impossible not to fall a little bit more each time he opened his mouth?
Weirdly enough, the should-be-spoiled rockstar moved fast. He had the cute blue tent set up in no time. I grinned when he grabbed the shovel and motioned me with his pointer finger.
I looked behind me in mock confusion. “Oh, you mean me?”
“Yes, you.” He laughed and handed me the shovel. “You start.”
“What if I do it wrong?”
“Doubt you do much of anything wrong.” His expression sobered, and I immediately wanted to list all of my sins, so he knew I wasn’t perfect. But it wouldn’t matter if I did because Drew seemed like the sort of guy who was convinced that nobody could be as bad or have as much darkness as he.
It was sad compared to me. I had stolen a candy bar once and had unprotected sex.
He’d probably laugh at the fact that I’d never once smoked pot, or smoked anything, that my only vice was bad TV and a glass of wine, or maybe two if it was a special occasion.
“I wonder,” he whispered, his intense gaze studying my face, “what goes through that head sometimes.”
We are too close.
That was what was going through my head.
The fact that I could see the specks of light blue in his eyes and smell his skin.
I quickly handed him my wine can and then gave him my back and burrowed the shovel into the sand. I dug around until I had a good circle shape and was about to turn around and give him the tool again when I felt both of his hands on my hips, pulling me back against him.
I nearly dropped the shovel in shock at feeling the heat of his body encompass mine from all sides.
He wasn’t just tall; he made me feel small in his arms. He smelled so good I wanted to cry. How was that even physically possible? Was there some secret rockstar cologne they handed out once you had millions of albums sold?
Like “Here, congratulations! You’ve finally hit Sex God status. Wear this cologne wisely!”
He rested his chin on my head as his arms slid around the front of mine, and then he slowly turned me toward the shoreline. The sun had painted the sky in streaks of purples, pinks and oranges as it slid toward the ocean. I’d never paid much attention to sunsets, but the combination of brilliant color in the sky above and intoxicating male behind was showing me what I’d been missing. His body was hot against mine.
“Thought you might want a minute after digging so hard.”
With the sun setting, it should have been growing cooler, right? But here I was, my entire body on fire. “Are you mocking my hyperfocus?” I asked, unable to keep the wobble out of my voice.
Pressed against my back, his chest rumbled with a laugh. “No, actually, you just looked so damn cute and were concentrating so hard that I felt guilty for staring at your ass and decided, rather than staring, I was going to do something about it.”
I frowned. “And what did you do?”
“I’m doing it now,” he rasped, his lips next to my left ear. “I’m holding you and watching the sunset.”
Stiffening, I swallowed hard. “Oh.”
“Don’t get tense.” He continued his assault on my senses as his lips roamed down my neck. “I just want you to enjoy yourself. No pressure. I’m not going to suddenly strip you naked against the sand and propose, all right?”
Though my emotions still churned, I exhaled.
“Plus, I mean, I left the ring at home so—”
I drove my elbow back, connecting with his stomach. He let out a grunt and then laughed again.
His teasing made me smile, but it was his warmth that had me feeling safe, as if maybe, just maybe, I could let loose a little bit and simply enjoy the wind on my face, the way his body wrapped around mine protectively — something I’d never once in my life experienced, not even when I had been married. Maybe I could enjoy the laughter around me and not constantly wonder where it all had gone wrong in my life, how I’d been brought to this moment in time — almost forty, with kids nearly grown — wishing I could have at least once experienced the sort of romantic love people wrote songs about, fought for, maybe even died for.
The sun finally disappeared below the horizon, blanketing us in dusk, and the temperature immediately dropped a few degrees.
I didn’t