Page 7 of Hot Stuff

“You didn’t tell me your name,” he pointed out. I shut my eyes for a moment. Maybe I could challenge Abby for the worst flirt afterall?

“Oh!” Of course I hadn’t! I laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m Karol. Well, Karolina, Karolina Rivas, but my friends call me Karol.”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” A line that would have sounded cheesy from anyone else sounded genuine and seriously sexy with a touch of swoonyness.

“Well, umm, thank you.” My face felt warmer.

“What brings you out here?” he asked, and I laughed again.

“It’s the beach.” I shrugged.

“I get that. It’s just, you’re not really dressed for the beach.”

“Oh.” I glanced down at my outfit. He had a point. I was wearing my usual Poppy Beach Rec Center polo and jeans. “I came here from work,” I explained and for some reason kept sharing. “I was here last night and thought I dropped something but—” My words died on my tongue when, with his free hand, he pulled a black pen from his back pocket and brought it up between us.

“Any chance this is what you were looking for?”

“Yes!” I jumped, actually jumped with enthusiasm. “Thank you! Ohmygod! You have no idea how much you’ve made my day! This is my favorite pen ever.”

“Ever, huh?”

“There’s something about the way it paints, I don’t know, it's just my favorite. Thank you! I really thought I’d lost it! I was about to give up.”

“Funny, so was I,” he muttered, and I frowned.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Dan shook his head and let go of my hand before taking a step back. “So, you came from work?”

“Yeah, I’m on my lunch break.” I smiled. “Shoot.” I glanced at my Apple Watch. “I actually have to head back.”

“Mind if I walk with you?”. Normally, I would have turned any other stranger who would have asked that down. I would have looked up at him, smiled politely, and said I was okay and to enjoy his time at Poppy Beach.

But the wish I’d made on that shooting star last night floated through my head. Not to mention that when my eyes caught his, it felt like we were the only two people to exist in the world.

“If you want to, that would be nice.”

“There is nothing else I’d rather do.” He extended his arm, and when I reached for it without thinking, he hooked his elbow with mine.

When we reached the street and were out of the sand, we both put our sandals back on. He protectively moved around me, so I was on the inside of the sidewalk. We hadn’t taken a step before his hand slipped into mine. Like he had done it a million times over a dozen lifetimes. And when his eyes met mine with a look in them like he wondered if I felt it, too, something in me softened. Whatever walls I’d unknowingly built around me after any previous dating catastrophe in my life started to crumble.

And I had a feeling it was Mr. Hot Stuff’s fault.

That and making wishes on shooting stars.

Dan

I’d walked her to work. My beautiful, mystery woman had a name. Karol. Karolina Rivas.

One day, Karolina Palmer, a possessive voice she had somehow woken up whispered in my ears. We had talked the entire time, and I’d never felt the way I had with her. Ever. Not even close.

I felt like we somehow knew one another. Maybe in a past life? The thought made me want to laugh. First, I was wishing on stars, and now I was thinking about reincarnation?

Excitement prickled at the back of my neck. Karol. The only thing I regretted was not getting her number. But just as I’d been about to ask for it, someone had come out of the building looking for her.

But I knew where she worked. I knew her name. I’d looked up the city’s recreation center, and boom, there she was. My girl wasn’t just an employee for the city, she was the city’s recreational art director. She was in charge of the summer camps, winter camps, and art classes that were offered to not only the citizens of Poppy Beach, but to tourists as well all year round.

I’d walked around town for a while after dropping her off at the city building. Getting to know the area. I could see why Abel liked it here so much. Enough to settle down.

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