Chapter 14
14
Zara was laughing. Ruthie, Velvet’s best friend from Phoenix, who was getting married next month, had just told them about some of the things that had happened at one of her bridal showers. Suddenly, quivers of intense heat raced up Zara’s spine, making every cell in her body sizzle. For her, that was a stark indication that Saint had arrived.
She no longer tried to understand this thing between them. It was one of those phenomena that had no real name, just a ton of energy. In their case, it was sexual energy. Even without seeing him, her body was reacting to his presence. Even the air she breathed pricked her awareness. Moments ago, her nostrils had been pulling in the scent of the sea. Now it was inhaling the scent of him.
“Are you alright, Zara?”
She looked over at Sierra. That was when she noticed all the other women had walked off. “Yes, I’m fine. Where did everyone go?”
“To the buffet table. Bryce asked if you wanted anything, but you were too busy looking around to give her an answer. Are you expecting someone?” her sister-in-law asked with a sheepish grin.
Instead of answering, Zara craned her neck again, glancing around. Then she saw Saint. He was standing across the yard with a drink in his hand and staring at her. At that moment, she could not ignore the heat of attraction flowing between them. Even from the distance, she could see desire in his eyes. He began walking toward her.
“Well, wouldn’t you know. There’s Saint coming this way,” Sierra said with a mischievous grin.
Without taking her eyes off him, Zara said, “Yes, wouldn’t you know.”
“And do you remember what I said the other day about sexual chemistry being something that you and Saint can’t seem to hide?”
Without breaking eye contact with Saint, Zara said, “Yes, I remember.”
“Just thought I’d remind you.”
Zara acknowledged Sierra’s words with a nod. That was all she was willing to do since her full attention was on Saint as he approached. He was dressed in a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt over a pair of broad shoulders and a muscular chest. He looked so good, and the way his slacks fit him, they appeared tailored to his hips and thighs. She noticed that about all the pants he wore, whether dress slacks, trousers or jeans.
She remembered the last time they were together, how her hands had explored up and down his bare chest and sculpted abdomen. She took a sip of her wine and then licked her lips.
He was now less than ten feet away from her and their gazes still held. Suddenly, a woman appeared out of the crowd and grabbed his arm, halting his stride and forcing his eye contact away from her. Zara saw intense annoyance on his face when he glanced down at the woman.
“In case you’re wondering who she is,” Sierra said, “that’s Samantha Groover.”
Zara couldn’t recall having ever seen the woman before. “She lives here?”
“She was born in Catalina Cove and like the rest of us didn’t return after college. She was living in Tulsa and working in management at the Colfax Bank. When a branch opened here, she put in a transfer to return home. She graduated from Catalina Cove High School the same year Saint did.”
Zara felt a knot form in her stomach—a knot that shouldn’t be there, but was. She and Saint weren’t exclusive. They were just hookup partners. Yet, she wanted to know more about the woman. “Was she his girlfriend?”
“Nope. Although that was six years before our time, I remember her because she used to babysit me and Dani, until my parents found out she was letting her boyfriend come over and spent more time kissing him than watching us.
“She dated Oscar Belkins all through high school. They broke up after they left for college,” Sierra said.
“Oh.” Zara noticed the woman, grinning and getting all in Saint’s face, and didn’t like it one bit. “Maybe I should just go over there and—”
“Do what?” Sierra asked, tilting her head to study her. “Didn’t you tell me that you and Saint were just hookup partners? That the two of you don’t share any emotions, commitment or expectations of anything other than the moment?”
Zara breathed in deeply. Yes, she had said that, and she’d meant it. So why was she allowing emotions she shouldn’t have intrude now? Seeing him with a woman—a very pretty woman—shouldn’t bother her. So why was she letting it?
“According to what Samantha is telling people, she thinks she has an advantage over any woman who might want Saint.”
Zara couldn’t stop the irritation from showing in her eyes. “Really? And just what is this advantage?”
Sierra fought back a grin when she leaned in and said in a low voice, “She claims Saint had a crush on her in the sixth grade.”
Zara threw a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. “And she honestly thinks that counts for something? A crush that happened over twenty years ago?”
“I guess so,” Sierra replied with amusement in her voice. “Come on.” Taking Zara’s hand, she led her toward the buffet table. “Be prepared. Samantha isn’t the only one with her sights on Saint. Like you, there are a few other women here who’ve been waiting for him to show up.”
“I haven’t been waiting for him to show up,” Zara said, maybe a little too quickly.
“Sure you haven’t. I guess neither have Robin Dyer, Kassie Fisher and Peggy Fulton. But it seems Samantha got to him first.”
Zara knew that Robin and the other women Sierra had named were coworkers of Velvet’s. Single teachers in town. She shrugged and said, “Whatever.”
