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Beautiful.
Sexy as fuck.
Like you should be under me in my bed.
“Great.”
“Thanks.” She rubs her lips together, eyes skimming down my front, before shooting a hurried glance over one shoulder and up the building at her back. “You look pretty great too.”
“I think you mean I look hawt.”
Her eyes snap to mine and a pink blush warms the porcelain of her skin. “I don’t even know how that happened.”
“I’m not complaining.” I step in, craving the scent of her in my nose. The flush of her skin deepens as I move in closer than I initially intended. The woman is like a magnet and I can’t resist her pull. “No one’s ever called me hawt before.”
Her eyes slide back down my frame, lingering on the stretch of chest peeking out the open buttons of my short-sleeved shirt before dropping to the clean cut of the navy shorts that feel a hell of a lot tighter now than they did when I put them on. “I doubt that’s true.”
There’s no mistaking the heat in her gaze and it tests my willpower in a way nothing ever has. Because I’m weak, I let myself move closer, just to see what happens. “Is that your way of letting me know you find me appealing, Valerie?” I slide my hand into hers, the brush of her soft skin against my palm almost enough to make me groan. I link our fingers, using the hold to tug her into my side as I turn and lead her down the path.
Six months without physical contact has left me a needy, greedy bastard, but I’m not sure that’s my problem. She’s painfully fucking perfect, and I plan to soak up every second I can have with her.
Before the bottom falls out.
Taking her out today is a risk. Parading around the town that turned on me without giving me the chance to defend myself. Not that I could have. I can’t prove a negative. Can’t prove I’m not the cheater Jessica, and every woman she knows, believes I am.
But I’m not the only one lacking proof. All she had was an overheard conversation in a nail salon. A damning one, admittedly.
But none of it was true. I’m not a cheater. Never have been. Never will be. It makes the sting of all this even worse. Was it that easy for the people around me to believe her? To decide I’m untrustworthy enough to cut all ties?
Apparently so.
“Where are we going first?” Valerie’s velvet voice pulls me from things I can’t do fuck all about, to the first bright spot I’ve seen in months.
Her.
“Where do you want to go first?” I glance down at her. Without her wickedly high heels, the top of Valerie’s head hits the middle of my chest, making it impossible to see her face like I wish I could.
“What about the beach?” The eyes I’m already missing lift to mine, giving me the fix I need of their honey-colored hue. Her smile falters. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I must not have hidden my surprise at her suggestion as well as I thought. “Haven’t you been to the beach already? It’s less than a block away.”
Valerie shakes her head, lip pinching between her teeth. “I’ve had a lot going on.”
“Still. The beach is most people’s first stop when they come to town.” I keep my steps slow as we walk, wanting to drag this day out as long as possible. “Where have you been?”
She continues chewing the lip I’ve been dreaming of biting myself. “Not anywhere, really.”
I wait for her to expand on that, but when she doesn’t, I ask, “So if you didn’t move to an oceanfront town for the ocean, what did bring you here?”
Valerie’s expression shutters. “It was just time for a change.”
“I understand.”
Her eyes jump to mine. “You do?”
I nod. “That’s what brought me here as well. I wanted something new. Something exciting.”
I fucking got it, didn’t I? Just not in the way I expected. But maybe the tides are finally turning in my favor. It might only be a temporary reprieve, so I plan to take full advantage.
