Текст книги "Kissing Her Crazy"

Автор книги: Kira Archer

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

She was gearing up for another rejection, so he beat her to the punch. “If you’d rather not be near the water, there’s lots of other stuff we can do.”

“Can we play more video games?” Tyler asked, bouncing in his chair.

“Absolut—” Elliot almost agreed but glanced up at Lena in time.

“You’ve played enough video games for this trip, munchkin,” she said. “There’s too much other stuff to do than wasting your time playing video games.”

She glanced up at him, her eyes wide and startled like she just realized he might take what she said as an insult. And he did. She was making it abundantly clear that she thought he was an immature screw-up who had no business being around her kid. And she was right. He generally was an immature screw-up, but it had never bothered him. Until that moment.

He didn’t like that she didn’t find him responsible enough to watch her son. Though, he honestly couldn’t blame her. Remembering the scene she’d walked in on when she’d woken up made him want to squirm like he used to when he’d been Tyler’s age and had gotten into stuff he shouldn’t. Shit, he’d had the kid neck deep in junk food with a video game controller in one hand and a soda in the other. He should have known better. His only saving grace was that he’d at least chosen a semi-appropriate game and hadn’t let the kid play something full of violent blood and gore. See? He wasn’t totally clueless.

“No worries, little man,” Elliot said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We’ll find something fun to do that Mommy will say yes to.”

He winked at her over the top of Tyler’s head. Her eyes narrowed in the classic mom glare, but those full, kissable lips of hers were smiling.

Now all he had to do was prove to her that he could be a responsible caretaker. Piece of cake.

Lena lounged back on the couch in her hotel room, surfing through the channels while Tyler snoozed in the bed nearby. The Goo Goo Doll’s “Iris” rang from her phone, and Lena grabbed it from her pocket.

“Iris? Where are you? What’s going on?”

Her friend groaned. “Still stuck in the damn airport.”

“You’re kidding? That’s insane!”

“Tell me about it. First, the flight was delayed. Then when we finally got onto the damn plane, we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Three hours in that little tin can. I was about ready to chew my way out before they finally pulled back into the gate and let us off. Now we’re just sitting here.”

“Do they know when you’ll get to leave?”

“They said nine tomorrow morning is the earliest flight I can get out. The snow is coming down so hard you can’t even see out the window.”

“Oh my God, that sucks.”

“You have no idea. You should see this place. There are bodies littered everywhere. The airlines have cots and stuff set up in case people want to sleep.”

“You’re kidding? What happened to getting you a hotel room?”

“Apparently they can’t afford to set up dozens of flights’ worth of passengers in cheap motels. So it looks like I’m stuck here unless I want to go get my own hotel. I’ll probably try, but I’m not sure how much transportation is running right now.”

“Wonderful,” Lena groaned.

“Hey, what are you grumbling for? I’m the one stuck in this frozen pit. You’re the lucky shit who’s lying on a beach in the tropics.”

Lena snorted and Iris laughed. “Okay, so maybe not.”

“Well, I did actually take Tyler to the pool today.”

“You did not! Good for you.”

“Yeah, don’t be all proud of me yet. I had a total panic attack when I couldn’t get him out of the pool and I fainted.”

“Oh my God.” Iris laughed. “I’m not laughing,” she said, laughing harder. “But oh my God.”

“Yeah. It was fantastic. Fell right into the arms of my brother’s new brother-in-law.”

“Oooh. Well that sounds interesting, at least. Is he gorgeous, or did Cher get all the looks in the family?”

Lena’s stomach did a queer little flip-flop. “Oh, the family is definitely blessed, that’s for sure. Looks-wise at least.”

“Hmm, what does that mean?”

Lena sighed. “Nothing. Elliot is perfectly charming. He was great with Tyler. Obviously knows nothing at all about kids. But they had fun playing together.”

Iris laughed. “Ah. Total man-child, eh?”

“Completely.”

“Well, no law saying you can’t have fun with the guy while you’re out there.”

“Iris!”

“What? Someone’s gotta have fun. It sure as hell won’t be me.”

“Ugh. I’m sorry you’re stuck there.”

“Me, too. So much for helping you out. Hopefully, I can get out of here tomorrow so I can actually keep Tyler out of your hair.”

