Home to Stay (10 page)

She didn’t run or flinch or show a hint of anger. All emotions he expected. That was another thing. She was always surprising him with her strength.

“I’m not a charity case. I don’t need some man to rescue me.”

Of that he was sure. “Maybe we can rescue each other.”

As her face relaxed, the corners of Will’s mouth curved up. “Maybe.” She grabbed the bar rag from where he’d dropped it and twisted it in her hands. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll think about what?” Beth asked, dropping three empty beer bottles on the end of the bar. “The guys need another round. I could use a refill on my water and Sid is switching to soda.”

Randy watched Will, who held his gaze under lowered eyelashes. Neither answered Beth.

“Hello?” she said, waving an arm in the air. “Are you two okay?” Beth crossed the distance between them, stepping up to the stool beside Randy. “What’s going on out here? You look like you’re planning a bank robbery or something.”

Will laughed, and the sound shot straight to Randy’s groin. “Or something,” she said, throwing the rag over her shoulder. “Two beers, a water, and one soda coming right up.”

CHAPTER 10

S
leeping was virtually impossible. Will tossed and turned all night. The last time she’d seen the clock it read 4:00 a.m., but she must have drifted off shortly after that, since she’d definitely had a dream. A rather vivid and less than virtuous dream featuring a very naked, hot, and ready Randy Navarro.

When she’d awakened in a pool of sweat exactly three minutes before the alarm was set to go off, parts of her body that had been too long neglected still tingled. Will dragged herself into the bathroom and stepped under a full stream of lukewarm water, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the erotic thoughts at bay.

So she did what any red-blooded woman would do—upped the water temperature and spent five extra minutes on, well, herself. She was only human, after all.

At least the tux fitting wasn’t first thing in the morning. Due to the two-and-a-half-hour drive, Beth had scheduled the appointment for after lunch. Randy had something he needed to do with Jude first thing, so Will agreed to meet him at Anchor Adventures around nine-thirty.

Groggy-eyed and exhausted, she pulled up in front of the large triangular building at nine-fifteen. A quick glance inside revealed the place to be empty. When she stepped back outside, the sound of a motor from the right drew her attention. Will followed the decking around to the side of the building that faced the water and spotted a Jet Ski flying across the harbor, spinning and then shooting over its own wake.

Whoever was on that machine knew what he was doing.

“Bloody brilliant!” came a voice from the pier to the left of the deck. Will hadn’t noticed him before, but Jude danced around the edge, following every movement of the man on the watercraft. Then revelation dawned.

“That’s Randy.” How she’d missed the fact was a mystery, since the size of the man on the machine should have been her first clue. Will moved closer. The smile that split his face revealed how much he was enjoying himself. Water shot straight up as he banked hard right and raced toward the pier.

Dark curls hung wet over Randy’s ears as he pulled up mere feet from the sand and cut the engine.

“That was perfect,” Jude yelled, enjoying himself as much as the man on the water. “Exactly what I needed.”

Randy beached the Jet Ski, stepped off to one side, and threw his hair back. Water flew out behind him, forcing Jude to tuck his camera under his jacket. Which reminded Will it wasn’t exactly summer temperatures today. She pulled her denim jacket tighter as she reached the bottom level of the deck.

Had Randy hopped on a Jet Ski in ice-cold water for the sake of this article? Talk about dedicated. Sleeveless black neoprene clung to every curve and bulging muscle on his body. Every. Bulging. Muscle. The suit cut off above his knees, revealing calves the size of her thighs that were covered in a light dusting of dark, wet hair. Water slicked down his body.

Will’s mouth went dry as the world around her disappeared. Even the squawking of the seagulls faded away. Randy climbed the short ladder that brought him onto the pier, where he reached behind him and pulled something down his back. Before she could process what was happening, he began to peel the suit down over his broad chest.

Will couldn’t look away. One rational, prudish brain cell told her to turn around and wait in the van. The other brain cells beat that one into submission and kept her feet planted firmly on the deck. Good God, the man was beautiful. Better than Michelangelo’s
David
. Better than anything she’d ever seen in any magazine. Better than even her dream brain had conjured.

She could have this man if she wanted him. He’d said as much the night before. Would it be so bad to give her body what it wanted and to hell with the rest?

That one brain cell tried to talk again, but the others sat on it and cheered for her to go for it.

“Will!” Jude yelled, gaining her attention. He stood beside her, but she had no idea when he’d gotten there. “Close your mouth, darling. I’m afraid one of these horrid birds will go in looking for food.”

She stuttered, trying to come up with a plausible excuse for what must have been the very carnal and hungry look on her face. But then she looked back to Randy, who had peeled the wet suit down until it hung off his hips, his pelvic bones forming a V that dipped behind the material.

Nope. She didn’t care one bit what Jude thought. If he’d witnessed Heidi Klum climb out of that water dripping and peeling clothing, he’d have looked the same way.

“I suppose, if you go for that type,” her British friend said, watching the man walk toward them. “No wonder I didn’t stand a chance.”

“Morning, Will,” Randy said, running his hands through his hair as he joined them. “Guess I stayed in the water longer than I should have.”

Will tapped her wrist, which sported bangles instead of a watch. “No problem. I’m early.” If she’d have missed this show, she never would have forgiven herself.

“You ever been out on a Jet Ski?” He tapped water out of his left ear. “I could take you sometime if you want.”

“Not if you drive like that.” How she managed to keep her voice casual, Will didn’t know. “Looked dangerous from here.”

Randy shook his head, sending more drops into the air. “You’d need to hold on tight, but you’d be fine. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

Will felt the heat crawl up her body at the thought of wrapping herself around the man before her and holding on tight. She bit her bottom lip, smiling into Randy’s darkening brown eyes.

