“What’s with the caveman attitude over the new girl?” Jackson asked as they carried their boards up the beach. “Me Griff, you Autumn. You were practically beating your chest, man.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Griff felt his jaw twitch.
“Come on. I was shooting the breeze with her and you jumped in so fast it took my breath away. You like her, right?”
“She’s my landlord. A colleague. And she’s new in town. I just didn’t think you should be hitting on her like that.”
The corner of Jackson’s mouth quirked up. “So if I ask her out on a date you’ll get angry.”
“I don’t want to deal with the fallout when you mess it up,” Griff said, raising an eyebrow. “I have to work with her.”
“But what if I don’t mess it up?” Jackson tipped his head to the side. “What if I like her and she likes me. You’d be okay with that?”
The thought of it made Griff feel weird. And he had no idea why. Yeah, she was pretty, and clever as hell. But he knew better than to date somebody he had to work closely with. Look at what happened with him and Carla.
“I don’t think she’s planning on sticking around forever,” he finally said, avoiding Jackson’s question altogether. “Just until she has the pier under control. Then she’ll head back to New York.”
“So we could have a fling.” Jackson shrugged. “Suits me.”
Griff’s fingers tightened on his board, his knuckles blanching. “Leave her out of it.”
Jackson started to laugh. “Oh man, you’ve got it bad.”
“Shut up.”
“You like her, don’t you?” Jackson persisted.
“It doesn’t matter,” Griff said through gritted teeth. “It’s not happening.”
“Look, I know what happened with you and Carla was bad. That she made your life hell when things were over, but you’ve got to get back on the wagon, my friend. Not all women expect you to put a ring on it after the second date. If you feel something for Autumn, then go for it.” Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Or somebody else will.”
They’d reached the showers in front of the parking lot, and Griff pressed the lever down, letting the cold spray wash over him and rinse the salty ocean water away. He closed his eyes and shook his hair, water flying everywhere. Then he washed his board off before grabbing a towel from the flatbed of his truck.
“I’m not interested,” he said roughly, rubbing the towel over his hair and neck.
“Sure you’re not,” Jackson said grinning. “That’s why you’re spending the afternoon with her.”
“As friends.”
“Whatever you say. Good luck with keeping it at that.”
“Dad wants to know why you’re not answering your phone.”
Autumn could hear the amusement in Lydia’s tone. Wedging her phone between her shoulder and her ear, Autumn pulled her hiking boots over the thick walking socks she’d bought last year but never used.
“He called once this morning and I was busy. I figured I’d call him tonight.” Or tomorrow. Or maybe next week. Whenever she felt up to hearing how disappointed he was again.
“But she always answers her phone, Lydia. Unlike you,” Lydia said in a deep, gruff voice.
“Your impression of him is terrible,” Autumn told her sister. “For a start your voice was too deep.”
“Ouch! What a burn, and he wasn’t even here to hear it. I’m going to tell him you said that the next time we talk. Anyway, what was so important that you didn’t pick up the phone?”
“I was at the beach with some friends.”
Lydia laughed. “Okay. Now what were you really doing?”
“I was at the beach. Honestly. The woman who owns the cottage I’m renting invited me to join her and her friends for coffee this morning. I figured why not.”
“But you don’t meet people for coffee. Or do anything but work on Sundays. Oh my god, Autumn, is Dad right? Have you lost your mind?” Lydia was loving this. Autumn could hear it in her voice. “Next thing we know you’ll be hooking up with a guy without knowing his portfolio.”
Autumn reminded herself to say nothing about Griff or the hike they had planned that afternoon.
“Autumn?” Lydia’s voice was full of amusement.
“Yeah?”
“You haven’t hooked up with anybody, have you?”
“No.” She laughed. “Of course I haven’t.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“What?” Autumn shook her head even though Lydia couldn’t see her. “Stop it.”
“I’m your sister. I know when you’re lying. You do this stupid little laugh, the same way Dad does.”
“I don’t.” Autumn grimaced. She knew exactly the laugh Lydia was talking about.
“You really do.”
Did she? Autumn tried to think back, but her mind was blank. Whatever, she’d just never laugh again. That would work, right?
“So who is he?”
