A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology)

by Josi S. Kilpack

  For some reason, her heart dropped. Maybe this was the woman he wasn’t telling them about. “Who’s this?”

  “Avery. An editor for Redbook.”

  “She’s really pretty,” Gemma said, scrolling through more pictures of Avery.

  “I guess. She wanted me to take some pictures of her to send to her husband.”

  So he isn’t dating this one. Another woman popped up on the screen. A skinny blonde at a café, holding a cup of coffee. Her painted lips smirked at the camera. Gemma’s throat tightened. Surely there was something behind her look that had to do with Drew.

  “One of your models?” she asked.

  “Luisa. She nearly passed out at a shoot, and I forced her to eat a bagel and drink some coffee. I haven’t stopped teasing her since.”

  She nodded. “So is Luisa the mystery girlfriend you aren’t telling us about?”

  “Gemma,” he started. “There’s no mystery girlfriend.” He reached over, his arm brushing hers, and deleted the picture.

  “I didn’t mean for you to delete it,” Gemma said, feeling terrible. “I was just kidding.”

  “I know.” He nudged her shoulder.

  She hoped she hadn’t annoyed him. She didn’t want to go through any more pictures, and she handed the camera back, only to find his eyes intent on her.

  “I was serious when I said I haven’t been dating anyone for two years.”

  Two years. Why does that keep coming up? He broke up with Valentina two years ago. Two years ago, they’d went on that crazy double date with the couple from hell. Two years ago, Gemma started dating Randy.

  Before she could reply, Drew said, “Gem, I want to ask you something.”

  “There you guys are!” Liz called.

  Gemma turned to see Liz coming toward them, a couple of shopping bags in her hands. She was all smiles as she settled on Gemma’s towel and opened her bags.

  Liz focused on Gemma. “Cute swimsuit.”

  “I agree,” Drew said, snapping another picture.

  “Hey,” Gemma said, reaching for her tank top and pulling it on.

  Drew smiled and took another picture. “You can’t hide from a camera.”

  Liz looked between Drew and Gemma, her brows arched. “Okay, you guys sound like you had fun. But I had more fun. Look at this adorable sarong I bought.”

  Gemma gave the proper oohs and ahhs over Liz’s stuff. Within seconds, Drew was on his feet. “Well, ladies, I’m encrusted with salt, so I’m going to go shower. Anyone up for grabbing something to eat after?”

  “I’m starving,” Liz pronounced.

  “Me, too,” Gemma added.

  “We’ll meet you in a few,” Liz said. As Drew walked away, she said, “That’s one fine man.” She laughed. “Not that I’m looking. Sloane is a fine man too.”

  Gemma smiled. “Missing Sloane already?”

  A sly smile came onto Liz’s face. “Just a little. But, holy crap, Drew was totally checking you out.”

  Gemma tried not to let her mouth drop open. “He was not. I’m like dog breath compared to the women he knows. Plus, he’s Drew. Like-a-brother Drew.”

  “Drew is not your brother,” Liz said, narrowing her eyes. “And just because he’s one of our best friends doesn’t mean—”

  Gemma covered her ears with her hands. “Don’t say it. The Five are the best thing that ever happened to me in high school.”

  Liz pursed her lips together as she gathered up her stuff. “Did you find out about his girlfriend?”

  “I looked through some of his pictures, but he insisted he doesn’t have one.”

  Liz met Gemma’s gaze, her eyes gleaming. “You know what I think?”

  Gemma said nothing; she didn’t want to know what Liz was cooking up.

  “He hasn’t dated since breaking up with Valentina because he’s been waiting for you, Gem.” Liz stood, her bags in hand.

  Gemma scrambled to her feet, facing Liz. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.” Her heart thundered, and she felt breathless, but that was because Liz was talking crazy. There was no way Drew would ever be interested in her like that. Sure, they were awesome friends, and she loved him—like a brother, of course—but Drew would never...

  Liz was trudging back to the beach house. Gemma grabbed her towel, sarong, and bag, hurrying after her.

