Even if he had wanted to go there, to push at her carefully crafted tough exterior and see if he could get the heat to ooze out, any type of dalliance with Summer was off-limits. In public, she was with T.J. Period. Doing anything to jeopardize Summer’s career would take more than groveling for his sister to forgive him, if she ever would.
Problem was, his body didn’t seem to be on board with leaving Summer alone. If he let it, the memory of the look she’d given him before her surf event would still drag tempting fingers over his skin. Over his skin and into the forefront of his mind. Damn but the woman drove the blood round his body in some crazy ways. Movement in his groin threatened to show exactly how crazy. He took a deep steadying breath. She had been the one who filled his thoughts all through his early twenties, and when he had her, he had been so sure he wouldn’t be able to keep her that he pushed her away in the most brutal and heartless way possible.
This was not how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to have moved on from his stupid past and be able to walk away from beautiful women that he knew he’d destroy. He was here to do a job. To get back on top. To earn his place in the surf world again.
“Holy. Cow.” He breathed. And then there was this. Bali. The place where everything had changed.
Everything here reminded him of it. Of the accident that had stolen his career and his best friend. If he let it, the thought of being back here could take him to the dark place he’d struggled in for over a year. A place where he punched holes in walls and had to walk away from well-meaning conversations that missed the point entirely. The point being that the whole mess was his fault. His alone. But he wasn’t going to let that dark shit back in this time. He’d been back to Bali once before, to shoot an Australian football commercial. It had been all right then. So it would be alright now. He would be fine.
“Hey, over here.”
He looked up, startled from his thoughts.
Summer waved at him from the lounger on the small shaded deck outside the room. “Have you ever seen anything like this? Man. Either this client is totally loaded, or we just lucked out big time.”
Ashton looked through the door. A shared suite? Seriously? He had the oddest sensation of his heart shrinking and expanding at the same time. Summer had a tablet in her lap, one earphone in, and on the screen… Oh shit.
“Why are you watching that?”
She pulled the earphone out and paused the surf documentary that had been playing. “Research. There are a whole lot of shots of you guys out at the Corner.” She shrugged. “You should have stuck to surfing. The interview was shit.”
He groaned. The documentary had been something he’d been talked into by his manager, and he and T.J. had tried to one-up each other the whole way through.
“I like to surf the same way I live my life. Fast and hard. I can’t help it if sometimes people can’t keep up,” she said, putting on a fair attempt at his voice.
“I was a dick.”
“Not going to argue with you.” She got up and walked over to the entranceway where he was still standing. “The place is amazing. Although, as someone who finds it hard to turn women away, you’ve probably seen the inside of loads of places like this.
“I already said I was a dick.”
“And I didn’t correct you. Just reminding you of your dickness.” She grinned, and he was relieved that there was no malice in her eyes. The main room that the two bedrooms shared was a large wooden-beamed space, with a bamboo floor and open doors that spilled out onto the private balcony. In daylight, it was really more of a greenhouse than a room, as apart from the doors, the other walls were full of glass with the breezy curtains at their edges, giving great views onto the lush green tropical gardens, and on the other side, a path down to the beach.
Summer spun away from the sunlight-filled windows, and his heart gave an extra beat. Haloed just like in his photograph, her grin was pure glee. Pure, didn’t-deserve-the-misery-he-would-undoubtedly-bring-her, glee.
“You want the ocean view or the garden view?”
Ashton shrugged. “You choose.”
Her smile broadened. “Already did. You get the garden view. Nice of you to pretend to be all gentlemanly.”
He snorted. “I’m not sure anyone’s ever called me gentlemanly before.”
She smirked. “True, you’re hardly a Count of Courtesy, are you?”
Couldn’t argue with that. “I was thinking I should have a look-see of the local area. I slept pretty much the whole way here, so I’m good to go. Have a rest, enjoy the resort, and I’ll be back in a bit.”
“I’m fine. I’ll come with you. Sooner we start this, sooner it’s done right? Should we start on the beach first?”
Damn. “You sure you don’t want to freshen up first?”
“You saying I look like crap?”
“You know I’m not. I’m just trying to be practical. You’d do better to spend the time here. I might not get back for a while. I get a bit obsessive when I’m scouting for a location, and I want to get this one right.”
“Oh, you will. It’s not like you haven’t been here before.” She bit her lip as soon as the words left her mouth.
“I’m okay. I’ve been back since the accident. Don’t worry,” he said in a gentler tone.
She checked him and must have been satisfied he wasn’t faking it. Must be a better actor than he realized.
“Good. Can’t have you breaking down in the middle of a shoot. Let’s go.”
Ashton hissed through his teeth, but when she waited for him at the front door, he shrugged and grabbed his bag.
On the beach, though, it was a slightly different matter.
“Shit.” Summer stopped when they got down to the water.
The surf in front of their accommodation had picked up. Now it was big. Solid big. A good five foot out of the water, and this was only a moderate day. And it was a far cry from the big waves where the wild card competition was going to be held.
