by Carrie Elks
“You did? Why?”
He lifted his arm and ran his palm across his closely cut hair. “I guess it was the way you froze at the top of that playhouse. I’ve seen it a lot of times before.” He shrugged. “A fear of heights can be paralyzing.”
“I’m not scared of heights, I was afraid of falling,” Ember pointed out. “And in the case of the Ferris wheel, I’m pretty sure there’s no falling involved. So let’s go.” She tipped her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. “Unless you’re scared…”
“I’m not scared.” He grinned at her. “I checked the safety manual. It was all up to date.”
“Always the firefighter.” She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Do you ever take a day off?” Ember glanced over his shoulder at the small line for the Ferris wheel. A man standing near the end caught her eye. She did a double take, then frowned. It couldn’t be… could it?
“Everything okay?” Lucas asked her.
“Um, yeah.” Ember narrowed her eyes, still staring at the man behind Lucas. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I did. Kind of.” She looked up at Lucas. “I’m pretty sure that guy over there is Adam Michaelson.” She screwed her nose up. “Or at least it looks like the guy in his profile photo.”
Lucas’ eyes widened. “Adam Michaelson? Isn’t that the guy who stood you up?” He turned to look over his shoulder, taking in the man Ember was staring at. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I’ve always been good with faces.” She shuddered. “Ugh, I thought I’d seen the last of him when I deleted that app.”
The two of them were still staring at the guy. A second later, he turned and caught Ember’s eye. He frowned, as though trying to place her, then hastily turned away, his back firmly toward her.
“Did you see that?” Lucas said. “He definitely recognized you, he couldn’t turn quickly enough.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at Adam Michaelson’s back. “Okay, let’s join the line for the Ferris wheel.”
“But he’s in the line.”
“Exactly.” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Why should you let somebody like him scare you away?”
She took a deep lungful of air in. “Maybe we should go to the bumper cars instead.”
Lucas reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear. The shock of his touch made her skin heat up. “Come on, you deserve some fun. Don’t let this guy spoil it for you.”
“Score one for the women?”
Lucas smiled. “Something like that.”
She stared at him for a moment, weighing the options. It wasn’t as though Adam had broken her heart – she’d never even met the guy for goodness sake. But he had embarrassed her, stood her up, and then blocked her. If for no other reason than the sake of her pride it would be good to get her own back.
“Okay then.” She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
18
The line for the Ferris wheel wasn’t long. Maybe twenty people deep. Lucas held Ember’s hand tightly in his as they walked across the grass and joined it, around five people back from Adam Michaelson.
Lucas noticed that the guy turned around again, his brows still knitted together as he looked back at them. A second later a look of realization washed over his face – as though he’d finally placed where he knew her from. It was quickly replaced by horror as he whipped back around, turning his back firmly onto them once more.
“I think he’s worked out who you are,” Lucas murmured to her.
“Oh God.”
He reached out to her and grabbed her hand, folding it in his own. “Look, if you want to get out of here we can.” There was no way Adam Michaelson was spoiling another one of Ember’s evenings.
Ember opened her mouth to answer, but then a smiling woman ran past them, throwing her arms around Adam. Even from this distance Lucas could see the glint of her wedding ring on her left hand as she stroked Adam Michaelson’s cheek.
“His sister?” Ember mused, as they both looked over.
But then Adam leaned in and pressed his lips against the woman’s, cupping the back of her neck with his hand to deepen the kiss. “Not his sister,” Lucas murmured.
Adam pulled his hand away, a wedding ring visible on his finger. “Do you think they’re married?” Ember asked.
“To each other? Maybe.” Lucas frowned. “What a bastard.”
“I really didn’t think this could get any worse.” Ember buried her face in her hands. “What’s he doing on a dating app if he’s already married? What kind of man would do that?”
Lucas didn’t answer for a moment. He was too busy trying to bite down his anger. He hated cheaters with a vengeance. There was a part of him – the knight in shining armor part – that wanted to stalk right over to the guy and show him just how much, but he was sensible enough to know that was a really bad idea.
“Oh my god, that poor woman.” Ember covered her mouth with her hand, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment. “I feel awful.”
“You shouldn’t, you didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t know the guy was married.”
Ember shook her head, looking upset. “I never would have agreed to go on a date with him if I knew.” She looked up at Lucas, her eyes watery. “I’m not like that. I promise.”
“I know you’re not.” There was a softness to her expression that made him want to put his arms around her and protect her. A tiny glimpse of vulnerability in her armor. “And I’m sorry he hurt you.”
She shook her head. “He didn’t. I’m just mad at myself because I knew that app was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.”
“Don’t be mad,” he said, squeezing her hand tightly. “This is on him, not you. And anyway, it’s Angel Day. Nobody’s allowed to get angry today.”
She relaxed visibly and it felt like a victory. “You’re right,” she said, nodding at him. “Let’s forget all about him and enjoy the evening.”
