He leaned back on his palms and crossed his bare feet casually at the ankles. His gray shirt looked soft and cozy and fit snugly across his broad chest. She smiled at the fact that he was wearing jeans, and probably an old, favorite pair, considering the faded thighs and fraying hemline.
“Thinking is good,” he said as he turned to meet her gaze and caught her ogling him. His mouth tipped up in a sexy smile.
She didn’t shift her eyes away this time. She was caught. What could she do but own up to it? It’s not like he’d say something about it. She hoped. The thought made her answer quickly, hoping to distract him from her stare.
“What about you, Dr. Braden? Who are you…usually, I mean?”
“Good question.” He was quiet for a moment as he gazed out at the water, the breaking waves filling the silence. “I guess I’m a brother and son first, a doctor second. A runner, like you, and believe it or not, also a bookaholic. Medical books usually, but books nonetheless.”
She liked the bookaholic part. Most of the men she knew were into watching sports on television. Even Chris always seemed to have ESPN on in the background while she read. She set her notebook beside her in the sand and stretched her legs out.
“That’s interesting, the order in which you labeled yourself.”
“Are you a psychologist?” His eyes narrowed, but he was smiling, and it was a startlingly enticing combination.
“No. A teacher. Why, does it bother you that I noticed that, Doc?”
He leaned closer, bringing a heat wave with him. “Bother me? Not in the least. I like that you notice me.”
She tried to smile but knew it probably looked more like a nervous twitch.
“What do you think that says about me?” he asked.
“I think you know exactly what it says about you.” Their eyes held, and she was glad they were sitting down, because her whole body felt like a wet noodle wanting to melt against him. Lord, he was gorgeous. His dark eyes moved slowly over her face, from her eyes to her mouth, where they lingered for a beat too long, making the heat in her belly coil tight and turn to lust.
He lifted his eyes to hers again. “That I’m a good brother and son?” His voice was low and deep, barely above a whisper.
Leesa felt herself leaning closer, wanting to kiss him, to feel his strong arms around her. She forced herself to lean back, needing the distance to pull herself together. What the hell is wrong with me?
“And probably a workaholic,” she said as she set her notebook on her lap again, as if that could stop her from touching the man who looked more delicious than an ice cream sundae.
“Maybe so,” he admitted.
“How about hobbies? Do you have any?” Hobbies were a safer subject than what was really on her mind, like touching her foot to his just to feel his warm skin, or inching her fingers on top of his in the sand, or pressing her lips to his to taste his mouth. She hadn’t kissed a man since Chris, and her feelings for him had never been this intense. Wondering what Cole’s lips would feel like—soft and giving or hard and demanding—she knew she’d think of nothing else until she found out.
Lovely. Wanting to make a pass at my best friend’s doctor is not going to help my tarnished reputation. She should get up and go back to Tegan’s, take an ice-cold shower, and go to bed.
But that thought made her think of Cole…in the shower, in bed.
Holy cow! Shut up!
“Right now I’m having a great time with this new hobby of trying to guess what’s going on in your mind. Your cheeks are all pink and you’re shredding the edge of your notebook.”
She’d forgotten that she’d even asked him a question. She stopped fidgeting and set the notebook on the sand beside her.
“That’s hardly a hobby,” she said as she lifted her chin in feigned confidence.
“Maybe not, but it is fun.” He sat up and brushed the sand from his hands. “What’s with the notebook?”
She looked down at the notebook that she’d begun keeping with her shortly after being put on leave from teaching, when she’d needed to get thoughts out of her head, and for some reason, the truth came easily.
“My thoughts.” She placed her hand on the notebook. His shoulder brushed hers, and when she turned, his face was so close that she could see flecks of gold in his dark eyes. “When did you move closer?”
“When you moved farther away,” he said easily.
A tornado kicked up inside her, and he seemed as calm as could be, which made her even more nervous.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have.” Seriously? Shut. Up.
