Page 41 of Connected By Stars
I see Bell stop her filming out of the corner of my eye. I know she’s listening even though her back is to me.
“I don’t give lessons, but here’s a card of someone who could help you out.” I hand her a business card of a friend of mine who teaches.
She takes the card and looks disappointed. “Ok, thanks.” I ring her up and hand her the receipt. “If you’re not busy later, my friends and I are having drinks at a club named Roxy’s. You should stop by.”
“Thanks for the invite, but I have plans.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you around then.” A frown appears on her face before she walks out to her friends on the sidewalk and starts going down the street.
I turn to Bell and grin. “Not your color?You almost made me lose a sale.”
“Well, it wasn’t her color. I was just giving friendly advice. The surf lesson line was a good one on her part, a little desperate but good.” She looks at me, and I can’t hide my grin. “What?”
I walk toward her. “Somebody is jealous.”
“Of Paris? Please. Sophia and I run circles around those girls.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Stop grinning at me like that.” She swats my chest, and I grab her hand and hold it.
“This jealous thing you have going on is kind of hot.”
“I’m not jealous.” I look at her and raise my eyebrows. “Okay, fine, I may not like it when girls throw themselves at you. It annoys me. They’re probably the same girls that comment,marry me,under your photos.”
Laughing, I pull her closer. “Unfortunately for them, I only have eyes for you.”
Bending down, I kiss her slowly and gently, wanting to savor her taste. I break away seconds before someone walks in. Smiling at her, I turn and focus my attention on the customer who just walked in.
I don’t get any more alone time with her before she leaves an hour later. For the rest of the day, I try to focus on work, but in the back of my mind, I’m counting the hours until I can see her again.
Chapter Seventeen
Bella
I wakeup before sunrise and quickly get dressed. I’m meeting Maverick at the beach today for the photo shoot and would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see him again. We talked on the phone again last night after I got home from yoga with the girls.
It’s become our nightly thing and something I started looking forward to. I would much rather be doing it in person, but we both agreed it’s getting too hard to maintain distance when we’re together. As frustrating as it is, it’s also kind of hot playing with all of this sexual tension between us. It’s like a storm is building inside me, just waiting to be unleashed.
I pack my camera gear and beach bag and quietly slip out the door, careful not to wake Sophia so she can sleep a bit longer before her alarm goes off for work. I pull into my favorite coffee shop, The Fix, to surprise Maverick with his favorite coffee. After our late-night talk last night, I know we both could use the extra caffeine. They make the best lavender lattes. I tried to get Maverick to like it, but he always sticks with plain vanilla and almond milk.
I get them both iced because of the heat and pull up to thebeach parking lot a short time later. I don’t see his Jeep here yet, so I get all my gear and walk down to the beach. The sun should rise soon, and I don’t want to miss it.
Laying my towel down, I get settled to watch the sunrise, sipping on my coffee. I only see a couple of people further down the beach. Otherwise, it’s deserted. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the salty air. A smile forms on my lips at how this place makes me feel. I open my eyes and see Maverick standing there watching me.
“I didn’t hear you come up.” I look up and smile at him.
“I didn’t want to disturb you. You looked so peaceful and happy.” He puts his boards down before claiming the seat next to me.
“It’s this place. I feel so at peace this time of day here.”
“Same. I can’t go more than a couple of days without coming here and getting in the water.”
“I brought you some coffee. I figured you could use it since we didn’t sleep much last night.” I hand him his iced coffee.
“You’re not making me try the lavender one again, are you?” He raises his eyebrows and takes the coffee.
“No,” I laugh. “Vanilla and almond milk just like you like.”
