Excerpt
from end of Chapter 1
Later that evening, Lily stood on the playground and
squeezed the sand between her toes as a warm, moist breeze swirled strands of
hair around her face. The village shops by the pier had been teeming with
tourists all afternoon, but most of them had closed down hours ago. The sounds
of traffic and screaming kids had faded into a gentle lapping of the ocean
against the nearby rocks.
Her feet ached from walking around for the past several
hours, and her head was beginning to throb as well. To make matters worse, her
dad had insisted that she keep an eye on Kara and her cousin Rachel, which
meant an evening full of aimlessly wandering through tourist shops and
listening to shallow comparisons of one guy after another. At this point, she
wanted nothing more than to go back to the beach house, put her feet up, and
relax with a good book.
A few yards away, Kara and Rachel competed to see who could
swing the highest. As much as they insisted on being treated like adults, it
was amazing how childish they could be. She rolled her eyes and sighed,
glancing down at her watch. Nearly time to go.
“Y’all about ready?” she called.
Rachel jumped out of her swing first, followed by Kara who
narrowly missed landing on her rear. Rachel doubled over with laughter, and
Lily couldn’t help but laugh too. Kara flushed bright red as she glanced around
to see if anyone else had seen her stumble.
“Nice,” Lily said.
Kara ignored her and straightened her clothes. Rachel slid
her feet into her sandals and tugged her shorts back into place, though they
still left little to the imagination. She smoothed her dark hair and picked her
purse up off the ground. Then suddenly she squealed like a mouse and waved Kara
toward her.
“Look, those cops over there are cute!”
Lily followed her gaze to the massive live oaks that
provided a canopy over a picnic area of the park. It was empty now except for
two officers talking quietly at a picnic table in the lamp light, their bikes
resting in a rack nearby. From several yards away they appeared similar—broad
shoulders, dark hair, well-built. Nothing spectacular.
“You’re hopeless,” Lily said. “They’re way too old for you
to even think about.”
Rachel shrugged. “So? Cute is just cute. Age doesn’t
factor.”
Lily looked at them again. Maybe Rachel was right, but she
wasn’t interested in another lame discussion about guys like they were a tasty
dessert item.
“They’re all right, I guess. Not really my type.”
Kara snorted. “Oh please. I think you have to date more
than one person to have a type.”
Rachel laughed and looked away from Lily’s glare.
“Well, you are the expert,” Lily said. “How many boyfriends
have you had?”
Kara took a few steps closer and jutted her chin at Lily.
“I know a lot more than you think. I know that hanging out with one guy since
you were nine years old doesn’t make you an expert. You wouldn’t even know what
to do if a great guy was interested in you.”
“Sure I would. I’d say thanks but no thanks.”
“Oh my word, Lil. Seriously. There’s something wrong with
you.”
“I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t want to date
right now.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open. “Really?”
“Look, I just want to enjoy my vacation. You know, relax a
little, read a good book, take a walk on the beach. I don’t need drama.”
Kara shook her head. “I’m not talking about a serious
relationship here. Look around. There are cute guys everywhere. Loosen up and
have some fun.”
“I don’t need a guy around to have fun.”
Kara winked at Rachel. “Well, if you’re going to be hanging
around us, you better get used to cute guys being around. In fact, I think we
should start right now.” She nodded toward the tree where the cops were still
seated. Rachel’s face lit up.
“Oh no,” Lily said. “We’re going back to the house. It’s
nearly midnight.”
But they sped away before she could stop them, so she threw
her hands in the air and followed. This was going to be humiliating. As she
approached the officers, the girls sang hello in unison. She could just imagine
what these two gentlemen must be thinking. Leaning back on their elbows in
identical poses, both of the officers grinned at the girls.
Then she caught a glance from the one on the left, and his
eyes traveled down her legs. A sliver of a smirk played at the corner of his
lips. Maybe gentleman wasn’t the right word. Kara rattled off introductions,
oblivious to the amusement on their faces.
“I’m Kara. This is my sister, Lily, and our cousin,
Rachel.”
Lily offered a polite nod. There had to be a way to exit
gracefully, but she couldn’t think of one. Kara and Rachel dropped onto the
bench of a picnic table opposite the officers, looking entirely too eager. They
were practically panting.
“I’m Steve,” the one on the right said. “It’s nice to meet
you, ladies.” His smile lit up his whole face, and his eyes had a warm
puppy-like expression. Lily relaxed a little. At least one of them was friendly
anyway.
“You can just call him Poindexter.” The other officer’s
eyes sparked with mischief, and Steve slapped him across the chest.
“I know you don’t want me to tell them what they can call
you, Rambo.”
“Rambo?” Rachel asked, tilting her head.
He waved his hand to dismiss the question. “Forget it. It’s
not that funny anyway.”
On closer inspection, the nickname seemed fitting given his
dark waves and bulging muscles. He probably did think he was some sort of action
hero. She could practically see him admiring his biceps in a mirror.
“So what is your
name, Rambo?” Lily asked.
Their eyes met, and his lips tipped into a smirk.
“Walker. Alex Walker.”
Yep, definitely an action hero.
“So what are you supposed to be?” she asked.
“Double-oh-six-and-a-half?” The retort slipped out before Lily could catch it.
Steve snickered and looked away from Alex’s murderous
glance.
“Well, you can just call me Daddy.” He cocked an eyebrow at
her, an obvious challenge, but his grin never changed.
Lily held his gaze, irritated by the way her stomach
flipped. Must have been something she’d eaten.
Rachel finally broke the awkward silence. “So, um, is it
usually this quiet around here?”
Steve shook his head. “Nah, it’ll pick up tomorrow, trust
me. This place’ll be crawling with people and screaming kids.”
“And plenty of little boys for you girls to play with, I’m
sure,” Alex added.
