Mila had hoped that Herschel would turn up at her Saturday afternoon surf lesson, but she wasn’t very surprised when he didn’t.
Her students had already gone home, and she was slow to pack up, each wetsuit feeling heavier than usual. She’d never been like this with any other man, and it was dawning on her that maybe it was because no other man had so quickly meant this much to her.
She was so lost in thought that it took her several moments to realize that someone was calling her name.
When she turned, there was Hersch, a sheepish expression on his face. The relief was almost overwhelming.
“I missed the class, I know,” he said, gesturing toward the beach. “I thought I could do this, but then… Well, I kept finding reasons not to… and I was moving my things over to the new house. And then, well, I had a stern word with myself, and here I am. But I can see it’s too late.”
Mila was so happy to see him that she blurted, “No, we can still do this. We’ll start slow, okay? We’ll just get you into a wetsuit, and you can remember what it feels like to be in the ocean. Then you take the wetsuit off. That’s it.”
It hadn’t escaped her notice that Hersch had been admiring her body in her own wetsuit. She tried to keep her cool and focus on what a big deal this was for him to show up.
“Okay,” he said.
She got him a wetsuit and said, “I’m sorry they’re all wet from the lesson. It’s much harder to get them on.”
Hersch took the suit from her. “I’m used to wetsuits from my Ironman training.”
He began to unbutton his shirt. Hersch was even more buff than she had imagined. His skin was tanned and smooth, the muscles perfectly formed, and he was toned—so, so toned—she almost couldn’t believe it. It was like the man was carved from marble. When he unzipped his jeans to reveal his swim shorts, her breath quickened, and she wasn’t sure she could control herself. She longed to reach out and touch him.
But as she caught his gaze, she saw the fear in his eyes, and she vowed to keep her lust in check and give Hersch the support he needed to get back in the water. Even if it was exquisitely painful not to lean over and lick those muscles.
He pulled on the wetsuit, and she asked, “How does it feel to be back in a wetsuit?”
She could see Hersch was trying to steady his thoughts, and then he nodded. “It’s okay. It doesn’t feel as bad as I thought.” There was a pause, and he added quietly, “Maybe because you’re here with me.”
She let herself beam. “I can’t take the credit. This is all your courage. And it’s a great first step back to the water.” She allowed herself to touch him lightly on the shoulder.
After a tantalizing moment, Hersch said, “I didn’t mention this last night, but in one of your surfing videos, I saw you’d just won a championship, in Australia.”
She nodded. It had been a proud moment in her career. “Surfest in Newcastle.”
Now he looked a little perturbed. “I was watching it, and you were being interviewed and holding up your trophy, and then some guy muscled his way in and kissed you.”
She felt the glory of that recalled moment immediately start to fade. “That was Travis.” She’d have left it at that, but he glanced up at her.
“Travis?”
This was not something she was prepared to talk about with Hersch. Or anyone ever. She sighed. She’d already told him secrets she’d never told anybody else. But maybe another glimpse of her past wouldn’t be so bad, especially after Hersch had been so honest with her.
“Travis was my boyfriend at the time. He was another surfer, so he got it, he got the lifestyle. But if I’m honest, he was never going to make it all the way. He looked for shortcuts. He just wasn’t good enough. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that our being a couple made him look good and feel important in the surf world. I think he really thought I could help him in his career. And he liked being in the limelight. A lot. Even if that meant stealing mine. I was probably a fool to let him, but I was young, and we were living the same crazy schedules, and maybe I turned a blind eye to his less desirable qualities.”
She turned away to look out at the ocean, gazing not at the water but at the past. She’d been so hurt by Travis dumping her when she’d been at her lowest, she had vowed never to trust a man again. Since Travis, she’d had a series of flings. Fun and exciting but nothing serious. But now she realized it was more than just her vow to herself—she was actually afraid to trust a man again.
When she looked back, Hersch had folded his arms across his chest, and his usual serious expression had soured into a fierce grimace. “I wanted to punch that guy’s lights out when I saw him kissing you in that video. Now I want to track him down and knock his teeth out.”
Mila was surprised—in a good way. Hersch always seemed so mild-mannered. She loved this powerful, angry energy bubbling up from somewhere deep inside. It was sexy. She was also, frankly, pretty flattered that he’d been that jealous of Travis.
She said, “I’ve worked really hard to fall in love with my new life and let the old one go. I guess one of the blessings of what happened to me is seeing Travis for who he was. Being half of the golden couple of surfing suited him really well, but being the partner of an injured woman whose career was over? Not so much.”
She shook her head. “When we found out I might never walk again, Travis said he needed some space, like he was the injured one.” Somehow, the old rejection was no longer so painful when she told Hersch, “He’s still taking that space. I haven’t heard from him since.”
Hersch let out an agitated breath. “Then that guy is an idiot. Because I can’t imagine ever letting a woman like you go.”
Mila stepped closer, wanting to feel Hersch’s arms around her. But something made her stop. The pain of Travis’s betrayal felt raw again, and she had already made a fool of herself at dinner last night, ruining the moment. If Hersch wanted something more between them, then he’d have to make the move. Quietly, she said, “Now let’s get you out of that suit.”
