Making Waves: A Perfect Kisses Novella (8 page)

Chapter Ten

Will didn’t stop to think about what it meant. He simply pulled Justine into his arms.

Yes, he’d instigated the kiss when they’d first gotten into the water because of how terrified she’d looked. He knew the fear was all in her head, and his gut told him if he could replace that fear for a moment…

But that moment sped out of control very fast. He hadn’t meant for that to happen. But Justine…she was so damn sexy and kind and amazing…and how could he be expected to think straight when she’d been gripping him like he was her life raft? Like the one person she needed.

He wanted to be her life raft. He wanted to show her how he felt, how he’d cared for her last year and how much more he cared for her now. After only a few hours in her company, he realized his feelings were growing stronger. Now, they were a runaway train.

That distracting kiss had turned into a passionate rekindling of something he thought was dead. But Justine was the one kissing him now. He hadn’t grabbed her like before. She’d grabbed him.

He’d never been a more willing life raft.

As much as his mind could focus on anything besides her lips, he secured her against him and attempted to drag them to shore so he could stand on steady ground and hold her any way he liked.

“Will,” she moaned softly, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.

His head buzzed when she leapt into his arms like before, her strong legs curling around his back. He teetered to the side, all strength nearly spent from his limbs. The water was only at his waist now, and he opened one eye, zeroing in on the shoreline as his goal, hoping he would make it there before completely collapsing.

“Will,” she repeated, looking him in the eyes while hoisting herself higher. The pink and blue of the sunset framed her beautiful face. She tipped her chin, exposing her long neck. He couldn’t help pressing his mouth to her soft, wet skin, breathing in the salty, feminine scent. His footing staggered.

One last time, he summoned his strength and made a beeline like a marine at Normandy. Before he could get them all the way out of the water, he stumbled to his knees. She laughed and held on, not even bothering to look behind her as they tumbled onto the shore. Her blond hair splayed across the sand like an unearthly mermaid’s.

She was so amazingly beautiful, it actually did feel dreamlike until she reached behind his neck and pulled him down, reminding him how real she was. She was a fighter…the strongest woman he knew.

Back home, they’d kissed a few times at the end of dates, but this was new. He could be adventurous with her, and passionate—and in the
water!—
something, a few hours ago, he wouldn’t have thought possible. Will had rode waves tall enough to turn other surfers away, yet now, he’d never felt such a rush.

But he also knew one of them had to think straight, or else they might be caught in the undertow and swept to China. With his mouth still pressed to hers, he slid his hands under her back and picked her up like a baby, dragging them farther out of the water so just their feet touched the breaking waves.

To further protect her, he rolled so she was on top, her wet hair falling over her shoulders. He knotted his fingers into her hair and kissed her neck, her shoulders, the indent at her throat. He knew he’d better get a grip before his wandering hands tore off her bikini top. At last glance, only a few other people occupied the beach, and they were relatively far away. But he was pretty sure sex on the beach—the action, not the cocktail—was a big no-no.

When her fingers went running through his hair, and the curves of her body pressed against him, Will was unable to do much rational thinking. He made sure he kept his hands low on her back, far away from the hook securing her top. That was just too tempting. He wondered if he’d have the strength to carry her all the way to the car. If he didn’t get her somewhere private soon, he didn’t know what he was capable of.

But he had to try.

Maybe reading his mind, Justine climbed easily into his arms and Will rose to his feet, holding her against him. She giggled and kissed his cheek, his ear. He was tempted to beg her to stop until he got her alone, but he couldn’t seem to recall how to speak.

He laid her on their towels, and she immediately hooked her arms around his neck. The next thing he knew, he was on his back with Justine on top. Her mouth found his and with the one corner of his mind that was still operating, he reached out a hand, blindly searching for the car key.

“What
is
that?” Justine whispered.

“What’s what?” he asked, hearing the rasp in his voice.

She released an irritated sigh, then rolled off of him. “My cell is ringing. No, it’s yours.”

Will exhaled, noticing the sound, too. “I think it’s both.” He reached past her and unburied his cell, brushing sand off the face. There were ten missed called in the last five minutes.

“That’s odd,” Justine said, just as he was about to say the same thing. “I have a zillion emails. Three from my boss—he got my story…he…” She broke off to gasp. “Will, he
loves
it! It’s already online and will be in the print edition tomorrow. Front page of the sports section!”

