21

Vaughn awoke at the ringing of a phone. Not his. He blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling and then down to the woman sleeping in his arms. Her hair fanned out over his arm and the pillow, slightly matted as though it had dried without being brushed. Just the way it looked on river runs. Her lashes left delicate shadows on her smooth cheeks, and each curve of her face was perfect. She slept with abandon. The ends of her pink nightshirt had crept up to show matching polka-dotted shorts and a slice of her side. Her hand rested on his stomach, her cheek nestled in the crux of his shoulder. She was beautiful.

It wasn’t the first time they’d fallen asleep this way watching a movie, but this morning it was bittersweet for him, knowing the only reason she was here was because the man she loved hadn’t been. He’d heard the excitement in her voice last night when she’d told him about reconnecting with the father of her baby, and it was all he could do to hide his agony and prevent himself from leaving to lick his wounds in private. He wanted her happiness, after all. But how could this man give her happiness if she had to find comfort in Vaughn’s arms instead?

“I won’t give up,” he whispered, smoothing her hair. “Not until you want me to.” Because the happiness in her eyes when he’d shown up last night hadn’t been fake.

The attraction they’d always shared was as strong as ever, and watching her in that sheet had nearly undone him, but he’d gotten through it somehow. Several times during the movie, it seemed as if she’d almost forgotten they were broken up and had appeared close to kissing him. He’d had to clamp down on his own self-control so he didn’t read too much into it. However much he wanted Saffron, it wasn’t fair to push his agenda with her now, not with what she was going through.

With her revelations, everything made sense now—everything except why she seemed so hung up on a man who hadn’t fought for her. She’d excused Tyson because of his age, but Vaughn wasn’t buying it. Sixteen-year-old males were some of the most obsessed, hormone-driven creatures he’d ever known. Tyson never should have believed she would leave.

Vaughn himself had no plans to back down unless she told him she wanted him to. Emotionally, he might not be able to play the role of the boyfriend she wouldn’t commit to, but in reality he was still that man. He craved her touch, her smile, her laugh. He wanted to wake up every morning with her like this in his arms. He wanted to make love to her each and every day until forever. He wanted to see her smiling down at the face of their own son or daughter.

As if feeling his gaze, she moved. She sucked in a breath, her mouth opening in a yawn at the same time her eyelids lifted. She met his gaze, blinked twice, and gave a little gasp. “Oh, sorry.” She sat up, wiping her mouth with her fingertips. A mouth that was full and moist and kissable. “I didn’t mean to drool on you all night.”

His gaze dropped to the small wet spot on his shirt where her mouth had been. He laughed. “I didn’t mind.”

She raked a hand through her hair in that alluring way women had of trying to put things right. It took a renewed dose of self-control not to reach out and pull her back into his arms and kiss her senseless.

“You look beautiful.” The words escaped him before he thought about how she’d take the compliment.

“Thanks,” she said.

For a moment they sat there, facing each other, the sexual tension between them building. He almost felt that if he did kiss her, she’d kiss him back—and the world would stop moving. Before last Friday night, he would have done exactly that.

But that was before he’d broken up with her, and before she’d run back to the wimpy father of her child.

Child. She’d had a baby—and lost a baby. All by herself. The awfulness of what she’d gone through still shook him. It explained so much about her refusal to talk about children, to create relationships with his family, to accept his love. Seeing her so vulnerable had fired all his protective urges. He’d stayed up long after she’d gone to sleep, holding her and battling his anger against the people who’d failed her. Yet if they hadn’t failed her, he would never have met and fallen in love with her. If she hadn’t recovered from betrayal, she might be a completely different person from the strong-willed, determined woman who had stolen his heart. It seemed to be a paradox he couldn’t resolve. He only knew he loved her, and that on some level she loved him too, even if she couldn’t admit it to herself. Why else would she be looking at him the way she was right now? With an expression that ripped away all his guards and laid bare his soul.

Saffron gave a little shake of her head, accompanied by an embarrassed laugh. “Thank you for coming last night. Apparently, I needed a listening ear.” She climbed from the bed and moved away, digging in a drawer for some clothes, and the tension between them eased.

“Apparently.” He made his voice teasing. “Let’s get ready and go out for breakfast.”

“They have a pretty good breakfast downstairs. And it’s free.”

Another thing he loved about her. She didn’t waste money—something he’d been sure she learned at Lily’s House but might have also come from her time on the street. Her frugalness had certainly worked to his advantage last night when he’d suggested he leave.

“You mean the free breakfast they upped the price of the rooms to pay for?” he said, winking at her.

She chuckled. “Probably.”

“Okay, we’ll do lunch instead.”

“I thought you were coming down to meet with Datatoon. Do you have an interview?”

He shrugged. “They don’t actually know I’m here yet, though I did give them a heads up that I might be in town this week. I’ll probably make the appointment for Friday.” Now that he was here two days early, he wasn’t sure how it would all play out. “I’ll call them in a bit.”

He lifted up the bottle of aloe. “So how’s your back? We should probably put this on again.” He told himself his reminder wasn’t because he wanted to touch her.

