I think he did me a favor too.”
Chapter Three
Casey couldn’t fight the optimism glowing in her chest. Sitting in a four star restaurant with beautiful white linen table cloth and the ocean breeze drifting in through a nearby window, she couldn’t deny the opportunity happening in front of her.
Those first few minutes at the beach had mortified her beyond her wildest imagination. Number one, she’d had to be rescued, number two, she’d been covered in seaweed, salt and snot—not a good combination—and number three, she must have looked like a class A bimbo to get caught up in a wave so close to shore. Way to make a great first impression, Case. She’d managed to get over it and even get an invitation out—mission accomplished!—until he mentioned the yellow flag warning. Then it was like getting clobbered with her own stupidity. She wanted to disappear, to hide in her room until her flight took off.
Here she was, free of Jeff, supposedly an independent woman, and she needed to be saved in three feet of ocean water by a total stranger.
Casey would’ve completely forgotten about the invitation to breakfast if Brendan hadn’t reminded her. In the thirty minutes it took to get ready, Casey had psyched herself up. She’d showered, put on her favorite dress, fixed her makeup in record time and headed downstairs, intent on overcoming the embarrassment and keeping her original plan.
She tried to keep her heart from beating out of control. Brendan St. John wasn’t only a gorgeous specimen of a man, he was sweet and fun and everything she’d fantasized about. She still couldn’t believe they’d been staying in the same hotel and hadn’t run into each other before she’d made her move on the beach.
He’d taken out the ponytail and his long hair hung thick and wavy away from his face, showing off his amazing eyes. Lord have mercy, they were as blue as the Hawaiian sky. Intense. Sexy. Full of life and sparkle.
A girl could fall for a man with eyes like that.
Not that she was doing any falling. Not for a long time to come. No way, no how. Not her. This delicious man in front of her was strictly temporary. Strictly rebound. And what a perfect rebound man at that. He had everything she wanted. A body to die for, a smile that melted anything in its path and a sense of humor to keep her grinning for weeks.
They watched each other for way too long and Casey felt another blush creep into her face. Was she the only one feeling these sparks, the only one to get a tickle where she hadn’t been tickled in far too long?
This guy was nothing like Jeff. For starters, her ex had never understood her sense of humor. She found herself constantly explaining her puns to him, which took the fun right out of any jokes. Jeff kept
his blond hair super short and his eyes were completely different. Literally. One blue and one green.
Boy did she not want to be thinking about Jeff right now.
Conversation. She needed something brilliant to say.
“So what does your boss do? Is he staying here too?”
Brendan shook his head, his gaze never wavering from her eyes. “Nope. He’s got a house on the North Shore.”
She didn’t know too much about the island, but figured anyone who had a house in paradise probably had some money to play with. “So instead of having you stay there with him, he put you up here?” She took a sip of her chai latte and enjoyed the spicy sweetness. “Tiny house?” Okay, she was fishing, but didn’t really care.
He snorted. “Not even close. I think he just wanted private time with his wife. She used to travel with him constantly, kind of like the way Linda McCartney always traveled with Paul. But she’s been working a lot lately so they’re catching up on alone time.”
“That’s sweet. Sounds like a nice boss.” It was odd how he compared him to Paul McCartney though. Unless…
Nodding, Brendan sipped his OJ. “He’s actually a great boss.”
“I see that. What does he do?”
“He’s a musician…like Paul.” He smiled and made it clear that there was more to the description.
Casey returned the grin. “What? You’re going to leave me hanging?” Then she put a few pieces together. His boss put him up in a five-star hotel while he stayed in a house on the North Shore. “He’s more than just a musician, isn’t he? He’s someone famous? Like Paul?” she added, because he seemed to be the comparison of the conversation.
Brendan’s eyes crinkled together as he nodded. “You could say that. Yeah.” He took another drink and had Casey on the edge of her seat. “I can tell you the perks are pretty amazing.”
She flicked her napkin across the table. It was very unladylike and Jeff would’ve had a fit, but Brendan laughed and dodged her lame assault. “So, who?” she finally asked, looking around self-consciously when she realized her loud voice carried through the room. Something moved in her peripheral vision and she did a double take, but didn’t see anything. The oddest sensation crept up her spine, but after a final glance she faced Brendan again. “Who?” she said more softly.