The Seacroft: a love story (Paines Creek Beach Book 2) (3 page)

“Double yuk,” she said. “That stuff’ll kill you.”

“It hasn’t so far,” he said, turning in a circle with his arms spread out. “I’m fine.”

This time she rolled her eyes. “Scat. Get out of here before you get me in trouble.”

“In trouble?” He grinned wickedly and came closer. “How?”

Ignoring the pleasant scent of him, she huffed. “Never mind. Just go!”

He snorted a laugh and circled her. “Okay. Don’t wanna get you in trouble with the old boss lady.”

She grabbed his arm and whispered fiercely. “For crying out loud, don’t let her hear you call her that.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I’m going now. See you later.”

She leaned down to angrily smooth the comforter, even though it didn’t really need it. “Fine. See you at dinner.”

Chapter 4

Cody sat on a kitchen chair peeling onions. Vivian had opened the windows over the sink and turned on the ceiling fan, but his eyes still stung.

“This is not what I was hired to do,” he said. “I can barely see.”

Vivian wiped at her own watering eyes. “I know. It’s coming all the way over here.” She added spices to the hamburger she’d just dumped in a big stockpot. “Soon as you’re done chopping, I’ll throw in those onions. Once they cook down, they won’t be so pungent.”

“Okay.” He finally got both onions diced into little chunks like she’d instructed him, and brought them over on the wooden cutting board. “Here you go.”

He stood close to her, maneuvering the board over the pot. She smelled nice. Like the beach. Or sweet plums. He laughed, amused at his own thoughts.

“What?” She eyed him from the side, stirring the pot.

He stepped over to the sink to rinse the cutting board. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking it’s been forever since I’ve gone for a swim. And here we live not a minute’s walk from the water’s edge.”

She locked eyes with him, then lowered her gaze. “Strange. I was just thinking that this morning. I miss the beach. But we’ve been so busy, I haven’t had a second to spare. And it’ll only get harder, with Deidre gone.”

“I know.” He wandered back to her side. “Wanna go sometime?”

“Go where?” Uvi said from the doorway. She leaned against the doorjamb wearing crisp khaki shorts and a white pullover.

Cody stared at her for a moment, noting how elegantly she positioned herself, no matter where she was or what she wore. “The beach. We haven’t been in forever.”

“Well, that’s silly,” Uvi said. “You can walk down to Paines Creek anytime.” She walked closer, patting him on the shoulder. “But you’re right. We don’t take advantage of it, do we?”

Cody glanced out the window at the aquamarine water of the pool. That’s where he normally saw Uvi swimming. “We should go. It’ll be cooler down there, too.”

Uvi strolled to the stove and sniffed at the spaghetti sauce in progress. “Very nice, Vivian. A delightful aroma.”

Vivian flushed, turning to add a package of sliced mushrooms to the pot. “Thank you.”

Cody noticed how she almost bowed before Uvi. For some reason, her subservience bothered him. Why couldn’t she just stand up and look Uvi straight in the eyes? She was such a timid little thing. She had no reason to be so shy, so nervous. It wasn’t as if Uvi would bite.

His eyes shifted to Uvi, picturing her in her peach-colored bathing suit, with all her curves and secret places teasing him beneath that taut fabric. When he watched his employer, he felt as if he were under a spell. He wanted her. He longed for her. He dreamed about making love to her at night.

Some people talked about pheromones, those hormones that supposedly attracted mates to one another. Did Uvi emit pheromones?

He looked out the screen door toward the blue-green sea. “Why don’t we go for a late afternoon swim? The three of us?”

Had he really said that? Had he just suggested that the boss lady and her two hired hands hang out at the beach?

He covered a laugh.
God. I’m such a dolt.

 To his surprise, Uvi glanced over her shoulder with an enigmatic smile, purring her words. “What a delightful idea. We’ve been cooped up in this house all day, working so hard… ”

Cody wondered what work Uvi had been doing, because he normally glimpsed her writing, reading, or lounging. But he didn’t say a word.

She continued. “I would be delighted to accompany my two hard-working helpers to the beach.”

Vivian’s back stiffened.

Uvi turned toward her. “Is something wrong, dear?”

“Um. No. Sounds great.”

“Well, then. Let’s plan on three-thirty, shall we?”



