"I agree. When the cab dropped me off, I wasn't ready to go inside. I saw your light on back here, and I couldn't stop myself from coming to see you."
"It's a beautiful night to be outside," she said lightly, but he could see her beginning to tense.
"You're what's beautiful," he told her. "Do you know how pretty you are in the moonlight?"
"I've always thought I looked better in the shadows."
"You don't see yourself the way I see you, Mia."
"Okay, I think a better question to ask might be how many drinks have you had?"
He moved closer to her, putting his hands on her waist, so she couldn't run away from him, not that she seemed that interested in running. "I've had a few drinks but not so many that I don't know what I'm saying or what I'm doing."
"And what are you doing?"
"I'm thinking about kissing you—maybe more. What are you thinking?"
"That we shouldn't kiss or…anything more," she said softly.
"I told you, Mia, that I don't like that word shouldn't. Didn't you just say tonight that you'd unlocked something inside you? The cage is open. The bird is free to fly."
"Not into your arms."
"Why not into my arms?" he challenged.
She took a breath, determination in her gaze. "I don't want to be with you, Jeremy."
He didn't believe that for a second. "Yes, you do. You can say no, but don't lie to me, Mia. We've been honest with each other since we met. Let's keep it that way."
She stared back at him, and the truth was in her eyes. "All right. I was lying. I'm tempted," she admitted. "I like you, and there's an undeniable attraction between us, but I don't want to make another mistake. I don’t want to move too fast."
"Did moving slowly make your ex any less of a mistake? Didn't you say you spent weeks getting to know him and he was still able to deceive you?"
"You're right. It wasn't the speed that made things go wrong."
"It was the lies. But we're not lying to each other. We're not making promises we can't keep. We're just living in the moment. Isn't that what you came to Angel's Bay to do? Be more like your aunt?"
She let out a sigh. "You are very persuasive, Jeremy Holt."
"I want you," he said simply.
"And you always get what you want?"
"Usually."
"You can't tell me that you don't think us being together wouldn't complicate things."
"Maybe I don't care."
"Oh, Jeremy, you're going to kill me," she said, giving him a helpless shake of her head. "It's hard enough to fight myself; I don't know if I can beat you, too."
"I don't want to kill you. I have other, more pleasurable activities in mind. All you have to do is say yes, Mia. One simple word."
"It's so not simple," she breathed, as he leaned over and took the kiss he'd been dreaming about all day.
Despite her previous words of rejection, Mia opened her mouth to his and let him take the kiss to a deeper level. Her hands slipped under his shirt and moved up his back, and her fingers on his skin brought more heat between them. His body hardened, and he wanted her hands all over him.
He pulled her closer, moved his head one way, then another, wanting, needing each taste, each kiss, to be better than the last. And Mia went along with him, all objections gone, nothing but desire raging between them.
She tugged at the hem of his shirt, and he fulfilled her need by pulling his shirt up and over his head and tossing it on the grass.
"Jeremy," she murmured, her gaze sweeping his broad chest as her hands came to rest on his shoulders.
"Like what you see?"
"Most of it, but not this…" She traced the long scar on his left shoulder, then her hand slipped down his chest to his abdomen where another raised scar ran below his rib cage. "Or this."
"They don't hurt anymore."
"Really? Not even deep inside?"
He met her questioning gaze, knowing that what he'd said recently was true; he couldn't lie to Mia, and he didn't want to. Even if he tried, she wouldn't believe him. Mia had an eye for detail. She always saw past his barriers to the man inside, the man he let few people see.
"Down deep—maybe," he conceded. "If you kiss them, I'll feel better."
Her bright smile made him blink. It was like a moonbeam hitting him in the face.
"I walked right into that, didn't I?" she asked.
"You did."
"Okay." She pressed her mouth to his shoulder and then lowered her head to trace a wet path along the scar at the bottom of his rib cage.
His jeans grew uncomfortably tight as he thought about where else he wanted her mouth to go. But he didn't want this night to be just about him. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up against him. "You still haven't said the word."
The heat between them practically sizzled in the summer night.
"If I didn't know better…" she said.
"What?" His pulse leapt at the possibility that she was going to say no.
"I'd say yes."
His breath caught in his chest. "But…"
She shook her head. "You're making this hard."
"You're making me hard."
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "I don't know what to say."
"I'm not looking for conversation. If you want me to go, tell me to go."
She hesitated for a long, tense minute. "Do you have anything—protection, because I wasn't planning on you or this…"
His heart jumped. He pulled a condom out of the pocket of his jeans. He'd put it there earlier, an old habit from whenever he headed out for a night with the guys, not that he'd actually thought he was going to use it.
"So you were planning…" she said.
"I was dreaming," he corrected. "And hoping." He paused. "But you still have to say the word, Mia. I'm not talking you into anything."
"Aren't you?" she asked with a helpless smile. "If it makes you feel better…yes."
His pulse leapt. "Are you sure? I thought you knew better."
"I thought so, too."
