“ONE THING,” SETH SAID, as they lay on their backs on the sand. This time they’d dropped anchor near the island and swum to the beach, Fliss gasping at the chill of the water.
She rolled onto her stomach and smiled.
One thing.
It was a game they’d started playing, where they each told each other one thing the other didn’t already know.
Thanks to that game, she’d discovered that Seth had moved to California to try to distance himself from everything but had stayed only two years. She found out that he still didn’t want to sell Ocean View, and that his relationship with his father had been closer than even she’d thought.
Her heart ached for him.
“When I was eight, I wanted to know what kissing felt like so I trapped Ricky Carter behind the bike sheds.”
“Doesn’t count. Not personal enough.”
“You didn’t see the kiss.”
He grabbed her and rolled her on her back on the sand. “Who is this Ricky Carter? I want his address and phone number.”
“Last heard of somewhere in Florida.”
“Good thing. Now tell me something personal. And make it count.”
“When you kiss me, it’s nothing like kissing Ricky Carter.”
“When I kiss you like this, you mean?” He lowered his head to hers, and she felt her stomach jump and her heart flutter. He kissed her often, and each time was more exciting than the last. It was as if he was slowly building the tension, racking it up inch by inch until she was wound so tight she was afraid she might explode.
She’d stopped thinking she should fight her feelings, stopped listing all the reasons why this was probably a mistake.
Slowly, he lifted his head. “Ricky had better not have kissed you like that or he’s a wanted man.” His voice was low and lazy, the look in his eyes making her squirm with anticipation.
She knew he was holding back, and she couldn’t help wondering how long that was going to last. Sex clouds things, was what he’d said, but she couldn’t help thinking that not having sex clouded things, too. It stopped her being able to think straight. Cut through all the strings that held together her defenses.
“It was how I imagine it would feel to drown. I needed a life jacket.”
He grinned. “Sounds like I have serious competition.”
He’d never had any competition. That was the problem.
She moaned as she felt his mouth on her neck and the light scrape of stubble against her skin.
“Now you.”
He lifted his head just enough to speak. “I hate mushrooms on pizza.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“If I’m the one eating the pizza, it counts. I can eat mushrooms in any other dish, but they shouldn’t be anywhere near a pizza.”
“I get the message.” She could feel the press of his body against hers. “Pizza, no mushrooms. Now tell me something personal.”
He lowered his head and continued his exploration as far as her collarbone. “I’m determined.” His mouth lingered there. “When there’s something I want, I don’t give up until I get it.”
Was he talking about their relationship? Or something else? The things he was doing with his mouth made it hard to focus.
“You wanted to be a vet, and now you are.”
He paused and lifted his head, looking at her from beneath those long lashes that had made him the talk of the town. “That’s one example. There are others.”
She wanted to know all about them. She wanted to know everything.
In the past few weeks she’d learned so much about him, like the fact he had the respect of the whole community. Everywhere she went it was “Dr. Carlyle this” and “Dr. Carlyle that.” And among some quarters, respect came closer to adoration. Whatever details she didn’t hear while shopping in Country Stores were filled in by her grandmother’s friends.
It was through them that she’d learned he ran an outreach program helping the local animal shelter and that he actively encouraged the locals to adopt rescued pets rather than going to breeders.
Through them she’d learned that he’d risked his life to lead four horses out of a burning barn and that he’d once done two house calls to check up on a teenage girl whose cat had died.
Seth himself hadn’t told her any of those things, not even in their “one thing” conversations, but that didn’t surprise her. He was a man who did what needed to be done because he believed in it, not because he was trying to impress.
He loved animals, and if there was anything he could do to make their lives better, he was going to do it.
“How old were you when you decided you wanted to be a vet?”
“Eight. I was hiking with my dad and we found this dog tied to a stake in a yard. The owners had moved and not taken him with them. He was skin and bone. Showed no interest in being rescued, but my father rescued him anyway and took him to the animal shelter. I went every day to visit and care for him. I saw what a great job they did. How they coaxed this terrified animal into trusting them. It seemed like magic to me. And I wanted to learn how to do it.” He stroked her hair back from her face. “I never forgot that dog because he taught me something important.”
