“Wait here,” Michael said when they reached the porch of the B and B. Dropping the bag in a chair, he disappeared inside and returned shortly with Clancy and a paper grocery sack.
The air was still cool, but the sun was out and as bright as Mia’s mood. For the first time in a long time, she felt like things might actually turn out okay. Clancy thought so, too, if his tail wagging at warp speed was any indication.
After passing her the leash, he picked up the other bag and gestured for her to lead down the steps. “So, where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
He turned right at the sidewalk and she fell in step beside him, Clancy bounding along between.
“The last time you had a surprise, it didn’t go over so well.”
“This one will.”
She tried to peek in the bag closest to her, but he moved it to his other hand, grinning.
“How can you be so sure?”
“For the moment, at least, I’m working on blind intuition and impulse, rather than logic and advance planning.”
“Working from your heart, not your head. Like me.” When he came to an abrupt stop, she wished she could pull the words back, but his face gave no indication of his mood. She heaved an internal sigh of relief when his dimples appeared.
“Exactly.”
After another block, he turned left onto the beach footpath. As the walkway transitioned from pavement to sand, he stopped and set the bags down, then unlaced his shoes.
She almost danced in a circle. Stuffy Michael Anderson was going to walk barefooted in the sand. After carefully placing the first in one of the bags, he removed his other shoe and sock and put them in, too. Then he rolled up the cuffs of his pants. Not wanting to discourage him, she unzipped her boots, rolled off her socks and stuffed them inside the boots quickly.
“We’re going to walk on the beach!” she all but squealed. “I love the beach.”
“I know.”
When they reached a spot halfway to the waterline, he stopped and looked around, seemingly satisfied. Then, he pulled out what appeared to be the blanket from on the bed at the hotel, unfolded it, and spread it out on the soft, white sand. Clancy wasted no time tamping around in a circle to stake out his spot in the center of the blanket.
And then the full impact of what was happening hit her. He had truly listened and was trying to give her what she had said she wanted. He’d planned a picnic on the beach. For a moment her eyes stung and her vision blurred. No. She was not going to cry. Blinking rapidly, she turned away from him and acted like she was letting the wind blow her hair back.
“I didn’t know how hungry you were or what you preferred, so I ordered a bit of everything.”
When she had it together enough to turn back around, she couldn’t believe it. A dozen or so paper containers were laid out, which made her stomach growl. But the most delicious thing on the blanket was Michael. He’d rolled up his sleeves, and his dark hair was ruffled from the wind and glowing with gold and red highlights in the sun. He looked young and carefree and sexier than anything she’d ever seen—no longer the driven CEO with the weight of the world on his shoulders since childhood.
Were they not on a public beach, there would have been no way she could avoid breaking her own code… But now that she considered it, maybe it wouldn’t be a breach of rules; no sex-first relationships didn’t really apply to him. Since that day in the park, they’d actually become close. And he’d certainly gone beyond the call of duty with this fake fiancé thing. Heck, she could almost believe it herself.
She could sleep with this man and not break her code—only her heart. As she stared into his eyes, sparkling like the sea behind him, she realized it would be worth it. Every ounce of pleasure and pain.
…
Fascinated, Michael watched as Mia took another sip from her water bottle. She’d sampled everything he’d brought and was windblown, relaxed, and sexy beyond endurance.
“How did the girls’ outing go?” he asked, more to take his mind off her lips on the bottle than any interest in her answer.
“As expected. I was interrogated from the moment we left the hotel.” She twisted the top onto the bottle. “I like Kelli. I’d expected to hate her.”
Because she had Jason. A twinge of jealousy flared, but he pushed it back before it registered on his face. “Do you still have feelings for Jason, Mia?” He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but needed to hear it from her.
“No!” Her response was immediate and heartfelt. “I never really did. He was just the first guy in a long time who stuck around…or who I stuck around.”
A gull squawked and dove for something at the shore. “He still has feelings for you.”
She crushed her napkin and shoved it into one of the empty containers. “Jason cares for Jason. I feel sorry for Kelli. She’s onto him, though.”