Seaside Sweets

by Melissa Chambers

  The opening guitar licks of “Over the Hills and Far Away” started, and he couldn’t help a glance at her. She smiled and inched closer to him on the couch…or had he been the one to move? Robert Plant’s easy voice came over the speakers, and he found that it was definitely him moving closer to her. She didn’t move, just kept grinning at him like she knew what he wanted. His hand reached up to her neck without his permission, his fingers sliding through her damp hair. “I’m moving,” he said, idiotically, inches from her mouth now.

  “Not tonight,” she replied.

  Just one kiss. Could he have that? Could he allow himself that?

  Her lips were on his before he could do anything else about it. She slid her hand down to his leg and rested it under his knee, squeezing as they opened their mouths and took their kiss to the next level. He lost himself in the moment, his mind fuzzy and free, focused only on Seanna and what she did to him. He couldn’t remember life before her, and he damn sure didn’t want to know it after her.

  The reasons he should walk away from her right now were stacked so high in his brain he could barely see straight, but the most important reason to back off was that she wasn’t sober. If anything was going to happen between the two of them, it wasn’t going to be in a tequila haze.

  He pulled away and realized she was winding a lock of his hair around her finger. He really needed a cut. “Was that real or a dream?” she whispered, and then rested her arm on the back of the couch, laying her head on top of it. Her eyes got heavy, finally closing.

  He let out a sigh, not believing he’d just allowed himself to kiss her. He stood and positioned a pillow on the end of the couch, and then eased her down to it. Covering her with a blanket, he watched her breathing steady.

  He settled into the recliner and turned the television on low. He should leave, but he needed to make sure she was okay. He didn’t think she was that drunk, but if something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself if he left now. He knew that better than anyone.

  He exhaled a deep breath and let his head drop back behind him. Fuck. If he was going to get through this, he’d have to be stronger than he was tonight.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Blake opened the bag of ice he’d brought and poured it over the craft beer in the cooler. He really didn’t want to be there. He liked these two guys too much. The last thing he needed was to grow closer to them when he was trying to get further away. But they’d both insisted and said this one last boat trip, just the three of them, would be in lieu of any going-away party. That was a fair enough trade. The last thing he needed was half the town gathered around him asking questions about his new job.

  Besides, he was going to take this opportunity to confront Bo about why he hadn’t asked Seanna out yet and convince him that he had to do it quickly…before Blake got further involved.

  Chase patted his pockets. “Goddammit.”

  “What?” Blake asked.

  “I left the damn keys to the boat at home. Can you believe that shit?”

  “Give me your car keys, and I’ll run get them.”

  “Nah, I’ll do it. Just sit here and try not to drink all the beer. Bo will be here in a minute.”

  “All right,” Blake said and took a seat on the cushions facing the sea.

  Watching the waves crest and break, he thought about how much he’d miss the ocean when he got to Kansas. A wave of panic washed over his chest. He’d gotten used to that by now. The idea of going back to medicine gave him minor panic attacks, complete with a dizzy head. He wasn’t sure he was ready for this. Not sure at all. He closed his eyes, trying to relax, but the flood of stress that had given him permanent lines between his eyebrows clouded his brain.

  The crunch of gravel signaling Bo’s arrival perked him up. This was perfect timing. They could talk freely before Chase got back. If Blake couldn’t convince Bo to ask Seanna out, then he’d consider wrapping up his business early and getting out of town as soon as he could.

  When he heard Bo getting close, Blake shouted, “Around the front deck. Chase forgot the keys.”

  Bo’s footfalls were quicker than usual…lighter. Blake peered in the direction of the steps.

  Seanna’s chest sizzled as she rounded the corner and found Blake sitting by himself. She’d busted a move on him Wednesday night, and it’d gone all wrong. She’d thought their kiss was magical and was ready for more, but he’d graciously pulled away, putting the brakes on everything. She’d faked sleep just to save face, and then he’d lain her down and covered her up like a perfect damn gentleman.