She reached for her back zipper, unzipped it and then stepped out of her dress. The material fell next to his shirt, and he watched in amazement and appreciation as she unhooked her bra and slid her panties down over her beautiful legs.
"Is this real?" he asked, feeling a little dazed.
She took his hand and put it on her breast. "Do I feel real?"
"You feel amazing," he said, his thumb caressing her nipple into a tight peak that was followed by a slight gasp of air coming through her parted lips.
He lowered his head and put his lips to one soft, full breast and then the other. Then he stripped off his jeans and pulled her down to the grass.
The cool ground quickly heated as they moved together. There were no more words. They spoke with their hands and their lips, as they let go of everything—except each other.
* * *
Mia lay on her side, her head resting on Jeremy's incredibly solid chest, her arm laying across his flat, muscled abs, her leg holding his to the ground. Above them, the moon shined bright, and the only sounds she could hear were the crashing ocean waves and Jeremy's heartbeat.
She felt sated and incredibly content, her body still tingling from Jeremy's touch.
If this was a mistake, at least it had been a good one. She would never forget this night. The painting she'd done had unlocked her heart, but Jeremy had made her fly.
What she should do, what she should think, had fallen to the wayside. Instead of listening to her brain, she'd paid attention to her body and her heart, and she might have just had the best night of her life.
Whatever happened next, she would have no regrets, she promised herself. She wouldn't let herself look back and judge what she'd done. Life was about living, not always trying to do the right thing.
As she looked up at the stars in the sky, she had a feeling that her aunt would have approved of her impulsive behavior. She smiled at that thought.
Jeremy sh
ifted beneath her, and she lifted her head. "Am I weighing you down?"
He gave her a lazy, happy smile. "Not at all. You look happy, Mia."
"You might have to give yourself a little credit for that."
"Only a little?"
She laughed. "Okay, a lot."
"No, it wasn't me; it was all you—beautiful, gorgeous you. Your eyes are so amazing. They're like the sea. The colors change from light blue to dark blue to mysterious blue. And your mouth is so soft, so sexy. Damn, you're hot."
She laughed, flattered by not only his words but by the look in his eyes. "You're not so bad yourself." She pressed her fingers against his abs. "These muscles make me feel like I should get to the gym."
"I like you just the way you are," he said, running his finger down her cheek. "You never have to be anyone but yourself with me."
His words made her heart tighten. It felt like the first time she'd ever been with a man who saw her—the real her, which seemed a little crazy because she and Jeremy barely knew each other and yet she felt incredibly close to him. "The same goes for you," she murmured.
"We're good together."
"It did feel a little magical."
"I agree. You've put a spell on me."
"Or you've put a spell on me. I've never actually made love on the grass before."
"The bedroom wasn't even a thought. Too far away."
"So true. It's such a warm night. I don't even need clothes."
He laughed. "I like you without clothes."
She smiled down at him. "I'm not usually this uninhibited."
"You should be. You wear it well." He paused and let out a little sigh. "I really don't want to go home, but…" He raised his arm so he could look at his watch, then he groaned. "It's almost midnight. I told Mrs. Danbury I'd be back by twelve. I'm afraid I need to go."
"Then you should go." Reminded that reality was not as magical as the past few hours had been, she sat up and reached for her dress, pulling it over her head.
He grabbed his jeans and shirt and put them on. "I'd ask you to come over and spend the night with me, but I don't know if it would confuse Ashlyn."
"I understand," she said, not quite sure how to handle the sudden change in mood. Sometimes waking up from a dream took a moment.
He paused, a frown on his lips. "Do you understand? I feel like something just changed."
She saw the concern in his eyes and had to take it away. "Nothing changed. It's fine. We had a good time. We'll talk tomorrow."
"We will talk tomorrow," he promised, giving her a hard kiss, as if he needed her to feel him one last time.
Her lips burned as he walked out of the yard. If he thought she was in any danger of forgetting his kiss, he was very wrong. She blew out a breath, picked up her underwear, and headed into the house. It was a lot of fun to live in the moment. Unfortunately, the moment had passed, and she was back to real life.
Twelve
Mia didn't know when she'd expected to see Jeremy again, but it hadn't been at nine o'clock Thursday morning when she was tired, cranky, and needed a shower.
She hadn't slept well, a never-ending parade of images floating through her head, most of them amazingly good reminders of being with Jeremy. But the fact that she was sleeping alone and had no idea if there would ever be a repeat of those amazing images hadn't put her in the best of moods.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said with a smile.
She frowned. "It's too early for beautiful." She pulled her robe around her boxer short bottoms and clingy tank top.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're not a morning person? I thought you were pretty happy yesterday when I brought pancakes over."
"Well, that was later in the day, and I don't see any pancakes," she grumbled.
He leaned forward and stole a kiss. "I missed you, too, babe."
"I did not say I missed you."
"But you did." He gave her a pointed look.
"Maybe," she conceded, because his kiss had definitely brightened her day. "And I usually like mornings, but I didn't sleep well."
"Thinking about me?"