“I feel so bad,” Lena said, rubbing her forehead. “They have these amazing pools and mini-water parks. He wants to play in them so bad. I just can’t…Elliot offered but…”

“Well, hell woman! If Mr. Stud Man is offering, why not take him up on it?”

“First of all, I’m not sure I trust Tyler with him. Elliot is sweet and all, but he is completely clueless about kids. He’d be letting him swim in the deep end and go down the scary water tubes. And I’m sure sunscreen would never even occur to him.”

“Oh my God, he sounds like a monster. Someone call the cops.”

“Oh, shut up,” Lena said, though she couldn’t keep the grin from spreading over her face. Yeah, she knew she was a little overprotective. But even if she wasn’t, Elliot was hardly someone who was even remotely qualified to be a babysitter.

“Besides, you know how Tyler gets. He’s already talking about Elliot constantly, and he only spent an hour with him. He gets attached to men so easily.”

“Yeah, I know. Well, with any luck this damn snow will let up and I can be on my way. I am so ready for a little tropical relaxation.”

“I bet. I hope you get out of there soon.”

“Yeah, me, too—wait a minute. Well, hello there…”

“What?”

“Things might be looking up,” Iris said, her voice sounding like she had her mouth pressed to the phone, trying to be quiet.

“Why’s that?”

“There was this totally hot cowboy on the plane sitting behind me. We tried to talk, but it was hard not being in the same row.”

“Okay…”

“He just sat down across from me. And he looks even better up close than he did crammed into those little airplane seats. I can see a whole lot more of him now. Hat, boots, and incredibly tight jeans that are leaving very little to my imagination, if you know what I mean.”

“I can guess.”

“I think I’m going to go make friends.”

Lena laughed. She wished she could be as outgoing and adventurous as Iris. “Don’t have too much fun.”

“Hell, I might be stuck in this airport for the rest of the night. A girl’s gotta keep herself entertained somehow. If you were smart, you’d find yourself a little entertainment, too.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Seriously, babe. Not every relationship has to go somewhere. You can have some fun. You’re in a tropical paradise. Take Tyler to the hotel day care and go have yourself a good time. You’ll feel a 1,000 percent better.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You do that. Call me later.”

“I will,” Lena said.

Iris was saying hi to her cowboy before she’d even ended the call.

Lena put the phone onto the table, her mind turning over what Iris had said. The memory of Elliot’s rock solid body rising out of the pool, water streaming over the lines of his muscles, made her belly tighten and heat up in places she usually tried very hard to ignore. It had been a very, very long time since she’d “had a good time” as Iris had put it, with any man.

She’d tried dating a few times, but she hadn’t found anyone worth spending what little free time she had. And with Tyler’s tendency to latch on to any friendly male face, Lena was incredibly careful who she introduced him to. There had only been one boyfriend, actually, that Lena had thought might make the cut. And when it hadn’t worked out, Tyler had been more crushed than she had. There was no way she’d let that happen again.

Sure, she could probably have a harmless hookup. But… Well, she’d never done that before and didn’t even know how to go about it. Having a good time wasn’t as easy as Iris made it seem. Especially when the man in question was going to be her brother’s brother-in-law. Which meant they’d probably see each other now and then. Which meant awkward. Which meant absolutely no hookup. Which really kind of sucked. Elliot, with his laughing eyes, absolutely gorgeous body, and fun, carefree attitude, would have been perfect.

Too dangerous, though. A girl could get addicted to a guy like Elliot. And even if her circumstances were different, Elliot didn’t seem the type to be into long term, monogamous relationships, with a single mom, no less. Which meant he was off-limits.

Damn it.

Chapter Four

Elliot fumed, but arguing with his parents wasn’t going to make the situation better. He’d pulled them aside to talk to them about his goal of doubling the funds he brought in for the charity. And while they were on board with that, it hadn’t been enough to really impress them and prove that he was capable of running the children’s charity on his own.

His mother stood to leave first. “I’m happy to see you making some sort of effort, Elliot. And increased funds would, of course, be welcomed.”

“But it’s going to take more than that to prove to us you’re serious about your role in this charity,” his father added. “I agree with your mother that this renewed interest from you is a good thing. But you’ll have to forgive us if we don’t put much faith in how long it will last.”

Elliot bit his tongue again. That was the crux of it right there. He couldn’t argue. He hadn’t ever shown much interest in truly running the charity and the few times he had hadn’t lasted long. So how in the hell was he supposed to convince them he meant it now?