“Which was?”
“That it’s important to look beyond the superficial. That most behavior comes with a reason.”
This time she knew he wasn’t talking only about the dog.
Her heart beat a little faster. “What was his reason?”
“That dog was fierce and angry, but once he realized no one was trying to hurt him, he stopped being angry and he was the most docile, loving dog you ever met.”
“Did he eventually go to a good home?”
“Yeah, I like to think so.” He lay back on the sand and shielded his eyes against the sun with his arm. “He lived with us for fourteen years. Best damn dog we ever had. I still miss him.”
She lay watching him, thinking that no other man had ever affected her the way Seth did. He slammed through her willpower with his handsome face and his sexy smile, and he sneaked under her defenses with his patient kindness.
Strength, for Seth, wasn’t who could shout loudest or act meanest. It wasn’t fists or fight, although she had no doubt he could defend himself if the need arose.
No, strength was doing the right thing no matter what the cost.
She sometimes wondered if part of his appeal, at least at the beginning, was that he represented the complete opposite of her father.
He kept up a steady flow of conversation, telling her stories about his mother, about Vanessa, about the time Bryony had fallen off her horse and broken her arm. She told him more about her time in college, about all the adventures her mother was having now, and about Daniel’s relationship with Molly. She almost told him about the visit she’d made to her father, that night in the rain, but she wasn’t ready to share that story with anyone yet, not even with a good listener like Seth.
And he was a good listener. He paid attention, not just to what she said but what she didn’t say, and beneath the apparently easy conversation was the ever-present awareness, an intense chemistry and sexual tension that shimmered between them.
It felt easier talking to him than it had the first time, and she didn’t know why that was.
Aware that it was getting late, she sat up and dusted the sand from her arms. “One thing. Last time. You go first.”
“Hey, I just told you fifty things. It’s your turn.”
“Definitely yours. You’re confused.”
“That might be that top you’re wearing. The sight of semibare breasts has a strange effect on my brain.” He leaned toward her, and she gave him a push.
“One thing. Your turn.”
He paused and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “I’m glad you decided to hide from me in the Hamptons.”
“I didn’t do a great job of hiding.”
“I’m glad about that, too.”
Discovering she felt the same way made her heart miss a beat.
She had no idea where this was leading. No idea what she was going to do when she got there.
But for the time being, she was enjoying the ride.
* * *
SETH SPENT THE following day in surgery and then drove back to the house to shower and change before fulfilling an obligation he’d been dreading. He’d almost hoped for an emergency to give him an excuse not to show up.
He’d put it out of his mind while he was operating, but now that was over he discovered he didn’t have the self-discipline to hold back the thoughts. He knew all about the stages of grief, and he’d experienced each one. Shock, denial, anger—he’d gone through the roller coaster of all the emotions after his father had died.
And now he had to sell Ocean View, which felt like the last connection with his father.
Pulling up outside his house, he was surprised to see Fliss’s car.
His mood lifted, and then he realized with a pang that whatever she’d planned wasn’t going to work for him.
He planned to do what needed to be done and then sit out on the deck and share his low mood with the sunset. Maybe a beer.
He stepped out of the car, wishing he could just drag her up to the bedroom and not leave for at least a week. But he wouldn’t ever treat her as a distraction. Or a cure.
“I wasn’t expecting you.”
“One thing—” She raised one finger, playing the game that had become routine. “I love doing the unexpected. I thought I’d surprise you. Your turn. And make it a good one. Something really dark and dirty.” She leaned against her car, eyes gleaming with humor and invitation until she saw something in his face. Humor quickly melted into concern. “What’s wrong? Did you lose a patient? I heard the Jenkinses’ dog was hit by a car.”
“The dog is going to be fine, although he spent two hours in surgery.” And he’d spent almost as much time reassuring and soothing Lily and Doug Jenkins, who had been distraught at the prospect of losing a much-loved pet.
