by L. P. Dover
“Last night what?” Harper said, leaning in.
I fanned myself with her magazine. “Girl, last night was amazing. I finally let him inside the walls I’d built up, and it made me feel so free, like I didn’t have to worry about anything. I felt so alive.”
Her smile widened. “There’s the Ashley I know and love! I never thought I’d see you again.”
“What do you mean?”
She lifted her sunglasses. “When you were with Daniel, he squashed that spark away from you. All you did was work at the clinic and go with him to all his stuffy-ass parties. You got sucked in.”
It took too long to realize it had been happening. And by that point, it was too late. “I didn’t know how to bounce back,” I confessed. “After Daniel and I broke up, I devoted everything to the clinic. It was what made me happy.”
“But now, you have something else that does too. You’re going to have to make time for him, even if that means taking breaks every now and again. Cam can pick up the slack. Lord knows you’ve taken on his patients a gazillion times while he’s out of town with Olivia.”
It was true, I had. Maybe she had a point. I didn’t want to be married to my job. I wanted something real, someone I could come home to at night. My phone beeped with an incoming text.
Lucas: My brother asked if we could hang out with him and his girl tonight for a bit. You okay with that?
Harper snickered. “What did loverboy say?”
I showed her the message. “Should be fun. I’m curious to see who Aiden’s girl is.” Then I thought of something.
Me: He’s not with Allie, is he?
Lucas: Hell no. He doesn’t want that kind of crazy.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I texted him back.
Me: Sounds good then. I think it’ll be fun.
Lucas: Great. We’ll hang out on the roof again. I have an idea and want to run it by you. It’s a surprise.
A smile lit up my face.
“Now, that’s what I like seeing,” Harper said. “You haven’t smiled like that in years.”
I set my phone on the glass top patio table. “Pretty much everything he does excites me. Giving me golf lessons, sneaking into the massage room, nightly swims in a private pool, planning surprises. It’s all so surreal. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop—for things to get hard. It’s not going to be this easy forever.” I looked out at the ocean, at the waves crashing against the shore.
“You’re right, it’s not.” Harper grabbed my hand, drawing my attention to her. “But you have to decide if it’s worth it.”
My heart already knew the answer to that.
“What exactly is this surprise you texted me about?” I glanced out at the horizon and then back to Lucas. The rooftop had an amazing view of the ocean.
Lucas pulled me in for a kiss. “I’ll tell you tonight when we’re alone. Aiden and Meredith are on their way up.” He ran his hands down my bare arms and groaned as he looked at me in my bikini. “Hopefully, it’s not too late when they leave. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep my hands off of you.”
“Ditto,” I agreed, reaching into his swimming trunks. The sharp intake of his breath made me smile. His cock twitched and I squeezed it, feeling it lengthen in my palm. “The anticipation is one of the best parts.”
He snorted. “Yeah, if you like torture.” The sound of laughter could be heard through the door and I let go of him and turned around. When the door opened, Aiden walked through with a beautiful brunette. Lucas grabbed me around the waist, pressing his hard cock against my back. “I need you to stay right here for a couple of minutes.”
I tried not to laugh and failed. “Will do. But I’m not sure rubbing it against my ass is going to help you.”
Meredith’s eyes widened when she saw us. Underneath her white cover up dress, she had on a bright blue bikini. She held onto Aiden’s arm as they approached us.
Aiden grinned. “It’s nice to see you again, Ashley.”
“Same to you.”
He guided Meredith forward a step. “Lucas, Ashley, I’d like you to meet Meredith.”
She blew out a nervous breath and held out her hand to me. “You’re so pretty.”
I shook her hand. “Awe, thank you. So are you.”
She averted her gaze to Lucas and laughed giddily. “Sorry, I don’t mean to act silly. I’ve just never met anyone famous before. I had no clue Aiden’s brother was a celebrity.”
Lucas shook her hand. “We’re still just normal people. I’m glad you could join us tonight.”
I waved him off. “Don’t worry, Meredith. I didn’t even know who he was when I met him.” The guys went off to grab a couple of beers and I nodded toward the pool. “Want to float around with me?”
“Of course.” She took off her cover up and we jumped in the pool. There were two inflatable lounge chairs that we climbed up in. The temp was a record high in Myrtle Beach. The heat of the sun felt like it was July. Then again, we were in the South. Our weather was finicky.
Meredith and I floated side by side. “What do you do?” I asked, tossing some water onto my heated skin.
“I work for a PR firm in California. I majored in marketing at USC.”
“Nice. You have to be good with people to do a job like that.”
She nodded. “I can hold my own. What about you?”
“I’m a doctor. I graduated from Duke a few years back and took over my father’s general practice, along with my brother.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s awesome. Are you local?”
I nodded. “Yep. I’m at the resort because my future sister-in-law wanted a week vacation before her wedding this Saturday.”