Saffron moved her shoulders around a bit, testing her back. “It almost doesn’t hurt at all. I think I might be able to put it on myself.” She took the bottle from him and headed to the bathroom.

Vaughn fought his disappointment, though it was probably for the best. He was already frustrated enough as it was. “So when do I get to meet this guy, Tyson?”

She popped her head out of the bathroom. “Uh, never.”

“Why not?” He had to work to make his voice light. “I mean, you and I are friends, right?” He stressed the word friends. “Why shouldn’t I meet him?”

“You know why.” She disappeared.

Because I’m in love with you, he thought. “I could give him some tips on sunscreen application so you don’t get burned in the future.”

She poked her head out again, her forehead wrinkled with a concern he would have found adorable if it didn’t hurt so much to think of that other man touching her. “I won’t need help with sunscreen.” She hesitated. “Look, Vaughn. I know you came here to help, and I appreciate it, but that doesn’t mean . . . I’m trying to get my life back.”

His heart plummeted. “I know,” he said, still using his teasing voice. “I won’t tell him I spent the night.”

She rolled her eyes and disappeared again. He heard the lock snap shut.

Sighing, he reached for his phone to call his friends at Datatoon Studios and let them know he was in town. He’d arrange for a quick visit and spend the rest of his time in California concentrating on Saffron. Except she’d told him about her date with Tyson this evening, and the way she’d talked had made it seem important. He had only a few hours to make a difference, and how could he do that when he couldn’t even kiss her?

At the moment, he wanted to kiss her more than anything. Kissing her was unlike kissing any other woman. He couldn’t explain it, but it was so good between them that it couldn’t all be one-sided. Unless he was crazy, which maybe he was.

After setting up a meeting Friday morning with Datatoon, Vaughn stacked all the scattered boxes and suitcases neatly in a corner behind the table while debating possible plans for the day. He’d been hoping for months to take Saffron parasailing, but that wouldn’t work today with her sunburn. Pulling on a wetsuit was difficult enough without inflamed skin. Maybe instead they could take a boat to Catalina Island and have a romantic lunch. It was beautiful there, and if they stayed late enough, she might have to cancel her date tonight.

At that thought, his frustration reared its ugly head again. What if nothing he did made a difference?

“Vaughn?”

He turned to see her standing there in a flared pink skirt and white top he’d never seen before that left her legs and arms bare. The top was loose and reminded him of the peasant blouses in medieval films. Her still-damp hair lay straight around her shoulders, perfectly framing a face that had come alive with subtle touches of makeup. He didn’t know how women did that, but he loved her both with and without the extra paint. He knew his admiration showed in his eyes when she blushed.

“Like it?” She twirled for him. “I bought this outfit in a little store by the beach yesterday. It was insanely discounted.”

“I do like it.” He bowed. “Milady.”

Her laughter fell over him like a gentle waterfall. “Your turn to shower,” she said. “Oh, and if you brought my car, we’ll need to talk about how to get you back to Phoenix. Especially if you need to leave before Halla comes on Friday.”

“I did bring your car, but I’m in no hurry.” He wasn’t going to think about leaving her yet. “While you were in the bathroom, I made my appointment with Datatoon for Friday morning at ten.”

“Oh, that’s great. But how much do I owe you for my car? I’m betting they charged at least a couple hundred.”

He looked away, one finger scratching a spot on his neck. “Uh, I didn’t actually take it in.”

“What?” She looked at him, a hand on her hip. “But you said . . . Oh, I know that look. What did you do?”

He shrugged. “It was an easy fix, and I do my own repairs when I can’t get my car into a mechanic I trust. The brake parts were only fifty bucks, and the belt that was making the funny noise was ten.”

“Thank you.” Saffron hugged him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” He held onto her at least two seconds longer than necessary, but she didn’t seem to mind. She smelled of lavender, aloe gel, and a hint of something else. Something that made him want to bury his face in her neck and never let go.

“I was hoping we could go parasailing during my trip,” he said after retreating a step. “But that wouldn’t be fun today with your sunburn. So how about we go to Catalina Island for lunch?”

Her jaw dropped in protest. “No! Let’s go parasailing. My sunburn’s much better today.” She pulled the elastic neck of her top out to show a bit of her shoulder, but winced as her nail scraped her skin.

He moved closer to examine it. “Still red,” he murmured. “The herbs and aloe gel are great, but you’d be miserable. We can do it tomorrow or Friday after my appointment instead.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I know you’re right, but I wish you weren’t.”

He touched her back over the thin material of her shirt. “You don’t feel hot, at least.”

“I just took a cold shower.”

He gave her a slow grin. “I have that effect on women.”

She started laughing, slugging him in the arm. “Yeah. Okay. I see where that’s going. Get ready, or I’m going to eat without you.”

Vaughn walked to the bathroom door, where he stopped for a second and stared at Saffron, who was putting away her nightclothes. He took a mental picture, hope battling against the feeling of loss in his chest. His mouth tasted like sand, and his heart pounded as if he were headed down a run of particularly rough rapids with no life preserver or paddle.

With an internal sigh, he forced himself into the bathroom and took his own cold shower.