Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Ivy
By the time we get back to the elementary school parking lot, my legs feel like overcooked noodles. I’m pretty sure I have a rock in my shoe, my hair is plastered to my forehead, and the smell of my own sweat makes me a bit queasy.
Our “short scenic hike” had turned into an all-day expedition through every mosquito-infested trail in Starlight Bay.
Olivia bounces ahead of us, apparently immune to exhaustion. She runs ahead to talk to her friends, then comes rushing back a moment later, nearly tackling me with her enthusiasm.
“Mom! Mom! Can I go with Maddie and the Bonners to pick up their new puppy? They’re having a sleepover, too. Pleeease?”
I glance at Owen, who’s trying to hide a grin.
“A puppy?” I repeat, stalling for time while I mourn my plans to curl up with a pizza and my kid tonight.
“Yeah!” She gives me her best impression of a puppy dog face, big eyes and all. “Please?”
Owen laughs under his breath, but when I look at him, he tries to act like he hasn’t been listening to every word.
“You don’t have a change of clothes or your toothbrush.”
Olivia bats her eyelashes and makes a little whimpering sound that teases a reluctant smile to my mouth.
“Fine.” I reach for her hiking backpack. “But only if you promise not to come back asking me for a puppy of our own.”
She squeals, hugging me so fiercely, I nearly topple over. “I promise.”
I drop my hand to her head and tug playfully at her ponytail. “Ask if Maddie has an extra toothbrush you can use and tell Mrs. Bonner to text me if she needs anything.”
Olivia skips off to join the Bonners, who are waiting by their minivan for Olivia. Kate Bonner waves at me as Olivia hops in beside Maddie. I wave back, then drop my hand, suddenly painfully aware of how empty my night just became.
I’m not ready to go back to the house alone for the first time since we moved here. It’s small and cozy, but it will feel huge and empty without Olivia.
I should really get a hobby.
“Hey.” Owen comes up beside me. “You okay?”
I force a laugh. “Totally. Who doesn’t love being ditched by their only child for a puppy?”
He smiles that crooked grin that makes my insides do somersaults. “Come over for dinner.”
The way he says—not a question, but a foregone conclusion—leaves no doubt he’s interested in dinner and more.
“Are you sure?” My voice comes out breathy, and I clear my throat. “I don’t want to impose.”
“It’s not imposing if I invite you,” he says.
Our gazes lock, and there’s a knowing that passes between us. Something sparked the first night we met, and our bonding moment while getting lost in the woods only added to the flames.
If that counselor hadn’t blown his whistle, we would have kissed. And my body still tingles with the memory. The way he’s looking at me, I swear he’s thinking it, too.
“We can order takeout from the pizza place, open a bottle of wine…maybe take a walk on the beach.”
It all sounds good. Yes. Yes. And yes.
A sudden shyness comes over me. I haven’t dated much since having Olivia, and it’s been so long since I kissed a man, I’m not sure I remember how.
But I know if I join Owen tonight for a private dinner, we will be kissing and more. Maybe a lot more.
A shiver of anticipation runs down my spine, and my nipples tighten. There’s no denying how much he turns me on. Even when I was angry at him, I couldn’t ignore how gorgeous he looked every day at parent pick-up.
Owen is blessed with amazing bone structure, gorgeous eyes, and so it seems, a vulnerable, generous heart.
All those add up to one hot neighbor crush. It’s enough for me to shove aside my doubts. Right now, we aren’t neighbors or teachers or parents. We’re just Owen and Ivy, leaning into each other a little too closely in the school parking lot.
I need a shower, a shampoo, and a little primping time to get ready for dinner and anything else Owen Taylor has planned. Yesterday, I’d been mad enough to tear into him, but today everything is different.
“Give me an hour,” I say, blowing a strand of hair stuck to my forehead.
“Take your time,” he says, backing up toward his car. “You know where I live.”
My heart races the entire drive home. I can’t stop thinking about what could happen tonight. I’m glad I haven’t fooled around with anyone in years, because Owen seems worth the wait.
I can already imagine what his body looks like under those well-fitted shirts and pants. I imagine his chest, his legs, and everything between, and by the time I pull into my drive, I’ve worked myself up into a state of intense longing.
It’s a strange, unfamiliar feeling to want someone. I can’t even remember the last time I looked at man and thought about getting naked with him.