His mother patted his cheek as she walked by. His father stopped in front of him, sizing him up. “The last thing I want to do is discourage you from finally stepping up. But this charity is too important to let you continue to ignore your responsibility. If you can come up with an idea, something concrete, I’ll think about it. But for now…”

He left it at that and escorted Elliot’s mom from the dining room. Elliot gave them enough time to be gone from the hallway before marching out. So… He needed to come up with something better, more concrete, and soon. Or he’d be leaving the island and going home to the same old, same old. He couldn’t blame them for their stance, but that didn’t mean he liked it. The thought of being demoted on the board sent a wave of anxiety through him that was strong enough to make him nauseous. The charity was the only thing of any substance in his life. He wanted to truly make it his.

The sound of children’s laughter made him pause. He glanced in the windows of the big double doors he’d been passing and realized he was standing in front of the hotel’s day care center. He took a closer look. Damn. It would be fun to be a kid again if he could hang out in that place. It looked like a McDonald’s Playland on crack. Cleaner and more organized, maybe. But just as fun.

Then he saw something even better. Lena. Saying good-bye to Tyler. She must have decided to get a little alone time, after all. And he happened to be right here. It was fate. Hanging out with her would definitely cheer him up, if he could convince her to tolerate his presence for a few minutes. With that idea-centric brain of hers, she might even help him come up with something good enough to convince his parents to let him rejuvenate the charity.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t shoot him down the second she walked out the door. He’d never had to work this hard to get a woman’s attention. But there was something about the way she looked at him. She was interested. She was just trying to ignore it. He knew the feeling. But he couldn’t seem to ignore her.

Lena gave Tyler one last hug and started for the door. Elliot hurried over to stand on the opposite side of the hallway. Didn’t want to look like he’d been totally stalking.

She breezed through the door, and Elliot froze for a second, captivated by the sheer beauty of her. The couple times he’d seen her after the pool incident, she’d been tense and on edge. But now she almost bounced down the hallway with a naturally carefree gait that he loved. Her honey blond hair was twisted into a messy bun on the back of her head, and as far as he could tell, she wore no makeup other than a hint of mascara on her long lashes. Her sleeveless maxi dress left her toned arms bare to the sun, and when she lifted the hem to hop up the few stairs that would bring her into his part of the hallway, he got a delicious view of spectacularly muscled calves. She worked out. Or maybe it was from chasing Tyler around. That had to be a workout all on its own.

Whatever she did, it showed. She was natural, easy going, and totally unpretentious and somehow managed to be incredibly sexy even with that damn fanny pack around her waist. It was refreshing. Her cornflower blue eyes sparkled. The exact opposite of everything he usually found attractive.

His girlfriends ran more to the overly made up, designer, high maintenance end of the spectrum. And they generally tended to want him. Or at least his connections. Not something Lena apparently suffered from. For the thousandth time, he wondered why he didn’t go find some other woman who would be happy to hook up with him. But Lena was different. That’s what he was looking for.

She glanced up and caught his gaze. Her face lit up at the sight of him, and all his concerns flew right out the window. The happiness to see him lasted only a second before she seemed to remember she wasn’t supposed to be interested, but that moment was more than enough encouragement for him.

“Hey there,” he said, giving her the full Debusshere charm.

She smiled but her eyes skittered away, no longer meeting his gaze.

He wasn’t going to give her a chance to vanish on him. He started talking before she had a chance to make an excuse to leave. “So I guess your friend won’t be making it, after all?” he said, nodding toward the day care doors.

“No. Thank God the hotel has a day care center.”

“Definitely a plus,” he said, pleased. “I was hoping I’d run into you. I found this great spot I think you’ll really love.”

She hesitated. “Oh, that sounds fun but…”

“Don’t worry. It’s not near any water.”

She blushed and his heart rate kicked up a notch. She opened her mouth to object again, but Elliot pressed on. “I was actually hoping I could pick your brain a bit.”

Her eyes widened in what he hoped was interest.

“About what?” she asked.

He took her hand and drew her along with him. She didn’t pull away, and he resisted the urge to fist bump the air. He wasn’t free and clear yet. But she hadn’t run screaming down the hallway, either. That was a good sign.

