Chapter Thirteen
Who the hell puts sunbathing at a nude beach on their must-do list? Especially the day after making the biggest mistake of her life?
Fully clothed, London pretended to study the blue waters of the beach instead of the muscled striations of Mateu’s back as he spread a large blanket out in the sand. Remorse weighed heavily upon her shoulders, and she tried to shake it loose. Why the hell had she given in to her silly brain and slept with Mateu? There was so much deceit between the two of them it made her head spin. At this rate, her vacation was becoming almost more stressful than her homelife. So much for keeping a sound mind and her distance.
She had to tell him the truth. But, no matter how brave she was, she couldn’t do it naked. She slapped her palm to her forehead.
“What was that for?” Mateu laughed. If anyone had ever accused her of being googly-eyed, she’d have punched them in the face, but every time that man looked her way, spoke her name, or touched her in the most casual manner, her body silently screamed, take me!
Traitor.
Peeking out from under her hand, she focused on the amused expression on his face, trying like hell to keep her eyes in place. She shouldn’t have slept with him—most certainly could not do it again—but there he stood tall and beautiful and very, very naked.
“I forgot to tell you thank you. For the painting,” she said. “It’s one of my favorites. How did you know?”
“How do you say in English…absolute sheer luck. I’d like to say karma must be on my side, but in this case I think it’s on yours.”
She laughed at the absurdity in his statement, then coughed into her hand. “Not so much.”
With a tilt of his head, he asked. “Why would you say that?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but then he raked his fingers through his hair, flexing his biceps into a large round ball of mouthwatering goodness, and every thought flew from her brain. His skin was taut and smooth and tanned from the Spanish sun. He may be a businessman, but years of working in the orchards had carved such beauty that the greatest sculptures in the world would be green with envy. Shit, and everyone gave teenage boys a hard time for not being able to handle their hormones. Try being an early-thirties woman in front of a man built like one of the world’s most highly regarded masterpieces. Put it back in your pants, lady.
She dropped her arm and straightened her spine with a dismissive shake of her head.
Gesturing to her sundress, he said, “You did want to come to the beach. The nude…beach. Even over a generous offering of a day of pampering and relaxation back at the hotel.”
Easy for him to say, and as far as the spa went, she’d been a few times, at all hours—and wouldn’t he love to know she’d been impressed. She didn’t miss the irritation in his eyes, and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Every time she got him off the property was a little victory.
Trying to find the nerve to drop her dress, she tapped her chin. “Yes, but the reality of it is much, much grander than the fantasy.” It was one thing for him to see her naked in the soft light of the evening and on her back where gravity was her friend. But under the harsh light of the noontime sun where nothing could hide, not even her pride?
“Kind of like sex with a Catalan? That should definitely have been on your agenda. You could have checked off another item.” He threw her a playful wink but then rubbed the back of his neck as if in regret.
Sonofabitch, if he told her he regretted them having sex, she would die of embarrassment. It was one thing for her to question her own sanity. It was another for him to regret it after seeing her in the light of day. She didn’t think she could handle that kind of rejection at such an early hour.
She rolled her eyes because he wasn’t wrong in his assessment. Making love to him had been a huge mistake. But worse, now that they had, she didn’t know how she’d live without doing it again.
Well, hell. If she had to do difficult things, she might as well start now. Hooking one finger under the strap of her wrap dress, she pulled it from her shoulders.
Mateu’s eyes darkened. “On second thought.”
The fact that he wasn’t as calm and collected as he looked emboldened her. She could do this if he was going to struggle, too. Maybe not for the same reasons she did, because she doubted he worried about how his ass measured up to the natives’ or if her boobs would pass the perk test.
No, his discomfort was the kind that put a little swing in her step and swag in her hips. Well, here goes her tried and true trick of getting through life. Fake it till you make it.
With a deep breath, she let her dress drop. The sun warmed her skin in a way that was so delicious she had to refrain from stretching into it like a cat. She’d read the twenty-six worst things you could do at a nude beach, and stretching or bending over in a way that exposed the netherworlds was a huge no-no.
Gazing up and down the length of the beach, this time the beauty of it stunned her. The deep azure of the water made a brilliant contrast to the sparkling foam crashing ashore; the rough-grained sand under her toes was warm from the sun until you dug in, then it was cool. To the north lay a cluster of green velvet-covered hills tumbling out into the sea, and to the south, more water and sand until it disappeared into the soft blur of the horizon. She could stay here forever and not miss a thing back in the States.
