Get to Me

by Lara Van Hulzen

  The crispness of Aimee’s tone, matched with her saying, “That’s how we know each other” instead of “That’s how we’re friends,” perked up Dane’s ears. She’d apparently gotten the message he’d sent that getting too close was a bad idea, but now with her backing away, he started to panic. Crazy. Absolutely nuts. It’s what he wanted. Why should he panic?

  “Oh that’s lovely! I do enjoy weddings.” Dane avoided looking at Gladys, knowing a wink was sure to head his way. The woman was relentless. “Please, tell me all the details.”

  As Gladys enjoyed the rest of her tacos, Aimee went into full girl mode, sharing everything from the flowers to the music to what colors the bridesmaids wore.

  Dane listened, enthralled with every word. Not by the subject matter, but with the storyteller herself. The love she felt for her sisters flowed from the glow in her eyes when she mentioned their names. And it was obvious her nephew had stolen her heart from minute one.

  He blinked when Aimee said his name.

  “I’m sorry, what?” He tried to look like he’d been paying attention, but failed. Evident by the smirk Gladys hid behind her glass of water.

  “I need to get going.” Aimee turned her attention to Gladys. “I’m sorry I need to go. But it was so nice meeting you. Thank you for letting me visit you in your home. It’s beautiful.”

  Gladys turned pink from her neck to her ears. “Well, thank you dear. It was my pleasure having you here. Now that we’re friends, you should stop by anytime.”

  Unable to avoid the wink sent his way, Dane knew Gladys’s matchmaking skills were turned on full blast. Time to get going.

  They stood together and Gladys walked them to the door. Dane walked Aimee to her car after hugs from Gladys and promises to visit again soon.

  Aimee reached her car door and turned. Looking up at Dane she said, “Thank you for inviting me here. Even if you didn’t want me to come, I’m grateful to have met that precious woman in there.”

  “She is pretty amazing isn’t she?” Dane’s brain caught up with Aimee’s words as he answered. He didn’t want her here? What did she say?

  Aimee looked him right in the eyes. “You heard me. I don’t know what happened on the drive over here, but you changed your mind about inviting me.” She looked down at her bright red painted toes and shuffled her foot. “And it’s okay. Really, it is. I get it.” She reached up to the hair escaping from her ponytail and removed the tie, ducking her head so he couldn’t see her eyes.

  Fumbling with her keys, she turned to open her car.

  “Aimee, wait.”

  She faced him, her eyes glossed with tears. No way would she let them fall. She was too stubborn. But they tore at his heart, making him forget every reason he had for not wanting to be with her. Her hair now cascaded down her shoulders, a waterfall of flames igniting everything within him.

  In one swift move, he put an arm around her waist. His other hand cradled her head as he claimed her mouth with his own. Unlike the tender kiss they’d shared at the wedding, this time he held nothing back. He’d thought of nothing but kissing her again since that day. This moment held so much more. Then, he was merely trying to help her feel better. Now, he was letting go of all he’d fought since first laying eyes on her.

  He could feel every curve and how she fit perfectly against him. Unsure if she’d welcome his advance, he relaxed when she kissed him back, matching the passion that ran through his veins. Her arms wrapped around his waist, hands gripping his shirt. She was pure heaven.

  Dane lost all track of time. All that existed was her lips, her hair, the feel of her against him. When she pulled back, her curls were mussed from his hand, her eyes glossy and her lips swollen. She’d never looked more amazing. They held each other a moment, both breathing hard. Then, without a word, she untangled herself from his embrace, got in her car, and drove away.

  Chapter 8

  Aimee turned up the radio then face palmed. What in the world had just happened? One minute Dane was acting like he’d rather go to the dentist than have her around, and the next minute, he had her pushed up against the car, kissing her senseless. She’d called him on his attitude, figuring it was the best way to cut free and move on. All the men she’d met so far didn’t like a woman as honest as she was. But then Dane had stepped in instead of away, and turned her world upside down. Not to mention every hormone in her body.