  As soon as she reached the house, she’d take a cold shower.

  Chapter Five

  They ended up at a charming Mexican restaurant with yellow-painted walls and red shelves holding multi-colored pottery. Gemma couldn’t help but be on high alert around Drew now, and she cursed Liz for putting her there. Gemma focused on keeping the conversation on Liz and the other girls in the Five who weren’t there, talking about updates in everyone else’s lives but hers.

  For once, Gemma wished the restaurant music was louder and the place more crowded. Then talking would have taken more of an effort. But as luck would have it, the restaurant wasn’t busy tonight, and Gemma had plenty of opportunities to steal glances in Drew’s direction. He was his regular self though, laughing, teasing, joking, and sharing bizarre stories about some of his shoots.

  Gemma tried to read more into his stories with various models, but there was nothing she could pinpoint that would show that he was in a relationship. The only thing left was the fact that he really was single, available, and not serious with any other women.

  But why? And had it really been for two years? Despite Liz’s theory, Gemma decided that things with Valentina had messed with his head more than Drew himself probably realized.

  Yes. That was it—he was still hung up on Valentina. Gemma could breathe easier now, relax, and not worry. This weekend would be fun catching up on old times, and then she’d go back to normal life. Still, she stuck with nonalcoholic drinks.

  “What are you guys up for tonight?” Liz asked, on her second glass of wine. “Clubbing?”

  Gemma was surprised that Liz would want to go clubbing, with the whole mom-thing, but then, Liz always surprised her.

  Drew shrugged, his hazel eyes landing on Gemma. “I’ll go if Gemma wants to.”

  She ignored the significant look that Liz threw her. “I didn’t sleep much last night,” Gemma said. “So maybe we should just watch a movie at the house.”

  A smile played on Drew’s lips. “Sounds perfect. I’ve got a bunch of new releases on my laptop.” It was hard to ignore Drew’s smile. He was a bit of a movie-expert and always seemed to have new releases in advance of their actual release date.

  Liz let out a yawn. “Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I forget that I’m on a kid schedule.”

  Back at the beach house, Drew hooked his laptop to the big screen in the living room. Liz started popping a bunch of popcorn, while Gemma grabbed a blanket and sat in the middle of the couch. She curled up in the blanket and pulled one of the throw pillows onto her lap. Cozy. Perfect.

  “What movie is this?” Gemma asked Drew as he fiddled with the television.

  “The Bourne Legacy. Did you see the earlier films?” he asked then turned off overhead light.

  “At least one of them,” Gemma said. “Is this even on DVD yet?”

  “Nope.”

  The screen glowed with the opening credits, and Drew sat by her. As in, right next to her. He’d taken off his jacket, so his bare arm was right next to hers, save for the blanket.

  Gemma was grateful that the blanket covered her goose bumps.

  Liz came in with two bowls of hot popcorn and handed one to Drew. She kept the second one settled on the other side of Gemma.

  “I don’t get my own bowl?” Gemma asked.

  “You and Drew can share,” Liz said with a laugh. “I never get anything to myself, so tonight I’m indulging.”

  “So, catch me up,” Gemma said to Drew. That was a mistake, because Drew obeyed and leaned closer, practically whispering in her ear.

  The goose bumps were back in full force. Gemma was suddenly grateful for the dimness of the room. Liz
seemed oblivious, eating her popcorn, focused on the screen. Gemma took a couple of handfuls of popcorn then stopped eating. She was still full from dinner.

  About thirty minutes into the movie, Liz started snoring.

  Drew snickered, reaching over Gemma and moving Liz’s bowl to the floor. He stood and found another blanket, which he draped over Liz. Gemma watched his gentlemanly actions and silently agreed with Liz that Drew was a fine man.

  Fine, but unattainable. Besides, Gemma valued their friendship way more than anything else.

  Drew left the room and came back with two chilled water bottles. He handed her one. He turned down the volume a little on the television before sitting by Gemma. “Care to share your blanket?”

  Gemma’s heart went into overdrive. Settle down, she ordered herself. She moved the blanket over to include him. Now their arms and their legs were touching.

