by Monroe, Jill
“Actually, I kind of like it.”
After they fastened their seatbelts, Nate fired the powerful engine and they were off. He easily navigated away from Coronado toward old San Diego. She breathed deep as they crossed the Coronado Bridge linking the two areas. Soon she spotted the Victorian era buildings that could only be the historic Gaslamp Quarter. The city and its residents had done an amazing job restoring this area, and now it was a major attraction, from the Horton Grand Theater to antiques shops.
She turned toward him. “I’ve been wanting to visit Gaslamp since I came home, just never had the time.”
“Thought seeing all this restoration would be inspiring.”
“Me, too.” And they shared one of those endless kinds of stares girls dreamed about as longing-for-a-boyfriend teenagers. The kind of gaze that never grew awkward, but instead only made them more aware of each other as a man and as a woman. And she was very much aware of him as a man. Her skin heated.
Nate had planned this just for her. He’d actually thought about it and attempted to come up with something for them to do that she would like.
She could be in some trouble with this one.
After Nate parked and put up the top, they strolled though Gaslamp. “I’ll have to bring you back here at night. The Gaslamp Quarter sign is all lit up.”
A warm tremble settled in her stomach hearing him suggest future times together.
More kryptonite.
They strolled through several unique stores of the Quarter and then Nate led her to an antique shop. She was intrigued by so many of the wares and displays that the only thing that had a hope of interrupting her was the growl of her stomach. Which it did. Loudly.
“One quick stop and then we can eat,” he promised.
The crowds outside on the sidewalk were heavier now than when they first hit Gaslamp, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world for her to accept Nate’s hand. The man was commanding in a crowd, people seemed to naturally get out of his way. The two of them walked together until they stood outside one of the oldest hotels of the area.
Irritation tensed her stomach, chasing away her earlier warmer feelings. Just what did he think was going to happen here? At a hotel? She followed him to the ornately carved front desk. The reception area was a classic example of Victorian-era American furnishings, with its dark woods and interiors. The Sutherland’s front desk was not nearly as dramatic as the one here, but it was clear they were cousins. Although hers were the poorer relations.
“There should be a basket for Peterson.”
That caught her attention. So he wasn’t planning on checking in for a little first date horizontal time. That flash of irritation she’d felt, she now directed at herself. She shouldn’t be so quick to judge on the basis of past bad boyfriends.
The woman behind the desk smiled and picked up the phone. “Let me just ring dining.”
This was getting stranger. Nate reached for his wallet, and she discreetly walked away from the transaction. That move was squarely from her father’s Rules of Dating 101. You never paid attention to how much or how little a man spent on a date. Instead she busied herself admiring the handpainted wallpaper with its stylized flowers and leaves the color of jasper—straight from the Victorian era. The fabric of the chairs in the lobby matched the wallpaper. What a good idea.
After a moment, a woman bustled up from the dining room carrying a large wicker hamper that looked a lot like a—
“Here’s your picnic basket.” She flashed a friendly smile toward Hailey. “Hope you enjoy your day.”
“A picnic basket?” she asked as they were once more outside, her hand back in his.
“Unlike you, I’m not much of a cook.”
He’d brought the romantic big gun, and Hailey realized she wasn’t as immune as she’d suggested to Nate their last time together. Her heart, or stomach or something inside her seemed to soften. Hailey took a deep breath.
Then they were back in his car and this time they traveled up the San Diego freeway until she made out a familiar sign. “You’re not taking me to Sea World?” she teased.
“I’m saving that for another day,” he said with a wink. “We’re going to Mission Bay Park.”
The Mission Bay area had been a favorite of hers growing up. Acres and acres of nothing but green grass, palm trees and sandy beaches. The perfect place for a picnic. She had to reassess her beliefs about military men. Nate had whipped up something very romantic. For her. The predictable heartmelting reaction followed. This was even worse than softening. She really needed to avoid romance.
They took a winding path until they reached a shady spot. Nate spread out the traditional red and white-checkered cloth and they both sunk to the comfortable ground, softened by grass and blanket.
The basket contained delicious chicken salad, fresh fruit, croissants and wine, and since it was food she didn’t have to prepare, cook or clean up afterward, Hailey was thrilled. “I have to hand it to you, Nate, this has been a really fun time.”
“I’m glad. The hotel even tucked a kite inside the basket,” he said.
Just to make sure every romantic date cliché had been covered. Unfortunately, it was working.
He stood, towering above her. Nate offered her his hand again, and although she’d held it before, she could dismiss that as an act of crowd protection. This time it would be more personal. Intimate. And why was she overanalyzing something like simply holding hands?
Nate had a man’s hand. Big and callused and that easily engulfed hers. With little effort he tugged her to her feet. She grew increasingly aware of every inch of his body as he pulled her up. The wetsuit had only hinted at the strength of his legs, the utter flatness of his stomach and solidness of his chest. Without her heels, the top of her head was somewhere in the vicinity of his nose, and when she reached her full height she was staring at the jut of his chin. A chin with just a hint of a dimple.