“Who?” Autumn frowned.
“The guy. The one you’re not hooking up with.”
“Even if there was a guy, which there isn’t, I wouldn’t be hooking up with him. I’m hardly divorced, I’m not looking to make any more mistakes.”
“You got rid of an asshole,” Lydia pointed out. “One you never should have married in the first place. And you probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Dad telling you how wonderful Josh was and that he’d be the perfect husband and business partner. Not all guys are like that, Autumn. There are good guys, too.”
“Yeah, well they’re like a needle in the haystack in New York. The single ones, anyway.”
“But you’re not in New York, are you?” Lydia said, her voice pointed. “And whoever this non-existent guy is, maybe he’s just what you need right now.”
Autumn finished lacing her boots and sat up. “I just bought a pier without looking at it. Don’t you think I’m way out of my comfort zone already? I’ve made enough bad decisions this year.”
“Maybe you should drink some more tequila and see what happens next?” Lydia suggested.
“And that’s my cue to go,” Autumn told her. “I’m never drinking tequila again.”
“Wait! What shall I tell Dad if he calls again?”
Autumn laughed. “Tell him I’ve slept with half the town and now I’m setting my sights on the other half.”
“It’s a shame he wouldn’t believe me.” Lydia sighed. “Because I’d love to see you go wild.”
It took just under an hour to reach the foothills in Griff’s old Ford truck. He had the windows rolled down and rock music blasting from the stereo. Autumn leaned back on the brown leather seat and let the warm air wash over her as they made their way along the highway, enjoying the wide open space surrounding them. She rarely got to see the full horizon in New York.
They parked in the lot at the base of the trail, squeezing in between a shiny SUV and a Mustang. Climbing down from the car, Autumn felt the warm sun beating down on her as she took in the rocky trail, edged with verdant trees and thick, dry brush.
Griff pulled out a backpack and slid it over his shoulders. “You want to take the easy route, or the hard one?” he asked, glancing at her.
“How hard is the hard one?” she asked.
“Hard.”
She laughed. “You’re a real mine of information, you know that?”
“Why don’t we take the easier route for today?” Griff suggested. “Especially if you haven’t been hiking for a while. Save the tougher one for another day.”
She liked the sound of another day.
“That’s good with me.” She coiled her hair in her hand, securing it with a tie. “Let’s do it.”
Ten minutes later they were on the trail, heading up into the foothills with the sun beating down on them. Thank god she’d kept up her fitness regime since filing for divorce last year, because Griff’s strides were long and powerful.
A couple of times he asked if she wanted to slow down, but she shook her head.
“I like the pace,” she told him. “I haven’t found a gym yet, and I need the workout.”
“A gym?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, you know,” she teased him. “Indoors, full of equipment, and women in tight spandex?”
He grinned back at her. “I know of them. Never been to one though.”
“You would if you lived in Manhattan. There aren’t too many hiking trails there.”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t live in Manhattan. There are so many better things to do around here than rot away on a treadmill. Not just hiking or surfing, but there’s ocean swimming, beach running, and Angel Sands has its own cycling club, too. Why exercise indoors when you can be out in the sun?”
“I guess I’ve never really had the chance to do that before.” She looked up at the bright blue sky, closing her eyes as the sun shone down on her. “By the time I finished work it was always dark, so it was easier to head to the gym after hours than do anything else. Or hit it at four-thirty a.m.”
“It’s a different kind of life, huh?” he asked softly.
“Yeah.” She nodded, her eyes catching his. “I’m still getting used to this one. It feels like I’m on a permanent vacation right now.”
“Apart from the fact you have to work here.” He grinned.
She shrugged. “I usually work on vacation.” She and Josh had spent most of their honeymoon closing a deal. Ugh, she didn’t want to think about that.
Griff quirked an eyebrow, his warm gaze bringing her back to the present. “Of course you do.”
Autumn tipped her head to the side. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who relaxes much, either.”
“I relax all the time. My whole life is laid back.” He shrugged.
“Apart from when you’re working or surfing or hiking.” She grinned at him. “Do you ever sit down and watch T.V.?”
“I watch it occasionally.”