She glanced over at the guys. “How did you and Lucas hook up? Aiden and I met down in the bar. It’s not something I usually do, but he was too hard to resist.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I understand completely. I met Lucas in the bar too. When we first met, we both lied about our names—he told me his name was Bryson and I said mine was Sarah. It wasn’t until a day later when I found out who he was. Believe me, I felt like an idiot for not knowing.”
She paddled closer to me. “He seems to be pretty laid back. Not at all what I thought somebody famous would be like.”
I stared at him and smiled. “You’re right. He has a reputation of being a ladies’ man, but he’s not been like that here. He’s been completely focused on me.”
“Aiden told me not to say anything about you and Lucas to anyone. I’m assuming that’s because you’re not going public yet?”
My heart skipped a beat. “We are this Saturday. I’m going to introduce him to my family at the wedding.”
She snickered. “I can only imagine how that’s going to go. Are you nervous?”
“You have no idea. I think it’ll be a shock for them at first, but mostly, I’m worried about my brother. He’s always been protective of his little sister.”
“I know how that goes. I have an older brother as well. He punched his friend once because he wouldn’t stop staring at me in my bikini.”
Sounded like something Cameron would do. “Growing up, my brother had threatened all of his friends. None of them were allowed to get near me.”
She shook her head and sighed. “It’s nice having people protect you though.” I couldn’t agree more.
A thought crossed my mind. “Hey, why don’t you and Aiden come to the wedding if you’re not doing anything Saturday? It’ll be fun. Lots of food and champagne. My brother won’t mind adding you to the list. And hey, you can meet more famous people. My sister-in-law’s father is a retired NFL player. Some of the Carolina Cougars will be there.”
Grabbing her chest, she gasped. “Holy crap on a cracker! I would love to come. If Aiden doesn’t want to, I’ll definitely be there. Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome.”
She lifted her sunglasses on top of her head, her gaze serious. “You know, you’re not what I expected
at all.”
“How is that?” I regarded her curiously.
She shrugged. “When Aiden told me who his brother was, I figured you’d be a stuck-up bitch. Guess that’s why they say you should never assume.”
Chuckling, I waved her off. “Not going to lie, I was a bitch to him at the beginning, especially when I found out who he was. The last thing I wanted was to get my heart broken.” I looked over at Lucas and he waved, giving me that sexy smile of his. “So far, he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Yet.
We had sat around and talked for hours. Aiden told us embarrassing stories about Lucas, about how when he was younger, he’d run into a tree and that was why his nose was slightly crooked. You couldn’t tell unless you got really close to him. However, Lucas returned the favor, in effort to embarrass Aiden in front of Meredith. I’d never laughed so hard in my life.
It was late by the time they left.
Finally alone, Lucas slid his arms around my waist as we watched the moon shimmer over the water. “Guess you got a few good laughs in at my expense today.”
My chest and cheeks still hurt from laughing so hard, but I couldn’t stop from snickering once again. I held onto his hands, loving the feel of his warmth behind me. “Your brother’s a nut. It was fun having him around. You act alike, but yet, you’re completely different.”
“He looks like our mother. His smile is just like hers.”
I squeezed his hands. “I can tell you miss her.”
“I do. I wish you could’ve met her. She would’ve loved you.”
The air filled with silence and I could feel his overwhelming sadness. I didn’t know what it was like to lose a parent. My heart would break if I lost either one of mine. “So, what is this surprise you’ve been keeping from me? You said you wanted to talk to me about something,” I reminded him, changing the subject to happier thoughts.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” He nipped my ear with his teeth, his warm breath on my skin. “You don’t have to agree to any of it, but what are the chances of you possibly skipping out of the rest of the bachelorette week? There’s only three days left before the rehearsal on Friday.”
Furrowing my brows, I turned around. His eyes sparkled and he smiled. “What’s going on?”
Cupping my cheeks, he kissed me and I melted against him. He rested his forehead to mine. “There’s somewhere I want to take you; it’s completely private. I just . . .” He sighed and looked out at the water. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice here, but it’d be great not to have any distractions. All I have is this week with you and that’s it.”
That wasn’t true, but I didn’t want to tell him just yet that I planned on driving to Charlotte to see him. I wanted to save that for later. “Well, tell me,” I said excitedly. “You’re killing me here. Patience is not my strong suit.” I loved his surprises. What could be more amazing than having our own rooftop pool?
Taking my hands, he lifted them up to his chest and pulled me closer. “I kind of rented out a private island not too far from here.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs. “An island?”
A chuckle escaped his lips. “Yes, an island. It’s forty-seven acres, with a little cottage for us and us alone. We can swim in the ocean, kayak, fish—do whatever we want.”
I stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Are you serious?”
He lifted me in his arms. “Say you’ll come with me.” He swung me around and I laughed, my mind reeling from excitement.
“How are we going to get there?”
Setting me down, he pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of a small yacht. “Hope you don’t get seasick.”
I lived at the beach, and yet, I’d never been out on a boat in the middle of the ocean. “Guess we’re going to find out.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ashley
“I can’t wait to hear all about it, girl.” Harper sighed through the phone. “I think Noah’s getting a little antsy about Lucas doing all this crazy stuff for you. I keep telling him I don’t need the fancy stuff.”
