Changing Tides (Kill Devil Hills Book 2) (7 page)

A shiver ran through my body. Needing to separate myself from him, I pulled away from his lips and nudged his body further from mine. “You can’t just kiss people into submission,” I informed him.

“Is that what you’re doing then? Submitting to me?”

He wasn’t cocky and annoying as he asked this. He genuinely wanted to know. His eyes were soft and curious, waiting on my answer.

“Yeah,” I breathed out, fresh out of wise-ass remarks.

He smiled. “Good girl. That’s what I needed to hear.”

Good girl?
I should have ripped him a new one for that comment, but my lips would not form the words. I simply stared up at him. Everything about his looks suggested one thing…hard. Hard upbringing, hard life, hard heart. And yet, he lived in freaking Malibu, California. There was nothing hard about that. And there was nothing hard about the way he looked down at me. All I felt was softness. I placed my hand on his chest for a brief moment, right over his heart. I’m not sure what possessed me to do this—curiosity maybe.

Under the press of my hand, I could feel the racing, wild beat of his heart. Acting or no acting, you couldn’t fake that. He wasn’t toying with me. He seemed to have genuine feelings for me. Of all people…
me
. Why? That was the mystery of the century. I didn’t need another complication screwing with my life at the moment, but I really wanted to explore whatever connection I felt with him. In a few days’ time I’d be on my way back to North Carolina and back to reality. Why not have a little fun while I was here? Wasn’t that what vacations were for?

“C’mon, let’s go find my friends.” I started to walk away and much to my enjoyment, he followed without question. “And when you want to pull out all your hair because of the drama, or because Noah and Georgie are so sickeningly in love, or simply because my friend Rhett is the most annoying person on the planet—just remember you asked for all this,” I warned him.

“Don’t worry,” he answered. “I can hold my own.”

“Well then, wipe that dumbass smile off your lips,” I joked as we walked through a set of double doors that led into the hotel lobby, laughing because I kind of loved his dumbass smile. “You can’t meet all my friends looking like you just found your dick for the first time and got lucky in the parking lot.”

Picking up speed, Nathanial caught my stride and slapped my ass. He literally slapped my ass and his face turned dead serious. “Honey,” he whispered, the warmth of his deep voice ticking my ear. “Your lips are red and swollen from where we just made out like horny teenagers. If anything, it looks more like you just blew me in the parking lot.”

I sucked in a breath at his crude words. My fingers automatically moved to my lips. Jesus, they
were
a little tender. I was too embarrassed to be mad at him. “Oh shit, you’re right.” I stopped walking. Dammit too, I could see my whole group of friends waiting on us just across the lobby. “They’ll know.”

“I’m just fucking with you, Ellie,” he said, his voice losing its cocky edge. “Nobody will know anything. This is our secret. So, come on, introduce me to your friends.”

I stared into his eyes. Whether he was fucking with me or not, I knew one thing for certain. He wasn’t about to out me to my friends. For some random reason, whether I wanted it or not, this stranger totally had my back. He was oozing with loyalty and he was giving it to me.

“Follow me,” I whispered, struck quiet for possibly the first time in my life.

We approached the others.

Everyone minus Georgina sat in a cluster of mahogany sofas. They were dressed in their Disneyland finest, looking excited and eager to get going. Noah stood next to the group with his hands shoved in his pockets. He still wore his pajamas. Our eyes locked on each other. He shifted back and forth on his feet like he was ready to bolt upstairs at any given second. I guess he hadn’t mentioned to everyone else that today’s plans were totally shot.

Where’s Georgie
?
I mouthed to him.

He never had the chance to answer my silent question. Because Rhett hopped to his feet, ripped off his dorky American flag aviators that screame
d
I’m a tourist
,
and barked, “Holy Mickey Mouse, it’s Nate West in the flesh. Again.”