“What was the last thing you watched?” she asked him, enjoying the banter between them. Striding next to her, in his cargo shorts and t-shirt, he felt more like a force of nature than a man. She wasn’t the lightest woman in the world – her ass could attest to that – but she had no doubt he could lift her up without even taking a breath.
“I watched the Backyardigans with Arthur yesterday,” Griff told her.
She laughed. Could he be any more adorable? “What about TV for the over twenty-one crowd?”
“I can’t remember the last time I switched my TV on.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure if it even works.”
Ahead of them was a field of rocks, inclining up to the base of a craggy hill. “Have you walked on scree uphill before?” Griff asked her, glancing down at her pristine boots.
Autumn looked at the incline ahead of them, covered with loose stone. “A couple of times.”
“There are a few tricky areas,” he told her, inclining his head toward the rocks. “But it’s mostly okay. Take your time and put your weight in your feet to keep your balance. I know the easiest way through, so follow me.”
“Okay.” She watched as he scrambled over the rocks, the thick muscles in his back and legs contracting as he climbed. His thighs were tight against the thin fabric of his shorts, and her gaze rose up to his ass.
His fine, tight, perfectly rounded ass. Was it getting hot up here?
“You okay?” He looked back at her, and she immediately blushed.
“Yeah.” She nodded and gave herself a mental slap. Stop ogling the sexy guy, Autumn.
She stepped onto the loose stone, feeling it roll beneath her soles. She flexed her own muscles to keep herself steady, taking long slow steps to where Griff was waiting for her.
“The next bit is harder. Hold on to that rock for as long as you can,” he said, pointing at a large boulder. “It won’t move.”
She did as he directed, circling around the rock behind him, feeling her body warm with the exertion.
“If this is the easy trail, what’s the hard one like?” she called out to him.
“Hard,” he said again, and she swallowed down a grin.
A thin sheen of perspiration covered her face as she let go of the boulder and stretched her right foot out for the next step. Moving her left foot forward to complete the stride, she felt the rocks sliding out from beneath her, and found herself windmilling her arms in a desperate attempt to find something to grab onto.
Her fingers closed around the cotton of Griff’s t-shirt, bundling the gray fabric into her fist. Her knuckles pressed against his warm skin, and he turned immediately, reaching out for her wrist to stop her from sliding. He gently pulled her toward him, hooking his thick arms around her waist.
By instinct, she grabbed hold of his arms, feeling his iron-hard biceps beneath her palms. Her heart was hammering against her chest from a mixture of adrenaline and something else… something altogether more electrifying.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah,” she said breathlessly, feeling her hair tumble down around her shoulders. “It’s a rookie mistake. I stepped too far and lost my balance.”
He reached out and tucked the loose hair behind her ear, his finger leaving a trail of fire on her skin. “Do you want to go back?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “It was just a little slide.”
The corner of his lip quirked up. “We used to slide down this hill when we were young and stupid. Until Jackson fell over and broke his arm. Lucas’s folks gave us hell over it. He and Jackson were grounded for a month.”
“You slid down the scree?” Autumn asked, looking down the long slope they’d just climbed. “Are you crazy?”
He raised an eyebrow. “We were. Not so much anymore. Lucas is all about safety now.”
“He’s a fireman, right?”
They started to walk again, but this time Griff reached for her hand, sliding her palm into his.
“Yep. Captain of the Angel Sands Fire Station. We all give him hell for being cautious, but he’s right.”
“And how long were you grounded when your folks found out?” she asked him, trying to imagine a teenage Griff being forced to stay home. From the little she knew of him, that would be his worst nightmare.
“I wasn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I guess they didn’t care about it.” He shrugged.
They’d reached the crest of the hill, and Griff released her hand. She looked around at the view of the hills as they rose and dipped below them, the land stretching out to the coast, and the sparkling blue ocean.
“Come here,” Griff said, “I want to show you something.”
She raised an eyebrow, feeling flirtatious. “Oh yeah? What kind of thing?”
He laughed, the ease returning to his face. “It’s over here,” he said, walking along the hilltop to the other side. The air was cooler up here, enough for her to unknot her sweater from her waist and pull it over her head. As they came to a stop she could see a dilapidated two-story wooden building clinging to the side of the hill, with two large rusty metal chutes leading out of it to the valley below.