She frowned. Except her mother.
“Get over here.”
She turned her head to find Mateu resting back on his elbows on their large blanket, his muscular legs stretched long before him and crossed at the ankles. The look in his eyes promised all sorts of magic if they were behind closed doors, and that part of him she had become so thrilled with yesterday lay long and thick against his thigh.
“Quit looking at me like that or I’m going to lose the battle I’m waging.”
She grinned. “A battle?” Her eyes flicked over him once more.
“London.” He growled.
She lowered next to him, careful not to flash a passerby, then scooted close. “Please, you’ve been with dozens of stunning women from all over the world, I’m sure. Don’t act like you can’t handle being around me.”
He studied her intently for a moment as if struggling with a thought. Finally, he answered. “Not one of them made me feel like you do.”
Damn it. There was that look again, that tone. Her heart believed him, but her brain told her she was being fucking ridiculous.
Was there even the slightest chance maybe this was real for him, too? A sadness filled her chest at the answer.
She just needed to get him to confess that he was scamming her. At least then they could discuss if what she felt was baseless or reality. Right now she had no clue.
Resting back, she closed her eyes and focused on the heat of the sun on parts of her body she’d never felt it before. It was delicious. So much so, she promised herself this would not be the last nude beach she sunbathed at. She hadn’t had a headache since she’d settled in, even with her midnight excursions to review the hotel in private—and that was never the case. If only she could figure out how to maintain this calm, to keep her panic and stress to a low hum instead of a raging blare.
Thank God her mom was okay. She had a chance to catch up with her somewhere between her two a.m. entrees and hotel specialty aromatherapy rub. Margo was staying with Alanna for a day or two, and Susan was checking in. That alone allowed a bit of weight to fall from her shoulders. A bit. Unfortunately, she still had their ongoing medical bills to figure out. She’d been tallying her savings all along, and as long as she finished the job here, she had her mother’s care covered for at least three months, pending no more hospital stays. That would give her time to find a second job. Though that meant more time away from her mother, and the guilt of that was a whole other story.
Bottom line, she would do anything to make sure her mother had the best care. She just had to make sure she, herself, didn’t end up in the hospital doing it. There was no helping her mom from the shackles of sterile sheets and an IV line.
She breathed in the salty air. “This is extraordinary. I had no idea.”
“Quite decadent, no? I remember the first time I came as a child. The sun warmed me. No one cared about anything except relaxing and letting all the stresses of life fall to the wayside.”
She supported her head on her hand, facing him. “In the States, people practically turn themselves into pretzels while changing in the locker room to hide their bodies.”
A seagull flew overhead, and his gaze followed it. “Here sex is sexual, not the body by default. More a certain look, a caress, the tone of your voice. But in America the word has a dirty connotation. I never understood it, but I’m not from there.”
“My mother was very open with me growing up, but even for me, dropping my dress in public was an exercise in determination and self-acceptance.”
He raised a brow at her. “Which is where we have a bit of a problem.” Lowering his hand to her hip, he stopped just before touching her, then drew it back. “Because your body is very sexual to me. I’m finding it very difficult to separate the two in your case.”
She shook her finger. “It is a known rule there are to be no public displays of affection at a nude beach.”
He sat up, his lips in a thin line and his jaw set. She couldn’t help comparing the heat from his gaze to that from the sun and finding the celestial body quite lacking. How would it feel to wake up to that look every morning?
She’d never know, and the sad fact pulled at the corners of her mouth.
She stood, then reached out her hand. “Come. I want to find shells to remember this day by.”
Enveloping her hand with his own, he joined her. “Tourists collecting shells from beaches is harming the beach ecosystem. Why don’t I buy you…”
“Buy me?” She looked at him with as innocent a gaze as she was capable of when her heart squeezed in anticipation of his answer.
He stiffened next to her for the briefest second, but to his credit, he resumed an easy gate. Stepping in front of her, he laced his fingers in hers and walked backward. “Buying you? With expensive vermouth tastings and gourmet cooking classes?” He laughed with a shake of his head. “I’d say if that was my plan, it’s been very successful. And you certainly haven’t minded in the least. Have you?”
There was a challenge in his eyes, and it left her feeling a bit jumpy. “Maybe it was my plan.”
“Your plan to seduce me into having sex with you by making me wine and dine you?” He raised a disbelieving brow. “I think that’s the least likely scenario, though regardless I’m happy with the outcome.” He dropped one hand and pivoted to walk next to her, but his tone was tight and his teasing forced.
