A summer Saturday. A perfect beach. Warm sun. Wide blue sky. Sea breeze. And yet there was hardly anyone there. Jacinda looked up and down the golden curve of sand. Sun umbrellas were dotted here and there, and there was a scattering of people walking and swimming. Where else in the world could you be minutes from a big city, and still have this much of paradise to yourself?
She propped herself on her elbows and watched as Sam worked busily on the sand, creating roads and castles and a row of feather and twig palm trees.
The roads and celebrity castles and palms of LA seemed a million miles away, rather than six or seven thousand. When Hannah had called the night before, asking if she’d made a decision about playing support for Tyler, it had been a shock to realize that the world was still out there, waiting for her to rejoin it.
“You said you’d think about it,” Hannah had reminded her.
“I said I’d think about thinking about it.”
Hannah snorted. “Okay, so have you thought about thinking about it?”
The truth was, she hadn’t really. Because from the moment Hannah told her about the offer, she knew she didn’t want to do it. And wasn’t that what this trip was all about? Like she’d said to Sam, there were too many people wanting her to do stuff that didn’t make her happy. At this point, she didn’t care if it seemed selfish—she wanted to play by her own rules. And despite the problem of the boy next door, the longer she was here, the less inclined she felt to return to her old life.
Now Sam set off down to the water to fill his bucket again, and she turned to Danielle.
“This is really nice.”
“It is. We weren’t anywhere near a beach on the farm, so Sam’s loving it.”
“Did he meet any kids last night at the markets?”
“Some.” Then she laughed. “Anyway, I think pretty much everyone knows who he is now.”
Jacinda nodded. “He was so fearless. It was amazing.”
“I know. I should be more like him. I’m all in knots waiting to hear about this job.”
“Did they say when they’d let you know?”
“Middle of the week.” She grimaced. “I really want it, you know? But I have to keep applying for other things too.”
The tension on her face was obvious, even behind her sunglasses, and Jacinda remembered what was at stake. A fresh start for her and Sam, building something new, far from family and friends. Moving on from her marriage. And proving something to herself, too.
“They’d be idiots not to hire you. But if they are idiots, you don’t want to work for them anyway. The right job is out there somewhere.”
Danielle bit her lip. “I guess.”
“Try to relax and enjoy the weekend.”
“I am relaxing.” She gave a forced, toothy grin.
“Relax. Or else.”
Danielle laughed. “Yes ma’am.” She lay back on her beach towel and pulled her hat over her face.
Then Sam came barreling toward them, water sloshing from the bucket. He dropped it by his building site and came over.
“Mum, what’s the time?” he asked Danielle anxiously.
She sat up, pushing the hat back. “Ugh, I don’t know. Why?”
“I just…want to know.”
“Just a sec.” She dug in her beach bag to find her phone, then lifted her sunglasses to peer at the screen. “Twenty-five past ten.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“Why?” she asked, but he was jigging on the spot.
“I need to pee.”
She groaned. “Seriously? You just went before we left the house.”
He looked over his shoulder, toward the alley. “Maybe I drank too much juice at breakfast.”
“I’ll take him back to the house,” Jacinda said, getting up before Danielle moved. “You’re relaxing, remember?”
“Okay.” She sank back again. “Thanks.”
Jacinda pulled her cover-up on over her bikini and took the house key from her beach bag, while Sam waited, jogging and hopping. When she was ready, he shot ahead. But as they turned into the alley, his jiggles suddenly disappeared, and Jacinda watched as he started walking with purpose. Something was up.
“Sam. Did you really need to go?”
He giggled, apparently unbothered by being busted. “Nope.”
“Why are we going home then?”
“We’re not going home. Liam said he had work to do, but he’d be finished at about half past ten. I want him to come to the beach with us.”
Now she wished she’d let Danielle take him after all.
“You asked him already?”
“Yep, last night.”
They paused at the gate. “And he said yes?”
“He said maybe.” He reached over, scrabbling for the latch. “Come on, let’s go get him.” He finally got the latch undone and pushed the gate open.
She hesitated.
“Come on,” he said impatiently, obviously itching to go.
She looked at the eager pup of a boy in front of her. They’d agreed to make it okay for him. They’d both promised—even if Liam obviously wasn’t as committed to it as she was, judging by his refusal to play last night. But she’d stick with her promise—not for Liam’s sake, but for Sam’s.
“You go get him,” she said. “I’ll wait here.”
