Out of the shadows, his face came into view and then his lean body. Cargo shorts hung loosely on his hips, and the wind blew a t-shirt tightly against his midsection.

Reply, dumbass. My mouth opened, but words wouldn’t come out. They were stuck there, leaving me to look like an idiot in front of the hottest male who had ever bothered to notice me.

“Yeah, well, I’m assuming this is yours?” He took a few steps closer, making my already pounding heart beat even faster.

I touched my chest, feeling short of breath. I was going to die… here in the sand. Damn. Why did he have to look like he did? Guys like him didn’t need to talk to me. Apparently, they were bad for my health. Pull your shit together before he thinks you’re even more nuts than he probably already does.

“Um, yeah.” My voice cracked. I cleared my throat. “Thanks.” I took the hat, careful not to touch his fingers. If just the sight of him did that to me, what would a touch do? The thought of that sent a shiver through my body, straight to the downstairs. I had to think about anything other than that… at least for now. Maybe later the vibrator and I would toy with the subject. I was now glad that I had brought it with me.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk, I’ll let you get back to your party,” he said, turning away.

I blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening. “Huh?” Why was it so difficult to talk when he was around me? Focus. He was a man. I’d talked to plenty of men. Why should he be any different?

He stopped, focusing his gaze on me. “I asked what you were doing out here.”

Because he was different, and I had no idea why. My cheeks warmed — no, more like scalded — with embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” I lifted an arm in the direction of the house. “I’m not much of a partier, I guess you could say.” I lowered my head, focusing on the sand and wiggled my toes under it. “Of course, you probably already know that since I can’t hold alcohol without throwing up on people.”

He laughed.

I actually made him laugh!

My nerves eased up, relaxing my stiff body somewhat. “You never did let me know how much I owe you for the shoes.”

“They weren’t worth having anyone pay for, so don’t worry about it. I tossed them in the trash. It’s not like I don’t have other shoes to wear.”

Silence settled around us, and I was about to make up a lie to go back to the house, but he spoke before I could. “You ever hunt for ghost crabs?” He flicked on a flashlight, put it under his chin, and gave me a toothy grin.

My lips parted as I fell in awe of how perfect he looked. The breath left my chest in one painfully slow exhale. Logical thinking was out the window. I rolled my shoulders back, finally snapping back. “You talking about those big red crabs that are in the tanks at places like Red Lobster?”

His gaze swept across my face, lingering on my lips for a split second before he released a lighthearted laugh. “You’re one funny girl, Leigh Clark. Anyone ever told you that?”

Holy shit. He remembered my name. Not just Bri’s friend. Or that chick that hangs out with Bri. Or the weird girl that doesn’t talk much. I had heard those and many others over the years. I gave him a hesitant smile, playing into his assumption that I was trying to be funny when actually I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

He read through it. “You were serious, weren’t you?”

I bit my lip. “As a heart attack,” I confessed.

He walked over beside me, putting barely an inch between our bodies.

My breaths came out in short spurts.

“You alright?” Worry etched his features as he studied me. “You didn’t drink tonight, did you? I mean, I’m not wearing shoes, so if you throw up on my feet again, I can just wash it off in the water.”

I sighed deeply, but my lungs refused to open.

“No. No drinking,” I managed to squeak out audibly enough for him to hear.

“Cool. You up for helping me look for some? Unless you want to get back to your party…”

I froze in my position. I wasn’t expecting this. I wasn’t prepared. I couldn’t be witty and charming on the fly to keep him entertained. I needed practice. Time to stand in front of the mirror and rehearse funny lines that I jotted down. Who was I kidding? I wouldn’t even have created those funny lines. I would have stolen them from romantic comedies. Reese Witherspoon. Now there was a girl who could entertain. Not me. Not Leigh Clark.

I choked out the only word that would come to mind, and it was nowhere near witty. “Sure.”

Smiling, he handed me the flashlight. “So, these crabs are usually pretty small. Really fast. If you think you see something move out of the corner of your eye, then it’s probably one. You’re gonna need to be quick,” he explained as we started down the beach. He tossed a small net up and down as if keeping up with a beat in his head.

“What’s with the net? Do you catch them and like eat them or something? Make them pets?” My steps faltered. I suddenly felt sorry for the things I had yet to even lay eyes on. Out here, just minding their own business, and here we come to end their little lives.

Chuckling, he shook his head. “The net is only to catch them for a minute, so we can see them. Really fast, remember? I don’t think these guys would be much of a meal.”