  Colbie Caillat sang about getting tingles in a silly place bubbling from her toes to her nose. And didn’t that just describe Aimee in a nutshell? Dane’s kiss rocked her from her curly head to her curling toes.

  She pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine. More confused than ever, she grabbed her beach bag and surfboard and headed to the garage. After storing her board, her mind switched gears to a long bath and good book. No romance novel though. She’d had enough time with a hunky man for one day. Nope. She needed a good mystery. Something to distract her brain and help her forget Dane Scott. At least for an hour or so.

  Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? As she plopped her bag inside the back door, her fingers wandered to her lips, still simmering from Dane’s kiss.

  “Huh. Now that’s not an expression I’ve ever seen on your face before.”

  Aimee jumped at the sound of Torie’s voice. Enthralled with thoughts of Dane, she hadn’t seen her roommate sitting at the kitchen table flipping through a magazine and enjoying a glass of wine.

  “You aren’t usually the jumpy type either, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  Torie smirked at Aimee from behind her glass.

  “How was surfing?”

  Aimee saw a gleam in Torie’s eye and suddenly, things fell into place. “You knew he was going to surf with me, didn’t you?”

  Aimee grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and plopped into the chair opposite her friend.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Torie’s battle not to grin said otherwise.

  “Man! I should’ve known. I thought you were acting weird lately. Not letting me go anywhere alone. You and Dane have had this all set up ever since the night at the club, haven’t you?”

  Torie put her hands up in defense. “Now wait a minute. Don’t go getting your feathers all ruffled. He was worried about you after that night so I told him I’d let him know when I’m working. If he wanted to keep an eye on you, who I was I to tell him no?” She shrugged and flipped a page of her magazine, clearly not reading a word of it.

  “He was worried about me?” Aimee toyed with the top to her water bottle, avoiding eye contact with Torie.

  “Yes. He was. And I thought it was kind of cute. I also didn’t think it would hurt. He’s gorgeous and obviously into you. I don’t know what you’re all worked up about.”

  Aimee felt her cheeks flush. “Yeah… Well… I’m gonna go take a bath, so…”

  She stood but was stopped by Torie’s “Oh no you don’t, sister. That beet-red skin of yours says something happened between you and hot cop, and I wanna know every last detail. So sit!”

  Aimee took her seat once more. “Ugh! Fine. As you know, he went surfing with me today.”

  “I didn’t know. I merely told him I was at work and you’d be alone surfing. I wasn’t sure he’d try to find you or not.”

  Aimee put up a hand. “Whatever. That’s a lousy defense, and if you keep interrupting, I won’t continue.”

  “Fair enough.” Torie leaned back in her chair, clearly ready to hear the gory details of her day with Dane.

  “We went surfing and to be honest, he’s not half bad. But I’m not surprised. I’m sure Ben’s a great teacher.”

  “Focus.”

  “Sorry. Anyway, afterwards we had fish tacos at Juanita’s…”

  “Good call.”

  “Thank you. And we talked. Nothing special. When we were done he ordered a plate of tacos to go for his elderly neighbor, which was totally sweet and endearing, and then asked if I wanted to meet her. So I said yes.”

>   “He asked you to meet his elderly neighbor? Huh. That’s a new one.”

  Aimee rolled her eyes. “It really wasn’t a line. He lives in a duplex and helps her out, brings her meals from time to time. Nice-guy stuff.”

  “Hmmm-mmmm.” Torie took a sip of wine and let that one go.

  “Gladys is the neighbor’s name, and she is the kindest woman. So sweet. We chatted while she ate her dinner. It’s obvious how much she cares about Dane. She’s like a grandma to him.”

  “I don’t mean this to sound wrong, but this isn’t the kind of story I was hoping for. “

  “Sheesh, woman. Have patience.” Aimee took a swig of water and started again. “The whole day was amazing. Nothing spectacular happened, but it felt so…normal. I didn’t feel like I had to pretend around him or control myself.”

  “Now that sounds better. In what ways did you not control yourself?” Torie wriggled her eyebrows.

  “You need help.”

  “I know.”

