She tasted sweet and spicy and like everything he didn’t know he wanted. Her hands combed through his hair, held his head possessively.
His heart pounded like it…like it never had before. He couldn’t get his body close enough to hers. He wanted her in his bed, naked and writhing and saying his name.
He pulled away first, breaking their connection at all points of contact. Liv stared up at him under languid eyelids before she blinked and pulled her shoulders back.
She scrunched up her nose. “That. Was terrible.”
“The worst,” he lied.
“I’m glad we got that out of our system.”
“Yeah, no worries about ever wanting to do that again.”
“Exactly.” Only her voice faltered, she dropped her chin to stare at the sand. And everything in her expression said the kiss had rocked her world as much as it had his.
“Fifth Element?” he asked, hoping to get them back to where they used to be with one of their favorite movies.
“You always know just what to say.” Her smile didn’t exactly come across as genuine, but he’d take it. “I bet honey tastes good drizzled over popcorn.” There was that honest-to-goodness turn of her sexy lips.
Not sexy. Not sexy. Not. Sexy. If he ruined watching the movie with inappropriate thoughts, he was going to have to figure out a way to kick his own ass.
…
The bell tower in the middle of town struck three as Olivia waved goodbye to her last customer. She couldn’t believe how many people had stopped by her booth to have their handwriting analyzed. A steady stream of young and old, male and female, smiles and sighs, had made the hours fly by. Everyone had welcomed her, congratulated her on the baby, thanked her. This is home, she’d thought more than once.
The sun continued to play peek-a-boo with the clouds, but right now a warm ray of sunshine slanted across her face. Today had been the distraction she’d needed after her kiss with Danny last night. What a gigantic mistake that had been.
Holy mouthfest, he could kiss. He’d left her dizzy, stirred up, breathless. And his lips had wanted hers as much as hers had wanted his, a heady thought she couldn’t get out of her head. She’d lied when she said it was terrible, which he no doubt knew, but he’d proceeded to reinstate some sense of normalcy between them with their favorite Bruce Willis flick.
At least one of them hadn’t lost all their brain cells to pregnancy. His bringing them back together in a way they were comfortable with meant the world to her.
“Olivia?”
Liv blinked away her recollection to find Honor staring at her in concern from across the table.
“You okay? Your face is flushed. Can I get you some more water?”
Shoot. One quick thought with “kiss” and “Danny” in the same sentence and she couldn’t help but blush. “I’m good.” She stood to prove the statement. “Thank you again for including me today. Do I need to break the tent down?”
“No. I’ve got some high school boys helping out. And you need to get over to the stage for the costume contest. I think Danny is already there.”
At the mention of costumes, Liv glanced down at her comfortable sunny-side-up eggs getup. Danny had on a bacon costume. There hadn’t been a lot of last minute choices left, but you’d think they hit the jackpot with all the compliments they received when arriving at the carnival. “You two are adorable!” “There isn’t a cuter couple here today.” “You guys are the perfect pair.” Ugh.
“There it is again,” Honor said, breaking into Liv’s internal dialogue.
“There what is?”
“The blush.” Honor tilted her head to the side. She looked amazing in her white disco boots, short, tight black-and-white dress, and matching hairband. “It’s Danny, isn’t it? You’re having a tough time staying in the friend zone.”
Liv sat back down and covered her face with her hands. “Yes.”
“Hey.” Olivia sensed Honor moving around the table. “It’s okay, you know. Danny’s a great guy. I’d be surprised if you two didn’t cross the line.” Honor gently pulled Liv’s hands down. “It could be the best thing you guys ever do.”
“Or the worst.” Liv gripped the sides of her chair. “Will broke my heart. Before him it was Ethan. And before him it was David. It’s beyond stupid to set myself up for another trip down that painful road. And with the one person I absolutely can’t live without.”
“Why do you say that? From what I’ve heard, Danny is nothing like your ex. And I’m betting he’s not like those other guys, either.”