“Maybe not. But I did.” He smiled again, holding her gaze. It took every ounce of restraint for her not to lean forward and kiss him.
“That’s awfully forward of you,” she managed.
“Yeah, it is. And it’s awfully out of character for me, too.” He leaned away, and she felt a wave of cold air fill the space he’d vacated. “Your thoughts.” He nodded at the notebook. “Want to share?”
Never in a million years with anyone. “Not really.”
“Okay, then I’ll share mine.” His gaze never strayed from hers. “I think you’re incredibly beautiful, and interesting, in a guarded sort of way. And you should let me take you out to dinner sometime.”
Leesa’s entire body tingled with the urge to say Yes!, but her mind was smarter than the aroused area between her legs, and like it or not, she had to be smart right now. She was just off of the most miserable, terrifying time of her life, and she hadn’t yet had a chance to catch her breath. She was still deciding if she was going to make Peaceful Harbor her new home or take the job in Baltimore. She couldn’t date anyone—least of all the man Tegan called one of Peaceful Harbor’s most eligible bachelors—until she sorted through her own situation and figured out if being seen with her would cause trouble for him.
As much as she wanted to accept his offer for dinner, she couldn’t. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to trust any man after the way Chris had abandoned her.
“I’m not really in a good place to date right now.” She looked out at the sea. “Besides, I’m over promises of forever and all that.” Oh shit. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
A soft laugh escaped his lips. “I only want to promise you dinner.”
“You’re tempting. Sweet, generous, cute, easy to talk to…but I can’t. Thank you anyway.” There, I did it. Now she could go about her work at Mr. B’s, where they were hosting a bachelor auction tomorrow night, and try to blend in. Become invisible. Invisible was so much better than the hell she’d just come out of. Her bosses, Maisy and Ace Braden, had told her that things would be crazy during the auction.
Oh shit. Braden. The realization spilled from her lips like an excuse.
“I think I work for your parents.”
His smile widened. “My parents? You work at Mr. B’s?”
“Yes. I’m waitressing there.” Her pulse was racing as he nodded, as if he was going to accept that as her reason.
“But I thought you were a teacher.” His eyes went serious again.
“Yes, but I’m not teaching. I wanted a change.” She shrugged like it was what every woman did when her life fell apart.
He sat up a little taller, and his voice turned serious. “Why would you make such a drastic change? Didn’t you enjoy teaching?”
“I loved every minute of it.” Until Andy Darren decided to ruin it for me.
“Then why stop? You said you were only here for a few weeks. Are you vacationing?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of? Escaping a crazy ex or something?”
Or something. She lowered her eyes for a beat as she considered her answer. Escaping craziness, yeah, that’s it. “No. That’s a strange question.”
He arched a brow. “Is it?”
She pushed to her feet, because what else could she do? Sit there and debate her life? No, it wasn’t a strange question, but it wasn’t one she wanted to answer, either.
“I should be going.” What was she thinking, telling him she loved her job and in the next breath saying she needed a change. Who did that? People who were running from something or someone. Or hippies who lived life like tomorrow might never come. She was definitely not one of those people. She’d liked her predictable life before the nightmare began. Her morning runs, classes throughout the day, dinners by candlelight even when she was alone because it made her relax and savor the moment, and then hours of escaping into a fictional world.
Cole rose beside her and touched her hand again. This time she didn’t pull away, although she knew she should now more than ever. But the look in his eyes was warm with concern as he stepped in closer and circled her fingers with his.
“Just tell me one thing.” He searched her eyes, and her pulse quickened as she silently hoped he wasn’t going to ask her if she was Annalise Avalon. “Is whatever—or whoever—you’re not running from something you need help with?”
She felt her jaw drop open but didn’t have a clear enough head to close it. Everything fell away except the kindness in his eyes, which seemed to swallow her whole.
He brushed her hair from her shoulder, and it was such a tender, intimate thing to do that it startled her back to his question.