 Vivian stood before her mirror again, this time in an ugly one-piece flowered suit. “I can’t do this.”

She pulled down on the bottom of her suit, trying to cover more of her thighs. “Ugh.”

She needed something to hide behind, and searched in her closet for a wrap. Anything. Even a towel would be better than exposing herself in front of Cody this way.

Of course, it wouldn’t really matter. She knew he’d be staring at Uvi the whole time. It was obvious; he was besotted.

Since he’d come inside to help with the indoor chores, she’d already caught him several times gawking at their boss. He seemed hypnotized.

Then again, she couldn’t blame him. Mizz P, as he called her when she wasn’t in the room, was the kind of woman she hated and worshipped at the same time. She was so gifted, so blessed, so ridiculously gorgeous. With her education, her sophistication, her alabaster skin… she was like a combination of Audrey Hepburn and that beautiful actress who played Sybil in
Downton Abbey.
What was her name again? Ah, yes, Jessica Findlay Brown.

She found an old yellow terry beach robe in the back of her closet and grabbed it off the hanger. It would have to do.

She gathered her sunscreen—last used two months ago—and the romance paperback she’d been reading entitled
Cowboy’s Pride
by Morgan Blaze. Oh, how she wished she could meet a guy like Cam Thatcher in the book. Strong. Principled. Sexy.

She shrugged. That kind of luck wasn’t in her future, she just knew it. She’d probably end up a shriveled old maid, rocking on her porch and yelling at kids who walked on her lawn.

If she ever owned a lawn.

But how would she afford a home? It just wasn’t to be.

She sighed, lifted her little beach bag, and joined Uvi and Cody downstairs in the kitchen.

Uvi wore a new fragrance now, something sweet and flowery. It filled the kitchen. And yes, there was Cody, his eyes gone all dreamy again, staring at her.

She did a double take.
Don’t look at him
.

She couldn’t help it and sneaked another glance.

The guy was barefoot and shirtless, with baggy swim trunks hanging low on his hips. His chest—smooth and rippled with muscle—shone bronze. His shaggy black hair fell over his eyes, and his lips—

She tore her eyes away. She’d have to stop reading these romance novels, or she’d never be able to survive. Guys like him never paid her attention, and it was okay. It was just her life.

He surprised her by turning to her with a smile that made her knees wobble. “Hey. You look nice, Viv.”

Uvi glanced sideways at her terry robe. “Adorable.”

Was Uvi being sarcastic? Or serious? Viv’s cheeks burned. “Thanks. Are we ready to go?”

“Yes.” Uvi turned to show off her stylish white one piece swimsuit cut so high on the sides it practically reached her waist. “But first, what do you think? You like?”

Vivian nodded. “It’s gorgeous.”

Cody just stared.

Uvi donned a purple broad-brimmed sunhat and handed Vivian a bulging straw bag overflowing with beach paraphernalia. “Can you carry this, dear? Cody’s bringing my beach chair and umbrella.”

She shifted her own bag and accepted the straw bag. “Of course.”

Cody opened the door for them, and snagged the chair and umbrella from the poolside. “Ready. Let’s go.”

They walked behind Uvi, who led the way, provocatively swaying her hips, her long legs gliding over the soft grass. Once they left the edge of the lawn—that unnatural, man-made green miracle layered atop the sandy Cape soil—Viv took off her flip-flops and walked barefoot in the scorching sand.

They made their way along the narrow path to the boardwalk Uvi’s husband had reportedly built years ago, and headed for the shore. At high tide, the turquoise-green water nearly reached the curving ribbon of dried seaweed and flotsam that had gathered at the tide line.

“Over there.” Uvi pointed to a boulder a hundred yards down the shore. “I like that spot. There’s less grass in the water over there.”

Cody nodded, and carried her equipment to the designated spot. He planted the pink and yellow striped umbrella in the sand and set up the low beach chair beneath it.

Viv handed Uvi her straw bag, and spread her own beach towel on the sand nearby.

Cody laid an enormous blue towel on the other side of their employer and eyed the waves. “It’s gonna feel so good,” he said.

Uvi smoothed sunscreen on her arms and legs, then lifted the bottle to him. “Would you do my back, Cody?”

Vivian watched him jump to the task, although at first she thought she noticed a flitting expression of surprise on his face. Or was it embarrassment?