He peered down at me, and I wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle of hormonal blubber.

We started down the shoreline in silence. The beam from the flashlight shone out in front of us. Every now and then I moved it from side to side, acting as if I were looking for the crabs. I would be lying to myself if I said I was. The fact was I was too busy trying to steal glances at him.

“There’s one!” he shouted.

I jumped, nearly dropping the flashlight. I gripped it with both hands to steady the shaking of my nerves.

“Did you see it?” He turned to look at me with a broad smile that lit up his face.

“Sorry. I didn’t.”

His grin vanished as if I had taken the joy out of it.

Okay. I need to focus. It obviously meant something for him to show me these things, so hunting ghost crabs it was. I moved the light, catching something small zoom through the sand. “I see one!” I jumped. “At least I think it was one.” I ran in the direction it went, forging for what I thought I saw. The light hit it, and I shrieked at how close it was to my foot.

Luca’s hand touched my back. It was almost too much to take with him being that close. Heat radiated off his body and surrounded me. His smell was delicious. I took a deep drag without making it too obvious. It was fresh, like detergent mixed with cologne.

“He’s not going to hurt you.” His words made me refocus on why he had touched me to begin with. The crab.

I bent over, getting a closer look. Black eyes moved around, while its legs seemed to float across the sand as it moved back and forth.

“It’s so tiny.” Courage mustered from somewhere deep within me as I reached out toward it using my pointer finger. A second before I made contact, it darted to the side. “Holy crap!” I lunged back and wrapped my arms around Luca’s neck, searching the now-vacant sand.

The vibrating through his chest as he laughed made me realize what I had done. I grew a bit lightheaded, mentally gauging how awkward I had made things. He probably thought I was using this whole thing to throw myself on him. A guy like him would have that happen all the time. My fingertips lifted from his shoulders while I turned my head in his direction. His warm breath hit my cheek, confirming how close we were. A fake laugh escaped my lungs. I pushed away, putting a good distance between us.

“Sorry about that. It scared me out. Thought it was about to attack me.”

He stood a little straighter, eyeing me curiously. “That little thing?” His hand lifted, waving it fleetingly through the air. “Nah. Now the big ones might hurt if they get a hold of you.”

I pushed my hair back as a strong gust of wind sent it around my face. “The big ones?” My mouth went dry. I glanced out to the water. The black surface seemed to taunt me in a haunting way. I shivered. The ocean at night freaked me out. There was no telling what was out there that couldn’t be seen in the dark. Too many Discovery Channel shows. What else was I supposed to do with my time? I had been dumped. Which meant I stayed at home. A lot.

“They can get pretty big.” He shifted from one foot to the other as if waiting on me to say something. “You want to get him with the net?” His eyes moved to mine, waiting for my answer.

“Who?”

Luca laughed and pointed at the ground near my foot. “Your friend that you found. He’s back.”

I followed his gaze down to the little crab. We must have seemed like giants to it, been absolutely terrifying. “No. He’s scared enough. Let’s find another one and let this little guy go.”

We started walking once again.

“So, what were you doing down this way? Is your house close to here?” I asked, trying to make conversation. I was dying to know more about him. Bri hadn’t said much, and I wasn’t about to go out of my way to ask her.

“Finn’s is. We were watching a movie, and he fell asleep. I got bored, so this is where I ended up. What about you? Get bored of the party?”

“I’m not much for big crowds. It just became too much, and I needed fresh air.” I expected him to question why I didn’t like crowds, but he didn’t. He just nodded and continued to twist the net around. “I think Bri invited Finn to it.”

“Yeah, he told me about it. But I wasn’t feeling it tonight.”

“Oh,” I said in a small voice. The tiny bit of hope I had dwindled away with that comment. If he had been the slightest bit interested, he would have come. I bit the inside of my cheek. I shouldn’t think that way. I was here with him. Just the two of us.

“So, I’ve never seen you around before. Did you move here or just visiting?”

“Visiting. I was going through a rough time, and Bri insisted Destin would be the answer, and it’d pull me from my slump.” I paused, wondering if I sounded like a basket case. “You know how best friends are. Always get worried for nothing.” I threw in a laugh to make everything seem as if Bri had blown it out of proportion.

He arched a brow, regarding me silently. “Well, has it worked?”

“Has what worked?”

“Has Destin pulled you out of your slump?”