To her surprise, Hersch shook his head. “I’m in the damned suit. If I don’t go in the water now, I never will.”
Mila let out her breath. She could see how Hersch was struggling to overcome his demons. His bravery was so admirable—and sexy—and again she had the thought that this man was so different and so much more special than any she’d encountered before. Her barriers weren’t strong enough to stop the intensity of her feelings for him. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I’m sure.”
* * *
Hersch walked across the sand so slowly it was like time itself was slowing down. It was the last Saturday in May and a sunny one at that, so the beach was alive with kids building sandcastles, dogs running and playing, couples walking hand in hand, a group of teenagers horsing around. A few swimmers bobbed in the water, but they wore regular swimsuits. He was the only person in a wetsuit, as the waves weren’t big enough today to lure surfers. He didn’t care. Mila was right. Just putting on the wetsuit had reminded him of Ironman training, of long swims in cold water. The least he could do now that he’d wiggled into it was put his toes in the water. His feet were bare, and he felt the sand soft beneath his feet.
He had spent all night and day thinking about Mila and wondering why he hadn’t just followed his instincts and kissed her at dinner. They’d both shared so much of themselves with each other, the moment was there. Then, when she’d revealed the check had been paid for by her company, he’d lost his nerve. She’d still been acting the part of his Realtor, even though the deal had gone through. And in that moment of hesitation, all the reasons why he’d remained single had come back to him.
And yet, it was like he had a fever, and he was burning for Mila Davenport. So after a long time deliberating, moving a few things over to the new place, organizing things the way he liked them, getting his new bed set up, and booking painters, he had finally taken the plunge and come down to the beach. Yes, it was after the lesson she had offered him, but he was here all the same. And now, with Mila’s help, he was back in a wetsuit for the very first time since his accident. There was no way he could have made it this far without her.
Suddenly, he felt Mila take his hand. Her skin was smooth and soft, and her fingers felt like they’d been made to twine with his.
“You’ve got this,” she said and squeezed his hand. “I’m already impressed that you showed up. You walked over the sand. You don’t have to go any farther.”
“I can go farther.” His tone was more gruff than he’d intended.
“Okay, then—just walk in up to your ankles. That’s all you have to do.”
He nodded grimly and didn’t let go of her hand as they walked to the edge of the water. She must be able to feel how tense he had grown, but she didn’t say anything. In fact, she might even be holding her breath, waiting for him to move. It was a good thing she’d been a pro surfer and was used to holding her breath, because for a long, long time, he remained standing at the edge of the surf without the water reaching him.
They kept holding hands as the waves advanced with the incoming tide, and the frothy edge of a wave tickled his toes. He fought the urge to turn and run, fought the panic rising in his chest. You can do this, he said to himself. You can do this.
A toddler screamed with delight, and gulls wheeled overhead, echoing the sound.
She remained quiet and then took the tiniest step forward, ever so gently showing him the way. Would he follow her? She looked back, that very question in her eyes. Yes, damn it, he would.
His leg could have weighed ten thousand pounds, it was so hard to move it forward even an inch. But he did it. And then he got the other one to meet it. Sweat broke out on his brow.
She said, “You’re doing great,” in a soothing voice that told him she understood. If Mila could get back to surfing after breaking her back, he could take another step forward. It took everything in him, but he did it, and then a wave broke over his foot.
A whoosh of breath rushed from her mouth as she cried out with joy. “You did it!”
He was stunned. “I can’t believe I’m in the ocean again.”
She gave him the biggest smile he’d ever seen. “I never had a doubt.”
With her encouragement ringing in his ears, he took another step and another, until he inhaled sharply. The water was up to his ankles. He’d done it!
It was humiliating to find that he was trembling. But then Mila threw her arms around him. “I am so proud of you,” she murmured into his ear.
Now he was shaking in a whole new way. Her body fit perfectly against his, their damp wetsuits feeling like skin on skin. It was exquisite. He wanted to stay locked in that moment forever, but he couldn’t quite let go of the fact he was standing in water again. The fear kept crawling back like a nasty parasite, eating away at his courage.
He murmured, “I can’t do any more.” It hurt to admit it, but he had to be honest with her.
She pulled away, beaming. “You did great. There’s no need to go in any farther. This was a big step.”
He took a step back then, a giant one, away from the water. Then he looked down at himself. “I feel kind of stupid now, wearing a wetsuit to put my toes in the water.”
She took the same step back until they were level again, and then she leaned in. Their gazes locked, and with the most tender touch he’d ever experienced, she gently pressed her lips to his.
He felt the quiver in Mila’s body as she kissed him. In that moment, a phrase went through his head. She’s everything.
He didn’t even know where that came from. But in that moment, she was everything. She was a water goddess, and he was a man of the stars and planets. He felt almost as though Earth and sky were merging. He deepened the kiss and felt her lick into him. He was rock hard in a second and felt a need for her that was almost painful. She made a sound in her throat, a low hum. He pulled her closer and she clung tighter.
The kiss could have lasted seconds or hours. He wouldn’t have been able to say. And then slowly, she pulled away, her lips pink and swollen.