“Okay,” he said, and took off at a run, bounding up the steps like a mountain goat and disappearing into the house without stopping to knock.
She had to laugh as she stepped back and leaned against the fence. She bet this wasn’t how Liam had imagined spending his time back in the bay. Come to think of it, she didn’t know what he’d planned to do with his time, other than sit in the house attached to his computer. If the rest of them hadn’t turned up and thrown a spanner in the works—Dane, Connor, Sam, and herself too—he’d probably be permanently indoors. By rights, he should be all gangly and pale, like a plant growing in the dark.
But he wasn’t. He definitely wasn’t.
She jumped as she heard footsteps coming down the steps.
“He’s coming!” Sam announced redundantly, as Liam followed behind.
She was glad of the camouflage her sunglasses provided, because she couldn’t look away. Just like the night before, when he’d unexpectedly been at the night markets, instead of doing his hermit thing at home. Thank God Riley had whisked her off to look at jewelry, and then to eat, because she’d gone there to hang out with the girls and have fun, not to do battle with her own wayward desires. Now he was wearing board shorts and a dark blue sleeveless t-shirt that revealed the muscular breadth of his shoulders, and the substantial cut of his arms. She found herself tugging down the hem of her cover-up, and cursed inwardly at his effect on her. Maybe that sun stroke had permanently addled her brain. Actually, that might explain her moments of madness. Then she noticed what he wasn’t wearing.
“Where’s your hat?” she asked him. “The sun is brutal here, you know.”
He considered her for a moment, and she waited to see how he’d react to having his own words shot back at him. But he just flipped his beach towel over his shoulder.
“Maybe I’m not planning to stay long enough to need one.”
They looked at each other, and Jacinda got the distinct feeling he was testing her. But before she could reply, Sam piped up.
“You can stay as long as you want. I want to show you how I do a forward roll in the water.”
Liam smiled down at him. “Great. Let’s go then.”
They walked back to the spot where Danielle was waiting, Sam talking all the while about the need to tuck your chin into your chest, and the exact best position for your arms. Liam listened carefully, nodding and making all the right comments. Jacinda lagged behind slightly, trying to concentrate on the green slopes of Rangitoto rising from the sparkling water in the distance, instead of the man in front of her.
When they got there, Danielle sat up and took off her sunglasses. “Oh, Sam. You can’t keep bothering Liam all the time. He has work to do.”
Sam stood straighter. “I’m not bothering him. He’s my friend.”
She shook her head. “I’m sure he has better ways to spend his Saturday than going to the beach with us.”
“Not really, actually,” Liam said, dropping his towel on the sand. “And I was ready for a swim.”
“Oh.” Danielle said. “Well…okay then.”
“Awesome,” Sam said. “I’m ready too.”
“Right.” With one smooth movement, Liam took hold of his shirt at the bottom, lifted it up and over his head, then let it fall by his towel.
Jacinda swallowed. The effect of the shirtlessness didn’t seem to diminish, no matter how many times she saw it. And she didn’t miss the way Danielle’s eyes swept down his body, then back up again, before she looked away. It was exactly what her own eyes had done as he came down the steps. And did again now.
Sam had been looking too, but for a different reason. Now he tugged at his snug-fitting rash shirt. “Mum, do I have to wear this?”
“Yes.”
Her tone was final, and he sighed, obviously figuring he wouldn’t win that fight. “Okay. Let’s go, Liam.”
They headed down toward the water, Sam looking like a sudden gust might blow him away compared to Liam’s strapping height.
“Wow,” Danielle said. She looked at Jacinda, a smile playing on her lips. “I suppose he’s not such bad company. What do you think?”
She was trying her hardest not to think anything at all. “I think he’s a big show-off.”
“I bet something’s big,” Danielle said in a wicked tone, sticking out her tongue as she watched Liam walk away with Sam.
Jacinda laughed along with her, but the territorial pang that hit her took her by surprise. “Keeping it classy, huh?” she said lightly, ignoring the twist in her stomach. “We must be related.”
“Well, I am a woman on the rebound. And you know what they say about us…” She grinned. Then her phone rang somewhere in the depths of her bag. “It’s probably Mum,” she said, reaching in and digging around. “She can’t go more than a day without talking to every one of her kids.”