“Seriously?” He grinned while clicking open his inbox. “I made front page?”

She elbowed him, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “No,
I
made front page, surfer boy.”

“Congratulations, Juss,” he said with a laugh and rested a hand on her thigh like it always belonged there. “Pull it up. I want to see your brilliant work.” Then he saw that the first email he opened had a link. “Never mind, I think someone sent it to me.”

Sitting beside Justine while she worked her own phone, Will waited for the page to load. He saw her name first, and his heart flooded with unexpected pride.

Then he saw another name.

Pride warped into a hard punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

“Shit.” She was right beside him, but her voice sounded far away.

He read the first two lines of her story—twice—then lowered his phone.

“Will.” Justine was staring at him with wide, dazed eyes. Her lips were parted but not moving.

The first thought was of his mother and how she was going to have to move away from the house she loved to a gated community with walls and round-the-clock security.

His next thought was remembering how he’d told her…he’d explained to Justine why it was vital for his life to be private.

And she’d printed his name, anyway.

Chapter Eleven

“Will,” was all her brain could think.

A split second before, there had been a stunned, disbelieving look in his eyes, the same emotions she’d been feeling. The disbelief was still there, but the way his brown eyes narrowed into a glare changed everything.

“I didn’t…” She held up her phone, feeling shocked and helpless.
What happened?
“I didn’t mean to do—”

“I don’t know what to say,” he cut in, coldness in his voice and eyes.

He didn’t need to speak, he sounded as pissed as he looked. And the vein bulging on the side of his neck was about to explode.

“Will.” She reached out to touch him but he was on his feet, backing up in the sand.

“All day, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you to trust me again. To make up for what happened.” He scoffed and ran the back of his hand over his mouth. “And you sent the story, anyway.”

“Not
this
story.” She stumbled to her feet, momentarily tripping over their towels. “I must have sent the wrong attachment.” Frantically, she tried to think back to that moment on the deck of his mother’s house. “I was…distracted. I…I did write a version with your name, but…” She was too dumbfounded to understand it herself, let alone explain.

Not that Will was listening.

“I trusted you with this.” She could see the sharp cut of his jaw as his back teeth clenched together.

“I’m sorry.”

“This doesn’t just affect me. You know that.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Unbelievable. Reckless.”

“Will.”

“No, you made your choice.” He dropped his arms to his sides. His face was red but expressionless. “You won, Justine,” he said, too eerily calm.

Without so much as a glance her way, he grabbed his towel, slid on his shoes, and pointed up the road. “Waikiki Beach is that way. Car key is right there. Have a nice life.”

Her mouth hung open in a stunned and silent cry as she watched him stride toward the hotel. He didn’t look back once, that was how much she’d betrayed him. And she could do nothing to stop him. No explanation.

Just like that…it was over.

…

Using her map app, Justine managed to find her way back to Ellie and Charlie’s house, a pretty incredible feat since she’d cried the entire way. Before she left the beach, she called her editor to find out exactly what happened. Before she could get an answer, she had to sit through five minutes of praise about how fresh and timely her story was.

Which made her feel sick.

It
was
a great story, but it had been better without Will’s name. Spilling his secret was something a tabloid writer would do. That was not the type of journalist she wanted to be.

“Do you think you sent it subconsciously?” Ellie asked over yogurt and freshly squeezed mango juice the next morning.

Justine bit down on her wobbly lip. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Why would I sabotage our future like that?”

Ellie arched her brows and eyed her over her glass. “Did you two talk about the future?”

“No. But I thought about it.”

Ellie passed her a new box of tissue after she’d used up the first one. “If you tell him it was a mistake, he’ll understand.”

“I tried to talk, but he was so mad he couldn’t even look at me. I’d do anything to make this right and explain what happened, but he thinks I betrayed his trust.” Justine took a clean tissue and held it over her eyes. “All this time, I thought he was the lying bastard in this relationship, when I’m the one who screwed up everything.”

“Maybe he just needs time to cool off. I make Charlie split coconuts with a machete when he’s ticked about something.”

Justine couldn’t help hiccupping a laugh. “I don’t think that will work in this situation.”

“Well, when
I’m
upset, I make him split coconuts with his shirt off. At least it’s nice to watch.”

Justine laughed again, choking on tears in her raw throat. “I’ll remember that.”

“When is Will back in L.A.?”