“Do you want to go on a different ride?” he asked her, inclining his head toward them. “The bumper cars or the carousel maybe?”
“You know what?” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I don’t want to go on another ride.” She ran the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip, and he couldn’t help but be entranced by the movement. “I think you might’ve had the right idea after all.”
“I did?” he asked, confused.
“Yeah. This place is too crowded anyway.” Her lips curved up into a smile. “I hear the beach is always deserted on Angel Day, maybe we should go and check it out.”
She was staring up at him again, in that wide-eyed innocent way, and it was all he could do not to incline his head and kiss her right there. He wanted to touch her skin, to taste her lips, to hold her body against his until they were both breathless.
But not here, not when everybody was watching.
“Yeah, the beach sounds good,” he said, his voice thick and graveled. It had always been his favorite place in Angel Sands – and now he’d get to share it with the woman who was quickly becoming his favorite person.
Before he could think too deeply about the implications, he took her hand and pulled her toward the exit.
Ember slid her sandals off, hooking the straps around her fingers as she let her feet sink into the still-warm sand. The sound of waves crashing against the shore mingled with the shouts and music from the fair, and yet the loudest noise of all was the drum of her pulse as her blood rushed through her ears, her heart hammering against her ribcage every time he smiled at her.
She felt the breeze lift her hair as she turned to look at him. “My dad used to bring me here at night when I was a girl,” she said. “He’d tell me the story of the Angel. Sometimes I’d see the moon reflected in the water, and he’d tell me it was the Angel hiding, waiting for us to leave. According to him she was shy.”
Lucas chuckled. “Was he a big drinker?”
She grinned, shaking her head. “Christmas and birthdays, and the occasional beer i
n the summer. He lived a healthy life. Didn’t eat too much, didn’t drink too much, rode his bike and walked whenever he could. That was why his cancer came as such a shock, I never thought we’d lose him so young.” She licked her lips, tasting the salt on the wind. “I guess nobody ever expects something like that.”
Lucas was looking out to shore. She could see his profile illuminated by the moon. “They don’t,” he said, his eyes still on the horizon. “I’ve seen enough death to know about that.”
There was something in his voice that made her chest ache; a grittiness that told her he’d seen more than anybody should have to. It took her back to the first time she saw him, when he’d seemed so serious, so unwilling to give an easy smile.
Strange how first impressions could seem so wrong.
“What made you decide to become a firefighter?” she asked him. They’d reached the shoreline, where the waves became only a shallow dance of water, drifting up to kiss their bare feet before retreating back. She wiggled her toes, feeling them sink into the soft, wet sand.
He was standing next to her, so close she could feel the warmth of his arm as it pressed against hers. From the corner of her eye she could see him staring into the distance, his gaze set on the darkening horizon. Only a line of orange separated the ocean from the sky, the burning sun had almost disappeared completely. Another day over, at least as far as nature was concerned.
Yet to Ember it felt like a beginning.
“I originally wanted to join the Army,” Lucas said. His knuckles grazed hers. She opened her hand, the back of her fingers against his, and they slid inside each other naturally.
“You did?” she asked. “What made you change your mind?”
He laughed softly. “Would you believe it was a girl?”
“Yeah, I would.” She bit down a smile. Compromise was what you did when you were in a relationship, gave away small slivers of your own dreams to help somebody else achieve theirs. “How did that work out for you?”
“Great. We’re married with three kids now. Blissfully happy.”
She burst out laughing. Turning her head, she looked up at him. “I’m so pleased for you.”
He tipped his head to the side, his eyes catching hers. “I don’t regret the decision not to join, even though I made it for the wrong reasons. When I look back I don’t think I made many choices for the right reasons, really. It was all about making everybody else happy. Get good grades for my mom, get on the football team for my dad, refuse a job offer from the Army for my girlfriend.” A wry smile lifted the corner of his lips. “All good decisions, but until you start making them from inside yourself they’re never going to mean anything.”
“Can I ask why you split up with her?”
With his free hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess it wasn’t about the Army after all. She wanted my attention and didn’t get it, I was always too busy pushing for the next thing.” He took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air. “Firefighting isn’t so different from the military, at least in some ways. It demands all your energy and attention, not to mention your time. I’d do three back to back shifts, then come home and want nothing more than to collapse on the sofa, while she’d want me to take her out and have a good time.” A big wave crashed onto shore, and this time the water reached their ankles. “She wanted me to choose between her and the job. Again.”
“And you chose the job?”
“I didn’t have to. The fact I hesitated told her everything she needed to know. I guess being a firefighter isn’t compatible with being in a relationship.” He shrugged. “She’s married now. Two kids I think, not the three she’d wanted, but she’s happy, so she made the right decision.”
“And you?”
He frowned, his eyes catching hers again. “What about me?”
“Did you make the right decision?”
There was a tic in the corner of his jaw. She watched with fascination as it moved in and out to the rhythm of the waves. “Yeah, I did. I love my job. I could never have given my all to it and given her everything she wanted. We were high school sweethearts, you know? Maybe that kind of thing is never meant to last.”