“Are they seriously going to want us surfing the Racetrack? The reef there sounds nasty.” Gone was the confident, determined voice Summer had put on moments ago. Now Ashton heard the nerves every Bali first-timer felt when they saw the sheer enormity of some of the waves on that coast line.
“They probably won’t use the Racetrack. It’s super-fast but it doesn’t really let you show off your moves to the crowds. This competition is about the crowds as much as the waves.”
Her shoulders released but only a fraction. “What about the Corner?”
Ashton ran a hand through his hair. Outside Corner was considered one of the best waves anywhere in the world. But it didn’t even start to get going unless the swell was seriously massive. Eight foot, easy. When it did get going, anyone that was game enough to try and get in its surge was in for one long and fast ride. If he was part of the organizing committee and the swell was right, he’d totally put the competition there. These guys were supposed to be pros and watching someone come down the Corner was one of the most exhilarating things a surf junky could hope for. But surfing monsters like that, with the reef so close below the shallow surface, meant that while it might be sexy to watch, it was mad-dangerous, too. Summer didn’t need to hear that, though. At least, not till she’d got her feet wet and worked out how she was going to play it in the Indonesian waters. “They probably won’t go there, either. It takes a lot for the swell to be right. But even if they do, you’ll be able to take it. You’re a pro, remember?”
Summer kicked at the sand and watched her feet. “I’m not really a pro. I didn’t even make it into the final.”
“You would have if the clock hadn’t run out. And you got picked for this event over a pile of other contenders. It might not be an official rankings event, but you win this one and you’ll cement yourself a place on the circuit for real.”
“What if—”
“Harden up. You’ve got this.”
She shook her head. “Forget it. I’m being lame. I promised myself I was goin
g to nail this thing. The shoot, the competition, T.J.’s smug smile…”
Ashton exhaled. “That’s more like it. But mostly all T.J. did in that interview was make himself look like an ass.”
“You read it?” she looked up at him, and the pain and uncertainly were painted clear in her emerald-green eyes.
“Brooke sent it to me.”
She shrugged. “Dickwads will do what dickwads will do I guess.” She pulled on a length of her hair and his fingers tingled, wanting wind that hair round his own hand.
“I’ve just got to get out there and—” She pointed at the burgeoning waves. With terrible timing, a young rider lost his footing and the barrel sucked him up into its foamy embrace.
She gasped in a lungful of air. “—and not do that.”
“He’s probably never even been in a barrel before.” Ashton tried to be calming, but even he could hear the lie in his voice. No one surfed Uluwatu unless they had plenty of experience. It was just too dangerous. They watched for a moment, and the guy didn’t surface.
A surfboard, snapped in two, washed up in the shallow whitewater, heading to shore with no one attached.
“Come on, big fella,” Ashton muttered. Another long couple of seconds passed. “We’re going to need to go in,” he said and pushed his camera bag into the hands of a bystander. He and Summer strode towards the breakers, but just as Ashton was about to dive in, the guy broke the surface of the water and started hauling himself out of the surf, struggling towards the shore. They both rushed to him, and Ashton hauled him to his feet.
“You okay?” Summer said quietly, tucking an arm under the boy’s bleeding shoulder.
“Hai.” The guy shook his head, then in a thick Japanese accent said, “Yes. I’m okay,” in between dragging in lungsful of breath. “The wave. Too big for me. I need to sit down.”
They walked him farther up the beach, and Summer looked around for someone else to come and help. “Are you here alone?”
“No. My friends…”
Then, there they were, three other guys, a mix of accents, all concern, all checking their buddy out.
“He’s fine. Will be fine,” Ashton said gently.
After it was clear that the guy was going to get checked out properly, and that the wound on his arm was only a scratch, Summer relented and stood back. She was pale, noticeably shaken. “Come on, let’s walk,” said Ashton. “I want to check out that crop of rocks and the smaller cave over there at the base of the cliff.” He headed off, hoping that Summer would follow and stop fretting over the guy in the water. If she got scared now, when she got into the water it was going to be even worse. The last thing she needed was to lose her nerve before she even got going.
But before he’d got very far, two bouncy young surf-maidens came trotting over. They were both blonde, both in matching short shorts and cut-off T-shirts. “It is him. Hi, Ashton. You totally saved that guy.”
Ashton forced himself not to sigh. “Hi, ladies. The guy had an accident. Dragged himself out of the surf under his own steam. He’ll be okay now; help’s on its way.”
“But you pulled him out of the surf.” One of them said, then smiled winningly. “Would you save me? Like maybe with a little mouth to mouth?” She bit her lip, and Ashton barely contained the groan.
Summer snorted from behind him and walked up to his side. He didn’t know whether to be pleased she’d at least followed him or embarrassed she was hearing the groupie attention.
“It’s been lovely to meet you, but we have a location to lock in,” he said.
“Oh. Sure.” They gave Summer a look that would have frozen a good portion of the ocean, given half a chance. “I hope it’s not too hard being here after everything that happened to you. I was devastated when you had your accident.” Both of the surfettes looked down then back up at Ashton via lids full of mascara-laden eyelashes. “Sorry to bring it up. I hope it’s not too painful for you.”
