Page 82 of Deep Tide

“Out of what?”

“This operation you’ve got going here. It sounds dangerous.” She reached for the door. “If you value your friendship with Joel, you’ll want to keep his sister way the hell away from it.”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Leyla met Sean on the bridge spanning the sand dunes. Today she wore white jeans and a tight black T-shirt, and the breeze off the water whipped her ponytail around her shoulders.

She smiled as she neared him, and Sean’s pulse sped up. That was all it took. One smile, and his whole body reacted.

He held out the drink he’d brought her. “Lemonade,” he said. “I stopped at the juice place.”

“Aww, thanks.” Her smile fell away as she took the cup. “What happened to your face?”

“Caught some gravel,” he said, because he seemed to have lost the ability to lie to her.

“How?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He took her hand to distract her as they walked to the end of the bridge.

She slid him a look, not distracted at all. “Are you all right?”

“Fine. Thanks for taking a break with me.”

“I only have twenty minutes or so. Our event starts at five.”

They walked together down the stairs, and she dropped his hand to remove her sandals. She’d painted her toenails pink, he noticed. The other night they’d been silver.

She left her shoes at the base of the steps.

“Thanks for the drink.” She sipped from the straw and then offered him the cup. “Want some?”

“I’m good.”

They walked toward the water, passing a beach blanket where a family had set up for the afternoon with what seemed like a crazy amount of gear: three umbrellas, two coolers, six beach chairs, plus a wagon filled with foam pool noodles. A group of kids ran back and forth between the water’s edge and a giant pit where they were building a sandcastle.

Leyla sipped the lemonade and stopped to gaze at the surf. “Tide’s out.” She glanced at him. “You get a chance to fish today?”

“Nope.”

They started walking, and she looked at him, clearly hoping he’d elaborate on what he’d been up to since she’d last seen him.

“I spent the day inside, mostly,” he said. “Online, on the phone. It’s been pretty tedious. How about you?”

“Saturdays are always busy. After the lunch rush, I decorated a cake for a christening that’s tomorrow.” She handed him the cup and then bent to roll the cuffs of her jeans. “And then I fried forty crab cakes and made a remoulade sauce for tonight’s gig.” She straightened. “So, if I smell like cooking oil, that’s why.”

He stepped closer and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You smell amazing.”

“Right.”

He gave her back the lemonade. Then he took her free hand again and they strolled down the beach, passing a boy and his dad trying to get a shark-shaped kite into the air. Most of the families out today had small children who were probably still too young to be tied to the school calendar.

They walked along in companionable silence. His condo was just up ahead, and he had the urge to take her upstairs and make her late for her event. Sean was dying to get her alone. Truly alone, where they wouldn’t be interrupted by crowds or co-workers or cell phones. Maybe when this op wrapped, he could tack on some vacation time. He wanted a real vacation, where he could turn his phone off and give Leyla his undivided attention.

He wanted to get to know her. Really get to know her, beyond the stuff she’d been willing to share so far. He already knew she kept her guard up with most people, and he got that, but he wanted to be different. He wanted to learn what made her happy, and frustrated, and turned on. He wanted every detail. He’d never been so intrigued by anyone, and he was trying not to feel bitter over the fact that they lived so far apart. He was trying to focus on her instead, but the logistical stuff kept eating away at him. He couldn’t help it. That was how he was. When he saw a problem, he homed in on it.

She looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

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