Chapter Four
“Lily did you fall asleep?” he grumbled.
“Hold your horses.”
She slapped the lotion onto the middle of his back.
He tightened up and pulled away. “Hey, that’s cold.”
She caught her bottom lip with her teeth to keep a telltale giggle from escaping. Slowly she reached out and spread the lotion, soothing it over the sculpted muscles, following the slight indentation of his spine. Her fingertips tingled with his heat as she smoothed and kneaded the taut skin.
Up and down, side to side, mesmerized by the shimmering waves of sensation that rushed from her hand to her heart and to every cell in her body. Thinking about what Lily had said about ringing chimes, Emma knew Logan Beckett could ring an entire carillon, probably without even trying.
“Lily” he said, his voice hard to hear over the surf.
“What?”
Every inch of his back was slathered in white sun screen, but still she couldn’t stop touching him.
Sleek and toned and hard. She wondered how he stayed so fit if he worked with computers.
Didn’t programmers spend hours hunched over a keyboard?
His skin should have been pasty white instead of deeply tanned.
His eyes should squint instead of looking so open and expressive.
“Did something happen while I was gone?” he asked.
“Like what?”
Reluctantly, she dropped her hand and smoothed the excess lotion onto the tops of her thighs.
Logan turned to face her.
“I don’t know. Did you have a falling out with a guy? Pass a milestone birthday? Go bankrupt? You tell me.”
He suspected. How long before he realized she wasn’t Lily? Dare she admit it? Opening her mouth to do just that, Emma snapped it shut, concentrating on rubbing in the sun screen.
Just for today, would it hurt to pretend? If he discovered her deception, he’d probably be so disgusted he’d storm off and never speak to her again. Could it hurt just for one day?
Raising her lashes until she could look at him, she shook her head.
“Nothing happened. My birthday is in October.”
“Something’s up. If I weren’t so blasted tired, I’d probably be able to figure it out. You’re not acting like you normally do. If it’s something to do with us, I think you’d better spit it out.”
“There’s nothing.”
He looked at her and shook his head.
“First, you were not in a cranky mood when I woke you up hours earlier than you like to get up. Next, I never saw a plainer robe than the one you wore this morning. Where was that see-through thing you shocked me with that time I came over unexpectedly? Next thing I know, you’re playing Little Miss Domestic and fixing me breakfast, which was delicious, by the way.
Now the virtuous swimsuit, not the crocheted one you like to wear.
That all adds up to something fishy, in my book. ”
He hadn’t moved, but Emma felt cornered.
She inched back, frantically scrambling around for something to say to disarm his suspicions.
Maybe she should just tell him who she was and why she was pretending to be her sister.
Licking her dry lips, she stalled, hoping something clever would pop into her mind.
She didn’t want to admit it yet. She enjoyed having the man interested in her, thinking she was Lily.
It was novel and exciting and she wanted to share this time and space with Logan Beckett.
“You know how I feel about honesty. There’s nothing more important. I’d rather know right up front if something’s going on,” he said. “Maybe I can help.”
“Have we had this conversation before?” she asked.
Honesty? She didn’t know precisely how he felt, but she had a good idea after that remark.
All the more reason to delay confessing her masquerade, or avoid confessing at all.
She’d see if she could pull it off today, then avoid him like the plague.
If luck was on her side, she could fool him for the few hours they spent on the beach.
She’d come up with an excuse to skip dinner.
“About honesty? You know we have. I’ve made no secret about what I think about lying and deceiving people. A hang-up from Crystal.”
Emma considered her options. She could hide in the house until Lily returned. Or take the flashy car from the garage and drive until she ran out of gas. Or return home tomorrow after the mortifying exposure of her deception.
Or continue the bluff.
Logan rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “I’m so tired I can hardly think.”
“You should sleep,” she said gently, relieved by the change of subject.
“Don’t want to, I can get back on California time better if I stay up today and sleep tonight.”
“From the looks of you, if you don’t take at least a nap today, you’ll fall asleep in the middle of dinner,” she said, exasperated.
He shook his head. “You’re right, I won’t last that long.”
Stretching out on his towel, his long legs pushed into the sand.
“Don’t let me sleep long enough to get burned,” he mumbled, pillowing his head on his stacked hands.