Sierra smiled in an assuring manner. “I suggest you let Saint handle Samantha, Robin and any others who try to claim his attention. There is no doubt in my mind that he will find you after he does.”
Saint did find her.
Zara had known the moment he’d joined the group and greeted everyone. When conversations started up again, she tried not looking over at him but knew his eyes were on her the entire time. She felt his gaze like a physical caress, which heightened the beat of her pulse.
The party planner got everybody’s attention to announce that the first dance would be the official engagement dance for Jaye and Velvet. Everyone looked toward the huge portable dance floor as Jaye took Velvet into his arms in a slow dance. He wrapped her in his embrace like he never intended to let her go.
Zara and the other ladies around her fought back tears as they watched the couple. It was so obvious they were deeply in love and wanted everyone to know it. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind that she would never take part in that kind of love with a man. Mainly because she would never let one get that close to her heart again.
She peeked over at Saint. Like her and everyone else, he was watching the couple. But then, as if he felt her eyes on him, he switched his gaze to her. The intensity in his eyes made her feel as if she was burning alive from the inside out. How did Saint have the ability to do that to her?
She broke eye contact to watch the couple again just as they ended their dance with a kiss, which had all the teary-eyed women fanning their faces with their hands. When they ended their kiss, everyone clapped and cheered.
The DJ played another song, and everyone was invited to the dance floor to join the couple. “I want to dance,” Sierra said, taking Vaughn’s hand and tugging him toward the dance floor.
“So do I,” Bryce said, grabbing her husband Kaegan’s hand.
It was obvious Vashti thought her two friends had the right idea as she took Sawyer’s hand and led him to the dance floor, too. That left Zara and Saint standing there alone.
He inched up beside her. “Do you want to dance, Zara?”
She met his gaze and recalled that night when he’d taken her dancing in New Orleans. Just the thought of her body pressed up against his had her pulse pounding. Whenever she was in Saint’s arms, whether it was on the dance floor, flat on her back with him above her or stretched out on top of him in bed, she had a tendency to lose herself.
“Do you honestly think that’s a good idea?” she asked.
She knew he understood her meaning when a grin touched his lips. “I guess you’re right.”
She chuckled softly. “You know I am.” She took a sip of her drink as they stood there watching the dancers as a slow song played.
A short while later, because she couldn’t let go of something Sierra had said, she asked, “So you used to have a crush on Samantha Groover?”
He looked at her. “That’s what I’ve been told by Samantha and pretty much verified by my mother. Mom claims I insisted on buying Samantha a box of Valentine candy one year.”
Zara tilted her head. “Don’t you remember?”
“No. That was a long time ago. I didn’t even recall her name until she told it to me the other day.”
“She evidently remembers,” Zara said.
“Doesn’t matter since I’d forgotten.” He studied her features for a minute and asked, “Is there something we need to talk about, Zara?”
The last thing she wanted was to come across as emotionally attached—especially not jealous. “No, there’s nothing we need to discuss.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive.”
He was about to say something when everybody returned from the dance floor. She regretted even bringing up Samantha. What he did was his business just like what she did was hers.
Saint tried not to notice the man dancing with Zara. He didn’t recognize him from the cove, so he figured he was one of Jaye’s friends from Phoenix since a number of them were here. So far, Zara and the guy had only danced to fast songs. Why did it matter to him if they danced to a slow one?
He of all people knew how much Zara liked to dance and, so far, she hadn’t missed a chance to be on the dance floor, except for the one time she turned down his offer to dance. She hadn’t exactly turned him down, but wisely suggested they didn’t dance together. Remembering how they’d danced that night in New Orleans and the seductive moves they’d made to each other, she was right. Dancing with her was sensuality in motion. Sharing a dance wasn’t a good idea. Still, it bothered him that that one guy was claiming all of her time.
The song ended and he watched as Zara walked away from the dance floor. More than one man stared as she passed. There was something pulse-throbbing about the elegant sway of her hips and those gorgeous legs as she strolled to one of the open bars. The guy who’d dominated her time was still with her, right on her heels. Saint frowned, wondering who the hell he was. If he were to ask Jaye that would be a dead giveaway that he was asking for a particular reason.
“Why are you standing over here by yourself and not out there on the dance floor?”
Saint looked at the man who’d entered his space under a cluster of cypress trees. It was the perfect spot where he could observe unnoticed. Several women had approached him to dance and he’d politely turned each one down.
The man who’d interrupted his private moment was one he’d known his entire life, Levi Canady. Levi, who was the assistant manager of Sierra’s café, the Green Fig, was highly respected in the community. He was good friends with Saint’s parents as well, and he and Saint’s father often went fishing together.