Maybe it was the pressure that had given him a thumping headache, and not the prospect of selling memories of his father to the highest bidder.
“You’re a bit of a hero, Dr. Carlyle. You should be celebrating.”
He’d never felt less like celebrating. “Not tonight. There’s somewhere I need to be.” And she didn’t need to be part of that.
She eased away from the car and walked across to him. “I’m new to this game, but I’m pretty sure this is the part where you tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I’m meeting Chase at my parents’ house. That friend I told you about who may be interested in buying it? He wants to take a look around.”
“Oh, Seth.” She put her arms around him and hugged him. “I didn’t know you’d made the decision. And I had no idea it would happen this fast.”
Breathing in the scent of her hair and feeling the lean lines of her body pressed against him made him wish he could just take her inside, switch off his phone and block out the world.
“It’s fine.”
She gave a short laugh and eased away so that she could look at him. “I’m the one who is supposed to hide feelings, not you.”
“True. In that case, yes, I admit this sucks.”
“Why not wait a while? What’s the hurry?”
“It’s what my mother wants. I talked to her last night. Seems like I’m the only one who isn’t in a hurry to let it go.” He sighed. “My father loved the place. I know it sounds crazy, but it feels like I’m losing part of him all over again.”
He’d told her about that night his father had died, right through from his mother’s frantic 2 a.m. call to the mad dash to the hospital. And he’d told her about his feelings when he realized he was too late and wasn’t even going to get to say goodbye. Regret chasing regret. Things he wished he’d said, and hadn’t. Time he wished he’d spent, and hadn’t. The realization that control is an illusion. That tragedy picks its victims randomly and without mercy. That a perfect life could change in an instant and that time, once gone, was gone forever.
All useless, wasted, pain-inflicting thoughts.
“Couldn’t you delay things until you’ve had time to get used to the idea?”
“If we’re going to do it, then it’s better to do it sooner rather than later. We need to sell it before it starts to need a ton of upkeep, and if Chase has a potential buyer then I can’t afford to ignore that.”
“In that case I’ll come with you.”
“I don’t want you to do that. It’s not going to be fun.”
“We’re friends. Friends are there for the tough bits as well as the easy bits.” She locked her car and shoved the keys in her pocket. “Let’s go.”
He found that he didn’t want to argue. “With luck, I’m going to have the easiest sale in the history of real estate. Mom won’t have to worry about money again.”
“But you don’t care about the money,” she murmured. “You never did. With you it’s never about the money.”
“I was lucky enough not to have to think about it.”
“Plenty of people don’t have to think about it, but still think about it all the time. It dominates everything, influences all their decisions. Are they doing the right thing? Behaving the right way? Wearing the right clothes? Being seen in the right places, mixing with the right people? You never cared about any of that. And you won’t care that the market is good, or whether Chase has got you a great deal. You do care that you’re selling your family home, somewhere you spent summers and Thanksgiving for more years than you can remember.”
He remembered them. He remembered all of them.
“The place is full of memories. For Mom, that’s hard. But for me—” He hesitated and she nodded.
“I understand. It’s somewhere you still feel close to him. Selling it feels like handing those memories on to someone else.”
“It’s about what’s right for Mom, not me. I’m not the one who matters here.”
“You matter to me.” She slid her hand into his, and he stroked the backs of his fingers over her cheek.
The sun had dusted her nose with freckles and lightened her hair, making her eyes seem bluer than ever.
He wondered how she could possibly think she was the “bad” twin.
She was one of the most fiercely loyal people he’d ever met and straight as an arrow. For some reason he found himself thinking of Naomi, and her complicated manipulation.
Fliss was straightforward. She didn’t play games.
If Chase Adams was surprised to see Fliss, he kept his feelings to himself. Instead he gave her a hug, thanked her again for what she’d done for Matilda, assured her he was deeply in her debt and then turned to introduce his friend.
Todd Wheeler was an investment banker who worked on Wall Street. His phone rang constantly. It would have driven Seth insane, but Todd seemed to regard it as a normal part of his day.