“It’s fine.” Ashton said as curtly as he could without being outright rude. But he was hyperaware of Summer watching all of this, and of the freak out she’d nearly had. “Sorry to disappoint. But the rest of the WSL crew will be here soon. Plenty of autographs to hunt.”
“I know. It’s super exciting.”
He turned and started away but not before he overheard their tone change. “She is so lucky. Being with T.J. and then hanging out with Ashton here? I mean, I know she can surf, but give the rest of us a break. Do you think she’s with both of them? She could be, she’s even prettier in real life than in pictures.”
Ashton looked up sharply to see if Summer had overheard, but she was now ahead of him, oblivious to the envy that the two surfettes harbored.
Not your problem.
No, it wasn’t. He was here to do a job. Period.
Right. So, you didn’t want to jump in and tell those girls that she wasn’t really with T.J.? And that she never should have been with him in the first place?
No. He didn’t. It was none of his business.
They walked along the beach, over the rocks around the cove, and to a quieter spot near the cliffs where hundreds of tourists gathered to look down at the ocean. The sound of the waves was loud against the rocks in front of them and, just as he remembered it, a small cave drew a dark indent on the cliff face. They approached, and the mouth of the cave loomed, a deep maw that could have been threatening, but with sunlight streaming down on it, was more of a welcome break from the heat.
Inside the relative cool of the cave, Ashton took a deep breath. He’d forgotten how hot Indonesia got, especially in the dry season. The damp walls of rock tempered the temperature and were soothing, refreshing even. And when they rounded a corner into an inner alcove, the incessant noise of the pounding surf dwindled.
“Wow. Pretty.” Summer touched one of the dripping walls and he turned to see her green eyes matched perfectly by the moss under her fingers even in the relative gloom of the cave.
“Don’t move.” Pulling his camera in front of his eye, Ashton peeled off a couple of shots, but now that she knew he was focused on her, Summer’s body stiffened, and the moment was lost. Still. The color was amazing, something to remember when he decided what they were going to shoot.
“You look great against that color. Try not to let the fact there’s a camera here get into your head. You stiffen up a bit.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t promise to be the next super model. I just want to surf.” She softened and took a breath. “Sorry. That was out of line. You’re doing your job.”
He waved it off. “Then do yours. You said you wanted it all.”
“I did. I do.”
“Well then, there’s no just about it. You surf. And all the other stuff, too. The surfing comes with all the trappings attached, the publicity, the fans, and the waves. But you also have to do the living stuff. Cook, shop, write, read? Anything I’ve missed? You break horses or paint sunsets or something on the side?”
She barked out a sharp, one-syllable laugh. “I can’t cook to save myself, and you might have noticed my wardrobe isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with couture. I suck at shopping.”
Ashton smiled. “There’s a first time for everything thing. Guess I’ve just never met a woman like you.”
“Really? You’ve met plenty of women.”
Ashton felt her words like a punch in the stomach. “That’s not who I am now.”
This gave her pause, and she narrowed her eyes. “I was there sixty seconds ago, remember. Girls swooning over you, you lapping it up.” Her face was darker, twisting his stomach further.
“This isn’t about them. The other women. This is about you. Isn’t it?”
She thought a moment about what to say, then shrugged. “Sure. It’s about me. About what happened between us.”
That stilled him. “We fell into bed, and I bailed. Like I always do. It was a stupid thing to do. Honestly. I’m sorry. It should never have happened.”
“That’s it?”
“What? We’ve established I was a complete dick back then. I really am sorry.”
She frowned. “I told you I was getting engaged. You told me I was too young, that he was wrong for me, that I needed the right man.” She looked away. “You told me I needed the right man and then you took me to bed.”
Something crept over his skin and set it alight. “And then I bailed.”
She paused then shrugged. “Lucky escape, I guess.”
“I didn’t…” He took a breath and looked her in the eye. Truth time. “You were so perfect. I couldn’t see how I could be with you and not mess it up. I couldn’t believe you wanted to be with me, really be with me.”
“I kissed you. I broke up with my fiancé. I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time back then, but I did know I wanted to be with you. I wasn’t asking for you to marry me, just be with me. Be with me and see what happened next.”
“And then I kissed the other girl. What was her name?”
She snorted again. “Kimberly. Shows how much the whole event meant to you.”
Watching her nostrils flare, his whole body surged with the aching desire to kiss her again. To take back the teenage hurt he’d inflicted and make the kiss count. His body was a traitor.
“I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry.”
She was silent. Still. “So you said.”
The silence spread, reaching fingers out into the cave behind them and making the air close. From their vantage point inside the cave, they hardly saw any surfers, just a sleek black shadow every now and then as someone caught the wave that flashed past.
Whatever had crept onto his skin prickled at the awareness of having Summer so near. It was just like it had been in Brazil on their first photo shoot. Except now there was this to add to the mix. This history. This time. This connection.
Another Shot with Summer (Hot Tide Book 1) Page 7