Finding Haven (6 page)

“If you don’t like him, why do you always come to these parties?” Coconut. Tonight’s
concoction was a smooth coconut mix almost like a pina colada. She sipped again.

“Because, I get to see you and hang out with you—not in our store aprons.” He caught
a strand of her hair that whipped the side of her cheek and tucked it behind her ear.

It felt familiar. It felt sweet. “Trav, this isn’t going to happen.” She paused and
looked into his dark brown eyes. “We—us—it’s not—”

He cupped the side of her face with his free hand, gazing intensely at her lips. It
was hard to talk to him while he stared at her like that. Even harder with him so
close and so warm.

“How’s your drink?” He moved so that there was just enough space to allow the cup
to tip up and take a sip.

Haven watched his throat move with each swallow. She knew he was giving her both time
to step aside and time to stand there and soak in the physical connection they had.
Logic told her to stop right there. She and Travis didn’t have anything in common;
they never would. How could they when their goals were so different?

He reached around her waist and slid his hand under her shirt so that it rested against
the small of her back. Her eyes darted to his.

“Trav—”

“Shhh.” He placed his cup on the railing and pulled her against him.

His grip was strong, but she relaxed into him as his lips pressed against her mouth,
hot and firm. Kissing him felt wrong, all kinds of I-shouldn’t-be-doing-this wrong,
but maybe that was why she couldn’t stop doing it. She moaned as his tongue moved
against hers.

He broke free to whisper in her ear, “Let me take you home. Now.”

Haven’s mind was screaming
no, no, no
. This was what happened the other night. This is what leads to confusion, hurt, and
a ruined friendship.

“If you’re worried, I promise I won’t make a big deal about it.” Travis nipped the
side of her neck. “Just tonight.” His fingers stroked the skin along her back. It
felt good. The way Travis touched her always felt good.

Her resistance wasn’t as strong as she wanted it to be. He had two free hands, and
while one kept her pressed against him, the other slid along her stomach and made
its way below her shorts. Haven tried to press back, to break free, but as soon as
she leaned into the hand holding her in place, he plunged his fingers between her
legs.

“Oh, Trav. You can’t. We can’t—” Her head rocked back, giving him full access to her
neck. He kissed the skin along her throat. His fingers teased the sweet spot until
she was pressing deeper against him.

“Either you let me take you home, or I’ll make you come right here. And everyone will
hear you.” He growled in her ear, sending more heat through her body.

God, she didn’t want him to stop, but she knew this was a big mistake. He dipped inside
her again, filling her with more want than she was ready to handle. “Ok, ok,” she
stammered breathlessly. “But it’s the
last
time.” Maybe this was what she needed. She could get it out of her system and stop
having these moments with Travis. Moments that made her hot, wet, and beg for anything
he would give her.

Abruptly, he shifted his fingers between her legs, grabbed her hand, and led her around
to the steps on the side of the stairs. No reason to go back into the party crowd.

The red cup was still in her hand. She chugged the rest of the coconut drink and tossed
it in the bushes. The Jordans’ gardener would probably find it in the morning.

Travis’s pace picked up as they neared the car. Haven knew he was worried she would
change her mind. Somewhere in the back of her head, she kept waiting for her goodie-goodie
self to emerge and tell him she was kidding and that the place he had touched between
her legs had cooled off, but that girl never showed up. Not on the ride home, not
when she fumbled with the keys to her door, not when he untied the knot on her halter,
and not when she turned off the lights.

T
HE ALARM
was sounding, but it wasn’t hers. She thought crickets were bad, but car horns in
the morning were like nails on a chalkboard. Where was the sound coming from? And
why was there an arm draped across her chest.

Haven sat straight up. Dammit. It had happened again. Well, not completely again,
but enough. She ran her fingers through her hair. Those horns had to stop.

“Trav, Trav, can you turn off your alarm?” She shoved against his heavy frame. He
slept hard.

“Aw, sorry.” He reached for the floor, and eventually the sound stopped. He rolled
back to the center of the bed, pulling the sheet over his head and covering the wave
tattoo on his shoulder blade.

“Thanks.” Haven looked at her phone. It was 4:45. He got up even earlier than she
did. That must be how he always made it to the store first.

She watched as he fell back into a pattern of deep breathing. Things had really gotten
out of control last night. She had almost had sex with him. As naked as they were,
it seemed like they had, but no, it hadn’t actually happened. The crazy thing was
that she wanted it. She craved him from somewhere deep in her core, but Travis said
he wanted the first time to be special between them. Something about romance and candles.
That was when she knew it had to be the last time. Every part of her body reacted
to him except her heart, and that wasn’t fair. Last time, she swore.

Carefully, she maneuvered to the edge of the bed, slipping one foot to the floor and
then the other. If she could make it to the shower before he woke up again, she could
avoid the awkward naked thing. He was completely wrapped in the sheet, and they had
kicked the comforter to the floor last night. It was a run-for-it kind of situation.

She waited for his next exhale, and then counted: one, two, three. As quickly as her
tiptoes would carry her, she dashed to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Haven sighed at her reflection in the mirror, and then picked up the timer on the
counter. She turned the dial to seven minutes and reached for the shower handle. At
least today she wouldn’t be late for work. That was a first.

