Page 148 of Surfer's Paradise

He knocked twice.

Then waited.

Chapter 29

Rosie stood behind the door, heart thudding against her ribcage like it was trying to escape.

One knock.

Two.

Then silence.

Isaac had shown up fifteen minutes early.

Of course he had.

She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled through her nose. Steady, Rosie. You asked him to come. This is just a conversation. Nothing more.

But her fingers still trembled as they reached for the knob.

The door opened with a soft creak.

And there he was.

Isaac fucking Rayleigh.

All black t-shirt, worn jeans, boots heavy on the sunbaked concrete. His black hair was a mess of ocean-ruffled curls, pushed back from his face like he’d run his hand through it too many times. His jaw was freshly shaved, that strong, stupidly perfect jawline she used to imagine tracing with her lips.

Those brown eyes flicked up—and then softened when they landed on her.

Time stalled.

It always did.

He didn’t smile. Just looked at her like he was checking for cracks, trying to see what mood she was in. What damage he’d done. What damage he could still undo.

“Morning,” he said, quiet.

“Hey,” she replied, leaning casually against the doorframe like she hadn’t just clenched at the sound of his voice.

God. Why did his voice always do that?

She folded her arms. That helped. Kept them from shaking. Kept her from reaching for him.

Isaac’s gaze dropped for a half second—she saw it. The quick flick over her outfit. Just high-waisted jeans and a tucked-in white tee, bare feet, hair down and air-dried, a little too wildfrom the heat. She wasn’t trying to impress him. But the way he looked at her…

That flutter. That goddamn flutter.

She buried it.

“So,” she said. “You made it.”

“Always do. Ready to go?”

“Yeah, just one more minute.” Rosie bit the inside of her cheek. “Come in.”

He stepped inside, and suddenly her apartment felt too small. The ceilings too low. The kitchen too narrow. His body always took up too much space. Or maybe it was just the way her body reacted to his—heat crawling up her neck, settling in her chest, lower.

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