In two seconds Emma heard the deep breathing. He’d fallen asleep.
Life in the fast lane, she thought wryly. She proved so exciting, her companion fell asleep before they’d been on the beach for ten minutes.
Logan awoke still feeling exhausted. His internal clock kept him from sleeping soundly.
Time enough for that later when he’d sleep the night through.
Opening his eyes a slit, he stared at Lily.
She sat beside him, watching the surf. Turning his wrist slightly, he saw he’d been asleep for more than forty-five minutes. He was surprised she’d hung around.
As long as he’d known her, she had been too restless to sit still for any length of time. Always on the go, always wanting fun and people and action, it seemed unlike her to sit quietly on the beach while he slept.
Another inconsistency to ponder. Once he caught up on his rest, he’d figure it out.
For now he liked looking at her. In the sun, the highlights in her hair shone almost gold.
He’d always thought of her hair as just light brown, but the streaks of brightness added an intriguing aura.
Her profile was perfect, with the wisp of bangs on her forehead teasing his fingers to brush them away.
She seemed paler than when he’d last seen her, but the golden sheen to her skin drew his eye, as did the sleek one-piece bathing suit. While far from old-fashioned, it nevertheless covered more of her than normal. Yet he found it alluring.
Alluring? Heck, this was Lily, the next-door neighbor he borrowed coffee from, not some woman to get involved with.
Yet he could swear there was something different about her, something that caught his attention. Attracted to her? He didn’t like the idea. When he’d first met her, he’d felt nothing. Over the past couple of years, nothing. Why today?
It had to be the jet lag. It had to be because he was so completely exhausted.
It seemed as if he were seeing her for the first time, seeing how drop-dead gorgeous she looked. And seeing a different side to her.
She licked her lips, her pink tongue darting out for a second. Desire gripped him. Shocked him. He couldn’t believe he had the hots for his neighbor. He didn’t like glamour women. Crystal had taught her lesson well, and shattered any illusions he might have held.
But for the first time he really saw Lily as a beautiful woman. And there was something different about her, something softer, almost sweet.
She turned, saw he was awake and smiled. Logan held still, amazed at the lust that swamped him. He wanted her . Here and now. In his bed, her bed, later. It didn’t matter, he wanted Lily Rambeau.
“Did that take off the edge?” she asked, her eyes bright with an innocence that surprised him.
“It’ll do.”
Stunned at his reaction, at his body’s response to the woman beside him, he pushed himself up and turned quickly toward the ocean. With the abbreviated bathing suit he wore, his lusty feelings would be clear for the world to see in about two seconds. A cool swim was in order.
“A quick dip will help me shake the dregs.”
Walking away before she could scramble to her feet, he plunged into the waves, swimming beyond the surf and into the deeper water. It wasn’t cold enough.
Lily followed and in seconds swam up beside him, keeping pace.
“Wow, this is much colder than I expected. Not at all like Virginia Beach,” she said, swimming in wide circles around him when he began to tread water.
“When were you in Virginia Beach?” he asked, kicking lazily.
Her hair was plastered to her head, droplets sparkled from her lashes. He wanted to taste the salt on her lips, the sweetness behind them. Meeting her gaze, he went on alert. She looked as guilty as a child caught stealing cookies.
“One time a while back.”
She moved away, Logan followed.
“Tell me about it, you never mentioned it before.”
He easily caught up, kept pace.
“The water there is much warmer. This water’s cold.”
“I’m surprised you came in. Usually you don’t.”
“I was getting hot on the sand.”
She was obviously flustered. Why? Eyes narrowed, he moved closer, bumping into her, catching her when she would pull away. Holding her, his legs kicked enough to keep them upright, riding the swells that moved beneath them. They drifted south, but still had plenty of beach left.
She pushed against him.
“Let me go, please.”
“Afraid I’ll dunk you?” he teased.
He didn’t want to dunk her beneath the water, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
“You and what three other guys?”
In two seconds she had slipped from his grasp beneath the water and moved several feet away. Coming up for air, she laughed.
“Race you back to the shore,” he challenged, just to see what she’d do.
He grew more perplexed by her behavior every moment they were together.
“Done.”
She propelled herself toward the beach, swimming as hard as she could. He gave her five seconds and took off after her. It was a mistake. She beat him to the beach by inches.
“I win.”