No. It couldn’t be. Not with the way he scrambled to her side and began to smooth the lotion on Uvi’s skin with his big hands.

Those hands.

She imagined him doing the same for her, and was almost tempted to ask him to do her back, too. But of course, she wouldn’t.

The woman wore sunglasses, but Vivian was sure she’d closed her eyes like a sunbathing cat, stretching her limbs in pleasure. “Ah, Cody. Well done. Now, what about your back? Can I help you?”

Suddenly Vivian felt as though she were in a cheesy romance novel. But she was
in
the scene instead of reading about it, totally out of place. Would Uvi pull him to her next, and press her lips against his luscious mouth? Would he kiss her back with a driving passion, and lay her on the sand, making mad love to her in the sunlight?

A flush crept onto her cheeks. She finished applying her own sunscreen and suddenly stood, trotting toward the water.

Let them stroke each other into oblivion
.

She waded into the cool water up to her knees, then dove beneath the waves and entered another world.

Chapter 5

“Hey,” Cody said, popping up beside her in the green water.

“Hey, yourself,” Vivian said, spewing a stream of salty water at his face. “Don't you have to spread more lotion on the boss? Or did she let you off your chain?” She’d surprised herself by saying the words out loud. And she’d surprised Cody, too, based on his dropped jaw.

“Huh?” he said, treading water beside her. “Are you mad at me or something?”

“Sorry. I guess I’m just a little jealous. I’d love a cabana boy to rub suntan lotion all over me, too.” She laughed to take the sting out of her words, and began to stroke toward the deeper water.

“Cabana boy? Hey, wait up,” he said, quickly catching her and matching her stroke for stroke. “Is that what you think I am?”

She smiled for real this time. “No. Of course not. You’re the trusty gardener slash handyman.”

“And?” he said, flipping to his back.

“And… I think she wants you.”

“Yeah?” he laughed, splashing her with one cupped hand. “She
wants
me? How can you tell?”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “She ogles you.”

“Ogles me?”

He was getting way too much enjoyment out of this, and she realized she’d gone too far. But how could she back away now? “Can’t you see it?”

He stopped and began treading water. She did the same.

“She is quite beautiful,” he said. “But I’m just the gardener. I’m nobody.”

Hit with a stab of empathy, she reached out to touch his wet fingers beneath the surface. “A nobody? That’s crazy. You are an amazing man, Cody. You take care of that yard better than an army of gardeners could. You’re devoted. Strong. And… ”

“And?”

“And very sweet.” She was thinking,
you’re hotter than hell
, but hadn’t let it slip. What would he have thought of her then? The shy, retiring little assistant suddenly comes on like a brazen hussy?

They saw Uvi stand and wave at them, beckoning them back to the beach.

Vivian laughed and began to swim back toward shore. “Uvi’s calling for you.”

He joined her. “How do you know she doesn’t want you?”

“Because I can feel her desire all the way out here.”

“Desire for you?” he said, winking.

“No, you idiot. For you.”

He turned and started to sidestroke, matching her moves exactly. “She
might
want you. You’re very pretty.”

They reached the shallows, but hung back, floating in chest high water.

“Stop it,” she laughed. “You’re such a tease.”

“I’m serious. You are a lovely woman.”

She looked into his suddenly solemn eyes.
Was he serious?
Flustered now, she waded toward the shore. “You’re nuts.”

He fell in step beside her. “Believe me. If you’d just let your hair down once in a while, or wear something a bit less… I don’t know… stark, you’d be a knockout.”

She met his smile with her own surprised chuckle. “Well, thank you, Cody. That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

 “You’re welcome, Mizz Viv.”

Uvi openly watched them approach, her eyes devouring Cody. Vivian grabbed her towel and wrapped up in it, wiping the salty water from her face, arms, and legs. Cody didn’t dry off, but just plopped onto his towel beside Uvi.

“Did you need something, Uvi?” he asked.

She reached over and touched his forearm. “I just didn’t want you two going out too far. It makes me nervous.”

Cody sputtered a laugh. “Really? There’s no danger.”

“What about sharks?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

 Cody’s smile twisted. “Er. Yeah. Well, there haven’t been sightings around here in ages.”

“Still,” Uvi said, reaching a finger out to trail down his arm. “I worry.”