It ignited his entire body on fire. He looked at her again.
“Can I ask you something . . . silly?” She had caught her lip between her teeth.
Without thinking, he reached up to ease it free, then kept his hand cupped to her face. “Yes, anything.”
“My aunt said . . . well, that you had a lot of girlfriends . . .” She looked away. “I’m sorry. That was stupid—”
“No—it was . . .” He could hardly breathe for the pressure in his chest. “No, Raina. I have a lot of girls who are my friends. I find girls easy to be around, but no . . . I haven’t dated many girls in Deep Haven or beyond.”
He searched for her eyes, and she met his, her bottom lip caught in her teeth once more.
He couldn’t help it. Gently he ran his hand behind her neck and drew her close, searching her gaze a moment for permission before he touched her lips with his.
Her mouth tasted sweet, of her soda and the honey mustard on the wraps. Her response was soft and just eager enough to urge him on, even as she put her hand to his chest. For a second, he thought she might push him away, but she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.
Casper scooted in and wrapped his arms around her, deepening his kiss.
Raina. Who knew such happiness could be found hiding in Deep Haven?
She fitted herself to his body and seemed to relax in his embrace. And that’s when he heard his father’s voice, thrumming deep in his head: You’ve been a gentleman, right?
So far, yeah. But he hardly had gentlemanly thoughts sparking in his brain at the moment. In fact, he had her locked in his arms on the beach as the sun began its descent . . .
Casper ran his hand over her cheek and lifted his head.
Her eyes hung on his, the slightest smile at the corners of her mouth.
Maybe he’d sit right here for a while. He wound his fingers through hers. “How did you know about this place? I thought only locals knew about Paradise Beach.”
Just like that, her expression darkened. “Uh . . . I . . . I don’t know. Maybe . . . maybe Aunt Liza?”
Oh yeah, Liza, of course. Still, he sensed a funny shift in their moment, in the way her hand loosened and she started to pull away.
He gripped it, holding on. “So did she tell you that this is the perfect beach for finding agates?”
It seemed to work. “What are agates?”
“Tiny, beautiful rocks that look like mini granite stones. Treasures embedded in the shore.” He wanted to pull her into his arms again. More, he wanted to reach inside to that dark place and pull out her fear. To make her feel safe, wanted.
Yeah, he wanted to fix her. And maybe, just a little, he could.
“Will you help me find one?”
Casper nodded. “I think I can do that.”
A STORM FRONT had rolled in since their beautiful evening, thunderstorms hovering over the island of Oahu, sending a gray pallor over the last day of competition. Waves thundered onto the shore, almost deafening, and the pitter-patter of rain suggested their crowd might be meager today.
Still, nothing could sink Grace’s buoyant spirit.
She’d already won. Because last night Max had finally taken her in his arms. She could still feel his embrace around her, taste his lips on hers.
She’d slept a total of two hours, maybe, but this morning everything buzzed with anticipation. She buttoned her chef’s jacket, glancing at Max, hoping for a smile.
He wore his game face, freshly shaved, looking dark and intense. She’d guess it was his hockey face. Owen had a similar expression.
He’d met her after breakfast, already in competition mode. She tried to tease him, but he just looked at her with steely, serious eyes.
For a second, she feared that he regretted their romantic, glorious evening, but then he’d taken her hand, holding it in his iron grip as they advanced to the tents and the crew trailers, splashing through puddles, then breaking into a run when it started to rain. He’d nearly shoved her into the trailer.
“I’m not going to melt, Max,” she said, laughing, but he didn’t smile. As if he might truly be protecting her.
So maybe she’d wait until after the competition to tell him that she loved him. She meant to say it last night, but . . . despite his affection, the words still glued to her chest. She wanted to say it once, forever, to the right man.
To Max.
“Five minutes to set.”
Max began to breathe deeply. “Did you know that we’re on Facebook? And that videos of our show are on the Internet?”
She nodded. “My mom told me yesterday. Sorry; I would have mentioned it to you—I forgot.”
He drew in another breath, blew it out.
“Are you nervous? You seem nervous.”
He smiled then, but it was all teeth, nothing of his eyes. “We got this.”