His arm slipped around her waist. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore competed with the rush of blood through her ears and his deep voice as he said, “Or how incredibly hot and sexy you were when we were tangled up in the sheets. I’ve got to tell you, Harp, I’m not hearing about much trouble in your life.”
Lordy, this man…
He was warm and strong and pulled off being a gentleman and a sexual god, which she knew firsthand he excelled at. She wiggled out from his grasp before she could forget the reason she wasn’t supposed to want to jump his bones.
“I have a feeling I’m walking down the beach with trouble. Let’s get back to all the reasons I can’t do this with you.” I need the reminder.
“Do what?”
“Fall back into your arms.”
A cocky grin appeared, and he said, “But we fit so well together. It’s not every day that you find someone whose favorite muffin is the exact same as yours.”
“Ah, I see. This is about our mutual love of chocolate-banana muffins.” They’d discovered their shared love of the muffins when they were checking out a bakery in Virginia.
“It’s all about the muffins. What’s a little closeness between friends? We’re not sleeping together. I’m just offering you comfort.”
He reached for her hand, and damn her traitorous fingers, she took it.
“Now you may continue with your story.”
He made it sound so easy, when just being close to him again brought back all the things he’d done and said that made her want to go right back to that night and experience it all over again.
She struggled to push those thoughts away and said, “After our night together—which didn’t end like a fling since I left you my number, whether or not you found it. That just proves that I suck at flings—I went to LA to work on my script, which was being turned into a television show. I was in a new place where I didn’t know anyone and totally out of my comfort zone. But I dug in my heels, and eventually I made a few friends and started dating someone. I thought things were pretty good. Thank goodness I didn’t sleep with him, though.”
“I know I’m thanking whoever goodness is for that.”
“Right? It turned out that he was bisexual and he was looking for another person he and his partner could share. Um, no thank you. Not that I have anything against bisexuals. My brother Colton is gay, by the way.”
“I know. He hit on me a few weeks ago at Undercover.”
“Sounds like Colton. Well, I thought a fling was out of my comfort zone, but a threesome wasn’t even on my radar.”
“Seriously? Damn.” He stopped walking and huffed out a breath. “Guess we’re done.” He started walking back the way they’d come.
“Oh my God! See? My radar with guys is so messed up.” She closed her eyes, and in the split second it took for her to sigh, he barreled into her, lifting her off the ground. She shrieked as he spun her around. “Gavin! Stop!”
He laughed as he set her on her feet, but he didn’t let go. He held her close, laughing with her.
“You’re crazy!” she said happily. He knew just how to cheer her up.
“Maybe a little. Sit with me.” He took her hand, pulling her down to the sand beside him. “I just needed to get you out of your own head for a minute. So you got picked up for a potential thruple expedition. That just means you’re hot and you seemed open to new experiences, which I happen to know you are, seeing as how we did our own exploring.” He waggled his brows.
Heat rushed up her chest and neck. She’d been uncharacteristically, shockingly uninhibited and free with him. They’d explored each other’s bodies, playing out fantasies and trying new things like they’d been lovers forever. She’d felt so connected, so in sync with him, she’d let him do things no man ever had, and she’d loved every second of it. It wasn’t until later, on the long flight to LA the next morning, that she’d wondered if he’d believed her when she’d said she’d never been that wild before. But even then, she hadn’t felt embarrassed. She’d wanted to be with him again, just as she did now.
And that was a problem.
She tried again to push those desires aside and said, “But it also means I’m not catching the clues I should be.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” He leaned back casually, as if he’d heard it all before.
“Okay, well, that’s just the start of my nightmare. After that guy, I met a man in a café on the studio lot, and we dated for a few weeks. We really hit it off, and things were great—”
“I’m not hearing the thanking goodness part I’m hoping to hear…”
She laughed softly. “Yeah, well, I can’t imagine you haven’t been with a number of women since I last saw you.”
“A couple,” he admitted. “But they weren’t you, so they didn’t count.”
“Oh, is that the rule?” She dug her toes into the sand and quickly said, “Don’t answer that.”
He sat up, gently taking her chin between his finger and thumb and drawing her face toward his. The intimacy of that touch made her heart race.
“Yes, that’s the rule,” he said with a gently authoritative tone. “They weren’t you, and I never thought about them again, so they didn’t count. Whereas you count very, very much.”
The look in his eyes was so intense, she looked away before she could follow her thundering heart and do something she couldn’t take back. “Anyway,” she said a little breathlessly, “it turned out he was engaged. His fiancée caught us together at his place. I have never been so mortified or felt so awful.” She looked at Gavin to try to read his expression and was glad to see concern rather than judgment. “That poor woman called me horrible names, and I couldn’t even defend myself because I had no idea who she was or what was going on. I’d never intentionally be with a guy who was involved with someone else. She must have told everyone she knew, because rumors spread through the set, and my reputation was ruined. Then my show wasn’t picked up, and my agent dropped me, and I just lied to my friends about all of it. I’ve never lied to my friends. I’m not a liar. I despise liars. But I managed to look them in the eyes and tell them tales of a fabulous life I never led.”