  “I…didn’t think you were coming,” she said.

  He blinked, his eyebrows lifting sky-high. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Oh, fantastic. Yet another situation he was forced into with her. Lovely. She glanced around the open deck. “I thought this was a professional mixer for Chase’s colleagues.”

  Blake stood, peering around her. “Why’s Bo’s truck headed up the road?”

  “He was just dropping me off. My car wouldn’t start, and I was going to take Cassidy’s, but he just happened to be at the shop when I went to get the keys from her, so he said he’d bring me. He was headed this direction anyway.”

  He frowned. “Cassidy doesn’t take her car to the shop. She rides her bike.”

  What, was he calling her a liar now? And what business was it of his how she got there? “Well, she did today. I guess she had something to transport from the house to the shop that was too big for the basket.”

  The motor on the boat started at the same time someone said, “Hello.”

  They both jerked their heads to the cabin door. A petite woman with her hair French braided neatly wearing all black—pants, button-down shirt and tie—held up both hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Natasha. I’ll be handling the service for the two of you this evening.” She pointed at the beer in Blake’s hand. “I see you’re set for a drink. Ma’am, would you like a cocktail? My signature cocktail is a lightly sweetened Mai Tai. We’ll have white wine with dinner, so you’re welcome to start with that. Or if you prefer beer, just let me know your favorite brew, and if we don’t have it I’ll recommend a similar, just as fantastic one.”

  Seanna narrowed her gaze, searching between the girl and Blake, who seemed to understand what was going on now, and looked super pissed about it. This was not Seanna’s week. The boat rocked, and she steadied herself, grabbing onto the side of the hot tub.

  “Are we taking off?” Blake asked.

  “Setting sail. Yes, sir. Would you like a frosty glass for that beer?”

  Seanna looked out at the parking lot. “I’m sorry, but aren’t more people coming? Are we on the right boat? Chase O’Neil? Is this his boat?” The boat powered into the sound.

  The woman inhaled a deep breath, as if the jig was finally up. “Actually, it’s just going to be the two of you this evening…and myself and the chef, of course. She’ll be doubling as your captain. Our deepest apologies that she couldn’t introduce herself beforehand given the situation, but you’ll meet her at dinnertime. Other than that and as few instances as possible, I assure you we’ll be invisible. Now, let’s make a decision on that cocktail.”

  Blake rubbed his knuckles against his forehead, which did not make Seanna feel any better about this situation. “There’s been a mistake,” he said. “Please kindly ask the chef or captain or whatever she is to turn this boat around and take us back to shore.”

  She squinted. “See, I’d be happy to do that, but my employer asked that I keep the evening on track and that includes cocktails.” She clapped her hands together and held them there in front of her. “How about that Mai Tai, Ms. Perry?”

  “So Chase is paying you to kidnap us,” Blake said, his face lighting up fire-engine red. Seanna had been starting to talk herself into going along with this charade, whatever it was about, but with as pissed off and irritated as Blake was looking, she was about ready to jump ship and swim back to shore. />
  “Kidnap?” Natasha asked, looking overly confused and guilty as sin. “I’m not sure I understand. Didn’t each of you come here of your own accord for an afternoon cruise?”

  Blake’s brow furrowed, his mouth shut tight, giving her the stare-down, but the girl was standing her ground.

  “I’m barely 5’1 and weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. Would you like to call the police?” Blake rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair. “Okay look,” she said, hands on hips, “Chase is paying me tonight whether or not the two of you agree to go on this rendezvous. But he’s paying me double if you do decide to cruise, and I could really use the money. So…” She looked between Seanna and Blake, her eyes pleading. She scrunched up her face. “It’s for my mother’s operation.”

  Seanna had to give her props for her effort. She glared at Blake, and then looked back at Natasha. “We just have to ride on the boat, right? You get your money as long as we’re gone from the dock for, what, an hour?”