Rachel’s chest sprang out as she huffed. “We are not little
girls, and we are not interested in little boys.”
“How old do you think we are anyway?” Kara asked.
Lily couldn’t wait for this response. Alex had wandered
into dangerous waters, but he seemed oblivious. He put his fingers to his chin
and assessed them.
“Hmm, let me see.”
Steve waved off the challenge. “I can’t ever tell.” He sent
a knowing grin at Lily, and she couldn’t help but smile back. At least he had
some sense.
“Well,” Alex said, looking first at Kara, then at Rachel.
“With all the make-up, you look about twenty-one. So I’d have to say you two are
about thirteen, maybe fourteen.”
Kara’s mouth dropped open and Rachel gasped. Lily could
barely control her laughter.
“What?” Rachel exclaimed. “I am fifteen, almost sixteen!”
“And I am already
sixteen!” Kara folded her arms across her chest.
“Whoa! Don’t get your panties in a wad.” Alex threw up his
hands in surrender. “I was just giving you a hard time.”
As the girls continued to sulk, he winked at Lily.
Something about him sent a shiver down her arms.
“And how about you?” he asked.
She hesitated. She shouldn’t let him bait her into comments
she might regret. Arrogant or not, he was an officer of the law, a position she
had always been taught to respect.
Rachel finally spoke for her. “She actually is twenty-one.”
Kara lifted a brow, a puzzled look that seemed to ask if
she was okay. Lily decided to ignore it and Alex as well.
She turned and looked out over the ocean, wishing she could
enjoy it alone. The ocean and sky had melted into one large black expanse, but
she could hear the waves tumble into the rocks not far away.
“So, how long have you been police officers?” Kara asked.
“Seven years for me,” Steve answered.
“You’re kidding. You don’t seem that old.”
Steve laughed. “I went into the police academy right out of
high school. Been doing this since I was eighteen.”
Lily glanced at Kara and caught the slight nod toward
Steve. She knew she was being rude, but what did Kara expect? Flirting with a
stranger wasn’t going to fill the hole in her chest. Still, she supposed she
should at least be polite.
“That’s pretty young to become a cop,” Lily said. “You
didn’t think about going to college?”
“Nah.” He grinned like the thought was absurd. “I never
wanted to do anything but be a cop. Dad’s a cop. Mom’s a cop. Just seemed
natural.”
He smiled at her again, and the warmth of it reached out to
her. It wasn’t much, but it made her smile. Maybe getting to know Steve wasn’t
the worst idea in the world.
***
Alex caught the flush in Lily’s cheeks as she smiled at
Steve, and he took a quick glance at his partner. Steve was the nicest guy he’d
ever met. Too nice. And he wasn’t about to let some snobby chick get the wrong
idea about him. Besides, no matter how nice he was, even Steve could be tempted
by a hot girl, and he had to admit this one was a looker. Her legs had caught
his attention first—long, athletic—but it was her eyes that he kept coming back
to. They were cool and aloof, wandering over everything in the park, except
him. He could tell from the moment she walked over that she’d rather be
anywhere else. Until now.
He’d have to nip the flirting before she mistook Steve’s
goofy grin for something more than friendly conversation.
“So that makes you about, what, twenty-five?” Lily asked.
“Yep, I’m getting old.” Steve’s chest shook with his
chuckle.
“Thankfully you finally found a good woman to take care of
you in your waning years.” Alex darted his eyes over to Lily as he spoke,
satisfied with the subtle fall of her smile.
Steve’s face lit up with his crooked grin, unaware of the
hope he’d just crushed.
“Yeah, I got a good one alright.”
“How long is it to the wedding?” Alex threw that one in for
good measure.
Steve looked up at the stars as if he expected the answer
to be spelled out as a connect-the-dots puzzle.
“I guess about six weeks or so.” He looked back down at the
girls and grinned. “I don’t have much to do with the planning. I’m just
supposed to show up on time.”
The younger two dove into questions about the wedding,
though Steve never seemed to give good enough answers. Lily hung back, of
course, her eyes drifting down the beach. She crossed her arms over her chest
and shifted her weight back and forth like she couldn’t wait to get out of
there. The lights of the ice cream parlor across the parking lot went dark, and
she looked down at her watch with visible relief.
“We should probably get going.”
The blond glanced at her watch as well. “We still have a
little time left. What’s the big hurry?”
“You two are supposed to be back by midnight.” Lily pointed
a look directly at the brunette with all the make-up. “Your parents would kill
me if I let you stay out late, and you know it.”
“A few minutes isn’t going to hurt anything,” she whined.
He watched Lily squirm. She looked like a kid in desperate
need of a bathroom break. Too damn good to hang out with public servants
probably.
“Yeah, Lily,” he said. “What’s the hurry? Don’t you like
us?”
“Uh, well…” she stammered. “It’s not that. I just don’t
want them to get in trouble.”
“Let me guess,” he said. “You do everything you’re told and
you’ve never disappointed anyone.” She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut
her off. “You’ve never missed a single curfew in your life, have you?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Well, that must be an exciting life.”
She swung her weight to the other hip and shot bullets of
contempt from her eyes.
“Just because I take my responsibilities seriously doesn’t
mean I can’t have a good time.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re the life of the party.”
Little Miss Perfect was making this way too easy. She
turned and jerked her head at the other two.
“Let’s go.”
They stood up and flashed adorable smiles. Then they sang
their goodbye as bubbly as they had their hello. The brunette flipped her hair
and winked, and he stifled a laugh. That girl was going to be trouble in
another year or two.
Lily, on the other hand, was already trouble. He could feel
it. Something about her still lingered after she’d disappeared, like the
aftertaste of an expensive wine. It reminded him of why he hated the stuff.