“I don’t either, Harp. I’ve never had a guy do this for me.” It was nice though, like living in a fairytale.
Lucas started up the boat, so I held the phone closer to my ear in order to hear. I felt guilty for lying to Olivia, but I didn’t know what else to do. “Was Olivia upset this morning?”
“She didn’t seem to be, but she has a lot to keep her occupied here. All she knows is that an emergency came up and you had to leave for a couple of days. I’m sure she’ll ask you all about it when you get back. You’ll just have to decide if you want to tell her the truth or not.”
Groaning, I leaned back against the plush, white leather seat. Lucas was up on deck at the wheel. He moved around like he knew what he was doing. “I hate lying to people. I’ll probably come clean when we get back. I just pray she’s not angry with me for ditching her.” The boat pulled away from the dock and we were on our way into the deep blue sea. “Harp, I have to go. I’m probably going to lose signal the further we get out into the ocean.”
“All right, my darling. Have fun.”
“You too.”
“Oh, I plan on it. Noah and I are going to enjoy the private rooftop pool tonight.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. “Lucas and I have already broken that in.”
“TMI, Ash. I don’t want to know.” She hung up and I burst out laughing.
“What are you laughing about?” Lucas shouted.
I joined him up on deck. The wind whipped by us as we sailed across the water. “Oh, just Harper. I ruined her night by telling her that we already enjoyed the pool she’ll be swimming in tonight.”
Shaking his head, he held out his arm and I slid into his side. “I hope you’re ready for this. Three whole days of total seclusion.”
I looked down at my phone and the bars slowly slipped away. There was no service whatsoever. “How far away is this island?”
He pointed out toward the horizon. “About ten more minutes that way.”
At least, we weren’t too far away from the mainland.
When we arrived, I stared at the island in awe. Completely covered in trees, I could only see the top deck of the cottage peeking out. There was a single dock with two kayaks attached to it, along with a small, wooden boat with paddles. The whole place was desolate. It was scary yet exhilarating, all at the same time.
“I sure hope neither one of us gets hurt out here,” I muttered, biting one of my nails.
Lucas chuckled and slowly pulled up to the dock. “You’re a doctor. We’re better off than most.”
It was a good thing I had brought my medical bag along. Once the boat was tied up to the dock, we grabbed our bags and set them at the end of the dock. Up ahead there was a white, sandy path lined with palm trees that led toward the cottage.
He nodded in its direction. “Want to take a walk?”
There were large sea shells all over the shore. I couldn’t wait to explore. “Yes,” I breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Taking my hand, we walked along the beach. The water was calm, not a wave in sight. The other side of the island had to be where the waves were. I picked up a conch that had to be about eight inches long. “So beautiful.”
“Do you like it here?” Lucas asked.
I set the shell back down and giggled with delight. “It’s fantastic. Feels like a dream. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
He cupped my cheek. “We can do whatever we want. It doesn’t have to stop here.”
I placed my hand over his. “You don’t have to bribe me, Lucas. I don’t need lavish getaways to keep me interested.”
“I know. I just want you to realize that being with me can be fun. It’s going to be crazy at times, and there will be moments when things might get a little hectic with the media and all.” With a heavy sigh, he averted his gaze to the sand. “I’m hoping you’ll be able to see past all that.”
“What is it exac
tly that you’re worried about?” I asked. “You seem stressed.”
He blew out a long breath. “I didn’t want to talk to you about this yet, especially in the first few minutes on the island, but I want you to know that I’m serious about making this relationship work. Noah brought up some valid concerns that I hadn’t really thought about until now.”
His hand slid off my face and he turned away to face the water. “When we go public, your face will be all over the tabloids. The media is going to know who you are. They’re going to dig.” He glanced back at me. “Do you know what that means?”
I nodded, and he shook his head in disbelief. I’d already thought long and hard on it. Being with him would alter my life forever, but I wanted to take that chance.
“What does it mean, sunshine?”
There was that familiar vulnerability that I’d grown to cherish in such a short time. It made him human. “It means,” I wrapped my arms around his waist, “I won’t have the privacy I once had. At least, not until the news of us has lost its luster. Since when did you become the one worried about this? I’m the one who originally had the problem with it.”
He brought me in for a hug and placed his chin on top of my head. “I just got to thinking about all the shit you’re going to face alone.” He pulled back to look at me again. “When I leave, it doesn’t mean the press will.”
“I’m a big girl, Lucas. I think I can handle it, or I wouldn’t have agreed to this in the first place.” I patted his butt and let go. “We didn’t come all this way to talk negative. Let’s have some fun.”
Chuckling, he turned around, looking at me as if he’d never seen me before. “You’re scaring me. You’re usually the voice of reason.”
“I realized that fear kept me from doing things I’ve always wanted to do. And I’m determined to not let it stop me anymore. Taking risks is a part of life. It keeps things exciting.”