It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen. She lifted her hand to trace it, then pulled away swiftly. Had she lost her mind? Hailey’s eyes settled on the line of his mouth, his bottom lip surprisingly curved. Finally she met his gaze. And sucked in a breath.
He’d been waiting for her to meet his gaze. Where once she only saw the color of cool gray steel, his eyes had now darkened to a smoky slate. He wanted her. Hailey’s heart began to pound. Her lips parted and she leaned into him. She wanted to kiss him so bad.
“This part of the park is perfect for kite flying. No power lines. No tall trees. You ready?”
She was ready for something, she just wasn’t sure what.
That was a look of desire he flashed her, right? Hailey had chosen not to date for a while, but surely she wouldn’t miss the mark that much? She’d certainly flashed him all the signs that she was ready for a little lip action.
“I can’t remember the last time I flew a kite,” she told him with a smile. Her voice tight.
He dropped her hands, then reached for the kite. It wasn’t anything fancy—a few wooden poles, thin cotton material, but the tail…now that was cool. All the different, brightly colored fabrics tied to the string invited her enthusiasm.
“You want to toss up the kite or hold the string?” he asked.
“String.”
He flashed her a boyish grin, handing her the string while holding the kite with excitement. Obviously she’d chosen correctly. “Okay, give it a little slack.”
“Now what?” she asked when standing a few yards away.
“We wait for the wind.”
A quick gust from off the ocean zoomed in, and Nate tossed the kite up. The air caught it at the right angle and the material poofed and lifted. She gave it more string, instinct or some muscle memory from childhood activated, and soon she had their yellow kite flying high in the air.
He returned to her side. His eyes were trained to the sky. “Pretty good teamwork,” he said.
They stood together, side by side, watching as the kite went higher an
d higher. “Want to run with it?” she asked, feeling light and carefree and wanting the wind on her face and in her hair.
“Absolutely. We should lower it some. I’ll help,” he offered. Nate looped his arms over her shoulders and then his hands surrounded hers. Once again she was struck by just how big he was. How much larger he was than she. Like a mismatch. But with his tanned arms circling hers she had a great view of the hardened muscles of his biceps. Staring at the kite and running with it wasn’t the same kind of temptation it was a moment ago. Now she battled leaning fully against him, closing her eyes and breathing him in.
“You know, I think there are easier ways to rein in the kite,” she said over her shoulder.
He nodded. “Probably.” But he didn’t move.
She laughed and together they towed the kite lower until it bounced and waved only a few feet above their heads. Then he found her hand, and the two of them ran down the sandy beach, the water tickling their toes. They dodged children splashing in the foam and seashells and Hailey laughed, really laughed. Had she ever laughed this way with a man?
To her surprise the wind died, and their kite fell to the ground. “Oh, that’s too bad,” she said, her tone full of regret.
“Not really.” And for her second surprise Nate brought her chin up and his lips came down on hers. Hailey didn’t know how long they kissed under the sun with the waves lapping at her feet, but it was the most amazing kiss of her life. This was what it felt like to have Nate fully involved with a kiss from the beginning. That Fate Card sure knew how to deliver.
His lips moved along hers with a gentle confidence. She rose on her tiptoes and draped her arms around his shoulders. Nate’s hands found her hips, and he nestled her closer into his body as his tongue found hers. He tasted like wine and a sunny day and she couldn’t get enough of it.
The breeze picked up again, and she heard the kite kick and crash against the sand. Nate’s hands slowly drifted up her waist and over her arms to cup her face. With a reluctance she wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge, she allowed Nate to draw her away. He rested his forehead to hers and she felt him take a deep breath.
Hailey smiled, knowing the kiss had affected him as much as it had wrecked havoc with her.
“After BUD/S, I never thought I’d want to run on the beach again.”
Warmth spread through her chest at his rueful words. She liked knowing she could change his mind.
“Of course then I’d just swam, jogged and then told to roll in the sand. I came out looking like a sugar cookie.”
Now that held some strange appeal. Nate had conjured up in her mind two delicious images, cookies, and a wet, buff man in a swimsuit.
“You ready to finish off that wine?” he asked.
No, but it would have to do. She nodded, and after winding the remaining kite string up tight, they returned to the blanket.
They lay on the checkered material, facing one another. The breeze and warm sunny day lulled her, tempted her to lower her guard where Nate was concerned. Thoughts like, “what could it hurt to see him a few times?” and “he’ll be gone soon, no harm, no foul, right?” kept popping into her head. And of course everything about him from his consideration to his tight butt lured her further into thinking about taking everything he offered and demanding more.
Soon the sex thoughts emerged. She’d had the emo artist guy, the business-suited manipulator and finally Mr. Hot who was as into himself as she was into him. But she’d never been intimate with the hard body, capable type. Broad shoulders, strong arms…she had more than one thing to be thankful to the U.S. military for. What would he be like in bed? Adjectives like maneuverable and robust popped into her head, and she fought a giggle.
Then words like powerful, strong and big pushed those other words aside. The man jumped out of planes, he dived under water with explosives strapped to his body with only his ability and equipment to trust. The man possessed that quiet intensity that both excited and unnerved her. What would it be like to have all that focused directly on her? As they made love? Hailey shivered. The idea was both delicious and intimidating. Actually, very intimidating.