T
HE POUNDING
in his head become more focused until it felt like someone was piercing his temples
with a knife.

“Son of a bitch.” Evan winced and slapped the side of his arm. The mosquitoes around
here were as big as horseflies.

The campfire he had started last night was a pile of ash.
Last night.
Evan rubbed the corners of his forehead. He hadn’t that many beers in a long time.
He kicked one of the remnants out of his way as he headed toward Silver Belle. One
of Carly Stone’s new songs had played on the radio, and that was the last thing he
remembered—cranking the music and getting lost in the words.

The bottle rolled. He wanted a shower first, and then he would be back out to clean
up this mess. Harry and Shug had been clear about their tidy camp standards.

“Looks like you had a good time last night,” a sultry voice called from behind him.

Evan stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. He hadn’t noticed anyone else staying
in the camper horseshoe, but he knew it was unlikely he would be the only resident
all summer.

A woman with white blond hair stood a few yards from the front of his silver refuge.
She smiled and smacked her gum.

The beer bottles littered what piece of land he could call his yard. Damn, he must
have finished off the case.

“Good morning,” he offered the woman, keeping one hand on the door and hoping she
would leave as quickly as she appeared.

“Good morning to you.” She bit hard on her bottom lip, and he saw her eyes rake him
over like a piece of candy.

Why in the hell did he have to deal with this right now? He pulled the handle and
stepped one bare foot into the camper. He had no interest in talking to a forty-something
woman already in a bikini. It was barely daylight.

“See you around? I’m Charlotte. Staying in Pirate’s Booty right next door if you want
to stop by some time.” She waved, only using the tips of her fingers.

“All right.” Evan closed the door behind him and let his head drop forward. He would
end up next to the cougar on vacation trolling for her next young thing. He knew he
was being rude, but some boundaries had to be established right away.

He snagged one of the remaining peaches he had from his road trip and bit into the
juicy fruit. The only thing he had for dinner last night was a bag of corn chips and
beer—an entire case of beer. Jake always said habits like that would catch up with
him, but Evan didn’t care. The headache hurt like hell, but it was worth it. When
was the last time he had listened to the music he wanted, drank what he wanted, ate
what he wanted, and built as big of a fire as he wanted? The higher the flames, the
colder the beer, the more he forgot.

He flipped open the mini-fridge. It reached the top of his waist, but had plenty of
room for the summer bachelor. A smile spread across his face. There was one more cold
beer with his name on it. He twisted off the top and chugged a few swallows.

The empty bottle landed in the trash can. He realized he had now spent his second
night on the island in a less than comfortable sleeping position. The bed tucked at
the rear of the trailer looked softer than a pile of feathers. He stripped his T-shirt
from his frame, and threw himself chest down on the red and white checked quilt. Sleep—he
needed more sleep. Within minutes, Silver Belle was filled with the sounds of a snoring
movie star.

“M
AMA,
I’
M
fine.” Evan tried to soothe his worried mother. “I needed a break from work, that’s
all.”

“Darlin’, if you’re in some kind of trouble, then just come on home.”

“I’m not in trouble. Everything is perfectly ok. It’s called a vacation.” The last
time his mother sounded this worried was when he got caught skipping school. His parents
had grounded him for a month after that.

“Evan, I don’t like to get involved with your Hollywood stuff.” He smiled. That’s
how she always referred to his work. “But, I want to help you. Why don’t you come
home and rest here? I can make all your favorites.”

“As tempting as that is, I don’t need mac and cheese right now as much as I need to
clear my head.” He could picture her, hair pulled back in a clip sitting in front
of the bay window with a cup of coffee in her hand and a frown on her face.

“It’s that girl, isn’t it? That’s what this is all about.” Her tone was sharp. “You
know I don’t like to read those magazines, but her face was all over the stands at
the checkout at the supermarket.”

Evan thought about how to answer that question. Of course Emmy was part of this, but
not in the way his mother thought. It wasn’t heartbreak. It was humiliation and disappointment.
One more failed relationship to add to a growing list for the world to tally up for
him one neon headline at a time.

“Emmy’s moved on. I’ve moved on. I don’t really want to go into it right now.” The
pictures of Emmy looking adoringly into some other guy’s eyes were still fresh. At
least last night, with the help of some cold beer, he had forgotten about them.

“Ok, let’s talk about something else, then. Where are you? Is it nice?” Her east Texas
accent accentuated the vowels in each of her words.

He gazed out the window as a pelican skimmed across the water. “Yep. It’s beautiful.
You would like it.” He wondered if the set of pirates would be back later today to
attack the sand dunes. He knew his mom would get a kick out of them. She frequently
referred to her future grandchildren, but always followed it up with “no pressure
here.” At twenty-eight he was in no rush to start a family.

“I bet I would. I’ve been trying to get your father to take me on a trip for months
now, but he won’t leave. He says there’s no point in getting out of Texas. For once,
I’d just like to take a vacation with him.”

Evan had invited his parents to his first awards show in Hollywood when his career
began to skyrocket, but his mother wouldn’t travel without his father and his father
wouldn’t leave Texas.