“Technically speaking, you didn’t look them in the eyes when you lied.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“Maybe not,” he said carefully. “But it’s how I knew you were hiding something.”
She looked out at the moonlight reflecting off the water. It was so easy to be honest with Gavin. “I went to LA thinking I was making a name for myself. I was starry-eyed and proud. Beyond proud. Most producers and directors have their own writers for script modifications and that sort of thing. But they’d hired me to not only help tweak the scripts, but also to give my input during production. That’s huge, and I know the producer I worked with wasn’t a big-time guy or anything, but I’m just a small-town nobody. So to me it was huge.”
“I doubt you’ve ever been a nobody, Harper.”
“Thank you.” She felt a little better having shared her burden. “A couple summers ago I was hired to write a racy sitcom for cable. I worked from home or in coffee shops and only went to New York for meetings. That experience was so different from this last one. I went to LA thinking I was making it big, making my parents and my friends proud.” She shrugged as if it were easy to admit, but the pain in her chest was excruciating. “I was the girl who obeyed all the rules and did everything right. I studied hard through college, didn’t party too much, have had exactly one fling, thank you very much, and still I managed to ruin my life.”
“You’ve only ruined your life if you give those experiences that much power. And if it counts for anything, we had one hell of a fling. Not a day has passed that I haven’t thought about you.”
Her heart squeezed, realizing he’d thought about her as much as she’d thought about him. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”
He nodded. “I’ve got no reason to lie, and I’d like to pick up where we left off.�
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“Gavin, I can’t. I don’t trust myself with guys right now.”
“I hear that. It’s okay. Eventually you’ll be able to, and I’m a patient guy.”
“Confident is probably a better word,” she said, feeling happier than she had in a long time. “I’m sorry my life is so messed up. I haven’t been able to write anything good since they canceled the show, and now here I am, lying to my friends and avoiding my family. I haven’t even told my family I’m back in town.”
“Why not?”
“Because I already lied to them, too. My brothers and sister called and texted all the time just to make sure I was okay. I didn’t want them to worry, so I let them believe things were great, even when it looked like the show was falling apart. I was at the high point of my career, and I swear being out there, away from the people who know me best, made me feel like I was drifting. I don’t know how to recover from it. I’m ashamed of everything that went on. Even though my family doesn’t need to know about all of the personal stuff, I know it. The thing is, they knew I wasn’t an LA type of girl, and they were there for me, holding my hand from thousands of miles away. Just last week I told them things were going well.” She shook her head. “Ugh. I’m such a loser. Jana would have done great out there, but I’m not her any more than I am the fling girl I pretended to be with you.”
“I’ve got news for you, Harp. You didn’t do a very good job of pretending with me, either.”
“But you just said you thought about me every day since we were together.”
He held her gaze and said, “Exactly.”
He didn’t say anything more. She’d forgotten how good a listener he was and how the long pauses between them hadn’t felt uncomfortable or like they needed to be filled. They felt natural. He was a careful thinker, and now she remembered how he’d taken his time before speaking, like he was now, and how much she liked that about him.
After a while he said, “Have you forgotten how we opened up to each other? You told me I was your first one-night stand, and I told you I wasn’t a sleeping-around kind of guy. You tried to come across like you were cool with the one-night-stand idea, but I don’t think either of us really was.”
He paused again, as if he knew she was remembering each and every detail he’d just mentioned.
“When you have a meaningless one-night stand, the person you choose to have it with is usually forgettable.” He moved his hand closer to hers, brushing his fingers over the back of her hand as he said, “I knew before we went back to my room that you were special, but I never imagined just how impossible it would be to stop thinking about you.”
“Now you’re embarrassing me, and my broken guy radar is telling me that you might be really good at picking up girls and not to fall for all your best lines.”
He smiled. “Your guy radar is off, because these aren’t my best lines, Harp.”
“I’m so not ready for this. I need practice before I’m ready for a guy like you. I might never be ready for a guy like you, because you seem open and honest, but my instincts suck right now.”
“Then let’s fix that.” His expression turned serious and he said, “I’ll set you up on practice dates.”
“Oh, no.” She waved her hand. “I’ve practiced and failed enough.” She yawned. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I chewed out this guy on the plane, lied to my friends, and now you’re making me wish I trusted my instincts.”
“Because you should.” He stood, reaching for her hand. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to your car and tell you about this friend of mine.”
“No friends,” she said as she pushed to her feet.
He draped an arm over her shoulder, keeping her close. “I said I was a patient guy, but I’m no fool. If you need to rebuild your man-confidence, there’s no way you’re doing it with just any old guy.”
“I’m not doing it at all,” she grumbled.
“You’re too incredible to be off the market forever, and you’re not getting any younger.” He tickled her ribs with the tease.
