Waterfall Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (Saltwater Kisses Book 8) (3 page)

“I'm sure you do,” I said with a wink. They needed to do much more than talk. “But he's not here right now.”

“Oh. Of course. I should have checked before I came...” Ava looked down at the ground, heartbreak filling her voice.

“But he'll be back for the gala tonight,” I quickly promised. Poor Ava just looked more confused and all I wanted to do was hug her again. Apparently, being apart from Bastian had been as hard on her as it had been on him.

“Oh, he'll be back?” Relief flooded Ava's voice and her shoulders relaxed slightly. She looked exhausted. Her blouse was wrinkled and her shorts stained with the signs of fast food and travel. Her usually shiny, thick red hair was pulled back and brushed, but her eyes were red and her skin drawn and pale. If I looked up “travel-weary” in the dictionary, her picture would be there. Given that the island wasn't an easy place to get to without a private jet, I could only imagine the night she'd had.

“You are coming to the gala tonight, right?” I asked, already working on a plan. This was going to be my opportunity to play fairy godmother.

“Gala?” Ava sounded utterly confused. She frowned and reached into her pocket, pulling out the golden ticket for the gala and auction. The paper was creased only once, as if she had stuck it in her pocket and forgotten about it. She now stared at it as if she were reading it for the first time. “I totally missed there was a gala on there.”

I looked at her very small travel suitcase. There was no way an elegant evening gown was in there. “What are you planning on wearing?” I asked, knowing that she most likely didn't have a plan. If anything that made me love her more. Ava had just hopped on a plane with nothing in a rush to get to the man she loved. It was incredibly romantic.

I was a sucker for romantic.

“Um...” Ava blushed and looked down at her suitcase.

“Oh, good! You didn't bring anything. That makes this so much easier,” I answered for her. My brain was already going at a million miles an hour on just how I was going to make this a night to remember. “It's always better to work with a blank canvas anyway.”

“What?” Ava squeaked. She looked a little panicked and shell-shocked. I couldn't blame her. This must not have been at all what she was expecting.

“I've got just the designer for you,” I said, thinking of the three brand new designer gowns hanging in my closet. They had been given to me by upcoming new artists specifically for this event and now I would be able to use at least two of them. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and started to guide her up to the house. “This is going to be so much fun!”

Ava shot me a nervous look, but let me lead her forward. I wasn't the princess of the story, but I was going to be the fairy godmother and make sure that Ava and Bastian got their fairy tale ending.

“I'm going to make you the belle of the ball.”

***

“Y
es, yes, yes!” I exclaimed, finishing zipping up the back of the gown. It was perfect for Ava. The first time I saw the dress, I knew it would be too long for me, but since Ava was taller, it would fit her without even needing hemmed. It was as if it was made for her.

The dress was made of soft gold that flowed over her hips and made the woman in front of me appear lush and slender at the time. A gold lace overlay started right at her hips and continued down the length of the gown to create a train that was both romantic and stunning.

I hooked the top latch, making sure everything was in place. “I thought of you as soon as I saw this dress. It's perfect.”

“It's not too much?” Ava asked, looking down at the rich lace fabric bodice.

I stood behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. With a gentle push, I moved her in front of the full-length mirror. “You look amazing. Stunning.”

She smiled, taking in the dress for the first time. “I'm just nervous.” Her smile faltered. “What am I going to say to him?”

“Tell him you love him,” I told her without hesitation, squeezing her shoulders.

Ava looked up, the mirror reflecting the shock in her bright green eyes. “How did you know? I haven't said anything about how I feel...”

“Seriously?” I laughed, thinking of how obvious the feeling those two had were. “You just flew how many god-awful hours to come here? Besides, I knew you were in love with him from the moment I saw you two making flirty eyes over sandwiches. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out how you feel about him.”

Ava giggled and blushed slightly. “Fair enough.”

“He's going to be so happy to see you,” I told her. I loved the way my brother had lit up while she was here. He was a different person- a happier person. He smiled more and the lines around his eyes disappeared when Ava was near. I could only imagine how happy the two of them would be together, if they would just give one another the chance.

