Chapter 8
Carly had the best job in the world; she was certain of it.
She was on her second week of teaching Gage Craven, and each day only got better.
She could hardly believe she’d complained about the gorgeous man replacing her pint-sized students for the season, when in fact this was already turning into the best summer at The Royal Palm she’d ever had.
Which said a lot. Her summer job at the resort felt like more of a vacation than it did work, and yet the pay rate was much better than her teaching wages.
While Gage hoped to catch one final wave for the day, Carly sank onto the sand.
She shrugged off her outer swim top, lay back on the sand, and took in the splendor of the beach.
Her shift had ended and she was officially off the clock.
Now was her time to enjoy the warmth of the sun, accented by a slightly cool ocean breeze.
And the soothing sound of lapping waves and distant seagulls.
She propped herself onto her elbows, the sand clinging to her skin as she mused on another perk of her day.
The sight of Gage Craven on a surfboard.
A tingly rush of nerves bubbled under her skin.
He really was a quick study. He’d be very convincing on the silver screen when his time came.
Sure, he was still making a handful of amateur mistakes, and he’d need to improve his technique, but Carly wasn’t through with him yet.
Besides, the cameras only needed select shots, enough to convince the audience that it was, in fact, Gage riding the ocean blue and not one of his stunt doubles.
She’d come to appreciate the passion he had for playing his part to perfection.
Even more, Carly enjoyed the way his face lit up when he spoke about his true passion—the world of architecture, and what it did to him when he walked into places such as the resort itself. “It’s a masterpiece,” he assured.
An image had been drifting into her mind over the last few days. Of Jimmy on a surfboard of his own, drifting toward the horizon and further from view, as Gage—strong, caring, and actually present during conversation—moved in closer, venturing to parts of her heart that Jimmy never had.
Jimmy wouldn’t have it any other way, would he? One moment he was sending her stupid poems and promising to come out, the next he was texting her some lame line saying that he wished he could, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Keep on wishing your way through life, Jimmy. I think I might finally start living mine in the meantime.
She hadn’t even bothered writing back. Since spending so much time with Gage, Carly had been reflecting on her relationship with Jimmy.
It surprised her to realize that he hadn’t taken her on an actual date since they’d lost Ava.
Carly had been the one initiating what could scarcely be called a friendship over the last five years.
Showing up at his door with some “left-over homemade chicken soup” or an “extra apple pie” because, why not?
She was baking one anyway. May as well make it two.
The truth was, Carly was beginning to resent the time she’d put into the dead-end relationship, even if the two did have a past.
“Woo, hoo!” Gage shook the water from his hair and grinned as he made his way toward the shore, the ocean foam circling his ankles. “That was one wicked ride,” he bellowed.
“You’re looking pretty good out there,” she said as he plunked into the sand beside her. Carly let her eyes close against the sun, enjoying what it felt like to have him nearby.
“You’ve been watching me?”
She pried an eye open. Gage lifted his brows.
“Of course I’m watching you. I’m your instructor. It’s part of the job.” She let her eyes drift shut once more.
“Yeah, but you’ve been off the clock for over an hour now,” he said, voice low, raspy, and…and close. Very close.
He was right about her shift being up. She and Gage had a new habit of riding the waves beyond their time before grabbing a bite to eat. Sometimes they’d come back and hit the waves after that as well. But this—Gage sitting so very close to her—this was new.
Carly pulled in a shallow breath, tuning into the wonderful sense of euphoria washing over her. Tiny grains of sand shifted beneath her, as if they too were drawn to his presence, longing to be even closer.
His leg brushed lightly against her thigh, and suddenly the bright sun was replaced by cool shadows behind her lids. A drop of water splashed onto her chest; another landed on her chin. He was hovered over her!
The euphoric sensations swelled through her anew, multiplying as his hand grazed the side of her hip. Yum.
A thrill sparked hot in her belly as she took in the sensation of his touch. She hoped the crazy increase of her madly beating heart wasn’t visible.
“You’re beautiful,” Gage mumbled under his breath, his voice deep and alluring.
It felt as if an entire flock of birds fluttered wildly in her chest. Carly wrestled with herself in the heated moment of anticipation. Should she look up at him, give him some encouragement to kiss her, or just lie there with her eyes closed like Sleeping Beauty?
And what about onlookers? Would that group of surf boys see them? Probably not. They were beyond the sand dunes now. In the more private area of the beach.
Besides, she’d been dying to kiss Gage since their first lunch date at The Mini Palm—a date they’d turned into a regular thing since then. After the many hours she’d spent in his company, Carly wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers.
Tentatively, she let her lids drift open, blinking a few times before taking in his expression.
She’d expected to see that teasing smile on his face, the one he always pulled when she held his gaze.
But that’s not what she found at all. There wasn’t so much as a hint of humor on his handsome face.
His brown eyes were fixed on her, looking over her with what could only be called desire.
Carly felt it too. She lifted a hand, the drops of water cool against her palm as she rested it on his well-defined bicep, hoping it would encourage him to lean in and kiss her right there on the beach.
Please, Gage. I want to know if what I’m feeling is real.