I looked out over the water and scrunched my face. “So far, the only thing Destin as done for me is embarrass the hell out of me and increase my reading list.” I paused for a second and held up one finger. “Oh, and give me a decent tan, which is nice, I’ll admit.”

“You can’t really blame Destin for the embarrassment, can you?” he asked with a small laugh. “The alcohol is what did it.”

I nodded, pushing my hair back. “You’re right. Never again will I drink that much. Period. End of story.”

We neared a couple with their two kids. Beams of light danced from their flashlights as they ran across the sand shouting at each other. Luca looked over his shoulder in the direction we had come. “We’ve gone pretty far. You want to turn around?”

I met his gaze and gave him a tentative shrug, not really ready to go back. It was nicer out here with Luca than inside with strangers. I could actually have a conversation with him, which was a huge shock to me. Normally, I clammed up around people I didn’t know. Thinking of things to talk about was difficult for me. It was added work. I envied people who could have a meaningful conversation with someone they didn’t know. But he made it easy.

To my disappointment, Luca shifted around and started walking back. “Don’t want your friend to think someone kidnapped you,” he said more to himself than to me. He looked back with a sly smile. “Unless you want to be kidnapped.”

My jaw dropped. Every physical part of me reacted to his words. I knew he was joking, but damn, did it sound sexy crossing his lips.

“Leigh?”

I jumped. “Sorry.” My feet moved fast, lurching me past him. I prayed he didn’t think I was a total loser.

He jogged up beside me, but I didn’t look in his direction. I should have. The way I was acting was a definite sign of being mortified.

“You know I was joking, right? I didn’t mean to scare you by that.”

I stopped abruptly. Why was I acting like such a spaz? This was getting worse and worse.

I forced myself to look up at him. His hair blew over his eyes as he stared down at me. I needed something — anything — to make this not so weird. “So you said the bigger ghost crabs are in the water?” The last thing I wanted to do was go near that blackness, but it was the only thing that came to mind. What else was I going to do?

He was silent for a minute then grabbed my hand, towing me in the direction of the sloshing waves. “Yeah, we can probably find some.”

Water splashed at my ankles, and instantly my heels drove deep into the ground.

He looked around and closed the gap between us when he noticed I had stopped moving. “You have to get in if you want to find some.” He towered over me.

The closeness of his body sent shivers over my skin. I swallowed a gulp, steeling my nerves. I glanced out the corner of my eye. “I can’t. The water really freaks me out at night.”

His head tilted, a smile hinting at the corners of his lips. “Really?” His eyes narrowed as if he thought I was lying to him.

“Really.”

“Well, out of the water we go then.” He led me back to the dry sand then dropped my hand. “So, what made that happen?” he asked, motioning toward the water.

“What? Being scared of it?”

“Yeah.”

“Not really sure. Maybe too many shark movies? My dad was really strict on me growing up. My mom died when I was little, so it was hard on us. He didn’t let me do much. I guess because he thought he was keeping me safe. So maybe that’s it. I didn’t get to be this adventurous person, so it made me scared of little things.”

Luca was quiet as we continued to trudge toward Bri’s house, which was now looming in front of us. In a moment, I would have to say goodbye to him. It was something I wasn’t ready to do yet. I glanced at him. His face was hard to read.

“Did I say something wrong?”

His eyes snapped to me like he realized he wasn’t alone. “No. I was thinking about something.” His voice lacked emotion.

This wasn’t the same guy that I had been walking with a moment ago. It was clear something I said didn’t sit well with him. We stopped once we reached Bri’s deck.

“Tiny Dancer!” One of the guys called as he leaned over the rail. “Show us those boobs!” He and his friend gave each other high fives before turning in our direction again.

The wind blew over my heated skin as I cleared my throat. “Thanks for letting me tag along,” I said, ignoring their taunts.

Luca’s shoulders rolled back as he flexed. “You want me to beat the shit out of them?” He cast a menacing glare in their direction. His body even started to tilt that way as if wanting to take a step.

“It’s okay. I’m probably going to take a shower and go to bed. It’s getting late. No harm. I’ll ignore them. It’ll be done with.”

He didn’t ease up, but he managed to give me a small smile.

“Maybe I’ll see you around before I leave.”

“Maybe. Have a good night, Leigh.”

“You, too.”

He walked away, leaving me staring after him for a minute. I turned and climbed the steps. What was the point of getting my hopes up about him? I sighed. It was nice having someone take my mind off things with Russ, even if it wasn’t that long. I was damaged.

Why would Luca ever want someone like me?