  “You know what I mean. Most men are turned off by my…forward attitude and lighthearted way of seeing the world. They think I’m either too high strung or flighty.”

  “You are neither of those things, my friend.”

  “I know, but it felt good to be with a man who didn’t judge me that way. He actually seemed to like me.” She frowned and looked down at the table. “Well, at least until we got to his and Gladys’s duplex.”

  “What happened?” Torie leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table,

  any signs of sarcasm now gone.

  “I don’t know. We drove our own cars over and when we got out, he was cold and distant. Rude even.”

  “Hmph. That is weird.”

  “I told him it was okay he didn’t want me there, but then he kissed me and…I don’t know.” Aimee’s head fell to the table with a thunk. “I’m so confused.”

  “Um. Okay. Back that truck up, sister. He kissed you? You can’t drop that bomb on me and then stop. Does he kiss as good as he looks?”

  “Better.” Aimee’s reply was muffled by her face now buried in the crook of her arm.

  “Oh my. You really are in trouble.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Was it like a peck goodnight kind of thing or a full on…”

  Aimee cut her off. “It was a full-on, curl my toes, frizz-out-my-hair and stop-my-heart kind of kiss.”

  Torie sighed and sat back in her chair. “Oh man. I miss those. So how did it end?”

  “I got in my car and drove home.”

  “You what?”

  “I panicked, okay?” Aimee stood and grabbed her bag from its perch near the door.

  “I’ll say.”

  “Look. I’m exhausted, physically and mentally. I’m gonna go soak in the tub until I’m pruned and then I’m going to crawl in bed and sleep for… forever.”

  “Okay.”

  Aimee nodded a goodnight and trudged to her room, her flip-flops echoing down the hall against the wood floor. She thanked God for a best friend who knew when to hound her and when to quit and simply let her be. As she floated down into the bathwater a few minutes later, she also thanked God for the day. Sure, it may have ended on a crazy note, but for a little while, she felt smart and beautiful and interesting. And a kiss like that had to mean something, right? Boy, she sure hoped so. Whatever had happened to shift Dane’s attitude, it sure shifted back with a vengeance. Now if she could figure out what happened next she’d be golden. Unfortunately, she had no idea. The ball was definitely in his court.

  ***

  Dane went back inside his place, slammed the door, then leaned his back against it and ran a hand through his hair. Messed up hair from Aimee’s hands running through it. Her arms may have started around his waist, but she’d moved fast for a little thing and had her fingers working their magic on his skull, not to mention his brain, causing him to lose all train of logical thought before he knew what had happened.

  What exactly had happened? One minute he was convinced keeping her at a distance was the best plan, and the next he’d plastered her against the car, kissing her in the way that had haunted his dreams for months. But this was no dream. This was hands, arms, lips—they’d gone after each other with everything. Well, he had to admit he’d been the one to make the first move, but she returned the gesture in kind and then some. A fact that should have him grinning from ear to ear instead of trying to kick his own butt.

  “Ugh!” He pushed away from the door with a shower as his next goal. A cold one, specifically. His phone rang, stopping him halfway to his room. He stood in the hallway, debating whether to answer it or not. Maybe it was Aimee.

  Oh, who was he kidding? She’d taken off without looking back, and Dane understood completely. He’d confused and probably scared the hell out of her. Sheesh. He scared himself.

  His phone rang again. “Get your head together, Scott.”

  Back in the kitchen, he grabbed his phone from the counter.

  “Scott.”

  “Hey Dane!”

  “Ben?” Dane sat in one of the kitchen chairs, his best friend’s voice like music to his ears.

  “Yeah. Hey, how’s it going?”

  “It’s going fine. How are you, man? How’s Hawaii?”

  “Awesome. Of course. I’m not too sure we’re ever coming home.”

  Dane could hear the joy in his friend’s voice, and smiled. No one deserved happiness more than Ben. He’d lost so much in his life, and Tess filled it up again. Selfishly, Dane was glad to hear from him and didn’t realize until then how much he could use his friend’s advice. But he couldn’t ask him now. Ben was having the trip of his life, and Dane wasn’t about to ruin it.

