“Women don’t like to be lied to. I thought she deserved to know the truth.”
I clench my fists and grind my teeth together. “You told her. Why? I was going to tell her. I just needed some time.”
“I bet you did.” He smirks and walks past me.
My chest feels tight—I’m so frustrated. I never meant to deceive her. I just wanted a chance to get to know her without my fame getting in the way, a chance to tell her when I felt like the time was right.
What I wanted was unrealistic. I rolled the dice and took a risk by trying to hide my life from her. I knew the odds were stacked against me. And I lost. Now she probably won’t ever speak to me again. I put on my goggles and wade out in the water. Maybe I can find calm in the water like Jade. All I want right now is to clear my head, to get some perspective on the situation. Should I keep my distance? Or try to talk to her? If only she could understand what was behind my silence. I needed to know if it was me she was attracted to—or just the image of me. And now I know. She agreed to a date, not knowing I was a celebrity. There must have been something about the real me that caught her attention. That still amazes me. Every other woman I’ve been involved with lately has been obsessed with my celebrity status. It’s such a turnoff. I could tell Jade genuinely liked me.
I swim parallel to the shore, toward the estuary in the direction I saw her swimming. She’s out of sight now. She swims so fast, I’ll never catch her. But I might see her when she’s on her way back. My stroke feels relatively relaxed compared to a week ago. The changes she made to my stroke helped and the practice has paid off. The water is salty and buoyant, it’s no effort at all to stay on top of the water. It feels easy compared to the pool swims.
I keep swimming parallel to the shore, hoping I’ll see her. Maybe she’ll be so impressed that I’m out here practicing, she’ll forget her anger and give me another chance. Noticing that my arms feel heavy and fatigued, I roll over on my back and take a few breaths, looking up at the clear blue sky. And then I keep swimming. But I never see her. I don’t see the dolphins either. I roll over on my back again to rest. I glance at my watch. I’ve been in the water for almost 30 minutes, much longer than I’ve ever swum before. On the way back, my limbs start to feel heavy. I can barely raise my arms out of the water to take a stroke. I shouldn’t have swum this far. It’s really hot today. The water feels like warm soup and I didn’t drink enough water for this long of a swim. I’m dehydrated and fatigued.
I can make it, I tell myself. Just a little further. I start angling toward shore. That’s when I see Jade on the beach. Talking to that imbécil who approached me earlier. She’s waving her arms in the air. She swipes at her eyes with one hand. She’s crying. Upset. Because of me. He leans in toward her. Places a hand on her arm. The hand drifts down to rub her back.
No. She can’t be involved with him. He’s not right for her at all. She needs a strong man. That guy’s nothing but a ten-pound weakling. Even worse, he’s vindictive and rude. He’s not the kind of guy she should be hanging around. I tread water and watch them. A wave splashes into my face and fills my mouth. I cough and choke. The adrenaline of watching him touch her distracted me. Now my body screams that its completely spent. I cough again. Another wave splashes me in the face, and this time goes up my nose. What am I going to do? I’m still at least twenty meters from shore. I frantically stroke my way through the water to make it to the beach. My view underwater starts to tip and sway. It’s just the waves, I tell myself until I realize I no longer have the strength to lift my head out of the water.
My body slowly descends toward the sandy bottom. No, I say through the water. I see a trail of bubbles and hear the sound of my distress. And then as my brain grasps that I’m not going to make it out of this alive, I wish somehow Jade could end up with a good man. Someone who really cared about her. Someone who could protect her. I feel something rubbery moving underneath me. And then I see only darkness.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jade
Justin’s hand touches my back. I flinch at his touch. I don’t want his hands on me. The guy creeps me out. But I’m overwrought. I’m riding a rollercoaster of emotions. I should tell that I just want to be left alone.
“It’s better that you know. That’s why I g—”
His whiny voice breaks into my thoughts. It annoys the hell out of me. I take a step back, my hands on my hips. “Wait, you put that article outside my door?”
One of his pale brows lifts. “What if I did?”
Sudden anger heats my face and I lean in toward him, willing myself not to punch him. There’s nothing I hate more than people meddling in my life. “You’re crazy. I don’t even know you and now you think you can run my life? You say I shouldn’t swim with dolphins and drop off a newspaper article about my boyfriend to try to mess up our relationship.”
“Oh, he’s your boyfriend now, is he? He’s definitely not a very good swimmer.” Justin cranes his neck toward the sea.
“What do you mean?” I turn around to see what he’s looking at. There’s a man struggling in the water. Oh, no. It’s Luca. I could identify his stroke anywhere. His left arm always comes straight up out of the water on the recovery. But he’s not supposed to be here. Not for three more days. I shield my eyes with one hand to block out the sun. I watch him pause to tread water. But his movements look frantic. His chin is barely above water. He’s paddling fast with his hands and splashing water everywhere. He’s exhibiting all the signs of being a drowning swimmer. His head sinks lower and disappears under the water. I drop my cap on the sand and sprint into the water, shoving on my goggles. I dive in and swim toward him. I’m almost there when I see my dolphin friends. Two of them are trying to nudge Luca toward the beach. Nick is underneath him, preventing him from sinking to the bottom. I swim toward them, but I don’t try to take over. They move much more quickly than I could. In less than a minute, Luca’s in waist deep water. I step in and the dolphins glide away once I scoop Luca into my arms. “Thank you, Nick. And all of you.”
