Familiar guilt settled around her as she ended the call. Not guilt over her sister staying with her, but the feeling that she was hiding part of herself from her own family. She wished she could talk about the show, and Blue, and that her parents would be supportive and understanding. Maybe even thankful that she was helping Maddy financially and thankful that she’d done such a miraculous job of helping herself. But knowing what their reaction would be, that wasn’t an option, which was why she hadn’t even told Maddy or Sky. She couldn’t take the chance of her parents finding out about the Naked Baker. She couldn’t take the chance of losing them.
A knock at the door startled her back to the moment, and a new type of guilt found her. She glanced at a photograph of her and Madison, both sticking their tongues out at the camera, and she reminded herself that these lies of omission were just her way of doing what she had to do to help her sister. Her flower shop earned her a good living, but the desolate Cape winters meant stretching every penny, and she didn’t earn nearly enough to pay for four years of college for Madison. She’d never dipped into the Naked Baker income for herself or her flower shop, but if she were honest with herself, even knowing it was an option helped her through the rough winters.
She pulled open the door and found Blue casually leaning one arm on the doorframe, holding the picture they’d painted together in the other. Her breath caught in her throat, but it was her heart, once again, that pulled her under. It wasn’t just the way his inky hair magnified the rugged edges of his cheeks and jaw, or his athletic physique that she’d slept beside, touched, and practically memorized. She knew her heart wasn’t skipping to a new beat because of Blue’s innately captivating presence. What she felt went too deep for just good looks. It was the depths of emotion in his eyes that had her stepping forward, going up on her toes, and kissing him like he was hers. And when he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, holding her as close as two people could be, and kissed her possessively, she knew she’d crossed an invisible line. She was already his.
“That was the longest hour of my life.” He kissed her again. “Let’s not do that again.”
She laughed. “How will we go to work?”
“Work is highly overrated.” He squeezed her to him. “This is where we should always be. Right like this.”
He captured her mouth again in a slow, sensuous kiss, leaving her powerless to resist his charms—and unwilling to even try.
***
AFTER HANGING THE picture they’d painted between her kitchen and living room, so she could see it from either area, they drove out to Yarmouth, stopping for muffins and coffee along the way. Blue wished Lizzie had accepted a date with him a year ago. Despite her claims that her life was too complicated for them to date, she was warm and openly affectionate, holding his hand and kissing him without his prompting. He could only assume she’d somehow waylaid those worries in the hour they’d spent apart.
She was acting different, even more relaxed than last night and when they were making out this morning. More present and less hesitant. Not only was she not afraid to join him in singing off-key like a goof on the way into Yarmouth, but she tortured him—in the very sweetest way—with the silliest knock-knock jokes known to man. He loved seeing that uninhibited side of her almost as much as he loved seeing the unguarded sexual side of her.
They spent the morning perusing arts-and-crafts booths at the annual Seaside Festival. The grounds were lined with large blue vendor tents, selling everything from handmade furniture to used books and children’s toys. Lizzie gravitated toward the more crafty exhibits, like homemade quilts and pottery, which didn’t surprise him, given her creativity with flowers and plants.
Children ran around the lawn, and a clown entertained a group outside the largest tent. Lizzie pulled Blue over to watch.
“When I was little I was afraid of clowns,” she confided as the clown made balloon animals for the children.
“Because of the whole strange man dressed up in a costume and playing with little kids thing?”
She laughed, and he tugged her in closer for a kiss.
“That scares me, too. But I’ll protect you.”
“I bet you will,” she said with another sweet laugh.
After watching the clown, they meandered through a few more booths, then wandered over to listen to the band playing by the beach. Lizzie pulled Blue into the center of a crowd of people who were dancing.
“I suck at dancing,” he said, holding her close and hoping she’d stick with a slow dance.
“You couldn’t suck at anything. Just let yourself go.” She pushed away and swayed her sexy little hips, awakening his entire body. “Come on, move with me.” She stepped in closer and placed her hands on his hips. Pressing her body against him, she guided him to the beat, instantly arousing him. “See? You can dance. You just needed the right motivation.”
He clenched his jaw against his mounting desire. She was so damn sexy, with those dimples beckoning to be kissed as she smiled up at him, oblivious to what she was doing to him.
“Only with you, Lizzie.”
Her fingers trailed over his chest, making it impossible to take his mind off of her seductive dancing. And when she lifted her hands over her head and swayed, her breasts brushing against his chest while she moved against his erection, it was all he could do to keep from taking her right there.