“Well, I was thinking about all those cool ideas you’ve had.”

Lena blushed again. “Most of them aren’t worth anything. I mean, I think the concepts are good. Some of them, anyway. But either I have no way of actually getting things going or I come across some other issue. Nothing has panned out.”

“Hmm, well I might be able to help in that department. And I’m hoping you might be able to help me.”

A delicate blond eyebrow arched. “I don’t see how. I might have good ideas, but like I said, they never go anywhere. A good idea doesn’t mean much if you can’t follow it through.”

Elliot scoffed. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Maybe you just haven’t found the right business partner.”

The other eyebrow joined the first. Before she could say anything else, Elliot stopped.

“What do you think?”

She glanced around at the lush paradise surrounding them, her eyes widening the more she took in. Her mouth dropped open to form a little O, and happy pleasure zinged through Elliot. He’d done well.

“What is this place?”

“I found it last night when I was wandering around after dinner. The concierge said there are several of them hidden away around the resort.”

“It’s gorgeous. Really. Just incredible.”

Elliot was beaming like a fool, but he couldn’t help it. Being the one who put that amazing smile on her face gave him a buzz like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

He led her deeper into the small botanical garden. Opulent plants and flowers crowded all around them, small paths strung with twinkle lights zigzagged throughout. Exotic birds perched in a few of the trees, their song following them. Elliot led Lena into the heart of the lush mini-jungle where a few lounge chairs were set up. Two other guests lazed around, but for the most part, they had the place to themselves. Elliot ordered a couple drinks from a passing waiter, and within a few minutes, they were sipping on two very large tropical cocktails.

Thin pipes were camouflaged within the trees, and every few minutes they’d release a fine mist of water that was enough to cool without soaking the guests. Lena jumped when the mist first fell with a faint hiss, but then she turned her face up to catch the coolness with delighted pleasure.

“Is this okay?” he asked, though by the look on her face she was enjoying it.

She gave a little laugh. “Yes. It’s only bodies of water that make me a little nervous. Rain, showers, that kind of thing, don’t bother me.”

He could envision her standing in a shower all too easily and tried to steer clear of that particular distraction. He wanted to get to know her a little better, get her comfortable with him. Not pant after her like some horny teenager.

He led her over to the chairs and sat down next to her. Lena leaned back on her chaise with a happy sigh. “Okay, this I could get used to.”

Elliot took a healthy slug of his own drink and settled back. “Don’t get to relax much?”

She laughed. “Not often, no. Between Tyler and work, I think the last time I just sat down and did nothing was…” A small frown formed between her brows. “Huh. I honestly don’t remember.”

“That’s something that should definitely be remedied.”

She laughed again. “That would be nice. I’ll let my boss know.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an office aide at Tyler’s school. It’s great because I work the same schedule that he’s in school. But I’m surrounded by kids all day, which can get…overwhelming sometimes. This break is nice.”

“I bet. Well, if one of your business ideas takes off, you can spend all your time on a lounge chair and hire people to do everything else for you.”

Lena snorted. “That would be nice. Honestly, I would just love for me and Tyler to be able to get our own place, not have to rely on my brother so much. When I had Tyler, Oz helped out so I could stay home with him. It was actually cheaper than working and putting him in day care. Now that he’s in school, I’m willing to do anything, but my resume isn’t the most impressive. I like working at the school, but I still can’t afford to get us on our own. And there’s not much else I can do, though I’ve applied at enough places. If I could make enough money with one of these ideas… But like I said, my plans seem to be great in concept only.”

Elliot inwardly cringed at the rush of shame that hit him. It had never occurred to him how hard it might be for people to find jobs. He’d always assumed if people really wanted to work, they just needed to go out and do it.

From what he’d heard from Cher and Oz, Lena definitely had the brains to develop something that could really be successful. But there was more to making a profit in business than just having a good idea. Maybe that was some way he could help.

“I’m sure your ideas are better than you think. Tell me some.”

She waved her hand like she was trying to erase his words from the air. “You don’t want to hear those.”

“No, I really do. Come on. I’ve heard a couple of them already.”

“What? From who?”

“Cherice told me a few.”

Lena blinked, surprised. “She did? Why?”

“She was impressed with them.”

She snorted again, a sound that Elliot normally found irritating in other people. But Lena’s snort was a delicate sort of poof of air that sounded more like a wheeze than an actual snort. It was adorable.