  “Three-hour tour,” Natasha said with a wink.

  Seanna shrugged. “That’s fine with me.” She dug in her bag and came up with a paperback, glaring at Blake. “I brought a book. I’ll take the back deck, and you can have this front deck. Deal?”

  He just looked at her wordlessly, his expression impassive.

  “Deal,” Seanna said. “And I’d love a Mai Tai. Thank you.” She teetered down the narrow decking to the other side of the large vessel. Plopping down on a chaise lounge, she fished her baseball hat out of her bag and adjusted it on her head, pulling her ponytail through. There were worse things than spending the day on a luxury boat with a wait staff and a personal chef. She’d make the most of it, even if the asshole of the century was just steps away.

  Natasha appeared with the Mai Tai, and Seanna took it from her. “Thank you. And thanks for putting up with us today.”

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  “If you make him one of these, give him an extra shot of rum. He needs something to get the stick loose from his butt.”

  “No problem. But I think he’s sticking to beer.” She smiled and made her exit.

  After a bit of traveling across the inlet, reading the same page about ten times, the footfalls coming her way indicated she was going to have to face him. She pushed her sunglasses up farther on her nose and stared intently at the page. And yes, the book was right-side-up. She checked.

  “Hey,” he said, standing ten feet from her like an idiot.

  She flipped a page. “Hey.”

  “I’m sorry about that back there. I hope you know that had nothing to do with you.”

  Oh, the nerve. She shrugged with a little dismissive noise for effect.

  He approached her. “I wasn’t upset to be with you on this boat alone. I was pissed at Chase and Bo…am pissed. Aren’t you?”

  She glanced around at the open sea and up at the clear afternoon sky. “Furious.”

  “You know, Bo messed with your car. Try to start it when you get home tonight. I guarantee you it will be all fixed.”

  “He said he was good with cars and would take a look at it when he finished his errand on this side of town.”

  “Of course he’s going to fix it. He’s the one who broke it.”

  She narrowed her gaze at him, for the first time realizing just how furious Blake was to be on this boat with her. She wasn’t sure how much more of this her ego could take.

  He rubbed his hand through his hair. “They just…they don’t have the right.”

  She let her book drop to her belly. “To what? Put two of their friends on a luxury boat ride for the afternoon? Those bastards.”

  “You know that’s not what this is.”

  The boat slowed as they moved toward some sand dunes. She motioned at the chaise lounge beside her. “You can sit, you know. I don’t bite…much.”

  He let a small smile slip, and then sat, facing her, his knees up around his chest in the low chair. Why couldn’t he just relax back into the chair like a sane person?

  “They could have just told us rather than tricking us,” he said.

  “Would you have come?” she asked. He looked down at his beer, and her stomach soured. “You know, we can enjoy this day if we want. We can let the sun warm our skin. We can eat what I’m sure is going to be a lovely, gourmet dinner.” She leaned in toward him conspiratorially. “We can even enjoy each other’s company. It’s actually allowed.”

  The boat squeezed through a pair of sand dunes into a private cove with a small beach peppered with palm trees. She swung her legs around to the side of her chair and then stood. “What is this magical little piece of heaven?” She teetered over to the side and steadied herself with the handrail as the scene came into focus for her. Something resembling a long couch…or possibly a bed…with a white canopy covering it sat in the sand thirty or so feet from the breaking waves.

  Her stomach flew up into her chest. This was getting ridiculous. She appreciated that their friends had good intentions, but she wasn’t sure how much more humiliation she could stand. She wasn’t someone who was a stranger to feeling embarrassed. The comments and teasing that had come with the development of a massive pair of golden globes at the ripe old age of eleven had taught her early on how to own the situation and brush off the degradation. But being nudged together by well-meaning friends into a romance with a man who would clearly rather be receiving dental work was testing her social graces.