“What is that?” she asked, peering over.
“An old gold mine.”
“You’re kidding me.” She wanted to laugh. “No way.”
“It was one of the biggest producers of gold in its time. Back in the early 1900s, there were around fifty men working here. Most of them bunked in wooden cabins in the valley down there.”
“Do you think there’s any gold left?” she asked him. “We could get rich.”
“If there is, it’s probably buried far below the rocks. The mine’s been abandoned for almost a century.”
“Have you ever been inside?”
“Not that I’m telling.” His face was straight, but there was humor in his eyes. “It’s dangerous. See the signs?”
“So is pebble skiing.”
He chuckled. “Touché.”
She loved the way the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. She could feel her heart race again, the way it always did when their gazes caught. A breeze ruffled his brown hair, revealing a jagged scar leading from his brow to his temple. Without thinking, she reached up to trace the silvery line.
“How’d you get this?” she asked.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, his gaze fiery as he looked down at her.
“Surfing accident.”
She couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand away from his face. It was too warm, too real, too him. She cupped her palm on his jaw, feeling the roughness of his beard growth on her palm. “It’s hot,” she said, the words spilling out before she could stop them.
He swallowed hard. “Autumn…”
“Yeah?”
“If you keep touching me like that, I’m going to touch you back.”
His words sent a shot of electricity through her. Up here, it felt like they were the only two people in the world, and she liked it. It made her feel brave and strong and like a completely different person.
The sort of person who wanted this strong, tall guy to kiss her.
She lifted her head, her eyes challenging his. “Go ahead. Touch me.”
His control had been hanging on a shoestring since he’d picked her up from the beach cottage. It wasn’t just those tight shorts that molded perfectly to her ass, nor the thin tank that she’d thankfully covered up with her sweater. It was the way she’d grinned at him, laughed with him, been more carefree than he’d thought she had in her.
Now she was looking up at him, her full, pink lips parted, her warm eyes sparkling beneath the afternoon sun, self confidence-radiating off her. It was sexy as hell.
The atmosphere between them sparked and flashed, sending a jolt of desire through his body. He could feel himself respond to her, need making him ache. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his voice thick and raw.
With the pad of his thumb, he traced the line of her jaw, then slid it to those full lips. He softly brushed them, and she opened her mouth to suck him in to her warm, wet mouth.
“Jesus,” he rasped.
The last vestige of control left him. Pulling his thumb from between her lips, he tucked it under her chin, angling her head before he leaned toward her to press his lips against hers.
Her breath was hot against his mouth as he pulled her against him, feeling the softness of her body press into his hard abdomen, the need pulsing inside him as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues slid together, and her arms hooked around his neck to steady herself.
But then she stepped away, her eyes wide with horror as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Griff blinked, the abrupt end to their kiss taking him by surprise. His skin felt cool at the loss of her body against his. “It’s okay…”
“No, it’s not. I’m an idiot. Blame the heat or something.” She fanned herself as though it wasn’t cool on the hilltop. “It was so inappropriate. You’re my tenant, I’m new in town, and I’m newly divorced.” Autumn attempted a smile. “Believe me when I tell you I’m a walking disaster right now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t look like a disaster.” So she was divorced. He’d store that little gem away to think about later.
“You don’t know the half of it. I’m making bad decisions left, right, and center at the moment.”
Bad decisions? He swallowed down his reaction. “We should be heading back anyway. The sun’s slipping away.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And I’m sorry to hear about your divorce.”
Her expression softened. “Another bad decision. Or a series of them.”
“Let’s head down that path,” he suggested, pointing at a graveled trail winding down the other side of the hill. “I know a shortcut back to the parking lot from there. Should only take us half an hour or so.”
She nodded, pulling her lips between her teeth. “Sounds good.”
This time, they kept a distance between them as they walked, and Griff kept his hands firmly fisted at his sides. And if he was still feeling a little bit crazy about the way the afternoon had turned out? He could live with that. They’d stopped before things got serious. That was something to be glad about.
He and women didn’t mix. He should have learned that by now.