CHAPTER 8:

NATHANIAL

I
ntroductions were made. Ellie was quick to tell me the names of her three waiting friends. And now—Luce, Sydney, and Rhett—were all staring at me like I was the first celebrity they’d ever come in contact with. And thanks to Rhett announcing my name to the
whole fucking lobby,
their eyes weren’t the only eyes eating me alive. About ten other random people were also staring in my direction. I could practically read their minds and feel them inching closer. It was like a scene straight out of an episode of the Walking Dead. In about three seconds, a half dozen of them were going to start surrounding me and eating my brain…I mean, demanding photos. It’s what everyone always wanted—a photo with a celebrity.

“Nothing to see,” Ellie yelled to the lobby, somehow sensing how uncomfortable I’d become. “He’s not the real Nate West. Just his stunt double. We get this sort of confusion all the time. I can’t take him anywhere. Carry on. Sorry to disappoint.”

It worked. Whether people believed Ellie or not, not a single person dared approach me after she made her announcement. I let out a breath of air I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding and sat down in one of the mahogany chairs. “Thanks,” I told her and genuinely meant it. It didn’t matter how many years ticked by, the fame and attention of being an actor was probably something I’d never fully get used to.

She gave me a small smile and asked the others, “Where’s Georgie?”

“Spending all morning doing her hair,” Rhett said, plopping back down on the loveseat he’d previously been occupying. “That girl is the most low-maintenance/high-maintenance girl I’ve ever met. It’s like she can’t decide which she is from day to day. And today she chose high-maintenance.”

“I’m going upstairs,” Noah announced. “I think I might be high-maintenance today too.”

Ellie’s face paled at his words. “What? Now? I’m coming with.” She started to move in his direction.

“No,” Noah told her firmly. “You wanted me to know your secret. Now I know. And now I want to tell her myself. Sorry Ellie, but this is something I think I should do alone. If I need your help, in any way, I’ll call.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry about Disney, guys. I’m afraid we probably won’t be going today like planned.” And with those parting words he left the group.

Ellie fell into an arm chair adjacent to the one I had already claimed. Her eyes met mine briefly and I could tell she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Seeing her upset twisted at my insides and I had to wonder…why was everyone so insanely afraid to tell her sister that Ben was still alive? What was the worst that could happen?

“So the cat’s out of the bag then?” Rhett asked Ellie.

Ellie nodded.

“By the way, I told Sydney like a month ago that Ben was alive. So yeah…” Rhett attempted an apologetic smile, but he didn’t seem all that apologetic. “She knows.”

“I know,” Sydney confirmed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rhett kept talking, but I didn’t miss the sideways glance he shot Sydney
.
Were they a couple
?
“And then I told Luce everything this morning so she’d be ready for the bomb to drop. Sorry, I suck at keeping secrets. If you want to beat my ass, I’ll let you have few free shots.”

“So everyone knows? Fantastic,” Ellie muttered sarcastically. “And I’ll take a rain check on beating your ass.”

“Cool.” Rhett’s focus shifted. “What I want to know is why Nate West has suddenly joined the party. Because I have a hunch that this is typical ‘Ellie’ behavior. Less than twenty-four hours in LA and she’s already befriended a celebrity. This is crazier than the time she made friends with Homeless Man Todd. So how did she rope you in, man?”

All eyes moved to me. “Homeless Man Todd?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Rhett answered. “He’s this local that randomly sleeps out on the beach by the bar where I work. Has been doing this on occasion for years. Turns out he’s not homeless or a drunk like we all thought, just a man who likes to sleep in the sand sometimes. It’s the oddest thing. Anyway, Ellie made nice with him one night, stayed out there with him until the sun came up. Which meant Noah and I had to hang around too to make sure he wasn’t some serial killer about to chop her up. Turns out he’s just a man who misses his wife and the beach reminds him of her. So I gotta give Ellie her credit, when she wants she can make nice with just about anyone.”

I smiled. Somehow that sounded exactly like the Ellie I knew.