“Hey!”
“Just sayin’. I’m not getting any younger either, so we have to move on this before age takes its toll and I get a beer gut and lose this amazing body.”
She laughed.
“Anyway, I’ve got this friend, and I can vouch for him. He’s handsome, smart, and funny. He’ll treat you like a lady.”
A breeze swept off the water, and she leaned into him, stealing his warmth. “You don’t seriously want to set me up with a guy.”
“Not just any guy. Like I said, he’s almost as good as me, but not quite as handsome.”
“Then why would I go out with him?” she teased as a wave crashed, sending water rushing toward them. Gavin lifted her off her feet, carrying her quickly away from the water.
“Because you need the practice, and I trust him.” He set her toes in the sand, pulling her close again as they walked down the beach.
With the wind at their backs, the scents of the sea and Gavin filled her with happiness. “I missed being here more than I realized.”
“Aren’t California beaches supposed to be better?”
“They’re not. I’m not sure any place is better than here. I love the cold Cape wind at night and the way people dress comfortably instead of impressively. There’s a sense of comfort living where I grew up.”
They must have been gone a long time, because their friends were no longer on the beach and they’d put out the bonfire. Bayside Resort came into view on the dunes, alongside the Summer House Inn, which her friends Desiree and Violet owned. She missed them, too, and she missed seeing everyone at the breakfasts Desiree and Violet hosted for all their friends. Drake and the guys from Bayside jogged together in the mornings and then joined the girls at the inn for breakfast.
As they headed up the path toward the parking lot of the resort, Gavin said, “We’re going to work on your writing, too.”
“Too implies we’re working on something else.”
He pulled her closer and said, “Don’t fight it, Harp. We’re going to make sure your instincts work, your writing gets back on track, and you stop lying to the people who love you.”
His low, confident voice sent a shiver of heat down her spine. It had been a long time since that had happened. Since they were last together, to be exact.
“What makes you think you can help me fix any of that?” she asked as they reached the top of the dunes and headed across the lawn to the parking lot.
“Because I’m an excellent guide. Think about it. We nailed your first one-night stand, didn’t we? This should be a piece of cake.”
“We did not nail it as far as no-strings goes, though.” She dug in her purse for her keys.
“We did too damn good of a job. If you’d just slipped up and given me your real name, or said you were a screenwriter or that you’d just moved to LA, maybe I could have connected the dots and found you sooner. We’ve wasted a lot of time.”
He took the keys from her hand and opened her car door. He dangled the keys with a cocky grin that made her insides hot. She wished she had told him those things, but she’d listened to Colton and kept her personal information to herself. Well, other than the note in his suitcase, which hadn’t done her any good anyway.
“We’ve got this, Harp. Now, what’s your address?”
She reached for the keys, and he lifted them out of her reach. “Gavin…”
“I told you I’m a patient guy. I can stand here all night long, or you can give me your address.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of a pain?”
“I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t.”
“I need time to figure out my life, not dates with men I don’t care about,” she said, not having any idea what she really needed. But having a friend like Gavin seemed like a good start.
He set the keys in her hand and settled his hand on her hip. Her body flamed as he leaned in, as if to kiss her. Somewhere in her head warning bells wer
e going off, but she closed her eyes. Her lips parted in anticipation of the kiss she’d thought about for too long.
“Your address, Harper?” he whispered over her lips.
As if he’d unblocked a damn, her address rushed out.
“He’ll be there at seven.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. His hand slipped off her hip, and the air around her chilled as he stepped back and said, “Have fun tomorrow night.”
She stood with her mouth agape for the third time that night, which was three times too many. Gavin waved and headed for his car.
“I’m not going!” she called after him.
“That’s your prerogative, beautiful.” He pushed a button on his key fob and his headlights flashed. “But I’m a kick-ass friend, so I’m still setting it up.”
Chapter Three
“THAT SOUNDS PERFECT,” Gavin said into the phone Friday afternoon when Serena came through the doors of Mallery and Wheeler Interior Design.
She plunked her messenger bag down on her desk, her high heels clicking on the hardwood floors. Gavin pointed to the samples he’d laid out earlier for a new boutique they were designing for Ocean Edge Resort, the largest luxury resort on the Cape. Serena gave him a thumbs-up and went to review them as he finished his call and confirmed his appointment for the following week.
When he ended the call, he said, “How’d the pitch go?”
Serena had pitched their services to the owners of the Wharf, a restaurant in Orleans. They had been referred through Jared Stone, who was one of their most prominent clients. They’d handled the interior design of a restaurant in Provincetown for Jared over the winter.
“Do you even have to ask?” She carried over a ring of fabric samples and sat on the edge of his desk. “I’ll put the contract together next week and get it over to their legal team. Once it’s signed, we’ll figure out the best time for our initial design meeting. I’ll check your online calendar before I schedule anything.”
Bayside Romance (Bayside Summers Book 5) Page 3