“He’s not. But…” What if sex made their rock solid friendship tenuous? They knew how to be friends. They didn’t know how to be lovers, too. And what if Danny’s eventual blindness made him question their future? Liv didn’t want him to be alone, ever, but she knew he’d rather suffer by himself than be what he considered a burden. Would that be the thing to eventually come between them? And if it did, could she just be his friend again after she’d given him her whole heart? “It’s complicated.”
Honor laughed. “Every relationship is.”
“I can’t risk our friendship.” Liv fidgeted in her seat, shook her head. “This new attraction or whatever you want to call it has just thrown us for a loop.”
“If you weren’t pregnant, I’d take you out for a drink later.”
“How about cake? I can do cake. Or ice cream?”
“I know the perfect place for both.” Honor smiled.
“There she is,” Mrs. L. said, approaching the booth and looking adorable in a poodle skirt and scarf tied around her neck. “Everyone is talking about what you told them.”
“I’m glad they enjoyed it,” Liv said, happy the kindness of new friends had steered her back into business.
“I have a solution to your office space problem, by the way,” Mrs. L. said sweetly. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“Oh?” Over the past week Liv had searched for a small office to work out of, but nothing was available in White Strand.
“You can use the guesthouse. As soon as I move out, it’s all yours and the perfect location for a new wife and mom to work from.” Mrs. L. beamed, per usual, making it difficult to disagree. “Please say you’ll stop looking elsewhere. We can make plans for how you want to furnish it starting this week.”
It was a great idea, but Liv wanted to do this on her own. She’d imposed on Danny enough and didn’t need him for a business address, too. She’d find the right workspace eventually, independent of anyone’s help.
“Olivia?”
Liv turned her head at the welcome interruption. One of the teenage girls helping Honor with the carnival schedule stood with a clipboard in her hand. “We’re waiting on you to judge the costume contest,” she said.
“Right.” Liv jumped to her feet. “Can we talk about this later, Mrs. L.?”
“Duty calls,” Honor added helpfully. “And I thought you and Uncle Tuck were entering the contest? You’d better find him and head over there, too.”
Mrs. L. dusted off her skirt like she wanted to look her best when she found her other half. Liv and Honor shared a knowing glance and smiled. “Right. Catch you girls later.”
“She is so cute.”
“Yeah,” Honor agreed. “I’m off to the haunted house to relieve Jules so she can strut her Beyoncé self across the contest stage. Have fun judging.”
The stage was set up on the large grassy area in the middle of town. Centered in front of the low-laying platform was a folding table and two chairs, with one already occupied. Liv’s heart did a little twirl. Apparently, even the back of Danny’s head made her giddy.
She took the seat beside him. “Hi.”
He turned and flashed those killer dimples at her. “Hey.” His gaze dropped to her yolks. “Have I mentioned how eggcellent you look today?”
Liv rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop the delight from spreading across her face. “Aw, you’re bacon my heart melt with those sweet words.”
Danny frowned at her use of the word “sweet,” but his eyes sparkled with mischief that kept her on the edge of her seat. “Does that mean you wanna strip?”
She pressed her lips together and tried really hard not to laugh, but it didn’t work and she burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Not entirely because he was funny, but because his teasing question heightened her awareness of him. Made her nervous.
And horny. So, so horny.
“God, I love your laugh,” he said quietly, his gaze drifting over her chin, her lips, her cheeks, her eyes.
Liv stopped. Giggling. Moving. Breathing. And thinking that they could go back to the way things were before they’d kissed on the beach and her world had turned on its axis.
She loved laughing with Danny. He’d always had a direct link to her funny bone. Her mind searched for the times Will had made her laugh. Once, maybe twice? In six months. How had she not realized that until now?
“Danny,” she said, whisper soft.
“I’m not telling you anything I haven’t told you before.”