“Wheeler.” He answered the phone in blunt, crisp tones. “No… That’s right… That stock is going through the roof—”
Seth didn’t care what happened with the stock as long as Todd had the money to buy his house, but the man didn’t seem interested.
Was a guy really going to part with a substantial portion of his capital for a place he’d barely glanced at?
Todd ended the call and Seth managed a polite smile. “Busy day?”
“Normal day.” Todd glanced at his watch. “Let’s do this.”
Seth refrained from asking if he was sure he had the time. Instead he walked through the rooms, the emptiness of the house enveloping him.
He probably should have been giving an effusive sales pitch, filling the echoing silence with patter about why this house was perfect, but he couldn’t summon the energy.
In the library Todd took three more phone calls in rapid succession and Fliss glanced at Seth and rolled her eyes.
The face she pulled made him feel better.
Later, he decided, they’d go back to his place and walk on the beach.
When Todd finally dropped the phone back into his pocket for the fifth time, Seth showed him the rest of the downstairs. He lingered in the formal dining area, where his mother had hosted more noisy dinner parties than he could remember, then walked through to the large kitchen that had been the heart of the home and had sweeping ocean views.
When Todd took another phone call, Seth started to wish he’d let Chase show the house without him. He could feel his father in every room.
He remembered the last Thanksgiving they’d spent together here as a family. Naomi had joined them, and from the moment she arrived it had been obvious to him he’d made a mistake inviting her. She’d read too much into the gesture and he’d heard her giggling with Vanessa. It was obvious they’d been plotting together, and that he was the subject of the plot.
She’d been waiting for him to propose.
When he hadn’t, she started dropping hints. When he hadn’t taken those hints, she’d grown more and more exasperated. And then moody.
Seth had left her with Vanessa and gone sailing with his father. This late in the year the waters around Gardiner’s Bay had been choppy, and they’d needed all their skill and experience to keep the boat on course. It had been both terrifying and exhilarating, and they’d had one of the best days sailing Seth could ever remember.
And he remembered another thing, too. He remembered his father saying that choosing a partner was one of the most important decisions a man ever made. That you should choose someone who wanted to run with you, not hold you back.
Seth knew his father didn’t think Naomi was right for him, and he’d agreed.
It was one of the last serious conversations he’d had with his father, and it had been the beginning of the end of his relationship with Naomi. It was the day he’d stopped looking for someone who made him feel the way Fliss did and resolved instead to find Fliss.
His father’s death shortly after had reminded him that life was too short to spend it with the wrong person.
They moved upstairs to the bedroom suites, and he heard Todd asking Chase a question about rental yield.
Rental yield?
For Seth, owning property wasn’t about financial return, but emotional return. He didn’t measure real estate in terms of square footage but in terms of lifestyle.
It was the reason he’d chosen his place on the edge of the nature preserve.
He’d seen the potential. Not for a financial killing but for a future that was good. Somewhere he could plant roots. Somewhere to make memories. And yes, somewhere to have a family one day. He still wanted that. Maybe, on one level, he’d always wanted that.
Todd was on the phone again, so Seth opened the French doors and walked onto the balcony. The house faced over dunes that sloped down to a wide sandy beach. He’d played there with his sisters, acted as referee as they’d quarreled and argued about things so small and insignificant he couldn’t even remember them.
All he heard now was the gentle hiss of the waves as they hit the sand.
He heard footsteps behind him and felt Fliss’s hand on his arm.
“That man is driving me insane. Is he really your only buyer? Because if it’s okay with you I’d like to kill him. I promise to keep the blood to a minimum. I thought I might push him off the balcony or drown him in the pool, along with that damn phone of his.”
He hadn’t thought he was capable of smiling today, but he found he was smiling. “I guess he has a job to do.”
“His job right now is to look at this house.”
“He’s not going to buy the house, Fliss.” And it was only now, when it was obvious it wasn’t going to happen, that he realized how badly he’d wanted this part to be over. If Todd walked away, he’d be faced with endless months of dealing with a Realtor.
Strangers would tramp through the house, leaving footprints on his memories.