“Well,” Jude said. “Now that I’m invisible, I guess I’ll go.” He slid the camera from around his neck and popped on a lens cap he pulled from his pocket. “Thanks for doing this. We needed some action shots and these will work beautifully.”

“Happy to help out,” Randy said, keeping his eyes on Will.

She wasn’t sure how long they remained there, staring at each other, or when Jude wandered off, but Will finally came to her senses and remembered they were supposed to be going somewhere.

“You must be freezing,” she said, pulling her own jacket tight around her neck.

“Not at all. The water feels great.”

Will gaped. “That water has to be below sixty degrees. What are you, a human heater?”

He took a step forward, reaching for her hand. “You could say that.” Randy pressed her hand to his chest, directly over his heart. Heat seared her skin as his pulse beat against her palm.

“Oh,” she said, staring at the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. Her own heart rate kicked up a notch. “Yes. You’re very warm.” And solid. And gorgeous. But it wasn’t the feel of his skin or the bare chest that turned her to a pile of mush.

It was his eyes. Brown, with tiny flecks of gold she’d never noticed before. The kindness in those eyes is what did her in. That one brain cell found its voice again, saying what all the others were too stupefied to utter.

Oh boy
.

Randy stayed as still as possible as Will held her hand against his skin. He’d let go of her wrist several seconds before and doubted she realized what she was doing. The topaz eyes darkened as she stared first at his bare chest, then up into his eyes.

Don’t flinch
, he thought. The slightest movement would startle her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Keeping his breathing steady took everything he had. Not pulling her closer took even more.

“I should probably go change,” he said, hating to break the spell but knowing they needed to get on the road. “I’ve got clothes up in my office. Hot coffee, too, if you want to grab a cup while I towel off.”

Will’s eyes darkened even more, pushing sapphire now. A hint of distrust still danced in their depths, but so did desire.

“Yes, we’d better get going.” Will stepped back, sliding her hands into her pockets as she moved. “It’s a long drive.” She finally broke eye contact, shifting focus to the deck on which they stood. “Speaking of, are you driving or am I?”

There was no question. “I’ll drive.” He was old-fashioned that way. Motioning toward the building, he said, “After you.”

Nodding, Will climbed the three narrow levels to the larger area at the top. “This is where the wedding will be?” she asked, turning to look out over the water once they reached the top. “I hope they get a sunny day like this one.”

“The ceremony will be here,” he said, indicating the end to their left. “Beth and Joe will stand there, by the railing, so the guests will be looking toward the water. Then we’ll have the tent set up over here, with plenty of tables around the sides and space for dancing in the middle.”

“Beth is a genius for thinking of this. It’s a perfect location.”

“It was my idea, actually.” He smiled at Will’s look of surprise. “I’ve pictured a wedding out here for a while now. An option I could sell in the off-season. When Beth and Joe started talking about a wedding, I knew I had to offer.”

Crossing her arms, Will glanced around the deck again, as if seeing what he’d imagined in his mind. She shook her head. “Just when I think I have you figured out, you go and say something like that.”

Randy tilted his head. “Is that a good thing?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” she said, an honest answer he took as a good sign. If the jury was still out, he had time to win the case. What he was looking to win exactly was still up for debate.

Not that his body didn’t already have an answer, but this was tenuous ground requiring his upstairs brain to be in charge. Difficult when she looked at him like an expensive delicacy she’d like to devour.

“I’ll get you that coffee while you think on it, then.” Randy opened the side door to Anchor Adventures, holding it for her to pass through first. “Third door on the left is the break room.”

They passed the employee locker room, from which Randy grabbed a towel, and then a restroom on the left. A broom closet and his office were on the right. Will turned left at the door he’d indicated. “You call this a break room?”

“It’s the room we use to take our lunch breaks, so yeah.”

She crossed to the counter, running her hand along the surface. “What is this?”

Now that he’d stepped into air-conditioning, his body registered the cold water covering it. Randy toweled off his arms and chest as he answered. “Recycled glass mixed with concrete. We go for eco-friendly around her.”

“Eco-friendly or not, it’s beautiful.” Will pointed to the cupboards. “Mugs?”

“Far right, above the coffeemaker.”

As Will filled her cup, Randy took the opportunity to watch her. She was graceful, as always. Found the creamer in the fridge without having to ask. Pulled a clean spoon from the drawer—getting it right on the second try—to stir the drink, rinsed it in the sink, then dried and put it away.

When she turned with the cup to her lips, she leaned her bottom against the counter and blew softly. He’d never seen anything so sexy.

“What?” she asked, catching him staring. “Weren’t you going to change?”

He wrapped the towel around his neck. “Yeah, I’m going. Give me five.”

As Randy crossed into his office, he whistled a tune, feeling pretty good about the day ahead.

Two-and-a-half hours of pretending she was unaffected by the man in the driver’s seat tested Will’s nerves to the breaking point. She knew something had changed between them. And so did he. But neither seemed willing to bring this newfound…thing into the light of day and acknowledge it.

They were either chickenshit or both waiting for the other to bring it up first. No way in hell was she lifting the lid on this one. Denial was the way to go. Deny, deny, deny.

“Is that it, up ahead on the right?” Randy asked, leaning closer to the windshield.

Will followed his gaze and spotted the sign reading “OBX Tuxedo Shop.”

“That’s it.”
Thank you, Lord
. “We’re a little early, but that’s better than being late.”

The store was in the end unit of a U-shaped shopping center. Two dapper mannequins decorated the window, looking all dressed up with no place to go. When they reached the entrance, Randy opened the door, holding it for her to go through first. A bell jingled overhead, bringing a small Asian man from the back room.