“Grape?” he asked.
It was clear he planned to feed her. It was right up there on the romantic scale, and must have been his one-thousandth sexy move of the day. Why had she ever mentioned she didn’t believe in romance? Hailey drained her wineglass. Now was the time to remind him of her no relationship stipulation because this felt very much like a relationship oriented moment. With a sigh she said, “I just want to make sure you know…I don’t date.”
He nodded, looking completely unconcerned.
“At all,” she added for emphasis.
“I remember,” he told her, his eyes growing curious. “How come?”
“I pick bad men.”
His lips twisted, and he gave her a kind of lopsided grin. “It’s a good thing you didn’t pick me then. Your Fate Delivery Card did, remember?”
Exactly how much sexiness and allure was a woman supposed to take? Man, if ever the “life wasn’t fair” assertion had come into play. This was it. When she didn’t want a man, a funny hot one charged onto the scene. She had to put an end to this now, or she’d be back down that same road. She was supposed to be taking time off. Regrouping, and yes it was a cliché, but finding herself.
“Enough with the charm,” she said with a good-natured, but very firm, grin.
“I balk at the word charm.”
She knew his shmooze was all in an effort to prove her wrong. “Okay, attitude then. It’s cute, but I’ve done the cute fiancé thing. In fact, I’ve had three.”
“Three?” he asked, his voiced raised since the first time she’d met him.
Now he sounded a little concerned. He should be concerned. She’d tried to warn him.
“I thought I only had to contend with one former fiancé, but three?”
So, he’d put some thought into her brief mention of her former lover. It made her happy despite the fact that there would be no place for them to go with what they were doing.
“I’m taking time off from men.”
“Strange, it seemed like I was getting a very different signal from you when you were in my arms, kissing me.”
“I wasn’t kissing you, you were kissing me.”
“You were kissing my face off.”
She propped her hands on her hips. “I was not. It was fun, I grant you that, but it was part of the mood—the kite, the beach, the running. It was the scenario, and I doubt the mood will strike again.”
As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she knew she’d said the wrong thing. Nate was the kind of guy who enjoyed a challenge. Hell, he probably lived for the adrenaline rush.
“Listen, if you want to try it again just to prove it didn’t mean anything, you’re welcome to.” He flexed the muscles across his chest as if he was bracing himself.
She laughed, but quickly cleared her expression. “I think I’ve seen that ploy in a movie or something. Look, we’re not going to act out any cutesy scene of you daring me to kiss you and if I don’t respond then you’ll go away.”
“Kiss you again? I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Liar. I’m just going to lay it all on the line here.” Enough with the playful banter. It was time to get serious. “You are very good-looking, sexy even.”
“Why am I not feeling flattered?”
Hailey smiled. “Ordinarily I’d be going for you in a snap, and therefore,” Hailey held up her hands and said, “I’m not.”
The humor faded from his eyes. “That makes zero sense.”
“Believe me, you don’t want to know how many mistakes I’ve made with men. Sure I could get involved with you, I mean, what girl wouldn’t want to at least try to make something work with you? Normally, I’d be there in a shot and it would be great…for awhile. But then what would happen? My very prominent self-destructive DNA asserts itself.”
Nate glanced around the park. Searching for
an escape route perhaps? “Usually I follow one of two routes. Option one is me finding fault with every little thing you do. Men love a nagging woman, believe me.”
“What if there’s nothing to find fault with?”
Ah, more of that challenging spirit. She liked it. “Well then, I go into my test mode. That’s were I see how much of my nonsense you’d take. Either way, the sex gets really awkward, and eventually you’ll have had enough. Then starts the dividing of our stuff, and…right now you should be thanking your lucky stars that I’m preemptively ending our relationship before it even starts.”
“Huh, and here I was thinking maybe dinner. Did you say something about sex in all that?” he asked. He stroked down her forearm with the back of his hand. The warmth of his caress made her jolt.
Funny, sexy and charming…her doom. Get away from him now.
“Do I make you nervous, Hailey?” By the stunned expression on his face, he seemed surprised by his realization.
Yes. “No, uh, no. Of course not. Why do you ask?” She glanced downward, and began to play with the edge of the blanket.
His hands stilled hers, and she looked up. “You seem jumpy around me. Although you’re awfully girly, you don’t seem high-strung, so I’m guessing it’s me,” he said his tone light, but his expression serious.
And he got it in one. He made her nervous and jumpy and agitated in ways no man ever had. But she would not be intimidated by her primal reaction to the man. No, she’d give as good as she got. “Girly?” she questioned.
Hailey imagined some lean, athletic type woman who would look great with her hair in a ponytail, no make-up and jogging beside this very physical man. In school she’d always admired the girls on the soccer field running and laughing. Hailey didn’t even have the coordination to do step aerobics.
“I take it you don’t normally go for the girly types.”
He shook his head, his smile turning rueful. “No one ever baked me cookies,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
His tone told her he wanted to taste her cookies like he wanted to taste her.
“And those dresses you wear with the frilly little straps…”
