Rip Current (6 page)

He and his siblings had each chosen their own paths. He frowned thinking about it. He had always known what he wanted to do. Surf. He hadn’t expected to make so much money at it or to become a celebrity. But when his agent had approached him a few years back about modeling underwear, he’d needed the dough to pay for his bike, so he’d jumped at the chance. He’d never imagined that he would slingshot into stardom overnight.

Now his face and his body were on more billboards than most movie stars. He’d continued to win prestigious surfing awards, which had only boosted the demand for his photo even more. Now, he spent more time traveling for photo shoots than he did on the water.

He crossed his arms over his chest and propped his feet up on the coffee table. Maybe that’s why he was feeling antsy lately. Something had to give.

His mind switched gears to Wendy. It had been months since he’d had any desire to go out with anyone. At first he’d thought that it was just because he was busy, but after a while, he’d figured out that he’d actually been turning women down when they approached him.

Maybe he’d head over to Cassey’s and see if anything was going on. Better yet, he’d take the paddle board out on the water. He glanced at the window and smiled when he saw sun streaming through it.

Jumping up from the sofa, he rushed to the door and got everything together. He was just pulling away from the apartment parking lot when his phone chimed. Pulling over, he looked down and sighed when he saw his brother’s face pop onto his screen.

“
Hey.” He glanced in the mirror to make sure he was all the way off the road.

“
Hey, tell me you’re around somewhere close.” He could hear the pleading in his brother’s voice.

“
Umm.” He closed his eyes and knew that his time chilling in the water wasn’t going to happen. “I’m about half a mile from your driveway. Why?”

Marcus sighed. “Perfect. I could use another pair of hands for a while.” He sighed. “I’ve got beer and pizza,” he jumped in before Cole could answer.

“
I’ll be there in a few. I’ve got to head back and change into work clothes.”

“
Thanks, you’re a real—” Cole heard a loud bang. “Gotta go.” His brother hung up quickly.

Cole flipped his old truck around and went back to change into old jeans, a T-shirt, and his brown work boots. He’d dropped one too many things on his feet in the past helping his brothers out to show up at a job site without steel-toed boots.

When he arrived at Marcus and Shelly’s new place, he knew he was in for a long day. There was a large cement truck blocking the driveway, so he had to park on the side of the street. There were five guys working on pouring the new driveway as he made his way up to the house.

Marcus swung open the door before he even had a chance to knock.

“
Bout time.” His brother was already covered in a layer of white dust. “We’re in the bedroom dry-walling today.” He turned and started walking towards the back of the house. Cole shut the door and followed him. “Sure sucks that Roman is out of town. We could have used his help today too.”

When they walked into the master bedroom, Cole tried not to groan. He’d forgotten there were vaulted ceilings in the room and when he noticed there was scaffolding, he wished Roman was there too. Even when he saw Luke leaning against a large piece of drywall, holding it in place, he didn’t feel better. Not that Luke wasn’t a hard worker. But Marcus and Roman had an unspoken system when they worked together. It was spooky at times how the two of them could read each other’s minds and finish a job quickly.

“
When did you say that SOB was coming back?” Marcus walked over and quickly screwed in the drywall piece that Luke had been holding.

“
Didn’t.” Cole walked over and positioned the next piece for Marcus.

Marcus glanced at him. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding something about that whole deal.” His eyes narrowed. “But I’m too busy to hound you right now.”

Cole nodded, silently cursing Roman again as he held up the piece of drywall so Marcus could secure it.

W
endy loved shopping. Period. There was no downside to it. She loved spending her hard-earned money on items she could enjoy, whether it was clothing or items for her condo. She loved picking things out and had a knack for getting what she wanted at a bargain.
 

Her sister and friends had always made fun of how much she’d spent when she was younger. It was hard to explain to them that it was her one reprieve from being so damn responsible all the time. But even in this, she was still sensible. She had one, and only one, credit card that she allowed herself to spend out of. She paid it off each month and never maxed it out.

Sighing, she glanced down at the plum dress shoes and knew that her shopping budget wouldn’t allow for them this month. That didn’t stop her from admiring them as she walked around and glanced at every mirror in the shoe department.

She’d already picked out two pairs of shoes from the sales rack that she was determined to get, a pair of sexy silver heels that went with the new skirt she’d bought at the last store and a pair of sensible low black boots she could easily wear at work.

She stopped off at the food court around lunchtime and had a bowl of noodles and chicken from her favorite Chinese place. Then, since she was feeling a little down about not being able to spend the weekend with her sister, she topped her lunch off with a cinnamon roll from the pretzel place.

She spent the rest of her time in the container store, buying things for her condo that would help her become better organized. She was determined to turn over a new leaf. After all, if Cole was so determined to try, why couldn’t she? She viewed it as a challenge, and she was determined to win.

She finished off her day of shopping with a quick run into the grocery store. She hated grocery shopping. She always ate out instead of cooking. She blamed it on her work hours, but the truth was she hated cooking for just herself.

When Willow was younger, she’d enjoyed planning out meals and trying new ideas, and she’d loved to sit down around the table and eat. But since she was only cooking for one, she found herself grabbing food on the run, more and more.

When she drove up to her condo, she frowned when she saw Cole sitting on her small front patio. His long legs were stretched out, resting on the railing as he leaned back in her rocking chair. When she got a little closer, she realized he was wearing long, faded jeans with holes in them and a dirty T-shirt that had seen better days. His tan arms were crossed over his chest, showing off those sexy muscles she’d always admired. He was even wearing work boots, which were crossed over each other.