  “Hey, I only have a few minutes here until Tess comes back from a hula-dancing class.” Ben’s voice cut into Dane’s thoughts. “But I wanted to check in with you, about what happened with Aimee.”

  Dane fumbled the phone and it banged onto the kitchen table. How the heck did Ben know Dane had kissed Aimee? Did he have some sixth sense or something? It was probably Tess. Sisters were like that, and Aimee and Tess were super close.

  Crap.

  Aimee probably called her the minute she drove away from him.

  He placed the phone back to his ear. “ Sorry. Dropped the phone. It was just a kiss, Ben. I’m sure she’s fine.”

  Silence on the other end of the line made Dane’s heart race. Aimee was now Ben’s sister, too, and he had every right to hightail it home and beat the crap out of Dane.

  “Um. Kiss? What are you talking about? I was talking about Aimee being able to ID a drug dealer.”

  Dane took a deep breath. Of course. Ben had just said Tess was in a class. She couldn’t know anything—yet. Man, his head was in worse shape than he thought. This was not good.

  “Right. Right. She’s fine. Between Torie, and me, she’s got eyes on her all the time.”

  “Sounds to me like she has more than your eyes on her. Is there something you wanna tell me?”

  Dane’s shoulders slumped, his body folding into the small kitchen chair. It was his own fault. He’d let this cat out of the bag. He might as well fess up. At least it was only to Ben. And it wasn’t like it would happen again. He’d keep himself under control from now on.

  “Like I said, I’ve been keeping an eye on her. We went surfing today and then had dinner. When she left I sort of…well…things just happened.”

  Ben blew out a breath through the phone. “Man, I saw this comin’.”

  Dane sat up. “What? You saw what comin’?”

  “Are you kidding me? You two have been dancing around each other for months. Tess saw it too. You and Aimee seem to be the only ones not willing to admit it. Well, until now.”

  Dancing around each other for months? What was Ben talking about? He had made a point of keeping space between himself and Aimee. Nothing had occurred until tonight. Well, unless he counted the kiss at the wedding reception, something he didn’t believe Ben
or Tess had seen, being lost in their own wedded bliss. But maybe not.

  “I can hear you thinking from here. I know you’ve tried to keep her at a distance, but quite frankly, you suck at it.”

  How did Ben read his mind like that?

  “Look, Dane. I know you. I know your past. And no one deserves happiness more than you. But it’s been almost two years now since…everything happened. It’s okay to move forward. Now that I have it myself, I want everyone to have it, especially my best friend. But be careful. This is Aimee. And I’m as protective of her as I am of you. Be sure you’re ready for this before you dive in, because if Aimee dives too, she’s all in. There’s no halfway with her. In anything.”

  Dane was beginning to see that about Aimee and it terrified him.

  “I hear you. I do.”

  “Okay. Keep me posted on this drug dealer situation. I haven’t told Tess. I’ll tell her when she gets back from her hula-dancing lesson. Can’t wait to see the outcome of that.” He laughed. “And I know with you watching her, Aimee’s safe. But I want to be kept in the loop. Which reminds me, by the way, I’m irked you weren’t the one to tell me. I had to find out from someone in the department.”

  “You’re on your honeymoon. I felt we had it under control, and Aimee didn’t want Tess to worry.”

  “Okay. I’ll forgive you this time. And try to cut yourself some slack.”

  “Have a great rest of your honeymoon.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  Dane laughed at the suggestive tone in Ben’s voice, but a twinge of jealousy hit him as they said their good-byes. He ended the call and tossed his phone across the table.

  Ben was right. He was playing a dangerous game and he couldn’t risk Aimee’s heart as collateral damage. He might not deserve to be happy, but she did, and he’d do everything within his power to make that happen. Even if it meant walking out of her life.

  Chapter 9

  Photographing weddings was a job Aimee adored, since all involved were experiencing a joyous occasion. She preferred small weddings for friends, and the one she was currently shooting was for a woman from the rec center who tutored kids in English.