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Her smile brightened. “I’d like that. Though we only have the cottage for a week.”
His grin evaporated. “We?” Just his luck, she had a burly boyfriend or husband lurking somewhere.
“I’m here with two girlfriends. We came down from L.A. for a few days’ break.”
Ah. Two friends. That sounded better. “Where are you from originally?” he asked. “That doesn’t sound like an L.A. accent.”
She laughed. “No, that always gives me away.” She faced him. “I’m originally from Georgia. I moved here with my mom when I was in high school, after my dad died. Her brother—my Uncle Spence—was living in L.A. and he sort of helped her raise me. What about you? Are you a native?”
“Yep. Lived here all my life.”
“No wonder you’re such a good surfer.”
He shrugged. “I don’t do it as much as I’d like. Running a business takes a lot of time. That and family obligations.”
“Don’t I know it.” She motioned to the phone in her other hand. “I can’t even get away from the business when I’m on vacation. And my Uncle Spence, bless his heart, expects me to do everything.”
“Then it sounds to me like you really need a vacation.” He moved closer. “And I’d really love some company this afternoon.”
The thought of going back into the water, or back to work, by himself held no appeal now that he’d met Sara. If she was only going to be here a week, he didn’t want to waste any time getting to know her better.
She looked out at the waves again. “I’ll admit it’s tempting.” She glanced back at her phone. “I could always finish my work later….”
He was congratulating himself on saying the right thing when her phone rang. He silently willed her not to answer it, but he had the feeling she wasn’t the type to ignore a ringing phone.
She gave him an apologetic look then took the call. “Hello? Oh, hi, Candy. Are you at Matt’s already?”
He walked a short distance away so she’d have a little privacy and tried not to listen to the “uh-huhs” and “oh reallys” that punctuated her half of the conversation. He hoped she didn’t get sidetracked by work and decide she couldn’t come with him.
Timing was everything, in surfing as well as life. Five years ago, his grandfather, Gus, had suffered a massive heart attack. He’d recovered, but last year a second coronary had laid him low. He’d been in danger of losing the Surf Shack when Drew had stepped in to help. He’d been behind the counter at the Shack ever since, while Gus helped out as he could. Now that his doctors had declared surfing off-limits, Gus mostly played the role of local surfing “character,” sharing stories of his heyday as a surfing king to anyone who cared to hang around.
Drew hadn’t really minded returning to the place where he’d grown up, but between living with his grandfather and running the Surf Shack, surfing was something he could never get away from. He loved it, but he felt pressured by it, too. Last night after Gus was in bed, Drew had stayed up to balance the Shack accounts. Midway through reviewing inventory records, he’d realized this was no way for a twenty-nine-year-old guy to spend Sunday night.
The sudden loneliness had hit him in the gut, and this morning he’d vowed to change things. He’d get out more, meet women and find someone to share his life with.
So was it mere coincidence that the first woman he’d met seemed to want the same thing for herself? Maybe he was reading too much into a wistful look and a few words of conversation, but something in him sensed that Sara was a woman who wanted more.
Maybe he could be the one to give her what she wanted.
“Sorry about that.” She walked up behind him, tote bag slung over her shoulder. “I was afraid that would be my Uncle Spence calling with some urgent business problem, but it was just one of my roommates.”
“So you’re free to come with me now?”
She smiled. “I’m free. At least for a little while. And I’d better take advantage of that.”
2
THE COOL firmness of sand between her toes, the smell of salt and suntan oil, the thunder of waves and the shrill cries of seagulls transported Sara to her girlhood. Walking alongside Drew, she felt that same sense of possibility to the afternoon—that wonderful anticipation she’d come to Malibu to rediscover. With a surfboard tucked under one arm, he even looked like the idols of her youth. Anything could happen as long as the sun shone and her companion kept smiling at her.
She glanced at him and he winked. Now she really felt like a girl again; it was all she could do not to giggle. She was glad she’d agreed to come with him. He was easy to be with, and he’d given her the perfect excuse to get away, though her phone was in the beach bag she’d grabbed to bring along.
Whether she could go through with her original plan to seduce this hottie was debatable. Her seduction skills were definitely rusty.
Ellie would probably say that was all the more reason for her to practice.