She stopped dead in her tracks with two large bags of groceries in her arms when she heard him snoring. Her eyes zeroed in on his face to confirm that he was dead asleep. His mouth was slightly opened. She was thankful there wasn’t any drool coming out of it. Chuckling to herself, her eyes moved over the rest of him.

You know, with his eyes closed like this, he looked rather harmless. Until she found herself looking at those lips. Why, oh, why couldn’t she stop thinking about that kiss last night or the ones from before?

She wet her lips and all of a sudden felt the warmth of the evening creeping into every pore of her body. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but when she realized the snoring sounds had stopped, her eyes flew to his. Had she ever realized just how silver blue they were?

“
Hey.” He smiled up at her as he stretched. “Sorry. I guess my brother worked me harder than I thought today.” She watched how his arms went over his head as he rolled his neck a few times. “Man, hanging drywall sure takes a lot out of you.”
 

She nodded, not really sure what he was saying. Her mouth had gone completely dry watching his slow movements.

“
So…” He stood up and took the heaviest bag from her hands then peeked inside. “What’s for dinner?”
 

She chuckled and moved around him. “You just show up here, expecting dinner?”

“
No.” He followed her into her condo and set the bag he’d been carrying down next to hers. “How about a shower and dinner?” He looked down at himself.
 

She laughed. She couldn’t help it. He’d shaken his hair and a plume of dust had fallen all over her counter.

“
Go.” She pointed to her bathroom. “Don’t make a mess.” She started pulling items out of the bags so she could put together a dinner, but before she got far, she was being turned around and Cole’s lips were on hers. This kiss was fast and potent, and then he was walking into her
bathroom, whistling what sounded like a Beach Boys’ song.
 

How the hell was she supposed to fight against attraction that strong? Especially when her body was so easily betraying her. It took almost an entire minute, leaning against the counter and breathing slowly, for her heart rate to get back to normal. Then she turned her mind to the simple and enjoyable task of cooking for two.

***

Cole stood under the hot water and let it roll down his back. Every muscle in his body hurt, but it was his hip that was causing most of the throbbing. Glancing down at it, he sighed when he noticed the large red splotches crossing his skin.

After standing under the spray for a while, he pulled himself from Wendy’s small shower and dried off. He hunted through her medicine cabinet and swallowed a few aspirin before donning his clothes again. He’d shaken them out, but he wished he’d swung by his place before coming over here.

It had been a knee-jerk reaction to drive to her place after he’d left Marcus’s house. He’d wanted to see her, plain and simple. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep waiting for her to get home, or that his hip would have stiffened to the point it had. But when he’d caught her looking at him on her front porch, it had all been worth it.

She couldn’t deny the heat and desire he’d seen in her blue eyes. He was sure it had matched his own desire for her, especially when he’d seen her lick her lips. It had taken all his willpower not to let the old Cole out and haul her into her place and take her hard and fast.

He sighed and glanced at himself in the foggy mirror. He needed another damn haircut. Shaking his head, he watched his blond hair curl up and smiled. Well, maybe it could hold off for another week.

When he opened the bathroom door, the wonderful smells of home cooking hit him, and he forgot all about his hip and focused on his stomach instead.

“
Something smells good,” he said, walking up behind Wendy as she stood at the stove. His hands went to her hips and he moved close enough to feel her body next to his.
 

“
I hope you like manicotti.” She sighed as he ran his mouth over the column of her neck. He felt her lean back a little towards him.
 

“
Hmmm,” he moaned against her skin, “love it.”
 

“
Cole, dinner is going to burn if you keep doing that.” She giggled.
 

He nodded. “Okay.” Her skin tasted so good, he just had to have one more nibble.

“
Why don’t you grab us both a beer.” She sighed.
 

He nodded again, his lips hovering over the softness behind her ear. “Kay.”

She giggled and then turned and pushed him away. “Beer. Now.” She smiled at him until his eyes focused again.

“
All right.” He chuckled and walked over to her fridge. After popping the top on two beers, he leaned against the counter and watched her move.
 

He’d always been impressed by how she bartended. It was like watching a dancer behind the bar. He especially enjoyed it when there was a live band playing; he loved watching her hips move to the music. Glancing around now, he spotted her radio and walked over to find some music she could sway to as she cooked. It took some doing, but finally he found a good station and was rewarded almost instantly as she moved around the kitchen, hips pumping as she went.

“
How did you get into bartending?”
 

She reached over and took a deep sip of her own beer.

She glanced back at him and smiled. “It was either that or stripping.” She chuckled when his chin dropped.

“
Seriously?” He felt his mouth go dry as a million images rushed through his mind.
 

“
Sure, I needed a lot of money and had no skills.”
 

“
What stopped you?” He took a long drink of
his beer to cool his libido down.
 

She shrugged her shoulders and turned back towards the stove. “I was fifteen at the time and looked it, so I started waiting tables instead.”

He blinked. “You started working at fifteen?”

She nodded again. “With a kid sister to take care of… Remember?”

He nodded. “I just thought…” He shook his head and mentally cursed her father.

“
What?” She turned back towards him as she leaned on the counter.
 

He sighed. “You said something about your dad sending money.”

She laughed. “Sure, I’d get an envelope with a few hundred bucks every month. It helped pay for the rent and nothing else. There was the electric and water bills, not to mention keeping food on the table.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned when he realized he had never had to worry about anything like that. Not once in his life. Even after his folks had died, he’d been rushed to the Grayton’s and his nonchalant lifestyle had continued.

“
What about school?”
 

She shrugged her shoulders. “I went, until it got in the way of work, then I went in and got my GED.” She shrugged and then bent down and pulled a steaming hot pan from the oven.

“
Your sister?” he asked.