True. He didn’t keep his compliments to himself, especially when her loud, high-pitched guffaw swayed others to laugh along with her. But the gleam in his eyes said he wanted to back up his statement with another kiss, and that had never happened before.
Time to stop looking at those twin pools of honey and reading things she wasn’t quite ready to tackle.
“Don’t read anything into it,” he added, like he had secret passage inside her head. “I’m just a guy telling his best friend she’s fun to be around.”
Seriously? He had to throw out movie star lines like that? Could he say the wrong thing just once so he pissed her off? Whenever he talked she forgot about keeping him in the friend zone. The only zone she wanted him in was the touchdown one. Doing a dirty dance with their hot, sweaty naked bodies entwined.
She leaned closer to him. “Then stop looking at me like that.”
“How am I looking at you?”
“Like you want to strip me.” She’d never imagined he’d look at her in a different light. After all the parts of her life she’d shared with him, the memories and confessions, however silly or messed up, she’d always known it would never change a thing between them. They were that close. That important to each other. But she was wrong. Because the look he was giving her right now was nothing but sinful trouble.
He stared, fixated, into her eyes. “Truth?”
She nodded.
“I do.” He canted his head so his mouth brushed her ear. “But I won’t. I won’t risk it until you’re sure it’s what you want. Because”—he cleared his throat—“there’s a chance I’ll hurt you, Liv. That I’ll decide I can’t do this anymore and hurting you would kill me.”
“Danny.” She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, put her hand on his leg. “You could never hurt me. I wouldn’t let you.” No matter what he said or did, it always came from a good place.
His strong, warm hand covered hers. “If you don’t want me kissing you senseless in front of everyone here, I suggest you back away.”
It took effort, but she did as he requested. “Looks like bacon and eggs has put us in a mood,” she teased, blaming their flirting on playing dress up. “Breakfast for dinner tonight?” She slapped her hand over her mouth. That did not just slip out. She really needed to let her brain catch up before she talked. “I didn’t mean that,” she mumbled through her fingers.
Danny took her wrist and brought her hand away from her mouth. This time when he looked at her, it took away her last normal breath. “I think you did.”
“Actually, I have dinner plans. With Honor.” Dessert for dinner was legit in her new falling-for-my-best-friend-is-not-a-good-idea motto. She silently repeated the mantra. Twice.
“Okay, lovebirds, time to break it up,” Tango said. “We’re about to get this contest started.”
Liv scooted her chair away from Danny to eliminate further temptation, and smiled up at the big, burly, retired football player. Tango owned the White Strand Inn and Liv had met him when she’d stayed there while in town for Zane and Sophie’s wedding. He’d also had his handwriting analyzed earlier and had grinned like a five year old when she gave her impressions.
“Nice costume. I see you put a lot of effort into it,” Danny said, clearly poking fun at the Hall of Famer in his football uniform.
“You really want to go there, Ellis?” Tango teased back, looking Danny up and down before he turned his attention on her. “Olivia, sweetheart, say the word and this side dish is yours anytime.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said as Tango swept a hand down his extra large frame.
Tango winked and placed a sheet of paper on the table. “Here’s the list of contestants by age group. We’re starting with the youngest and ending with the oldest. Judging is on a ten-point scale and—”
“Oh my God!” someone shouted from behind Liv.
A small commotion followed, drawing their attention to the stage as a man streaked across it. Thankfully, his hands covered his front, but since he had a nice tan line, there was no missing his butt as he jumped off the stage and kept running.
Tango shook his head. “Every year some idiot thinks that’s a good idea.”
“So it’s a tradition,” Liv said, trying to keep from laughing.
“When you put it that way, it’s not such a bad thing.”
White Strand might be small, and everyone might like to know everyone else’s business, but the place had a charm that Liv found herself falling for more and more every day.
“I don’t know about you guys,” the emcee, a Chris Hemsworth look-a-like, said into his microphone, “but I thought tonight was supposed to be moonless. Guess we got beamed anyway.” He smiled as the audience ate up his corny intro.