But Owen? I definitely want him.
Anticipation sizzles under my skin.
I hurry into the house, already peeling off my sweaty clothes on the way to my bathroom. Through the open windows, I can see the pink splash of the setting sun and the blue bay waters. I pause for a moment and take in the beauty, the solitude.
Starlight Bay feels right.
Owen feels right.
I want to break out in a little dance, so I do. I even sing a few bars of a song that has been bouncing around in my head for ages.
I head into the bathroom, already dreaming about a hot shower and steamy activities that may happen tonight.
I step into the shower and turn the faucet to on. Nothing happens.
I jiggle it. Slam it back and forth. I even talk sweetly to it.
“Come on,” I beg. “Please. Don’t do this to me.”
Nothing. Not so much as a trickle of water.
Panic slithers over my bare skin. In the last few weeks, if something could go wrong in my cottage on the bay, it had. I’m the lucky owner of a charming money pit.
I wrap up in my robe and cross to the bathroom sink. When I try the faucet, nothing happens.
When I try the hall bath and the laundry room, same thing. Absolutely no water.
This entire house is drier than the Sahara.
I slide down to the floor and grab a handful of my hair. Perfect . I have no water. I’m covered in trail dirt, and there’s a man next door waiting for me.
I can’t show up like this. Getting to my feet, I find my phone and dial Owen’s number. My pride wars with my need, but pride wins.
He answers on the second ring. “Hey.”
I go weak at the knees at the sexy sound of his voice. “Hey.”
“You on your way over? Want me to meet you?”
“Um—listen. I can’t come over.”
“What?” There’s a clanging sound as if he dropped something. “Why not?”
Heat floods my cheeks. “It’s not you.”
“I already ordered the pizza. Are you seriously gonna make me eat a large pepperoni and garlic knots by myself?”
He sounds devastated, and I think about if the roles were reversed, and he was ditching me. I’d feel just the same.
“Seriously. I’m not mad about that circus comment anymore.”
“Okay,” he says again, his voice sounding quieter. “We don’t have to eat the garlic knots if you’re worried about bad breath.”
A laugh escapes. “It’s not the garlic knots. Although, I’m really not a fan.”
“Okay.”
I hate to hurt him. “I’m really sorry.”
“I’ll get over it.”
A stone of disappointment sinks in my belly. He could have fought a little harder for what could have been.
“Goodnight, Owen,” I say, collapsing onto the sofa with a barely suppressed sigh.
“Goodnight, Ivy.”
I hang up and toss the phone onto the pillow beside my head. Screw romance. I’ll just stay dirty and eat a bowl of ice cream for dinner.
A moment later, there’s a knock at the door.
I bolt upright and check the window. No cars in the driveway. There’s only one person it could be.
I go to the door and peek through the peephole. Sure enough, it’s Owen.
Pulling the door open, I step aside and let him in.
His eyes are more intense than I’ve ever seen them. “You want me to go?”
I clutch my robe around my naked body. “No.”
His gaze drops over me, resting on my bare legs sticking out from the hem of the robe. “Why don’t you want to have dinner with me?”
“I do,” I say, feeling a blush climb up my cheeks.
“You don’t have to eat the breadsticks—”
“It’s my water.”
“Your what?” His brow wrinkles.
“I don’t have any water, and there is no way I’m coming over to your house like this.” I gesture at my body.
Silence fills the air, and I can feel the sizzle of Owen’s gaze sliding over my robe.
“You want a shower?”
I nod, so embarrassed I can’t form words.
The look on his face tells me he gets it, and he’s not the least bit upset about it. “I have a perfectly good shower at my place.”
I blink. “I couldn’t—”
“I’m serious. You can use the guest room. It’s private. You’ll be comfortable.”
I bite my lip, my mind torn between mortification and the thought of being near him again. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll order pizza. No garlic knots. You can take the world’s longest shower. Deal?”
I sigh, already anticipating the hot water sluicing over my skin. “Deal.”
“Grab some clothes,” he says, eyes blazing over my exposed skin. “Or don’t.”
“Owen—”
Before I can say another word, he reaches for me. His arm snakes around my waist, and he pulls me close to his chest, taking away any nugget of doubt I had about whether or not he wanted me.
Then, we are kissing, our entire bodies pressed together in desperate need. His mouth is so hot on mine, it melts away every last doubt in my mind.