They passed a carnival laid out on the sand—Ferris wheel, arcade games, a stage and volleyball nets. A man in a lime-green turban and a Hawaiian shirt stood at a booth near a sign that read Magellan the All-Knowing. “What’s all this?” Sara asked.
“It’s all part of the big Sin on the Beach party.” Drew raised one eyebrow. “I figured that was what brought you here this week.”
She shrugged. “My friends said something about it, but I never realized it was so…elaborate.”
He nodded. “They’re hosting a week-long bash—games, dancing, contests, prizes. It’s bigger than spring break.”
A week-long bash? “Guess we lucked out.” She grinned at him. Talk about the perfect setting for a wild fling.
“My shop is just a little ways up the beach,” Drew said. “My grandparents started it almost forty years ago.”
“It’s hard to imagine having a grandfather who surfs,” she said. “It seems like such a hip, young thing to do.” Her own mother—like her father before he’d died—was a serious, hard-working person. Even after they’d moved to L.A., her mom had never acclimated to the west-coast lifestyle. She complained that the sun shone too much.
“Grandpa Gus definitely isn’t an old fogey,” Drew said. “If anything, he acts too young. He forgets he can’t do everything he could as a young man and it gets him into trouble.”
“And you worry about him,” she said.
He gave her a sharp look. “Does it show that much?”
“Not really. But I can relate. I’m the same way with my Uncle Spence. He’s younger than your grandfather, but he works so hard. He never lets himself relax, and he worries about everything. He depends on me a lot to help with his business and I hate to let him down.”
Drew nodded. “I love Grandpa, and I don’t really mind, but sometimes…” His voice trailed away.
“Yeah, sometimes.” She knew exactly how Drew felt. Could it be she wasn’t the only young adult in the world with too many responsibilities and too much guilt?
“Would you like to see the shop?” Drew asked. “Then maybe we could do something together.”
She could think of any number of things she would like to do with him—some of which involved wearing no clothes. Obviously her libido was taking the idea of a no-holds-barred vacation seriously. But even the more sensible part of her liked the idea of getting to know this man better. “That would be great,” she said.
Like a bad-tempered chaperone determined to cramp her style, her phone started vibrating, rattling against the keys in the bottom of her bag.
“What is that?” Drew asked.
“Nothing.” She groped in her bag, trying to locate the off button for the phone, but only succeeded in getting the strap wrapped around her sunglasses case.
“Seriously, what’s that buzzing noise?” Drew moved closer. “Do you have something in there?”
“No, really, it’s fine.” If she broke off yet another conversation with him to take a call, he was going to think she was a complete workaholic.
He stepped back, grinning. “I’ve heard about those things, but I never knew a woman who carried one with her to the beach.”
“It’s not… You don’t think—” Her face probably came close to matching the color of her swimsuit. She jerked the cell out of her bag. “It’s a phone!”
He laughed. “Hey, did I say it wasn’t?” He shook his head. “Go ahead and answer it. Maybe it’s your roommate again.”
She should be so lucky. She checked the caller ID. “No, it’s my uncle.”
“Then you’d better answer it.”
“Yeah, guess I’d better.” She flipped open the phone as she moved a few steps away.
“Sara, why haven’t you called the title company?” With those words, Uncle Spence made her magical mood vanish.
The title company! She groaned. “I’m sorry. I got busy and it slipped my mind. I’ll call in the morning.”
“You need to call now. Granger’s been asking me about the closing.” She pictured him standing in the clubhouse, sweat pouring down his red face, working himself into a lather over his imagined failure to make a good impression on his top client. “We’re having dinner later and I’d like to be able to tell him something specific,” he said.
“Just tell Mr. Granger that everything’s on schedule and he doesn’t need to worry.”
“Do you have that flow chart you made up that shows the closing process and everything that happens?”
“Ye-es.” She glanced at Drew. He was leaning on his board, looking out at the ocean. She hoped he wasn’t getting impatient.
“I’ll give you a number to fax it to,” Spence said. “I’ll give it to Granger at dinner. He’s wild for any kind of chart or graph.”
“I don’t have a fax machine right here.”
“Then e-mail it to the office. I’ll have Tabitha print it out and fax it.”