  She turned to find Blake’s cheeks a nice shade of strawberry. “Have you seen this cove before?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  She pointed at the bed. “Is that always there?”

  He shook his head, massaging his forehead.

  She clapped her hands together. “Fantastic.” Her choices were limited. She could remain on the boat in what was quickly becoming one of the more painstakingly awkward situations she’d had the displeasure of being a part of in a long time; she could go down to that beach and lay on that come hither couch thingy, effectively signaling Blake that she was ready for advances he clearly would not be making; or she could jump into the ocean with the sharks, jellyfish, and other sea creatures who may want to sting or sink their teeth into her welcoming flesh.

  She pointed at the open sea. “I’m getting in.”

  Since she’d thought she was going to be spending the day on the boat, she’d worn the only two-piece she owned for easier access to things like the bathroom, thinking she’d be covered by her shirt and shorts the whole time. But since desperate times called for desperate measures, she had no choice but to strip down to her two-piece, which was probably on the verge of being too small now thanks to Cassidy and her shop of calories. Without giving Blake another look, she rid herself of her flip-flops and headed over to the ladder.

  The next little bit didn’t go quite as planned. When she imagined herself jumping off the ladder, she pictured herself bobbing happily in the water, and then going under when and if she chose, but what happened instead was a full-on submersion into a particularly rocky wave, which took hold of her tie-on top and wrenched it from her like a ten-time bridesmaid grabbing for a tossed bouquet.

  She gasped for breath as she broke through to the surface of the waves which were decidedly not working in her favor, rising and falling in a dramatic fashion, her bobbing breasts on display for God and all humanity.

  She could tuck her tail between her legs and cover her breasts with one hand as she made it up the ladder and over to her chair and her discarded shirt. Or, she could go another route.

  As an orphan dredging his way through the foster care system, Blake had been faced with a childhood full of difficult challenges that had prepared him for life’s hard edges. As a student making his way through college and medical school completely alone and without the financial or emotional support of a loving family, he had been faced with a variety of problems and issues that had taught him how to persevere through whatever life threw at him. But nothing in his world had begun to ready hi
m for standing on this boat watching a woman he wanted more than anyone or anything he’d ever dreamed of do the backstroke in the open ocean topless.

  He ran his hand through his hair, grasping it until the pain shot through his follicles. He glanced inside the boat at the galley to see if anyone was watching. A tall, thin woman in a black chef’s shirt took a pan out of the cabinet while Natasha pulled the blinds shut on the one window in the area, giving the chef a triumphant grin. Natasha picked up a knife and went to work chopping a vegetable on a cutting board in front of her. Of course Chase hired women for this little caper. He knew Blake had to be civil around women and couldn’t threaten bodily harm.

  He walked back out to the deck and surveyed the beach area, even though he knew it well. There were no houses built on this particular land because it was wildlife protected. Additionally, the chef had positioned the boat ass end out to sea to warn others the inlet was taken. Knowing Chase he’d probably paid off the Coast Guard to keep the area clear for them. There wasn’t much Chase wanted that he didn’t get, and he had Bo pulling his strings on this deal…no doubt about that.

  He stood at the railing, watching Seanna, who now had her back to him as she bobbed up and down in the water, having found her footing in a more serene spot before the breaking of the waves. Her wet hair brushed her shoulders as a wave dipped down, exposing her bare back.

  He let out a deep breath, not sure how much longer he could fight his urges where she was concerned. He’d been battling so hard with himself, coming up with every rationalization and justification as to how he could even kiss her and get away with it, and here she was swimming topless in the ocean without a soul around who was watching.

  Her bathing suit top floated by. The panicked look on her face when she’d come up for air had told him it likely had been an accident. He’d been about to jump in after her until he saw her expression change and then she started doing the backstroke.

  Taking off his shirt and tossing it on the chair, his mind raced with impure thoughts of what he wanted to do when he jumped into that water. He had to stop those thoughts quickly though before his mid-section told tales on him.