Fliss tapped her foot on the floor. “If he put the phone down for five minutes he might be able to focus long enough to fall in love and decide to buy it.”
“Guys like Todd Wheeler don’t fall in love with houses. He thinks only in terms of return on investment. He’s not seeing a potential home, he’s seeing eight thousand square feet of oceanfront property with easy access to a heliport.”
Fliss narrowed her eyes. “Hmm. We’ll see about that.” She stalked back into the house, leaving him with no choice but to follow.
Not that he was afraid she actually would drown Todd Wheeler in the pool, but he wouldn’t put it past her to do some damage.
She marched through two of the upstairs bedrooms before she finally tracked down Todd and Chase in a guest room overlooking the gardens.
“Excuse me.” She planted herself in front of Todd and offered up a friendly smile. “Could I talk to you for a moment?”
Seth paused just outside the doorway and saw Todd frown.
“Sure.” Then his phone rang and he glanced down at it. “I need to answer this, so if you’ll excuse me—”
“No, in fact I won’t.” Her smile fixed, Fliss removed the phone from his hand. “My advice is to make them wait. They’ll be more interested.”
Guessing that it wouldn’t do much to ingratiate himself with his buyer if he laughed, Seth moved out of sight.
He couldn’t be bothered to call Todd out, but it seemed that Fliss intended to.
“You should focus all your attention on the task at hand,” she said, “which is deciding whether or not you’re interested in this house. Because once you walk out of that door, it will all be over and let me tell you, if you lose this place you will kick yourself. And if I were your wife, and frankly I’m glad I’m not because I would never want to be in a threesome with a cell phone, I might be tempted to kick you, too. You will never again have the opportunity to own a property with as much potential as this one.”
“I’ll need to talk to an architect before I can assess that.”
“I’m not talking about its potential as a building project. I’m talking about its potential to add quality to your family life. I’m helping you to see something you don’t seem capable of seeing by yourself.”
“Look, the property is great, but it’s not the only property on the market. There are several larger beach properties I have to see.”
Seth felt a thud of disappointment. It was as he’d suspected.
“Larger?” Fliss obviously wasn’t ready to give up. “How many children do you have, Todd? Ten? Eleven?”
“Two.”
“And are you planning to live with extended family? Your mother-in-law, perhaps? A whole stream of cousins?”
“Just the four of us.” His tone was cautious. “I don’t see what that—”
“I’m trying to work out what you would do with more space than this. With four of you, you could move in here and not sleep in the same bedroom for a week. You can entertain lavishly—there’s even a guest cottage. When your kids hit their teenage years there is enough space to give them a wing each if they turn moody. Sure, you could buy something with more room, but why?”
“It’s called investment.”
“So you’re not looking for a home, you’re looking for profit.”
“That’s a factor.” He studied her for a moment. “I understood from Chase it isn’t even on the market yet.”
“A house this special doesn’t need to go on the open market. The appeal that dragged you down here in the middle of your very busy working week is the same appeal that has had other buyers knocking at the door. Seth only agreed to let you see it first because you’re Chase’s friend. So I guess it boils down to one basic question. Are you in love with the house?”
“In love?” He shot her a bemused glance. “Real estate is a financial decision, not an emotional one.”
“This isn’t a piece of real estate, Todd, it’s a home. As a matter of interest, how do you propose to present this to your wife? ‘Hi, honey, I bought us a house but don’t bother unpacking or getting too comfortable because if the value increases enough I’ll sell it right out from under you.’ Is that what you’re planning? Because if so, I feel sorry for her. And your kids. What are their names? How old are they?”
“Grant is six and Katy is eight.”
“A boy and a girl. And you’re buying this because you want to be able to spend summers at the Hamptons. I bet they’re going to just love the beach.” Her tone warmed. “They’ll spend time playing hide-and-seek in those dunes just beyond the house. Sandy feet, sun on their faces, happy children. Lucky children.”
Seth frowned.
She’d painted a picture so clear he could taste the salt air and hear his sisters’ laughter. Hear his mother warning them to wipe their feet so that they didn’t trail sand into the house.