A furrow creased his brow as he searched her face. Another drop of water fell from his hair and onto her cheek. Gage brought a hand to her face, smoothed the water with his thumb, and leaned in to close the gap.
Carly shut her eyes a moment before his lips grazed hers. A soft, testing kiss.
Yes, it was real all right. And so so good. If the moments leading up to the kiss were enchanting, the kiss itself was a magic spell of its own. One she’d long to be under again and again.
A spark of unwanted awareness barged into her brain at the thought—she was an employee of the Royal Palm. And didn’t they have some sort of no-romance-on-the-job policy? If so, Carly hadn’t paid much attention; she’d been safe assuming it wouldn’t apply to her.
Until now.
But I’m not on duty now.
The words came to her just as Gage kissed her again. And thank heavens for that. This one was longer, slower, and more heavenly than anything Carly had known.
She eased into the rhythm of his kiss—a lingering succession like the lapping waves. A gentle push here. A hypnotizing pull there.
Carly lifted her head off the sand to take more, moving her hand up his smooth, muscular shoulder and up the back of his head when she heard the sharp and sudden catcall.
Gage must’ve registered the sound before her. At once the wonderful weight of him was gone. The shade from his figure was too. Carly lay there blinking as he hurried to his feet and shaded his face with a hand.
“Hey there, Christian.”
Christian? Crap.
“What are you two doing?” Christian’s words were laced with all the accusation they carried.
Crap. He was going to really get after her now, wasn’t he? Give her a lecture about getting involved with the patrons. But no one had said anything up to this point, and they’d been seen together all over the resort.
“We were just uh…don’t worry about it, dude.” Gage leaned forward and held his hand out for her.
Carly squinted to focus in on the offered hand before she took hold of it. Gage cupped her wrist with his other hand and lifted until her feet were planted back on the sand.
He brought his lips to her ear and mumbled under his breath. “I’m sorry.”
Carly’s eyes widened as she pulled back to look at him. Sorry for what? For kissing her as a staff member of the resort or for kissing her in general?
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Christian came from behind.
Her shoulders fell. Carly held Gage’s gaze as she answered, not bothering to look back at Christian. “Sure.” Yet just as she uttered the single word, Gage spoke up as well.
“You bet, man.”
Carly spun around to see Christian standing there, his buff arms folded over his chest. She assumed he was about to lecture her about how careful he had to be in his profession.
There wasn’t exactly a look-but-don’t-touch rule since Christian had to do all sorts of touching as he pulled women close and guided them in the correct dance steps.
But he had adapted a never-fall-in-love policy after being burned one summer a few years back.
The only thing was, Christian wasn’t looking at Carly. He was glaring at Gage.
Her defenses kicked in. Why should he be mad at Gage? “Christian,” she snapped. “Who do you want to talk to—me or Gage?”
Christian managed one hard gulp. “Gage.” He scowled at her. “You’re working, by the way.”
Anger shot through her, but embarrassment did too. “My shift was over an hour ago. We were just hanging out.” The justification didn’t sound as good aloud as it did in her head.
Gage patted his chest with a towel, transforming his own glare to a cordial grin. “You want to talk? No problem. Let’s talk.”
Only it kind of was a problem. This was her time with Gage, and she didn’t want Christian to…
to…lecture him out of liking her somehow.
Sure, there might be a work conflict Carly would have to figure out with the resort, but that didn’t involve Christian.
He didn’t own her. But he did know a whole lot about her past. About things she hadn’t told Gage about yet.
Another rash of heat rushed up her neck.
“I’ll be back in a few,” Gage said. “Then we can head over and grab a bite to eat.”
Panic bubbled in her chest as she held his gaze. Gage must have sensed it, because in the next moment he moved in and placed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Mmm…” he crooned, rubbing the tip of his nose along her temple. “To be continued.”
Okay, now she was worried about the work thing too. This was definitely not appropriate. The conflicting tingles from his touch said it all. And—like Christian—the other staff members wouldn’t know whether Carly was on the clock or not.
Gage walked away from her then, meeting up with Christian who’d turned his back to them at some point.
Probably when Gage kissed her on the cheek.
The warm tingles came back, warring with the discomfort already rippling throughout her.
She didn’t know what to do with any of it, but one thing was becoming clear—they probably shouldn’t be seen together a whole lot.
At least not until she spoke to Cyree. And would that even be necessary after Christian shot his mouth off?
“Hey!” It felt like an out-of-body experience. Like her mouth hollered out on its own accord.
The two men spun around at once. She looked to Christian first, not even sure what she wanted to say. Don’t tell Gage about what I’ve been through. I don’t want him to see me as broken. I don’t want it to ruin what we have.
Instead she set her eyes on Gage. “Why don’t we skip The Mini Palm this time? I’ll cook something at my place.” She gave Christian a pointed glance. “Off hours.”
Gage’s eyes went wide. Perhaps the invitation sounded too forward.
He nodded. Gulped. “Okay.”
Christian shook his head in disgust before turning away from her once more. Gage on the other hand, kept his gaze on her as he took one sideways step after the next, barely keeping up with Christian as he moved.
Carly spun around and set her gaze on the sand at her feet. What in the world was she getting herself into?