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And then there was the sound of a motor. He was certain it was someone passing by on the beach. He dismissed the distraction and turned his full attention to treasuring this moment with Lea. If anything was going to convince her that there were still unresolved issues between them, it was this—their undeniable chemistry. She had to feel it—
Thump. Thump.
Footsteps?
“Hello,” a female voice called out.
Lea flew out of his arms as though the lightning had struck them. He regretted that their moment had ended so quickly. For just a second, he considered reaching out and pulling Lea back to him, but he knew by the serious look on her face that she would resist his attempt.
Knock. Knock.
“Lea, are you here?”
Lea smoothed her fingers over her hair before tracing her fingertips over her lips as though to hide any evidence of what had just transpired between them. But she was wasting her time. Her lips were now berry-red and her cheeks were flushed. She’d been well kissed and it showed.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about her attempts to hide their kiss. He’d never been erased before. It didn’t feel good. He wanted Lea to be proud to be with him. Not hiding this—whatever you wanted to call their relationship—from the people in her life.
“Popi, I’m right here.” Lea started for the door.
Popi responded but Xander wasn’t able to make out the words.
When his gaze turned toward the door, he realized the storm had quickly passed over. The sun was once again shining, but in the wake of the storm the breeze had cooled—unlike him. But the kiss would have to be put on the back burner for now.
Lea rushed out onto the porch. “I got caught in the storm and thought this would be a good place to ride it out.”
Popi glanced inside. Xander remained on the couch. He waved at her. She raised a questioning brow before turning back to Lea.
“I see you had company.”
‘Um, yeah. Xander was working on the plumbing issue.”
Lea moved the conversation to business. As she spoke of the upcoming wedding that weekend, he wondered if she had so easily dismissed that stirring kiss, because he hadn’t been able to do that. Not even close.
But sitting here hoping she would return to him was pointless. He knew the moment had passed. And so he got to his feet and walked to the bathroom to gather his tools.
This thing between them wasn’t finished. In fact, he was certain that it was just getting started.
CHAPTER EIGHT
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Lea decided not to rush to the office. After all, what was the point of being the boss if you couldn’t give yourself permission to work from home. And so she quietly moved through the bungalow, trying not to wake up her houseguest.
She’d thought about having him stay elsewhere, but try as she might, the number of bungalows in good condition was quite limited and they had to be reserved for the incoming guests. She told herself that was the reason she kept Xander close by. She refused to acknowledge that she liked seeing him all the time.
As she settled at the kitchen island with her laptop, her thoughts strayed back to their time in the honeymoon bungalow. That kiss, it had stirred her to her very core. Her face warmed at the memory, even though she’d replayed that scene a million times by now.
She couldn’t believe she’d opened up to him about her childhood. She’d never told anyone that story—not even Popi. It wasn’t that it was a secret or anything, but rather she didn’t like recalling that level of fear—so scared that no sound had come from her mouth.
By reliving that memory, she’d reminded herself of one other thing—she missed her parents. This long silence between them was taking its toll on her. She’d always been close to her parents until she learned that they’d lied to her about her extended family.
To this day, she still didn’t understand their reason for keeping her from knowing her mother’s side of the family. From everything she’d unearthed while here on the island and from talking to the couples that routinely returned to the island to celebrate their anniversaries, she’d learned her aunt and grandparents were amazing people. She really wished she’d been given a chance to get to know them.
