“So, you grew up in a conservative home?” he asked to break the ice, loving the fact that she hadn’t tried to shake off his touch yet.
“You could say that. How about you? I’ve met a few of your brothers, and they don’t seem very conservative, but…” She obviously didn’t want to talk about her childhood. Lizzie looked down at the waves crashing along the shore, and the moonlight caught her profile, highlighting her slightly upturned nose, her high cheekbones, and her incredibly distracting, kissable lips.
Blue took a moment to regain his focus before answering. “My father had strong beliefs about family loyalty and work ethics. He drove home the idea of what a man should be with each of us, and I think he forgot that my sister, Trish, was a girl, because he expected the same tough standards from her as the rest of us. That’s probably how she’s gotten so far in her acting career—on sheer will and wanting to be better than everyone else.”
“I knew she was an actress, but when you say better than everyone else, do you mean stuck-up?”
Blue laughed. “No. My sister is anything but stuck-up. She’s competitive as hell. Even growing up she tried to keep up with me and our four brothers, and we’re a tough group. We were always roughhousing and racing around.”
“It sounds like you had a lot of fun with your siblings. What do your parents do?” Lizzie stopped walking and gazed out over the water.
“My father is one of the founders of East Coast Search and Rescue.” Blue had always been proud of his father and of the way he’d been raised. “I think it’s safe to say that he has a no-bullshit policy on all things, ranging from taking responsibility to how we treat others. My mother was a little looser with us. She was a stay-at-home mom, and she was always baking and tinkering around with our school projects, building forts out of sheets with us. That kind of thing.”
“That sounds wonderful. My mom isn’t like that at all. She loves us, but she wasn’t a sit-down-on-the-floor-with-your-kids type of mom. I’m going to be, though. I’m going to be the type of mom who bakes and makes forts for sure. I want my kids to smile every time they think of me.”
“Don’t you smile when you think of your mom?” Blue watched her eyes drop to the sand again, and his chest burned. He would do anything to give her a reason to smile. He wanted to fold her in his arms until she smiled again, go back in time and give her the childhood she wished she’d had. But he was thankful that she was here, taking a walk alone with him on the beautiful beach in the moonlight. He didn’t want her to feel pressured for more, so he held back.
He’d been careful not to give any indication of his feelings toward Lizzie to their friends. She’d turned him down enough times that he didn’t want to embarrass her, even though it had been hell fighting his desire to reach out and pull her into his lap, as Sawyer had with Sky. When Lizzie had first turned him down for a date, he’d purposely not told Sky he’d asked her out. What guy likes to admit defeat? The last thing he needed was Sky putting pressure on Lizzie to go out with him. He knew in his heart that if Lizzie ever came around and went out on a real date with him, she’d fall for him on her own, the same way he’d been falling for her all along.
“Sometimes,” Lizzie answered, bringing his mind back to the moment. “But more often I worry about what she’d think of me if she knew who I really was.” As if she caught herself saying something she shouldn’t, she quickly added, “I mean, look how short my shorts are. She would totally think that’s slutty.”
“Slutty has more to do with attitude than clothing, and you’re too beautiful a person inside to ever look slutty.”
She shivered as a breeze swept off the water. The Cape was always cool at night, and the sea breeze made it that much colder. He’d like to have her in his lap now and to drape the blanket over her legs. He should have suggested that she change out of her skimpy shorts before going to the bonfire, but he hadn’t been able to think past his shock of her agreeing to go with him. Blue draped the blanket over her shoulders and placed an arm over her shoulder to hold it in place, hoping the way it hung to the back of her knees would keep her warm. She turned to face him, no longer shivering.