“I doubt that. They’ve all been disasters.”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure they weren’t all that bad.”

“Really? You’ve already heard about the mug fiasco.”

Elliot laughed. “Yeah, but that wasn’t a bad idea. If you’d had the manpower and the right equipment, you might have made a go of it.”

“Maybe,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced.

“Come on. Tell me the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

“The worst?”

“Yeah. Get that one out of the way, and then we can go from there.”

She shook her head. “The worst was another mug idea. After the baked pottery ones fell through, I thought about making some out of stained glass. We were sitting in a church for a friend’s wedding one day, and I was staring at the windows, thinking how wonderful it would be to wake up to that view every morning. With an enclosed back porch or kitchen window or something with stained glass that I could enjoy while I sipped my coffee.”

“That does sound amazing.”

“Right? Well, then I thought instead of a porch or window, which I’d never be able to do, why not make the mugs out of stained glass. There are clear glass mugs, so I figured stained glass wouldn’t be that much harder.”

“Makes sense. I think it’s a great idea. They’d be gorgeous.”

“That’s what I thought. Until I talked to a glass blower.”

“And?”

“She laughed me out of the building.”

“Why?”

“Because stained glass has those little veins of lead running through it to keep the different panes of glass separate.”

“And…”

“She didn’t think it would be a great idea to give customers lead poisoning.”

Elliot’s eyes widened, and he barked a laugh. “I didn’t even think about that. Well, damn. But it was a good idea.”

“Yeah, but apparently not all good ideas are actually marketable.”

He laughed again. “Apparently.”

“The one that came the closest to actually making some money was my gift baskets.”

“Gift baskets?”

She took a sip of her drink and nodded. “I wanted to get a gift basket for one of my co-workers for her birthday one year. Went online to check out prices, and they were insane! I’m talking sixty dollars for a tiny basket that probably cost ten dollars to put together. If that. And then they tacked shipping and delivery fees on to it. So I figured if all those businesses could make money charging outrageous prices, I could make something just as good, and probably better, charge less, and still make a good profit.”

“Sounds like a great plan. So why didn’t that one work out?”

Lena shrugged again. “It did okay. I always sold the baskets I made, but I ended up having to severely drop my prices to do it. I guess when you are a new business, it’s hard to get noticed unless you are selling for peanuts. I sold what I made, but I was only making a few dollars profit per basket, and I wasn’t getting many large orders for multiple baskets or for the high-end gourmet ones. I sold at a few fairs, but for those I had to buy all the materials ahead of time, and I didn’t always have the cash on hand to take a really good selection. If I’d had more time or money, more marketing, help. Maybe…”

Elliot was impressed. “Well, maybe I can help you there.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes watching him warily.

“I might not be great with ideas, but marketing and fundraising I can do. Apparently, it’s about the only thing I can do.” He injected the words with as much humor as he could to hide how much the reality stung.

“That’s sweet of you, but you don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I want to. It would be my pleasure to help you out.”

She shook her head, her lips pressed together. “I can do it on my own. But thanks.”

Elliot left it alone for the moment. He couldn’t force her to accept his help. But he could do his best to persuade her. Carefully, though, so she didn’t bolt on him with his first suggestion.

“You know, every idea I’ve heard from you, whether it’s worked or not, has been great. I haven’t heard one crazy idea yet. They’re good. You’ve definitely got a mind for this.”

Lena blushed and focused her attention on her drink. “That’s nice of you to say.”

Elliot leaned over and put his finger under her chin, raising her eyes to meet his. “I’m not just trying to be nice. I mean every word.”

She didn’t move away from his touch. He let his hand linger on her face while her gaze searched his. Whatever she saw must have made her happy because a bright, sweet smile spread across her face. He ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. He wanted nothing more than to close the few inches between them and capture that mouth with his. Her own mouth dropped open a little.

Elliot leaned forward, his hand gently trailing from her chin down the slender column of her neck. His heart thundered in his chest, a tangle of desire tightening low in his belly. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted anything so badly in his whole life as he wanted to kiss her.

Lena blinked, sucked in a quick breath, and pulled out of his reach. She fumbled with her drink, her cheeks flaming so hotly he was tempted to dig an ice cube out of his glass to see if it would melt on her skin.