I drag Luca from the water and stretch him out on the sand a few feet away from the gentle surf. Tears fill my eyes and pain twists in the pit of my stomach. Will I be able to save him? I pull the goggles off of his head and turn my ear to listen to his chest to check for breathing. He starts to cough up seawater. Then his eyes fly open. They look more gorgeous than ever. Blue with a hint of green and rimmed with big lashes that are wet with sea water. I forget that I was mad at him for not telling me he was a famous singer. He’s alive and that’s all I care about right now. I fling my arms around him and kiss him on the lips. “Oh, thank God. you’re okay. When I saw you out there, I…” His lips feel so cold. I kiss them again, trying to bring warmth into his body. “Why? Why did you swim alone like that?”
A faint smile raises the corners of his beautiful mouth. “I wanted to surprise you.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Luca
Jade kisses me again. Water from her wet hair drips onto my face. Her dark eyes are full of tears. She cares. She didn’t kiss me because I’m famous. She kissed me because she was scared she would lose me. She’s not crying because if I’d drowned, she’d never have a chance to ride in a limo. She’s crying because she’s thrilled I’m still alive.
I ache to touch her, to pull her in close and crush my lips to hers. But I’m so weak from my struggle in the sea that my muscles refuse to move. They feel heavy and leaden. All I can do is lay in the sand and admire her beauty. I look up in awe at her wide-open eyes framed with wet lashes, her wet hair that is glued to her face and her slick wet shoulders. I try again to raise my arm, but I can’t. I sigh with frustration, then I allow my muscles to relax and sink into the sand. I almost drowned. Of course, I can’t do much at the moment. I need to rest. At least it’s not over. I didn’t die. And she appears to have forgiven me. There should be many days in our future when I can kiss her and hold her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” I hear my voice inside my head. One of m
y ears is still clogged with water.
“We’ll talk about it later,” she says. “Let me see if I can find someone to help me get you to your condo. What unit are you staying in this time?”
She speaks again before I have a chance to respond.
“Oh, wait, you better come back to my place so I can make sure you’re okay.”
“Please, just let me rest here for a minute.” I turn my head and notice the beach is mostly deserted. No one seems to have witnessed my near drowning. There was that irritating man I saw talking to her, touching her. I wonder where he went.
She glances around. “I thought maybe Justin could help me carry you. He was here a minute ago, but I think he left.”
Hearing the mean man’s name on her lips boiled his blood. “He’s not a good person. When I came down here to swim, he rubbed it in my face that he’d told you about my career.”
Her brows draw together. “I know. He was a jerk to do that. But I’m still upset that you lied.”
“Jade, I’m sorry.” If only I could touch her. But my muscles are still too weak. “I know it was wrong. But it’s complicated. I really enjoyed that night we went out and those days at the beach. No woman ever has shown any interest in me without knowing I was famous. I wanted a chance to just be a…a person.” All the talking leaves me out of breath. The inside of my mouth feels like its lined with sandpaper.
Her lips open wide and a surprised “Oh,” escapes her lips.
I remain silent and watch her. I can see by the slight inward tilt of her brows and the emotion in the depths of her dark eyes that she gets it.
My head feels like it’s tumbling backward. My view of Jade’s face blurs and then starts to sway. I feel dizzy, overheated, and desperate for a drink of water. I see more shapes moving around me. And then I hear a man’s voice. “Do you need help?”
“He almost drowned,” says Jade. “And I think he’s dehydrated. Could you help me move him to my condo?”
“Maybe we should call Rescate.” The man pulls a cell phone out of his pocket. “They can send an ambulance.”
“No,” I say in a weak voice. “I don’t need an ambulance.”
“They’re a volunteer medical group. It wouldn’t hurt to let them look at you.”
“No, please, I just need some water and to get out of the sun.” Struggling, but finally able to move, I push myself up and rest back on my hands. My view of the sea sways. A wave of nausea sweeps over me. I don’t think I can make it to my feet.
“We’ll help get him inside then. I’m Thad. And this is my wife Amanda.” Jade quickly introduces herself and tells them my name. I feel supportive hands on my arms and shoulders, raising me from the sand. The bald-headed man studies me curiously.
“Hey wait. I thought you looked familiar. I’ve seen your videos on YouTube. You’re Luca Espinoza, aren’t you?”
I give Thad a weak nod, leaning heavily on him and Jade as I stumble my way through the sand toward the condominium complex. Moving brings some strength back to my muscles. I work harder to support more of my weight. By the time we get up the stairs into the grass, walking doesn’t feel so bad.
Still holding my arm with a tight grip, Jade turns toward me with a worried frown on her face. “You shouldn’t be exerting yourself.”
“I can move better now. Está bien.”
Thad supports me again as we walk up the stairs. His grip on my arm tightens. “I’ve got him. You go ahead and open the door.”
Jade unlocks the door and pulls it open. “Come on in. Let’s get him onto the couch.”