“Ellie and I met on the plane yesterday,” I explained. “And then Ben…well, I suppose he’s my neighbor. He’s living with Carrie Stone—she’s the wife of the late Joey Stone, a director. She lives two houses down the beach from me in Malibu. Coincidently enough, Ellie and I met again this morning. Small world, I guess.”

“So you know Ben?” Sydney asked, breathing deeply. “How is he? Is he good?”

Sydney was a pretty girl. Long blonde hair. Big naive green eyes. A moment ago I’d thought she might be Rhett’s girl, but as she said Ben’s name her voice cracked and there was a desperation behind her questions. She had a history with Ellie’s brother. It was obvious to me. And, apparently, upsetting to Rhett. Because before I could even answer her questions, Rhett stood up and left the group. He disappeared in a second flat, stalking off, clearly annoyed.

“I can’t even ask one fucking question about Ben without pissing him off,” Sydney snapped. Jeez, a second ago I’d thought she seemed like the sweet, innocent type. But as she said several choice curse words under her breath, I realized that I’d pegged her all wrong. She stood to her feet, huffed like a sassy woman double her size, and then stomped after Rhett.

Luce stood up next. “It was nice meeting you, Nate,” she said to me, politely shaking my hand once more. Then she turned her attention to Ellie. “And I’m so happy your brother is alive. Really, I am. But I’m going to call my uncle. He lives close by. I think I’ll spend the day with him since we all won’t be going to Disney after all. That’ll be better for me today.”

“I understand,” Ellie told her. “No big deal. Give me a call later.”

Luce bent over and gave Ellie a quick hug. Then she too disappeared.

Once we were alone, I couldn’t resist and joked, “I changed my mind. I decided your friends are all insane. Completely bat shit crazy.”

Ellie reached across the coffee table that separated us and smacked my chest. Hard too. She was surprisingly strong. “Shut the hell up,” she said. And then much to my enjoyment, she sat back down and started cracking up. She laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

I joined in. I couldn’t really help myself—she had a really great laugh. It was contagious. And it didn’t hurt that I found her insanely beautiful on top of everything. “What are we laughing at?” I asked between breaths.

“You. Life. The irony of things. I don’t even know.”

Once her fit of giggles died down, I made a move. Not hesitating in the least, I sat up straighter and reached cross the table to take her hand in mine. She interlocked her fingers with mine for a brief moment before her cheeks turned pink and she pulled away. The one truth I would never dare admit to another soul…was that when Kelly and I broke up, when I found her in bed with another man, it broke me. My heart had been ripped from my chest, thrown to the floor, and shattered into a million tiny pieces. I’d thought I loved Kelly. I’d even bought an engagement ring a few days prior, despite all logical odds against us given our professions, thinking we might be ready for that next step. Instead Kelly had proven me incredibly wrong.

In the weeks after our breakup, I’d had a binge period. I’d slept with more women than a normally monogamous guy like myself was comfortable with. Not one of those other women had made the pain go away or had brought any light to the situation. So I’d made a choice to harden my heart and had thrown myself into my acting instead. And somewhere during that time I’d spent essentially mucking through shit, I’d grown numb.

Ellie made me feel again. She gave me hope where it had previously been lost.

And that scared the piss out of me.

* * *

NOAH

T
he elevator was too damn slow. Repeatedly I pressed the button for floor five. Logically I knew this wouldn’t get me there any faster, but it was something I had to do to keep from going fucking insane. Hell, I was already going fucking insane. And the slowest elevator on the planet wasn’t helping my fragile mental state.

Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I jogged across carpeted floor, down a long narrow hallway. My mind was spinning—finding out Ben Turner was still alive had been more than a surprise. It had opened old wounds.

Using my key-card, I unlocked the door to our room. Everything was quiet and calm on the other side. The smell of Georgie’s shampoo filled my nose, and my head, as I rushed into the room.