She put her drink down and stood up. Elliot followed, hoping she wasn’t trying to make a break for it already. Things were going great. He was really enjoying talking to her.

“You want to walk for a minute?” she asked.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Sure.” He offered her his arm, surprised when, after a brief moment of hesitation, she actually took it. He pulled her in as close as he thought he could get away with. Her faint coconut scent washed over him, and he inhaled deeply. God, she smelled good. Good enough to taste.

They wandered through the gardens for a few minutes, stopping every now and then to look at some exotic plant or another. The more they walked, the more relaxed she seemed. She kept hold of his arm, even drawing closer to him a few times. A faint hope that she’d follow through with her interest in him blossomed in his chest.

“So, you said you wanted to get some ideas from me. For what?” she asked.

A small bench was set back under some trees, and he drew her over so they could sit in the shade.

“I run my family’s charity. It does well, but I think it could do much better.”

“What kind of charity?”

“Well, that’s part of the problem. Right now, it’s kind of a general Help-the-Poor-Children-type charity. But we don’t do much with it. Every year we hold a big fundraiser, and we usually have a great turn out and make decent money, but then the money gets spread out to so many different organizations I’m not sure how much good it’s doing. I feel we need to focus it more. Make it bigger, better. Turn it into a foundation that can really do some good.”

“That sounds amazing. What do your parents think?”

Elliot scowled, his frustration with his family dampening his good mood. “They think things are fine as they are. The charity is making money for good causes, and they don’t really have to think about it much. That’s how they like it.”

“Surely they can see how much better it would do if it was expanded. Even if they are only doing it to look good, having a successful charity be even more successful would be nothing but good press for them.”

Elliot laughed. “I’ve never put it to them like that. I’ll have to lead with that argument next time. The main problem is getting them to listen. They don’t see the need to change anything, so they don’t even want to listen to my ideas. And to be honest, I haven’t always been as involved as I should be, so throwing ideas out at them with no real plan won’t work. Now, if it was Lilah with the ideas, this wouldn’t be an issue at all.”

“Lilah is your older sister, right?”

Elliot nodded. “She’s always been the golden child. Followed in Dad’s medical footsteps. Cherice is more like me. Fitting, I guess, since we’re twins. Mom and Dad have never really approved of her and her disadvantaged women’s boutique. But she didn’t care. Actually, I think your brother helped a lot there.”

“How?” Lena asked.

“Cherice was already kind of the black sheep, moving off to North Carolina, ignoring our parents’ wishes when it came to her job. But she didn’t really jump off the deep end and commit to what she wanted to do with her shop and everything until she met Oz.”

Lena nodded thoughtfully, her face softening at the mention of her brother. Elliot stared at her, wondering what it was about the Oserkowskis that seemed to inspire the Debussheres. There must be something there because his sister had completely upended her life and was about to march up the aisle to marry a mechanic turned aspiring journalist who had no prestigious ties anywhere in his family tree. And Elliot… He’d been thinking of making some major changes, yes, but Lena seemed to be lighting the fire under him to actually do it.

Lena’s forehead crinkled in thought. “Okay. So, why don’t you approach this differently?”

“What do you mean?”

“Instead of coming to them as their son with an idea for the family charity, approach them as the president of a charitable foundation, complete with a fully developed business plan or presentation. Make an appointment to see them with their assistants, if you need to. Show them you are serious, and they might take you a little more seriously.”

Wow. She didn’t pull any punches. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he was in danger of blushing.

“I know I’m not really the kind of guy that most people take seriously. I guess I shouldn’t expect my parents to be any different.”

Lena’s eyes flared wide, and she shook her head, putting her hand onto his knee. “No, that’s not what I meant at all.”

Elliot froze, afraid if he made any sudden movements she’d remove her hand. He was beyond thankful that his resort-wear tastes leaned heavily on the beach bum look. Her hand rested on the bare skin of his knee, not an area he’d ever thought of as erogenous, but there now seemed to be a direct line of fire from his kneecap straight to his groin. If she gripped or rubbed his knee one more time, he would need to find more comfortable accommodations for his favorite body part.

She removed her hand, and he wasn’t sure whether to sigh in relief or beg her to put it back.

She was still apologizing, and he’d totally forgotten why. Oh! She thought she’d insulted him about the whole serious guy thing. Right.