Page 61 of Beach Vibes

“What? We’re not. I found out about the engagement…” She paused, suddenly embarrassed for Ian. Strange but true. “He proposed on a billboard, and I happened to see it.”

Teddy looked surprised. “People do that?”

“I guess. Agatha talks about how tacky that was.”

Teddy’s lips twitched. “I have to agree with your aunt.”

They looked at the menus and then ordered their meals. Conversation flowed easily, and Beth found herself relaxing a little. By the time they agreed to split the dessert special, she was able to see past Teddy’s very attractive outside enough to admire the man he was on the inside.

There was a brief tussle over the check. She tried to pay, but he wouldn’t let her. As they walked to the valet station, she wished there was a way to extend the evening. She wasn’t ready to say good-night but couldn’t think of anything for them to do. She wasn’t the type to want to hang out at a bar, and inviting him in for coffee seemed too suggestive.

He pulled out of the parking lot, but instead of turning toward her house, he went in the opposite direction. Five minutes later, he drove onto a lookout point where tourists frequently stopped to get pictures of the Southern California coastline.

The sun had long since set, so there wasn’t much of a view beyond lights twinkling in the distance, and there were no other cars there. Despite that, Teddy parked, then turned off the engine, although he left the radio on its easy listening channel. Before she could ask what they were doing here, he got out of the SUV and walked around to her side. After opening the door, he held out his hand to her.

“Dance with me?”

Three simple words that shouldn’t have meant anything sentawareness skittering through her. Deep in her belly, muscles clenched, and she felt a faint prickling slipping down her spine.

“Of course,” she whispered, stepping down and moving close. As if on cue, the current song ended, and “At Last” began to play. Teddy settled one hand on her waist, took her fingers in the other and began to move.

She’d never been much of a dancer but found him easy to follow. The night was still with the sound of the surf below blending with the rush of cars driving by. There was no moon, but overhead, airplanes headed either to or from LAX, their lights reminding her of falling stars.

She closed her eyes and let herself only feel the moment. Their bodies weren’t touching, which was probably for the best. Being this close to him was heady enough. If there was too much contact, she might lose herself forever and never find her way back.

This man, she thought hazily. What was it about him that captured her attention so thoroughly? She’d never felt this way before—not even in high school, where crushes had been a regular part of her teenaged life.

“Beth?”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was watching her intently.

“I enjoyed tonight very much,” he told her.

“Me, too.”

“I want to see you again.”

She smiled. “If you didn’t, I’d be very sad.”

She expected him to respond with something funny, but instead he leaned close and brushed his mouth against hers. The unexpected kiss burned through her, igniting a need unlike anything she’d felt before. The wanting was as instant as it was intense. Every cell in her body screamed at her to close the distance between them so she could feel all of him pressing against all of her.

She must have made a sound, because he drew back and looked at her. “Are you all right?”

“No.” She tried to catch her breath. “What just happened?”

“I kissed you.”

Despite her confusion, she managed a laugh. “I got that part. I meant my reaction to it.”

The second she said the words, she had the awful thought that maybe her attraction had been one-sided. Maybe he hadn’t felt anything but regular kiss stuff.

“Not just yours,” he told her, right before he kissed her again.

The need returned, along with heat and desire. She felt both lost and rescued at the same time. As the kiss went on—still chaste with their bodies held at a careful distance—she realized the restraint was self-preservation on both their parts. Because if they gave in even a little, they might not have the control to stop.

He stepped back. “When can I see you again?”

“Is tomorrow too soon?”

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