Finding Haven (23 page)

She tugged on his hand, crossing the beach, taking the dunes, ready for him to hear
the song that hit her heart like a crashing wave.

E
VAN KNEW
everything happened for a reason. He ran his fingers through his hair, rinsing the
shampoo down the shower drain. He wanted to be there when she woke up tomorrow, but
after three nights together, he thought it best to spend a night in Silver Belle alone.

The water felt good, but his decision didn’t. He knew he easily had a chance to tell
Haven his name, his identity, but he let it slip by. He closed his eyes, remembering
how she whispered his name in his ear last night. However, it wasn’t his name. It
was someone else’s. It hit him in the chest, and for a minute, he couldn’t breathe,
thinking of how he had betrayed her.

He wondered if he could be that someone else. Could he just change his name to Jay
Grady and pretend Evan Carlson didn’t exist? Dammit. He had screwed up.

It was one thing to flirt with her, but during that storm, he had made her his with
his mouth, his hands, and his words. Crazy as it sounded, he wasn’t about to give
her back until he absolutely had to.

The longer he waited to tell her, the worse it would be when it came out. He couldn’t
help thinking he didn’t have to reveal his name. After the call to Allan this morning,
he knew she would get a chance with her music. As passionate and talented as she was,
she would snatch it up and chase the opportunity all the way to Austin. Nashville
was probably her first choice, but he had some good buddies from his football days
that wound up in Austin—easy strings to pull. She could make her name for herself
with those lyrics.

He turned the knob on the shower and reached for a towel. Hell, she didn’t even go
to the movies; she had never seen one of Emmy’s films and never mentioned any of his.
It wouldn’t mean anything to her at all. He tightened the towel around his waist and
walked a few paces to the mini-fridge. A cold beer might help solve this. He twisted
the lid and tossed it into the sink.

The bubbles slid down his throat. He knew he was just coming up with excuses. He had
to tell her. Because as much as this might be a summer thing—a temporary romance—he
knew something about himself that she couldn’t. He had given her control like he never
had. It was scary and ignited something, like an unquenchable thirst. Once he turned
it over to her, he wanted to get lost in her over again—he couldn’t stop. If that
hurricane had lasted all week, he knew he probably would have drowned trying to satisfy
and please her in all the ways he knew he could.

He thought about what coming clean would mean. Would he drag her into the cesspool
of paparazzi life? Would the press hunt her down and track her every move at the store?
Would Maura and Denton be faced with camera flashes as they went to church and watered
their garden? He pounded his fist against the counter. He couldn’t do that to her.
It would invade and ruin her life, seeping into all of the things that were private
and special. It would ruin them, like all the relationships before: Ivy, Emmy, all
lost to the fishbowl he called his life. No, this one was his. He was going to keep
Haven to himself as long as she would let him.

There was a reason for all this madness. Evan just didn’t know what it was yet. He
reached in the fridge for a second beer when he saw headlights shine through the camper
window.

He thought it might be another day before Charlotte or any of the other neighbors
returned. There was still water on the mainland roads, and the ferry service was backed
up. It was better to wait a few days for things to calm down, but he knew Charlotte
was a tenacious one. She would be desperate to see Pirate’s Booty. Harry and Shug
had reopened the campground, happy they didn’t sustain any damage. Evan was proud
of the work he had done to help them.

The cap twisted off in his hand easily, and he heard the door rattle with heavy banging.

He looked at his towel and debated trying to change before opening the door to Charlotte.
She would get an eyeful.

Hell. He pushed down on the lever and the door swung open.

“Hey.” Haven smiled.

His throat caught and his chest tightened. He pulled her into the camper and twisted
his hands through her hair, crashing his mouth onto hers. The need for her washed
through him as he shifted her around his waist. It was only ten steps back to his
checked bed. He stumbled backward onto the bed, where he could kiss and touch her.
He grinned as her hair cascaded around him providing a private curtain for the two
of them. He was going to get to wake up with her after all.

“O
K, SO
who is going to be at the party?” Evan shifted nervously on his feet. It was not
a good idea to be seen in a throng of twenty-somethings, but he had been on the island
for over a month and no one seemed to notice.

Everyone here focused on other things. No one cared what designer you wore, what car
you drove, or if you had white, straight teeth. All that mattered was that you put
in a good, hard day’s work, and helped your neighbor. It was pretty simple. Every
once in a while, he wondered if they would even care if he was a movie star. The longer
he was there, the more he doubted it would be as exciting as the marlin that was released
the other day or the fact that the only mail carrier on the island was about to deliver
twins. Their idea of a crazy life was full of moments that actually mattered.

Haven chimed from the bathroom. “Some people I went to high school with. The guy who
is throwing the party, Ben Jordan, is kind of a show off. But the parties are always
good, and there is always a bartender and music. It’s a Thursday night tradition in
the summer and some times a Tuesday thing.”

Evan didn’t think it sounded like anything else he had encountered during his time
on Perry.

“And why are we going? Wouldn’t you rather stay in?” He could think of so many other
things for them to do. He had lived his share of parties. More than anyone could count.
Although, he was sure someone had a tally of his adventurous nights. “I bet you wrote
something pretty cool today. You could sing for me.” He missed her today at the store.
Thursdays without her were lonely.