  What’s wrong with me? Talk about rebounding.

  She couldn’t concentrate on the movie, but the last thing she was going to do was ask Drew what was happening on screen. She didn’t know if she could handle him talking so close to her ear.

  Liz’s snores continued, so Gemma decided she had been inducted into the twilight zone. She hoped the movie wasn’t one of those three-hour ones. Sitting this close to Drew for that long wouldn’t be good, not when her brain was a mess.

  “Hey,” Drew said in her ear, nearly causing her to jump. “You still watching?”

  “Um... sort of.”

  He laughed quietly. “I have a better idea.” He stood and turned off the movie. After unhooking his laptop, he brought it over to the couch. It was darker in the room now, the only light coming from the kitchen behind them and the laptop.

  Liz shifted, letting out a huge yawn. “Did I fall asleep?”

  “Yeah,” Drew said, his voice sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

  “Is the movie over already?” Liz asked in a voice thick with sleep. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.” She rose from the couch and crossed the room with a slight sway to her steps. “I’m going to bed. See you guys in the morning.” She disappeared into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

  “Good night,” Gemma said.

  “Happy snoring,” Drew called after her, but not loud enough that Liz would hear.

  Gemma nudged him. “What if I start snoring? Will you make fun of me?”

  His eyes flickered to her, capturing her gaze in the dimness. “Are you admitting that you snore?”

  “I’m not admitting anything.”

  He laughed, and his arm slid across her shoulders. “I don’t think I’d mind your snoring.”

  The warmth of Drew’s body so close caught Gemma by surprise.

  He’s teasing, she told herself. Nothing more. Sure enough, he removed his arm and fiddled with his laptop, pulling up various files.

  “This might be it,” he said, clicking on one of the files. “Yep.”

  Gemma stared at a shot of her at the Japanese restaurant they’d gone to with that crazy couple. The memories of that night came flooding back. “That was right before they started arguing.”

  Drew clicked to the next picture.

  Gemma gasped. “You didn’t!”

  “Had the flash off,” he said. “So they never knew.”

  Drew had taken pictures of the couple arguing. “Amazing the emotion that can come through a camera.”

  “No kidding.” Gemma gazed at the animated faces. The next picture showed Gemma, wide eyed, staring at the fighting couple. “Wow, that was an insane night.”

  “Completely insane.” Drew closed the file. The wallpaper of an aquarium stared back at them. “That’s why we need a redo.”

  “A what?”

  He shifted so that he was facing her. Part of Drew’s face was lit up by the screen, his eyes nearly black as they focused on Gemma. She suddenly felt breathless as Liz’s words floated through her mind.

  He hasn’t been dating for two years because he’s been waiting for you, Gem.

  But that was impossible.

  “You know, another date,” he said. “This time without that couple.”

  “As if they’re still together,” Gemma said in a joking tone, while everything inside her was on high alert. What was Drew saying? What did he mean?

  Drew shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe they just fight a lot—maybe it works for them.”

  Gemma didn’t know what to say.

  “So what do you think?” he asked.

  She didn’t know what to think, or what Drew was really asking. “I don’t know.” Why did he want to go out on a date anyway? He had a million women to choose from—most of them supermodels.

  His voice went quiet. “What don’t you know, Gemma? Is it... because of Randy?”

  The mention of Randy was like turning on a blinding spotlight. This couldn’t be happening. Drew couldn’t really be interested in her like this. She clutched the pillow in her lap.

  “To be honest…” She took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure what you’re saying. You and I have been friends forever. I just... Sorry, my brain is slow right now. You have to tell me what you mean.”

  Drew was silent for a moment. He closed the laptop and set it on the floor. The only light came from the kitchen now. He turned toward her and moved his hand to her shoulder. Gemma’s heart fluttered at his touch. When his fingers brushed her neck, she thought she might ignite.