Her smile faded with nerves. “Okay, no more talking about Bastian and how much of an idiot I am for not realizing I love him four days ago.” She strengthened her smile. “New, but slightly related topic: Leo.”

I froze, thinking of his hand on my shoulder this morning. Of his promised dance to me this evening. And how it was all a moot point. He'd never choose me.

“There's nothing on that front,” I said with a sigh.

“Oh, come on- you two were alone all last week.” Ava turned to look at me. Her skirt made a pleasant swishing sound with the movement. “Something must have happened?”

“First of all, we weren't alone. Gabe, the other owner of the company, was there. Second, we've been alone plenty of times and nothing's ever happened.” I sighed. “And nothing ever will. He sees me as Bastian's little sister and nothing else. Nothing's going to change that. Believe me. I've tried.”

Ava put her hands on her hips. The dress gave her an amazing hourglass shape. “What have you tried?”

“More of what
haven't
I tried?” I moved behind her and unhooked the the top of the zipper and began pulling it down. This fitting was just to make sure the dress fit and if we needed an emergency seamstress. She needed to be out of the dress for the hair and makeup ladies to work their magic. “I've tried being coy, setting up a romantic dinner, snuggling up to him, hell, I've even tried flat out asking him to kiss me, and nothing.”

“You asked him to kiss you? And he said no?” Ava stepped out of the dress and put on a button-up shirt and shorts as I put the golden dress back on the hanger.

“Charlotte, you're drunk and don't know what you're saying,” I said in a deep voice, trying to sound like Leo. “I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize my friendship with Bastian or you.”

“Ouch.” Ava winced.

“I've know him since I was thirteen. I've done my best to make it obvious how I feel about him, but he's not interested. He has made that super clear. For whatever reason, he doesn't want me and I don't see that changing any time soon.” I shrugged. The ache in my heart was all too familiar. “I should be glad that he is my friend. I really need to learn how to be content with that.”

“I'm sorry, Charlotte. When I saw the two of you together at that restaurant...” Ava shrugged and took the dress from me. “You two just seemed so perfect together.”

“Thanks. I need to move on, I just...” I sighed, my heart aching. “I just can't.”

Ava wrapped her arms around me, squishing me with the dress in the process. “At least we can be idiots about men together.”

“I never said
I
was an idiot,” I teased, hugging her back. “But you're right.”

She grinned at me as a knock came on the door followed by the words, “Makeup lady.”

“Go get pretty, Princess Ava,” I said, releasing my friend from my hug. “I'll get my hair done and then we'll switch. It's a good thing I overbooked.”

Ava went to the door and paused before opening it, turning to look back at me. “Charlotte?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.” Ava's gratitude and friendship flowed through her gaze and made me feel warm and loved.

“You're welcome.” And I truly meant it.

As she walked away, I couldn't help but think about what I had just said.
“I never said I was an idiot.”
But I knew that I was. I had been from the day that he walked into my life... completely naked.

10 Years Earlier...

––––––––

I
sat carefully on the old wooden chair in Bastian's dorm room, looking around the room in awe.

So, this is what college looks like,
I thought to myself. I had imagined it to look a little less like a boy's gym bag and more like an academic library, but I wasn't going to complain.

How many thirteen-year-olds got to go to college anyway? Or at least, got to visit their older brother in college and play pretend for the weekend.

I checked my watch. I still had another fifteen minutes before Bastian would come back from his “project.” I rolled my eyes.
Project
- yeah right. It was obvious he was doing some cool college-y thing that he didn't want his little sister participating in. He just told me he had a group assignment he had to work on.
Sure, Bastian. Sure.

The room was a small square with two twin beds on opposite sides, two desks and a small TV perched on a mini-fridge in the center. Per Bastian's instructions, I had the door open and the resident assistant had already checked on me twice.

Bastian's roommate and childhood best friend, Gabe, was going home for the weekend so I was going to use his bed. Gabe promised me that he would put clean sheets on the bed, but I had still brought my own.