“Because, I haven’t been in a while. I want you to go and have a good time too. Meet
some people I grew up with.” She turned the light out behind her as she emerged into
the bedroom wearing something black.

Evan whistled. “Damn. I say no way. You’re not going like that.” He hadn’t seen her
dressed like this before. Granted, he didn’t know what the style was called, but it
was short. There were tiny straps, and lace that darted between the breasts he couldn’t
get enough of. The hem brushed the tops of her tanned thighs.

“What, you don’t like it?” She looked hurt.

“The complete opposite, but I’m not sure I want guys staring at you all night.” He
played with the hair by her ear, winking at her. It always made her blush.

She slapped him against the chest. “No one is going to stare. I know all these guys.”
She tilted her chin toward him, taunting him to kiss her. “But I hope you do. It’s
a slip dress. I ordered it the other day.”

“Darlin’, you don’t have to put on a short dress to make me check you out.” He pinned
her against his chest. “You even look cute in those ugly aprons. Although, someone
told me I don’t.”

Her hands flattened against his shoulders and ran down his arms. He liked it when
she did that. She raised his shirt and her nails scraped against his stomach, descending
below his hipbone. He inhaled sharply. They wouldn’t be going anywhere if she kept
this up. But she didn’t stop.

“What are you doing?” he groaned.

He gripped her shoulders, trying to steady the building want she was creating. What
in the hell had gotten into her? Before he could pull away, he felt his shorts fall
to his ankles and he knew she had lowered to the floor. He looked down at the fire
in her eyes. This girl might kill him before they made it to the party.

E
VAN CLOSED
his hand around Haven’s as they walked through the gates to the beach party. They
had left her place a little later than planned, but it was time well spent. He laughed,
loving the surprises that she kept throwing at him. He squeezed her hand.

They climbed the steps to the beach house. “Hi, Ben. This is Jay.”

A guy who put way too much hair gel in his bangs shook his hand. “Nice to meet you,
man. Glad you’re here, Haven. Haven’t seen you in a few weeks.”

She gave him a quick hug. “I know, Ben. Sorry, I’ve just been a little busy.” She
shot a side glance at Evan. He caught every innuendo she was throwing.

“Well, I’ve missed you. Go on in. Drinks, dancing, the usual good time.” He nodded
at Evan. “Good to have you here, man.”

“Thanks.” Evan shook his hand and waited for some sign of recognition. Confident the
coast was clear, he breezed past the host with Haven. He whispered in her ear, “He
seems nice. Out of place, but nice.”

She giggled. “Yeah, he loves parties a little too much. Lucky for him, his parents
are never here. They basically handed him a summer party palace.”

Evan followed his date and her little black dress through a marble foyer into a great
room.

The living room was filled with strangers. It was a relief looking into blank, smiling
faces.

“Big party.” He slid his hand around her waist, feeling how thin the fabric was in
the slip dress as she called it. He couldn’t wait for round two when he took her home.
There were so many things running through his mind, mainly—

“Why don’t you head to the deck, and I’ll get us some drinks?” She pointed to the
door lining the living room wall.

Evan’s cheeks reddened. Did she know that he couldn’t stop thinking about her? “Ok,
but nothing fruity. I don’t do fruity.”

“I know. I know. I’ll meet you out there.” She tipped forward and kissed him on the
cheek.

Evan sidestepped the bouncing crowd. They had just started dancing, and he had to
hop before getting bumped by a trio of giggling girls. The deck was probably the safest
place for him to be. He walked to the railing and looked at the pool. There was a
neon techno show going off under the water. This place certainly didn’t fit with the
rest of the island.

“Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Oh, hey.” Evan turned to find Travis, his surf advisor, standing close by. “Good
to see you.”

“What brings you to Ben’s?” Travis took a gulp of something from a red cup.

Evan nodded toward the house. “Pretty girl.” He smiled, not knowing Travis well, but
knowing any guy could relate to the allure of a beautiful woman.

“I hear ya.” Travis laughed. “Yeah, there are some pretty girls here this summer.
The hurricane ran a few off, but since the ferries started running again, I think
the island is back to normal.”

Evan wondered if that was how Travis measured the balance of normal—the pretty girl
ratio on the island.

“Did you hit the waves during the storm?”

“You know it. We don’t get waves like that. Killer breaks. You should have tried it.”

Evan shook his head. “I wanted to, but it was probably best I sat that one out. It’s
going to take me awhile to get back into fighting form.” The first time he wiped out
on the board had shocked him. Saltwater up the nose and everything.

“Keep at it. You’ve got some natural ability.”

“Thanks, man.” Evan leaned over the railing to watch the new choreography of the pool
sparkle below them.

“Trav?” Evan turned. Haven was holding two red cups, but her attention wasn’t on him.
It was on Travis.

“Hey. Haven’t seen you in a while.” Travis’s eyes darted to hers. Evan couldn’t help
but feel there was something to that look.

“Do you two know each other?” Haven questioned. There was the smile he was waiting
for. She handed Evan his drink and stood close to him. His hand found the dip in the
small of her back.

“Yeah, Travis helped me out a couple weeks ago. I needed a crash course in the waves.”
He liked that she was tucked in close. He could smell her shampoo, and her lotion
reminded him of the beach.