“So, you never did tell me. How did you see that little snip setting me up at the train station?” she asked.
Picking up a spiral shell at his feet, he chuckled. “You are full of questions today.”
“I’m just trying to remember every moment. This has been the best vacation I’ve ever had. One I needed to take before my body gave out on me. I don’t want to forget anything, so understanding it all helps make it stick.” It was hands down the best vacation—not to mention the only real one—she’d ever had. So if she was ever going to go big, this was it.
He still hadn’t answered her question. She scanned the sand, looking for a conch shell as she went, trying to hide her disappointment. She wouldn’t collect a bunch of shells if the environment really was in danger—unless she came across a conch shell; then all bets were off. How else was she to hear the ocean once she was back home in Chicago?
Mateu handed the spiral shell to her. “Total coincidence. I’d just come in myself for business, like I told you.”
“So you did.”
A beachgoer walking a ways in front of them broke the number one nude beach rule to pick up something from the sand. Never bend over with a wide stance.
London abandoned her line of questioning and slapped her hands over her eyes. “Oh my God.” She tried to keep her squeal to a whisper.
Mateu spun her around, laughter bright in his eyes. “Not what you were expecting?”
She giggled. “This view is much better.”
His gaze heated. “How much more naked sunbathing do you need before I can take you back to your room?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he looked like he regretted them. As if fighting a battle only he could see.
She sobered quickly. “We can’t let that happen again.”
He stepped in to her and whispered in frustration. “The way you were looking at me, I’d bet my next month’s salary that certain areas of your body are primed…for me specifically.” But then he lightly shook his head with the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Naked old man notwithstanding.”
“Oh!” She slapped her hands over her eyes again with a groan. “You’ve cured me from ever wanting sex again.”
“I feel like that’s a challenge.” He grabbed her hand, then pulled her back toward their blanket.
Only to find sand instead of their clothing.
“Fill de puta!” Mateu ground out.
“What?” She looked around, trying to remember where they had been lying.
“Damn dippers took our clothes.”
“What?!” Every nightmare she had about showing up at school naked slammed into her brain at once. She could not be stranded in public with no clothes. What the hell was wrong with people?
All the openness her mom had taught her flew out the window in light of not having anything to cover herself up with. “Oh my God. How are we going to get back?”
Mateu looked around then barked a few words in Catalan to a couple sunbathing nearby. They merely shrugged and shook their heads no.
“Okay.” He looked up and down the beach. “My driver should be in the parking lot. I’ll go wave him down, then bring his jacket back for you.”
She stared at him. He would do that for her? Maybe she was seeing the real Mateu. Maybe…
Reality provided a quick slap to her face. No, it all made sense. Saving the day, being a hero, could very well be part of his plan.
Besides, she didn’t need rescuing.
She shook her head. “No, if you’re going, I’m going.”
His eyes shot wide. “No way. I will not have you gawked at.” The sincerity in his voice had her bouncing back and forth.
“I’m going with you.” The idea that just maybe he was being sincere, and the fact he’d go alone and save her the humiliation, meant a lot to her. Maybe he was playing her when it came to her work, but maybe, just maybe, he did feel something for her?
She joined him in scanning the beach for possible solutions. “What about that beach umbrella over there? You could offer them your watch.” She asked with a sheepish shrug.
With a look of mourning, he slipped his watch from his wrist. “I love this watch. It was my gift to myself when I landed my promotion at…” He shook his head. “It might work.”
Guilt crept its way up the back of her neck. “Maybe we could just ask them for their towels? They shouldn’t need your watch for that.”
“Well, we won’t know unless we ask.” He pulled in a breath. “It’s amazing how naked you feel when you have to go tell someone you have no clothes.”
A hysterical laugh bubbled out of her throat. “Isn’t it? Come on. Let’s get out of here.” She hooked her arm through his.
The couple he’d spoken to earlier was very kind and let them have one towel.
They discussed ways to use it and in the end settled on wrapping it about both of their waists. Mateu held it closed as well as he could while she covered her breasts with her hands. They made their way to the parking lot with an awkward gait and no shortage of laughter.
“This is the most ridiculous predicament I’ve ever been in,” she said with a grin.
He grunted. “I’ve been in and caused much worse.”
She peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. Could he be talking about the predicament with her?
That was wishful thinking. The only way that would be considered a predicament was if he actually had feelings for her.