***
"I'm going to the beach for a while. You wanna come?" Deza stood by the front door with her sunglasses on and towel draped over her arm.
"No, I'm good. I'm going to read for a while. I'll find you later." I offered her a warm smile and turned onto my side as I pulled up Ethan's bio on my phone. It seemed almost like snooping around, and yet I couldn't help it. He wasn't going to give up too much information from what I could tell. He protected himself almost to the extent that I did.
"No wonder he doesn't have anyone close in his life but those that work beside him." And his brother. Thinking of Liam brought a smile to my lips. He'd been so entertaining on the boat ride out to Catalina Island the weekend before. He and Ethan had the type of relationship I'd want if I had a brother or sister. The thought of my brother Derick brushed across my thoughts, but as always, I dismissed it quickly. Too much sadness surrounded it to let it penetrate my soul and bring me down.
I switched to my texts and shot my mother another one. It would be the fifth one in the last week without a reply from her. I was worried, but there wasn't much I could do until she returned my calls or sent me a text back.
"Not gonna worry about it. I've been waiting for this big break half my life." I flipped it back to Ethan's bio as a knock resounded at the door. I groaned softly and got up, half-expecting it to be Deza.
Ethan stood on the other side of the door in a pair of swim trunks, sandals and a bright pink towel over his shoulders. "Come down to the water with me."
"Deza just went down. Go find her. I wanted to read for a while."
"Nope. I want time with you. You saved my life yesterday. The least I can do is buy you dinner and a drink." He moved around me into the room. "This is nice. Why are you guys sharing a room? The house is huge. It's almost like a mini apartment complex."
"This is the only room with two beds. We figured it would be easier for us to share a room than to get one of the film crew guys to share rooms." I shrugged and walked into the room, letting the door close behind me. "I'll go down for dinner, but I'm not very hungry."
"We'll share something." He pulled my white bikini from my open suitcase. "Wear this. I like it."
I laughed and snagged it from his fingers. "I don't care what you like. I'm wearing what I have on."
"You can't get wet like that. Well, you can, but not the way that would keep us both safe." He sucked in a deep breath and ran his eyes along me.
Chill bumps broke out along my skin as my body tightened due to his nearness. I reached out and gripped his wrist, pulling him toward the door.
"Let's go. Out of my bedroom."
"This is new. I've never in my life heard those words put into one congruent sentence together." He offered me his arm, and I would have been an ass for not taking it.
"Stop being cute. It's getting on my nerves." I smiled at him as we moved down the hall and out the side exit of the condo.
"Would you rather I be an ass?" He released my arm and touched the small of my back as we moved through a crowd of people. They whispered something which included his name. "Damn. I thought we were staying on a private island."
"We are." I glanced around. “I don't see many people here. They're probably part of the camera crew. New movie, new people working for you guys, right?"
"That's true." He seemed to accept my explanation and relaxed again. "Thanks again for helping me yesterday."
"Of course. Are you feeling better?" I wrapped my arms around myself and glanced up as the sun sat near the water's edge. It was going to be a beautiful sunset, but felt a little too romantic beside him.
"Much better." He glanced toward the water. "Look... the sun's going to almost look like it bursts when it hits the water. Let's go watch." He gripped my hand and moved us out there as tension drove me toward silence. "Beautiful."
"Can I ask you something?" I looked up at him as my heart shuddered in my chest.
"Anything." He glanced down at me and turned back to watch the sunset. "Just don't ask me to marry you. It's too soon, and I'm not sure we're compatible in the bedroom. If you wanna have dinner and use each other for dessert just to make sure everything fits in its proper place, you can hit your knees afterward.”
"Hit my knees?" I yelped and popped him in the chest as he laughed loudly. The expression on his face stole a part of my heart and left me weak.
"To ask me to marry you. Shit... I didn't mean." He lifted his eyebrow. "Well, that would be fucking awesome too, but-"
I hit him again.
"But... that's not what I meant." He reached out and slid his strong hands over my shoulders. "Ask me the question."
"Why did you deny me the kiss at your house? Was it because you had someone else coming over for the night?" I tried to remain calm, though everything inside of me prepared for the worst. There was no good answer. Either way I looked at it, he'd slept with the pretty girl and kicked me out. Rejection stung the center of my chest like I was right back there again.
"It was a test, right?"
"No. It wasn't." I glanced out at the sunset. "I lied to save face. I'd not been rejected too many times in my life. It was a first and it was embarrassing. I covered it up."
Was I really being this honest with him? Ugh. I hated myself.
He slid his hands up my neck and cupped my face, forcing me to look at him.
"I did it out of respect for you, and for me. Deza asked that I stay hands off with you because whatever is happening between us needs to happen for a long time. I'm horrible with relationships, so I figured it would be a respectable thing to do, but the minute I did it... I regretted it. I just knew one kiss wasn't enough."
"Am I talking with the real Ethan Lewis?" I smiled and cupped my hands over his, finding a warmth in his embrace that I'd almost expected not to be there.
"I'm the one and only." He brushed his thumbs over my cheeks. "Forgive me for denying us both? I'm afraid they expect me to keep doing that."
"And it's probably smart that you do." I pulled his hands off of me as the sound of voices stole my attention.
"Oh, shit." He put his back to me as a huge group of girls jogged down the beach toward us, all of them yelling his name. "Private doesn't exist anymore, does it?"
"Go get 'em tiger." I popped his butt and turned to walk back up toward the drink hut.
"You're not leaving me here. Seriously?"
I laughed all the way to my barstool, where I sat for the next hour waiting on him. A whole host of emotions ran through me, but by the time he dropped down beside me, I was sure of one thing.
I was also glad that he hadn't kissed me. God only knew where we would be if he had.