Drew glanced over at her. She waved. “Uncle Spence, can’t this wait?” she asked. “I’m really busy with something else right now.”
“How long will it take you to e-mail that chart? And one call to the title company isn’t so much to ask.” He sighed, sounding sad. “I’m really counting on you, Sara. It’s not like you to let me down.”
Every word was like another bucketful of sand being poured over her, burying her in guilt. She swallowed hard. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
She hung up. So much for a carefree afternoon of romance. “Is something wrong?” Drew returned to her side. “You look upset.”
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” she said. She replaced the phone in her bag, avoiding his eyes. “Something’s come up at the office…I’m sorry.”
“You can’t let someone else take care of it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’d better go.”
She could feel his gaze on her, intense and probing, and disappointment dragged at her. He was such a great guy. They could have had fun together…. She shook her head. “It was great meeting you,” she said. Lame words, full of regret for what might have been.
“Yeah. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah.” Except she’d be too mortified to go anywhere near him again.
Surfboard tucked under his arm, he strode across the sand. She watched him go, suppressing a sigh. Drew was just too perfect. She’d blown it. Lost her chance. She was doomed to a life chained to her computer.
HALF AN HOUR later, Sara had just finished e-mailing the flow chart to Uncle Spence and was debating opening a bottle of wine for her own private pity party when Ellie ran into the beach house. She skidded to a stop and her smile vanished when she saw Sara hunched over the computer. “Hey, what are you doing still working?” she said. “You promised to put that thing away.”
“I did put it away,” Sara said, shutting the lid to the laptop and turning to her friend. “I even went for a walk on the beach.”
“That’s more like it.” Ellie dropped onto the sofa. “So…did you meet any hot guys?”
Sara felt her face warm. “There was this one surfer….”
“I knew it!” Ellie leaned forward, hands between her knees. “What happened? Did you talk to him? Did he think you were hot? Did you tell him you needed someone to help you relax? Did you suggest going somewhere and having wild monkey sex?”
Sara laughed at the onslaught of questions. Leave it to Ellie to put her in a better mood. “I talked to him,” she said. “His name is Drew, and he runs a local surf shop.”
“Drew.” Ellie tried the name on her tongue. “Mmm. And is Drew dreamy? Or delicious?” She smiled wickedly.
Heat curled through Sara at the memory of Drew’s bronzed muscles and killer smile. “Both. And he was really nice, too.”
“Then what are you doing sitting around here by yourself?”
Gloom engulfed Sara once more. “Everything was going great, then Uncle Spence called.”
“Sara!” Ellie clenched her hands. “Why did you answer the phone?”
“I wasn’t going to,” Sara said. “But Drew told me I should.” She winced at the memory. He had been so considerate. So understanding.
“What did Spence want?” Ellie asked.
“He wanted some information for a client he’s having dinner with tonight.”
“Then he should have gotten it himself,” Ellie said. “You should have told him so.”
Sara nodded. “I know. I tell myself I’m going to stand up to him, but whenever I balk at what he wants, he plays the guilt card.” She shrugged. “It’s easier just to do the work and not have to deal with the guilt.”
Ellie patted Sara’s hand. “I know, hon. Spence depends on you for so much. Too much. And you have a soft heart.”
And a soft head, Sara thought.
“So you came back here to get the information for Uncle Spence,” Ellie said. “You should’ve invited surfer boy back with you.”
Sara raised her head. “I never even thought of that. After Uncle Spence’s call it seemed like the mood had been destroyed.”
“Do you think Drew was angry about what happened?” Ellie asked.
“No. He was really nice about it. I just felt bad.” She’d wanted a hole in the sand to open up and swallow her. What woman in her right mind would forsake a gorgeous guy in favor of more work?
Ellie sat back, her expression thoughtful. “You say he runs a surf shop?”
Sara nodded. “It’s called the Surf Shack. His grandfather owns it.”
Ellie grinned. “That’s perfect.” She snatched the Sin on the Beach flyer from the coffee table. “There’s a surfing competition as part of the festival. You used to surf, right?”
“I hung out with surfers, but I never learned myself.” Back then her focus had been more on the hot guys and the beach-bunny lifestyle than on surfing itself. Now she wished she had taken advantage of the opportunity to learn. “That was a long time ago.”