Yeah, maybe. Ember knew more than she wanted to about that. So strange how she’d spent years believing that she and Will would be the ones to make it, when all along they were following the same, worn out path.
A group of teenagers were walking along the sand, a few yards up from where Ember and Lucas were standing. She glanced at them over her shoulder, smiling when she saw them laughing and pushing each other as they made their way up toward the Heavenly Ice Cream Parlor.
How many times had she done the same thing? With Brooke and Ally, Will and whoever else had come along with them? Those summers had lasted forever, from Angel Day to Labor Day, months of sunshine, sand, and friendship.
“Can I ask you something?” Lucas’ question brought her out of her reverie.
“I guess…” She smiled at him to show she was kidding. “It’s only fair, isn’t it? Tit for tat?”
“What made you split up with your fiancé?”
“I think it was his girlfriend that did it.”
“What?” Lucas looked appalled. “He was cheating on you?”
She wasn’t sure she was ready for this conversation yet, maybe she never would be. In the past months she’d found a way to bury those feelings deep inside her, and there wasn’t a chance in hell she wanted them to rise to the surface. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “But I think so. We were having… a few problems… and then one day he told me he had a new job in San Francisco and was leaving. I was completely blindsided. After all those years I never expected him to do something like that. To be honest, I still find it hard to believe.” She kicked at the water, seeing the droplets rise up, then fall back again. “Ally stalked his Facebook for a while. She said within a couple of weeks he was in a new relationship with a woman called Norah.”
Okay, that was about as much as she wanted to share. She opened her mouth to try and change the conversation, but Lucas beat her to it.
“Can I ask you one more thing?”
She wrinkled her nose. “If you have to. But just so you know, I’m keeping score.”
“Are you still in love with him?”
She definitely wasn’t expecting that. “Wow. I think you owe me two answers for that one.”
He laughed. “I’ll give you three if you tell me.”
She lifted her head up to look at him. “Why do you want to know?”
Lucas reached out and ran the tip of his finger across her jaw. His feather-like touch made her shiver.
“Because I don’t want to kiss a woman who’s still in love with another guy.”
Oh! The butterflies were back in full force. She tried to breathe in, but her throat felt too tight. “I’m not in love with him anymore,” she whispered, her heart hammering in her chest. “I haven’t been for a long time.”
Lucas didn’t reply. She watched him, her breath still caught in her throat, as he inclined his head toward hers. Their eyes were locked together as the tip of his nose slid along the bridge of hers, his lips lifted in a half-smile.
She couldn’t help her own smile. It felt as though fireworks were exploding inside her, bleaching everything with light. He slid his hand around her waist, his fingers cupping her hip, and she stepped closer to him, wanting to feel his body pressed to hers.
“Is this okay?” he murmured. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin.
“Yeah.” It was so much more than okay.
She lifted her head a little more, until their lips were almost touching, and those fireworks in her chest exploded again.
Softly, slowly, he brushed his lips against hers. She lifted her arm, cupping his warm neck with her hand. He deepened the kiss, his mouth warm and firm, their lips moving in harmony as they became breathless with need. She melted into him, her soft curves molding into his hard muscles. He was so strong, so tall, so big.
He could dominate her if he wanted to, yet she was the one who let her mouth fall open, the one who let her tongue slowly slide against his.
Another burst of laughter came from the boardwalk, and Lucas slowly pulled his lips from hers. He smiled at her, and she grinned back, her whole skin on fire at his touch.
“Shall we take this somewhere more private?” he asked her. He ran the tip of his tongue across his bottom lip. She wondered if he could taste salt, or her.
She was already missing the sensation of his lips against hers. Already needing her next fix of Lucas Russell. She wanted to kiss him again until those fireworks burned their way out of her skin and engulfed them both.
“Yes,” she said. She couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face if she’d wanted to. “I’d like that a lot.”
19
He wasn’t sure why he took her to his place. Maybe because it was close, only a few hundred yards along the beach, and the roads would be gridlocked with cars leaving the fair. Driving to her place would take so much longer. He found himself kissing her every few feet, the need to feel her lips against his overriding every bit of good sense he had left. Once it took somebody whistling loudly at them before he could bring himself to break the kiss. They’d both laughed as he waved at the guy behind him and got a two-fingered salute in response.
“Before we go in I should warn you it’s a mess,” he told her, sliding his key into the door. He couldn’t resist touching her again, tracing her cheekbone with his finger.
“That’s okay.” She sounded as breathless as he was. “You didn’t know I was coming back. You don’t have to tidy for me.”
They walked inside and her eyes widened. “Ah, now I see what you’re talking about,” she said, taking in the half-fitted kitchen and the living area filled with boxes.
“It’s a work in progress.”
“Isn’t everything?” She smiled up at him, and he had to taste those lips again. He leaned his head down and pressed his mouth to hers. She looped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he ran his hands down her sides, feeling her shiver at his touch.