Todd said nothing.
“Maybe you’ll take Grant sailing, like Seth’s father did.” Fliss’s tone was desperate, and Seth wondered why she didn’t just give up. Did she really think she could convert Todd Wheeler from hard-nosed businessman to family guy in one conversation?
“Fliss—”
“Has he told you they used to spend every spare hour here doing up their boat? Not down at a boatyard, but at the dock right there in front of the house. Or maybe it will be Katy who loves being on the water. And when you’re spending time messing around with boats, whether it’s on dry land or the water, it’s not about the boat, Todd. It’s about the time you’re spending together, the conversations you have while you’re varnishing planks or sailing a boat into the wind. Whatever you do, however you spend your time in this beautiful home, those are the things your kids will always value about your relationship. They’re the moments Grant and Katy will remember, not how much money their dad made on a property when he sold it. This house isn’t just bricks and wood, it has a heart and a soul.”
Her words were met with silence.
This time, it seemed, Todd had nothing to say.
Neither did Seth.
He realized she wasn’t trying to convert Todd, or reform him in any way. She was selling his house, and she’d done it with as much passion and conviction as if she’d been selling her own.
She’d painted a picture like an artist, skillfully weaving visions of an idyllic lifestyle until Seth would have bought the house himself had he not already owned it.
Todd frowned. “I don’t think—”
“Think of it like this.” She didn’t give him time to speak. “When you invest money, you expect a return. But who says that return always has to be financial? This house is an investment in quality family time. Happy moments become happy memories, and they last forever. Nothing can ever take that away, not even a crash in the market. Take your son sailing, teach your daughter to surf, and they’re going to be remembering those things into adulthood. And when they leave, they’ll take all those memories with them. If that’s not an investment, I don’t know what is.”
They’ll take all those memories with them.
Seth felt a pressure in his chest.
He’d thought the memories belonged to the house, but Fliss was right. They belonged to him. They were inside him and they would always be inside him, no matter where he went or what he did. Selling a house wasn’t going to change that.
Swallowing down the emotion, he walked into the room and Chase reappeared at the same moment, full of apologies.
“Sorry, that was Matilda. She wanted me to pick up a few things on my way home. Have you finished? Is there anything else you need to see, Todd?”
“No. I need to get back to the office.” He gave Fliss and Seth a brief nod. “Thanks.”
Seth said nothing. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Fliss had said.
“I’m driving Todd back to the airport.” Chase slapped Seth on the shoulder. “I know you said you were working over the holiday, but are you free in the evening? Matilda and I are having a few people over. We’re keeping it low-key as Rose is so little and Matilda is tired. My brother, Brett, will join us if he can, and a couple of other friends.”
Seth forced himself to concentrate. “I’m on call during the day. Tanya is covering the evening.”
Todd raised his eyebrows. “Are people really going to need a vet on the Fourth of July?”
“It’s always a busy few days for us. First there’s the heat—people leave pets in cars and forget about them while they’re barbecuing on the beach. They feed them table scraps, they have people around who leave doors and gates open so pets escape. And don’t even start me on fireworks. And it doesn’t end there. The day after when the yard is full of debris, the dogs eat it.”
Chase looked surprised. “I had no idea.”
“Neither does half the population, which is why I’m always busy.”
“You can bring your phone to our place. Fliss?”
“Grams and I are cooking lunch for her friends. I’ll be clear by five o’clock easily, and Grams goes to bed early.”
“Great. Then the two of you should come over.”
The two of you.
Seth noticed that Chase had bracketed them together, as if they were an item. It was typical Chase. Another friend might have been delivering a caution. Reminding him this hadn’t worked out the first time and that he was risking heartache for a second time.
Chase understood that some things were so important they were worth every risk.
He smiled at his friend. “Are you cooking?”
Chase looked offended. “Hey, I can grill. But as it happens, no. I’ve hired a chef. Do you know Eva?”