She had to smile at his cocky question. "Not at all. I have a lot of other things on my mind. So, what are you doing here? Where's Ashlyn?"
"She's at the house. She didn't have the greatest night, either."
His words distracted her from her own mood. "Really? What was wrong?"
"She has nightmares. I don't know if she's reliving what she saw the evening her mom was killed or what. Some nights seem to be worse than others. I try to comfort her, but she usually pushes me away. It's hard to watch her in so much pain and not be able to help."
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
"I know you're busy with this house, but I wanted to do something fun with Ashlyn today, and, frankly, I think she'd enjoy it more if you were with us. I was thinking of taking her down to the beach. There's a sand castle competition starting at eleven. It's a pretty big event in Angel's Bay. I think the three of us could build an awesome castle."
"That sounds fun, but maybe it would be better if you and Ashlyn went on your own."
His brows knit together as he studied her face. "Are you saying no because of last night? Because we got too close, and now you need to push me away?"
Damn. Was he a mind reader?
"That's not it." She could see by the look in his eyes he didn't believe her. "Maybe that's a little bit it, but I also have a lot of work to finish around here."
"Ashlyn and I will help you clean stuff out this afternoon. You said you wanted to enjoy a little summer in Angel's Bay. Have you even been to the beach yet?"
"No, I haven't."
"Then you need to say yes." He gave her a smile that made refusing him pretty near impossible.
His words also reminded her that she'd already said yes last night.
But who was she kidding? Of course she wanted to go to the beach with him and Ashlyn. "Yes."
"Good. We'll leave in an hour."
"Do you want me to bring some lunch?"
"No, just bring yourself. We'll stop at the deli and pick up some food on the way to the beach." He paused, stepping forward in a deliberate way. "Now, that we've settled that…" He kissed her with a tender intimacy that took her right back to the night before.
She sighed a little as he lifted his head. "You're addicting, Jeremy."
"Right back at you."
"But this—whatever this is—it's just a summer fling. We both know that." She felt like it was important to state that reminder out loud, so neither of them would forget, especially her.
"Do we need to put a label on it?" he challenged. "Do we need an end date?"
"I just want to make sure we're on the same page, that one of us doesn't have the wrong expectation." Again, she was talking mostly about herself, because Jeremy seemed to be fine with the way things were, but she was being a girl and already feeling far too much of an emotional attachment to him. It was just sex, a fling, a moment in time, she told herself. It didn't have to be more, and it really shouldn't be more.
"It's going to be fine, Mia. We're in sync, in all the ways that matter." His sparkling smile was followed by another hot kiss. "See you soon."
She closed the door behind him and found herself smiling all the way up the stairs. Jeremy Holt had a charming side, and she was definitely charmed.
* * *
Angel's Bay boasted several beaches, but today's event was being held on the main beach by the harbor. Jeremy knew from experience that the summer sand castle building competitions were a popular event in town. It didn't matter that it was a Thursday morning; there would be plenty of people happy to take a day off on this warm summer day.
As he'd predicted, the parking lot was almost full by the time they arrived, and they were lucky to get one of the last few spots.
They got out of the car, taking a moment to gather together a cooler, a large tote bag filled with shovels and pails, another overflowing with beach towels, an
d then the grocery bags packed with food that they'd gotten at the deli.
He swung the heavier bags over his good shoulder while Mia took the food and Ashlyn volunteered to carry two extra towels.
"I never realized that when you get a child, you also acquire a lot more stuff," he told Mia as they walked toward the beach.
She smiled back at him. "I have a feeling you used to travel light before this."
"Very light," he agreed, happy to see her earlier tension had evaporated. "What about you?"
"I haven't traveled much at all. With six kids, family vacations were usually within driving distance: Los Angeles, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Russian River, those kinds of places. I did go to New York with a college roommate one year and spent two weeks in Paris during grad school. I've also been to two bachelorette parties in Las Vegas, but that's about the extent of my travels. That's why I had to live vicariously through Aunt Carly."
"There's still time to see the world."
"I'll get to it. What about you? Are there any places you haven't seen yet?"
"Many places. I haven't spent much time in Italy outside of Rome, and I've never been to Ireland or Scotland. I'd also love to bike through the French countryside, maybe do a wine tour."
"That sounds like fun."
"Maybe we can go together. It seems a crime that an expert in art history hasn't been to all the amazing museums in Europe."
"I would love to spend a few months in Italy, travel through Spain, hop over to Greece and eventually make my way to Russia."
"Maybe you should travel before you get your next job."
"There's a little thing called money stopping me from that," she said.
"Is it just the money that's stopping you, or the idea that traveling seems too frivolous for a practical woman like yourself?"
"You're getting to know me a little too well."
"And you didn't answer my question."
"Probably both. So where do you want to set up?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Close to the water, if we can find a spot."
"It's so crowded. I had no idea this many people would be here. I didn't expect live music," she added, tipping her head to the small stage where two guitar players and a drummer were warming up. "Or trophies. This is serious."
If I Didn't Know Better Page 14