“Who is that?” Liv asked Danny.
“Dr. Flynn.”
“That’s Dr. Flynn? I don’t know why, but I pictured someone much older and with a lot less hair.”
“What do you say we kick things off with a scary looking bunch,” Dr. Flynn said. “Judges, you ready?”
They nodded they were. And with one last peek at Danny, Liv gave silent thanks that something was finally going to distract her from her best friend.
Chapter Seven
Danny trudged into the kitchen Thursday night, exhausted and hungry, his mind on last night’s leftover ribs. “What the?” he grumbled, tripping over something in the middle of the floor. And what was that god-awful smell?
He flipped on the light. In the few seconds it took his eyes to adjust to the brightness, several things registered. One, Liv had cooked that broccoli crap. Two, she’d gone shopping and packages were all over the place. Three, intimate apparel was soaking in the sink.
She’d broken their rules. He ground his teeth in annoyance. Not cool.
Ignoring everything for the moment, he opened the fridge. The foil wrapped leftovers that this morning had sat on the middle shelf were nowhere to be seen. Un-fucking-believable. She’d stunk up the kitchen and eaten his ribs. He hastily grabbed turkey, mustard, and lettuce to make a sandwich.
There wasn’t a knife in the drawer to cut the sandwich in half, so he checked the dishwasher. He took a few minutes to empty the clean dishes, admittedly not very quietly, not because he wanted to wake up Liv, but because…who was he kidding? She deserved to be woken up for aggravating him.
It’s not her fault you had a long-ass day.
Food on the plate, cold bottle of beer in his hand, he hit the light switch with his elbow and rounded the corner to take the food upstairs to his room.
Only to be hit in the face with something hard and flat. “Ow!” The object smacked him again, this time in the shoulder. He dropped the plate and raised his arm in defense. A loud clatter sounded at the same time he yelled, “Stop!”
“Danny?” Liv said in surprise. The attack stopped. “Oh my God. I thought you were a burglar. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
&nb
sp; He stepped back and turned the light on. “What the hell did you hit me with?” His forehead throbbed, his left eye stung.
She winced as she lifted a large square candle enclosed in glass. “I bought it today. It’s pumpkin spice.”
“It’s a deadly weapon.”
She made a sad, regretful face. “Sorry.”
Shit. How was he supposed to stay mad at that? “You used a candle to nearly knock me unconscious. Not bad, Maybug. But—”
“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me it was stupid.” She took a step toward him.
“Don’t move. I don’t want you to cut your foot on the broken plate.”
She didn’t listen, but walked a wide circle around the mess and the kitchen island, getting to him without incident. “You need ice. Sit.” She took the beer out of his hand and nudged him toward a barstool. His face hurt too much to protest.
“Next time if you think someone is in the house, call 9-1-1.”
Her nose scrunched up. “I did.”
Great. He’d successfully gone twenty-seven years without police interrogation and would have preferred his first time be something less humiliating than a misunderstanding with his room—fiancée. Liv took one look at his pained expression and set the half-filled bag of ice down on the counter to pick up the phone.
“I couldn’t sit still and do nothing,” she said. “Adrenaline or something kicked in. Hello? Hi, no emergency. I actually wanted to cancel one. I just called…”
Danny tuned her out, his brain focusing on her appearance now that he had a chance to take her in. She wore her V-neck angel sleep shirt and nothing else—that he could see anyway. Blond hair fell around her shoulders in sexy, sleep-mussed waves. Healthy calf muscles, pink toenail polish. Panic swept through him, but was quickly replaced by a strong, possessive compulsion to keep her safe. What had she been thinking, coming downstairs to confront an intruder?
“I’m on the false alarm list now, aren’t I?”
“Nah. This is only your first offense.” She slipped into the space between his thighs to put the ice on his eye. Almost close enough that her chest touched his.
The Best Friend Bargain (Kisses in the Sand) Page 8