When Saint was growing up, Levi had been a part of Catalina Cove’s police force. One night while patrolling the outskirts of town, Levi had encountered a group of bikers who had been speeding.
He pulled them over to give them tickets and the four bikers overpowered him, took his gun and shot him in the leg.
The bikers were apprehended less than a month after the incident. Levi turned in his badge after that and for years had taught drivers education at the high school. When Sierra returned to the cove to open her café, she offered Levi the position as her assistant manager.
More than once, Saint had heard his mother express her concern that Levi refused to open up his heart to love again after losing his wife to a sudden heart attack some years back. These days, when he wasn’t working at the café or out in his boat fishing, Levi preferred spending his free time with his dog, Chip.
“Tonight I just want to watch,” he said to Levi. “What about you? I haven’t seen you on the dance floor.”
“My leg’s been bothering me today.”
“Oh.” Saint recalled due to trauma after his injury, there were times he walked with a slight limp.
“I only plan to hang around a little while longer. It will be time to feed Chip and take him out.”
“And how is Chip?” He would often see the dog when Levi, along with Chip, visited his parents.
“Chip is great and the best companion a man could have. Tell your dad I’ll be calling him next week, Saint. I heard from Kaegan that the trout and whiting are all but jumping out of the ocean. It’s time for us to go fishing.” Kaegan Chambray owned a seafood shipping company in town.
“I’ll be sure to tell him.”
“It was good seeing you, Saint. Have a good night.”
“You do the same, Levi.”
When Levi walked off, heading toward the buffet table, Saint turned his attention back to the dance floor. A different song was playing, and Zara was out there dancing with that guy again. A part of him was glad that so far, the DJ was playing fast songs.
Deciding not to stand there and stare at Zara a moment longer, he headed over to the buffet table, hoping he didn’t run into Samantha again. The other women had taken his hint that he didn’t want to be bothered, but it seemed Samantha was slow to catch on.
He had filled his plate with what he knew was Kaegan’s mouthwatering seafood dip when a feminine voice behind him said, “There you are, Saint. I’ve been looking for you.”
He cringed. It was Samantha again.
“I was wondering if you and that guy were going to ever get off the dance floor,” Vashti said, grinning.
“And Saint had his eyes on you the entire time,” Sierra said, as if also amused.
Zara sipped her wine, refusing to comment. To be honest, although she hadn’t seen Saint’s eyes on her, she had felt them with each and every dance move she’d made. She didn’t want that to mean anything to either of them... Just like it didn’t mean anything every time she’d seen Samantha, Robin or several other women sidle up to him tonight.
But it had meant something to her.
She reasoned that since he’d been the only man she’d slept with since her breakup with Maurice, she was due to feel some kind of possessiveness, even if it was unwarranted.
“I’m surprised you and Saint haven’t danced together yet,” Vashti said.
Zara knew what Sierra and Vashti were doing. They’d never seen her and Saint dance before, but they had been witnesses to the strong sexual chemistry they could emit. Although they figured anyone watching her and Saint dance would witness it as well, they were encouraging her to do whatever the hell she wanted to do when it came to Saint. If others picked up on the crackle of sexual energy passing between them, it was her and Saint’s business and nobody else’s.
Speaking of Saint, she looked around for him and didn’t see him anywhere. Had he left the party? Now that it had grown dark, lanterns had been lit, giving the area a romantic feel. The DJ had taken a break and a number of people who’d been dancing were at the buffet table to refuel. More guests had arrived, and additional food and drinks were being served.
A short while later the music began again. Now the DJ was playing a slow song. Earlier, Sierra had rescued her from Keith, who’d seemed intent to hang by her side. Although Zara had enjoyed dancing with the man and thought he was nice, the last thing she wanted was for anyone to assume something was developing between them. It wasn’t. The only man she’d wanted to dance a slow song with appeared to have left the party.
Fighting back the disappointment she knew she shouldn’t be feeling, Zara headed for the buffet table. She figured since most people were now back on the dance floor, it wouldn’t be as crowded as it had been earlier.
Zara was halfway there when suddenly a jolt of energy rocked her to the bone and made her pause. Even before glancing around, she knew why. Obviously, Saint hadn’t left the party after all. She craned her neck, determined to find him among the crowd of people in the yard. She finally saw him and, the moment their eyes met, they began moving toward each other, as if a magnet was pulling them together.
When she came to a stop in front of him, she said, “I thought you had left.”
“I was about to leave. I’d made it to my car, and then decided there was no way I could go until I did the one thing I truly wanted to do, Zara.”
The sound of his voice, deep, husky and sexy, always made her want to lean in closer. So she did. “And what is it that you truly want to do, Saint?”
“Dance with you.”