My body is still covered with sand. Worried I’ll make a mess of her tidy condo, I lean over and attempt to brush it off.
“Don’t worry about it,” says Jade. “I’ll just brush enough sand off so you won’t be uncomfortable.” While the couple supports me, she skims her hand over my back and shoulders. The jolts of sensation her touch incites is a pleasant reminder that I’m alive.
The three of them walk me over toward the couch. I collapse gratefully onto the leather cushions. Jade raises my head to place a pillow under it.
“Thank you so much for your help.” I raise my head and then let it drop again. The long walk has drained all my strength.
“It was no problem,” Thad says, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses, which are slightly askew after the difficult trip up from the beach. “Maybe we can get a photo with you later?”
“I can do better than that. How would you like tickets to one of my concerts? I’ll be performing in Hermosillo in October.”
Thad looks at Amanda with surprised eyes. “Really? That would be wonderful. We’re in condo 262.”
“I’ll print out some for you and drop them by later.”
“Don’t worry about that now. Just rest.” The two of them stand beside the couch, watching me curiously.
Jade comes closer and leans over me. She’s wearing her swimsuit and has a floral sarong knotted around her waist. She’s carrying a tall glass of water. I take it from her hand and drink it all down in a few gulps.
“Would you like more?”
“Sí, por favor. It tastes really refreshing.”
“I put a dash of coconut water in it. For some electrolytes.”
“Buena idea. I’m sorry I keep speaking in Spanish. I’m still disoriented.”
“Don’t worry, Luca. It’s okay. Hang on—I’ll be right back.” She takes my empty glass and heads back into the kitchen, returning seconds later with more water.
“Well, we better be going,” says Thad. “Please let us know if you need anything.”
“I sure will. Thank you again,” says Jade. “It was nice to meet you.”
I thank the couple for their help and then allow my head to collapse back on the pillow once they’ve left. I should get up and go back to my condo. I don’t want to be a burden to Jade. But I’m so comfortable. My back slowly sinks deeper into the leather cushions, my eyelids drift closed. It’s a comfort to know Jade is nearby to check on me.
She smoothes her hand over my forehead. “Why don’t you rest for a while.”
“I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere anyway. I’ll be at my computer, working on a project. I’ll be close by if you need anything.” She has that look in her eyes, like she doesn’t want to step away.
“I’ll never lie to you again, I promise.”
“Hearing Thad ask for a photo after you nearly drowned made me understand why you didn’t reveal who you are. It must get old to be recognized everywhere you go.”
“It is. But the loneliness—that’s the worst. I get along great with my brother and the other guys in our band. But dating has been a nightmare. I’ve always wanted to have dinner with a woman who actually likes me.”
Her eyes widen with compassion. “You have obviously been asking out the wrong women.”
My insides melt in response to her gentle tone of voice. “Obviously. Until I met you.”
A blush creeps up her neck and reddens her cheeks. “That’s nice of you to say. I do like you, Luca. Very much.” She leans in closer. Her face, her lips are just inches away. Her skin smells of salt and coconut sunscreen.
My lips tingle in anticipation of the kiss. I reach for her face and stroke her soft cheek with my fingertips. “Thank you, Jade. For saving me. And for understanding.”
“You’re welcome.” She hovers over me for an instant and then shifts away. “I have work I need to do. But I’ll be right in the next room if you need me.” She pats me on the shoulder and steps away.
I do need her. More than she knows. But the kiss that never happened tells me she’s still afraid. That she’s still afraid I will hurt her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jade
The sun slowly descends toward the western mountains near the jagged volcanic peak of Tetakawi. I shield my eyes from the glare, which is heating up my living room more than I’d like. The sun disappears, l
eaving behind its signature on the horizon—setting every feathery cloud on fire in brilliant hues of orange, pink, and red.
Luca is still sound asleep on my couch, snoring softly. I walk over to him and study his face. My fingers drift toward him, but I resist the temptation to stroke his face. His thick brows and dark curls and even the dark shadow of his day-old beard on his angular jawline starkly contrast to the unhealthy pallor of his skin. His plump, deliciously shaped lips are still a faded, pale purple. At least his breathing is regular. The poor man must have been completely worn out to sleep for so many hours straight. As if the near drowning weren’t enough, he’s probably also sleep-deprived from his concert tour.
This man fast asleep in my condo is a famous performer. I can’t imagine what it would be like to walk in Luca’s shoes. To live that lifestyle. The glamour of the money and fame and crowds in awe of him come at the cost of a grueling schedule and being constantly hounded by the paparazzi. No wonder he hides out in San Carlos. This quiet town has to be a wonderful break from the chaos of the big cities where he tours. In this community of mostly older Americans and Canadians—many of whom likely don’t follow pop charts or have a clue who he is—he can go out without being recognized. He must relish the luxury of being anonymous.
I step back to my computer and open a file that contains the first chapter of my latest romance novel, Forever by the Sea. I write the scene where Arianna’s dreaming—and where she has an erotic experience with a man she doesn’t realize she’s soon to meet in real life.
Jade's Song (South of the Border Book 2) Page 10