Georgie sat on her knees in front of a floor-length mirror. She had her makeup bag opened and was carefully applying color to her eyes. She turned to look at me as I came into the room. A smile came to her pink lips. “Hey, babe.”

God, she was beautiful
.
Most days she wouldn’t fuss much over her makeup, but for special occasions she could easily spend two hours in front of the mirror getting ready. Which was completely useless. She was so fucking gorgeous no matter what she did. The extra effort didn’t matter. She looked perfect to me either way.

But makeup or no makeup, I’d never found her more beautiful than this moment. After the shitty morning I’d been having, seeing her perfectly fine and sitting there content was a relief—like sunshine breaking through clouds on a rainy day. She was my everything. And in the months since we’d started dating, she’d quickly become my reason for living.

I dropped to my knees beside her.

“Noah,” she whispered. Whatever had been in her hand dropped to the floor and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She had this sixth sense when it came to me; she always knew when something wasn’t right. “What happened? Where did Ellie take you?”

Selfishly, I rested my head against her shoulder and breathed in the sweet scent of her. She held me tighter, digging her fingers into my skin. I shouldn’t be the one seeking comfort from her. Not in this moment. Not when I had the motherload of all secrets to drop on her. But I couldn’t help myself. I needed this…if only for a second.

As quickly as I lost my composure, I regained it. I loosened my arms from her body and inched back so that I could speak with her. “I’ve had an interesting morning...to say the least. Come.” Taking her hand in mine, I pulled her to her feet. Then I led her to the unmade bed we’d shared last night.

Back at college, Georgie and I were essentially living together. She had a dorm room on campus and I had an apartment off campus. And it didn’t matter how busy our schedules were or whether we were at my place or hers, one way or another we always stayed the night together. Usually at my place so we could have our privacy. I was used to getting that privacy with her. That meant last night had been the first night in a long time that I hadn’t had total privacy with her and hadn’t been buried deep inside my girl. I thought sharing a room, something we’d agreed upon with Ellie and Sydney to save a little bit of money before coming out to California, wouldn’t be that big of deal. Holding her was all I really needed at night anyway. But as I brought her to the bed and moved under the covers with her, I wished with all my might that I could be making love to her right now rather than telling her what I had to tell her. Because this was about to completely shake her world off its axis.

My mind spun around two words: wild card. I loved how unique Georgie was. I loved how unpredictable she could be. And I especially loved how the wildness in her brought something out in me. It brought me to life. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I still had my fears. Most had subsided in the months since we’d started dating, but they were resurfacing now. And I wanted to strangle her brother for it too. He was a selfish asshole for the things he’d put her family through.

Under the covers, her legs tangled with mine and her hands settled against my chest. I drew her in close to me. There was something about snuggling with Georgie—something safe about it. Cupping the sides of her face, I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Something happened today,” I told her. “Well, technically somethin
g
didn’
t
happen nine months ago.”

“What do you mea
n
nine month
s
?” she questioned. “Ben died nine months ago. Are you talking about Ben?”

“Yes,” I breathed. “I am.” I took a moment to gather my thoughts and then didn’t delay what needed to be said. “Ben didn’t die nine months ago. Ellie took me all the way out to Malibu this morning. She took me to see him. Ben’s still very alive.”

“What?” she gasped. “How?” She moved out of my embrace to lay flat on her back. Her chest rose and fell as she stared at the ceiling. “I…I don’t understand.”

My stomach knotted into a tight ball. Then as calmly as I could, I told her the few details Ellie had shared with me less than an hour earlier. I wasn’t good at keeping secrets from Georgie. In fact, I sucked at it and never hesitated to pour my heart out to this girl. With most others, I preferred staying in the shallow end. Georgina was my deep end. So I held nothing back and she never questioned the sincerity behind my words as I spoke. For a brief moment I feared she might not believe me and might assume I was telling her this as some sort of warped joke, but it seemed no such thought even crossed her mind as she listened. She remained quiet, emotionless even, as I spoke. Then she continued to remain quiet after I’d finished.