With sorrow, Justine pulled in a jagged breath, blinked her gummy eyelids, then stared down into her glass of juice. “Not until the summer.”

…

Will’s cell hadn’t stopped ringing. Finally, he just shut the damn thing off. He hadn’t had a moment’s peace since that story hit the internet.

“You’re wallowing.”

He glanced at his mother who’d come out to the back deck. “No,” he said, breathing hard in rhythm. “I’m skipping rope.”

“You’re a talented fellow, you can do both.” She wore a long red flora dress and a Chase Ryder ball cap, and was holding out a bottle of water.

Will jumped for another ten seconds then stopped and dropped the rope. “Thank you,” he said, unscrewing the cap and taking a long drink. “And I’m not wallowing.”

“Then why have you been hiding out here all day?”

“I’m not about to leave you alone,” he said, tasting bitterness at the back of his throat. He took another drink to try and wash it down. “Your phone’s been ringing off the hook.”

“I’ll change the number.” She sat on the porch swing and patted the spot at her side. “What’s really going on?”

“Nothing.” He looked past her and out toward the water. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.” She patted the spot again. Will sighed then dropped himself onto the seat next to her. “I’ve tried so hard to protect you from all the madness and stress…from what happened before.”

“I know,” she said, touching his hand.

Just then, his mother’s phone started to ring again. Will exhaled a growl. “You didn’t sign up for this.”

“William, I was young back then, too, but I was your mother—I should have been protecting
you
. We were both living in a fantasy world.” She nudged his side. “I can handle myself now. I do
 
t’ai chi
five times a week.
”

Will couldn’t help laughing at the tough edge to his mother’s voice. “You’re not worried about people showing up here like before? Fans or…”

“I’m not about to be run out of my own home again. If I have to, I’ll get a big dog.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” Will swallowed. “Your privacy is shot to hell because of her.”

“Are you assuming she did it on purpose? And don’t say
her
like you don’t know her name. It’s Justine.”

He rubbed his chin and looked away. “I know her name, Mom. And I have no idea if it was intentional. I don’t know what to believe.”

“Well, didn’t Justine
say
she sent the wrong story? That it was a mistake?”

“So she said.”

“You were with her when she sent it. What else was happening?”

As Will thought back, he couldn’t help smiling, remembering they’d been on this very deck. It had been sunny and they’d been laughing and touching and so close. She’d looked beautiful.

“I wanted to kiss her,” he said without thinking. “That’s what else was happening.”

“Did she want to kiss you?”

Will shook his head and stood, a heaviness weighing on his chest. “Mom, I’m not talking to you about this.”

“Oh, please.” She waved a hand around in the air. “I’m over fifty and I have a boyfriend. He’s a very nice man, Will. Maybe you’ll meet him someday if you aren’t too busy.”

It was almost too much to think about…his mother and… “Mom,” he groaned, surprised that he could feel even worse.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “So, you had Justine hot and bothered and whatnot, thinking about kissing you, right?” She paused and looked at him—her eyes were the same shade of brown as his. “I know you can tell when a woman is thinking the same thing.”

Will pushed a hand through his hair, picturing the look in Justine’s eyes when he’d touched her cheek. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure she was.”

“If that’s when she emailed the wrong story, don’t you think you should give her the benefit of the doubt? Were
you
thinking perfectly straight right then?”

“No,” he admitted.

“So?”

“Damn, Mom.” He tasted more sourness at the back of his mouth and the weight on his chest made it painful to breathe. “I think I made a mistake.”

She chuckled lightly and patted his arm. “I’m sorry, darling, but I do love hearing men admit when they’re wrong. It warms my heart.”

He couldn’t help echoing her laugh. “Glad I could help.”

“You said Justine is only on the island for the weekend. Is she leaving today?”

“Tomorrow, I think. But I don’t know where she’s staying.”

“Ah. I see.” She gave his arm another pat. “So do you plan on finding her before she leaves, or waiting another six months hoping she’ll forgive you for walking out on her again?”

Will’s stomach tanked faster than a submarine. He felt like hell. But he knew that wasn’t going to help. He kneaded the back of his neck as he paced the length of the deck.

“Why don’t you go for a swim,” his mother suggested.

Suddenly, Will stopped in his tracks and grabbed his phone. “What’s the name of the newspaper she works for?”

“Why?”

He moved his thumbs with super speed, pulling up the web. “I have an idea.”