Her words sent a wave of guilt through Jacinda. Tomorrow it would be two weeks since she arrived, and she’d only called her mom twice. They usually talked regularly, and somehow, it helped keep Trina on the level. Phone contact seemed to be enough—when they spent too much time together in person, Jacinda couldn’t do anything right, and soon Trina would start stressing and fretting and becoming more anxious rather than less. Maybe that was why she’d chosen to live in Florida, far from Jacinda in LA…although she claimed it was because the climate suited her better than any other place in America. Then again, she’d know, given how many places she’d dragged Jacinda to in the years before they sort-of settled in Pleasanton. And despite it all, during those years they’d gotten closer than a lot of mothers and daughters ever did. Jacinda made a mental note to call her again soon.
Danielle finally pulled out her phone, but it had stopped ringing. “Damn, I missed it,” she said. Then she looked at the screen, and emitted a strangled squeak. “It was them.”
Jacinda craned to look. “Them?”
“The job. The…oh, God. Why are they calling on a Saturday? Is that good? Or bad?”
“Um…good, probably?”
She threw everything into her bag, still clutching the phone, then got to her feet and hauled up her towel, scattering sand over Jacinda. “Sorry, I have to…I have to call them back. Oh, God.” She bunched the towel under her arm and looked out to where Sam and Liam were bobbing in the water. “Can you…?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll keep an eye on Sam. Go. Stay calm.”
“I’m calm. Very calm.”
As she hurried away in the direction of home, she looked anything but.
Jacinda smiled, then settled in to watch Sam. And if Sam’s friend Liam was in close proximity, she supposed she’d have to watch him too…
After a few minutes, she noticed Sam waving to her, beckoning her into the water. She got up and shaded her eyes, trying to see what he was getting at. His waving intensified, so she went down to the water’s edge.
“I want to show you my forward roll,” he yelled.
“Okay,” she yelled back.
He shook his head. “You have to come in!”
Damn. Feeling self-conscious, she took off her cover-up and sunglasses, and tossed them back up on the beach, on the dry sand. Then she waded into the sea, sucking in a breath each time the water hit a new, sensitive part of her body. By the time she reached them, it was too deep to stand. “Why are you so far out?”
“I need more room, otherwise I hit the bottom,” Sam said.
“Okay, well, show me then,” she said, doing a slow doggy paddle to keep afloat, acutely aware of Liam just a few feet away.
He took a giant breath, and went under. At the exact same moment, the wake from a boat came through, knocking her off-guard and washing salty water into her mouth. As she gasped and coughed, Sam emerged again, grinning like a cartoon fish.
“Did you see me?”
She wiped water from her face. “I’m sorry, Sam. I missed it.”
He frowned. “I’ll do it again. Make sure you see me this time.”
Liam spoke up. “I’ll hold you steady.”
For a second, she thought he was talking to Sam. Then she realized they were both looking at her.
“Good idea,” Sam said. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Liam came over. He was so tall that the water only came just over his shoulders, and he picked her up easily, holding her against him so that she had no choice but to put her legs around his hips.
“You could have lifted me up the other way,” she told him.
“I know.” Something that could have been amusement flickered on his face. “Are you watching Sam or not?”
“Yes,” she huffed. “I am.”
He turned sideways so she could see. “We’re ready,” he called to Sam.
She tried not to think about the warmth of his body in the water, his steady strength, and the way her legs were wrapped around him, just like they’d been that one night in her bed…
Sam tucked in his chin, positioned his arms just so, and executed a perfect somersault in the water.
“Did you see?” he asked, tipping his head to get the water out of his ears.
“I did,” she called back. “It was amazing.”
He was suddenly distracted by something on the beach. “Mum’s back,” he said. “I’m going to see if she has anything to eat.” And he was gone, powering through the shallows and toward his mother in search of food.
“Okay, he’s gone,” Jacinda said to Liam. She wriggled slightly, signaling that he could release her. “You can let me go now.”
“I know,” he said again. But he didn’t let her go.
“We’re finished here,” she told him. But she didn’t let go either.
His arms were under her bottom, holding her up, and her arms were around his neck. His body was hard and strong between her thighs, and even though her breasts were pressed up against him, he didn’t look down. He looked at her. All at once there was just the ocean, and the sky, and the deep, dark blue of his eyes. She was seventeen again, with a boy, at the beach, with a look in his eye.
Except she wasn’t. And the boy was a man, and the look in his eye was something more than his brother’s lust and mischief. It was a question, and a promise.
“We’re finished,” she repeated, her voice suddenly unsteady.
He held her gaze, and her heart raced in her chest as he spoke.
“Are we?”