I giggled at the thought of Gabe coming back to see the bright pink floral sheets now adorning his bed. He'd hate it. And deserve it. I'd known Gabe since he and his little sister, Chloe, moved in next door to my foster parent's house.

Chloe and I were best friends. Where Gabe and Bastian were always outside throwing footballs at each other, Chloe and I were busy getting ready to take over the world. I looked over at the girl-ified bed and decided I should take a picture to show Chloe. She'd love it.

I dug around in my backpack until I found the digital camera Bastian got me for my birthday last year and snapped a couple of pictures. After my weekend here on campus with Bastian, I would go home and share them with Chloe and we'd plan and dream what college would be like for us.

I hoped my real college experience would be more than just sitting around in a dorm room. I sighed. College was more boring than I had imagined.

And then
he
ran into the room.

Now, I liked boys. I no longer thought they had cooties and I had even kissed one. But the man standing in front of me blew that kid out of the water.

Plus, he was naked.

“Who are you?” the man sputtered, trying his best to hide himself behind his hands as he realized there was a thirteen-year-old girl in front of him. It was too late, I had already seen everything. “This is Bastian's room!”

I stared at him for a moment, not sure what was going on. This was more like what I thought college was going to be about, but now that it was happening, I didn't know what to do.

“Uh, I'm Bastian's sister,” I informed him, throwing him Bastian's pillow, and shielding my eyes. “Who are you?”

The man's cheeks were a deep crimson as he pressed the pillow to his groin and stared at me for a second. He seemed to be evaluating his options. He sighed, shrugged, and clutching the pillow with one hand, reached out the other in greeting.

“I'm Leo,” he said, sounding for all the world like this was an ordinary meeting and that he wasn't standing there butt naked with a pillow on his junk. “I live across the hall, and I'm locked out of my room.”

“It's nice to meet you.” I was impressed that this was how he was going to handle this. Personally, I'd be hiding in the closet, dying of shame, but he was owning it. I tentatively shook his hand, trying to ignore the very strange sensations it gave me. It was as if a fire was starting in the pit of my stomach and it made me feel all woozy and giggly. “You know Bastian, then?”

“Yup. We have English 101 together.” Leo took his hand back and put it back on the pillow, looking cool as a cucumber. Bastian was going to be pissed when he found out where his pillow had been.

“Oh.” I didn't know what else to say. What was I supposed to say to a naked man in standing in my brother's room?

Leo glanced around the room, looking everywhere but at me. He was obviously incredibly embarrassed, but was trying desperately to stay polite and calm. “Would you mind seeing if your brother has a shirt and maybe a pair of shorts I could borrow? You know, until I can get back in my room?”

I looked down at the pillow without thinking and felt the blood rush to my face. I shouldn't look there. “Sure,” I said quickly, standing up and trying not to look at him, even though I wanted to.

I went to Bastian's closet and thankfully found a t-shirt and gym shorts without having to dig through any drawers or laundry. For what was probably the first time in my life, I was glad Bastian was a little bit of a neat freak. The last thing I wanted was to come across his porn stash. That would have just been the cherry on an embarrassment sundae.

“Thanks,” Leo said as I handed him the clothing. He waited for a moment, holding the clothes in one hand and the pillow in the other before raising his eyebrows. “You mind turning around?”

My blush went straight down to my toes. “Sorry!” I spun around quickly, pressing my hands to my flaming cheeks and wishing I could be just a little bit more suave. 

“Okay, all done. You can turn around now,” he said a much more relaxed voice.

I slowly turned. Leo was about the same height as my brother, so the clothes fit decently well. Even though I wasn't distracted by his naked muscles anymore, I was still trying not to stare. He was possibly the most handsome man I'd even seen.

His brown hair was messy and spiked up as if he had been running his hands through it. His shoulders were broad and his body was smoking. He had an easy-going smile now, but it was his eyes that captured me. They were blue, blue like the sky after a summer rain and full of a kindness and humor that I'd never seen anywhere else.