  “What I mean is that I want to take you on a date.” His fingers moved behind her neck, touching her hair. “A date that’s between two people, in which the guy likes the woman, and the woman might like the guy. Hopefully she likes him. Hopefully it will be fun, and maybe there will be another date after that.” His eyes burned into her.

  Gemma wasn’t sure if she was breathing; she could barely think when he was touching her like that, but she managed to move her mouth and say, “Oh.”

  His voice lowered to almost a whisper. “Is that a yes? Will you go on a date with me?”

  This isn’t really happening. It was impossible. This was Drew—her Drew—her friend and the man who was pretty much the most gorgeous person she knew. No one would believe that Drew was interested in her. But the way he looked at her right now almost convinced her that Liz had been right.

  “Okay,” she whispered back.

  His mouth moved into a half smile, and his eyebrow rose. “Okay?”

  She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “Then can I ask you another question?”

  Gemma nodded, her mind reeling. Every perception she’d had of Drew had changed in an instant.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  Gemma couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth, but as he said them, she realized she wanted him to kiss her—more than anything she could ever remember wanting. Even though one part of her shouted that she probably shouldn’t kiss Drew for a million and one reasons, the other part of her wasn’t listening—the part that was burning beneath Drew’s touch.

  She stared at him for a moment then moved her hands to his shoulders and pressed her mouth against his. If he was surprised, he got over it quickly. His lips parted, and soon she was lost in his warmth and heat. He pulled her onto his lap, and his kisses became more demanding as he drew her closer.

  Gemma couldn’t believe she was kissing Drew, that he was kissing her back as if he’d been waiting for it a long time. It was as if his patience had finally cracked, and every moment of waiting was now poured into his kiss. The more she kissed him, the more she realized she’d been waiting too—she just hadn’t realized it.

  She moved her hands along his chest, then to his stomach. He tugged off his shirt, and the heat from his body made her want to melt.

  “Gemma,” he said. “You’re so beautiful.”

  His words caused her throat to hitch. Drew thought she was beautiful. Coming from him, that was amazing.

  “You’re the one who’s beautiful,” she whispered against his mouth.

  He
laughed and rotated her until we were both lying on the couch, their legs intertwined. “I can’t believe I waited so long to kiss you.” His lips pressed against her neck, then moved up to her jaw. When his mouth met hers again, his kisses were slower, more patient.

  Gemma nestled against him, fitting her curves against his body. She’d always thought he was pretty much perfect, but she hadn’t realized how amazing it would feel to be pressed against him. His hand moved to her waist, touching bare skin where her shirt had ridden up.

  Gemma inhaled, furious heat pulsing through her, and Drew lifted his head, his eyes on her. Things were moving fast, really fast, and her heart pounded even harder when she realized she wanted them to keep going.

  Drew brushed his lips against hers then sighed. “I think I need to take a cold shower before you slap me.”

  “I’m not going to slap you,” Gemma said, breathless. She ran her hands along his arm, then to his chest. He was right. This was new. And this was moving extremely fast.

  Drew pulled her into a hug, and Gemma clung to him for a moment, feeling their hearts beating together. When he released her, she didn’t stop him from climbing off the couch. She stood, smoothing her clothing and running a hand through her hair. Before she knew it, she was in his arms again.

  This time he didn’t kiss her, just held her. When he stepped back, he stroked her cheek and said, “Good night, Gemma.”

  “Good night,” she whispered, her throat too thick to speak aloud.

  She stood there, listening to him go up the stairs. When she heard the shower running, she smiled, sinking onto the couch. Pulling the blanket around her, she lay down and clutched a pillow to her chest. She and Drew had broken every rule of the Five, but she didn’t care. She had quite possibly had the best night of her life.

  Chapter Six

  The sound of sizzling woke Gemma, not to mention the overpowering smell of bacon. Gemma’s stomach growled in response, and she opened her eyes. Why am I on the couch? Then she remembered. Drew.

  Heat shot through her as she thought about the night before. She sat up, madly combing her fingers through her messy hair and wondering how she’d let herself fall asleep on the couch. Drew had probably walked by a dozen times, viewing her in her sleeping state.