Fliss nodded. “She’s part of Urban Genie, the concierge business in New York that is responsible for the stratospheric growth of our business. Is she cooking? Because if the answer is yes, then I’ll be here.”
A few minutes later, the car pulled away and Seth watched as they disappeared from view.
Everything felt different. Everything had changed. The sky looked bluer, the air felt fresher and his head, which had been enveloped in a cloud since the death of his father, felt clear for the first time in months.
When he glanced around the kitchen, the dark fog of memories had lifted.
And he knew who was responsible.
He turned to Fliss. “You sold my house.”
She stepped closer and put her hand on his arm. “Are you upset? You weren’t even sure you wanted to sell it.”
“Neither was I, but I am now. All those things you said to Todd made sense to me. I thought the memories were part of the house, and listening to you made me realize they’re part of me. And although I’ve lost him, I haven’t lost the memories or the legacy. I’ll always have that. Thank you for making me see it.” He felt her wrap her arms around him.
He wondered why other people didn’t immediately see her warmth and generosity.
He’d seen those eyes blaze with fierce determination when she’d stepped in front of her sister to defend her. He’d seen her step in front of her brother, too, no matter how big her opponent. But until today she’d never stepped in front of him.
“You were amazing. Bold, fearless, honest and right.” He turned to her, wondering how much to say. Was it too soon? “Do you know the best part about this?”
“That despite extreme provocation, I’m not up on a murder charge?”
He smiled. “The best part is that you did it for me.”
“You said you wanted to sell it. You need to sell it. I understand that, so I was trying to do everything I could to make it happen.”
“You defended me. Fought for me. You stepped in front.” He stroked his fingers across the line of her jaw. “You do that with people you care about. I’ve seen you do it with Daniel and with Harriet.”
There was a long silence, disturbed only by the call of a seagull and the rush of the ocean.
“I care about you.” She spoke softly. “I’ve always cared about you.”
There was so much he wanted to say, but he knew he had to take it slowly. “I always cared about you, too. Right from that first day when I saw you watching over Harriet on the beach. There was a girl teasing her about her stammer.”
“That happened a lot. And the teasing made poor Harriet worse. I don’t have much patience with bullies.”
“Or men who are addicted to their mobile phones, it seems.”
“Todd was a dumbass. I wanted to take his damn phone and shove it up his—”
“I think I can imagine where you wanted to shove it.” He tugged her against him. “Let’s go back to my place. I can pay your commission with dinner.”
“What if Todd doesn’t buy it?”
“Then you owe me. And I’ll be calling in the debt.”
She peeped at him from under her lashes. “I can think of a different way for you to pay me.”
“Felicity Knight, are you making an indecent suggestion?”
“Maybe. I’m trouble, didn’t you know?”
“I might have heard that about you. Why do you think I’m here?” He slid his hand behind her neck and lowered his head.
Their mouths collided, and he groaned and sank his fingers into her hair. It spilled over his hands, and he stroked his thumbs over the smooth lines of her jaw. He wanted to explore every delicate inch of her. He wanted to unpeel her shorts and that provocative tank top and discover all the things that had changed since the last time he’d touched her.
He felt her hands on his shirt, tugging, and then felt her palms slide up his spine.
Heat shot through him. He tasted the excitement on her lips and felt her press against him.
Another minute of this and they’d both be naked.
He eased away, wondering if he was crazy.
She was obviously wondering the same thing because she steadied herself and looked at him dizzily. “You’re stopping?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” She slowly withdrew her hands, tugging his shirt down and taking a step back. “You’re still worried that my brain will stop working once we’re naked?”
“It’s a factor.” Although it was his brain he was worried about.
“You have too much willpower, Seth Carlyle. How did I ever manage to corrupt you the first time?”
“I wasn’t doing much thinking back then.” But he was doing plenty of thinking now.
He wanted her, right there and then, in this house that held a lifetime of memories, but he knew that was only the start of what he wanted. And he realized that what Vanessa didn’t understand was that he couldn’t fall in love with Fliss again, because he’d never fallen out of love.
He’d given her his heart at the age of twenty-two and he’d never taken it back.