Ex on the Beach (11 page)

“Barely.” She let out a long breath. “They were just about to sit down for lunch, and Andie was in a near panic. I showed up at the perfect time and made it look as if it had been the plan all along.”

She turned then and headed to the middle of the kitchen, where Mark was perched, but stopped, giving him a small smile when she caught sight of him. “Mr. Kavanaugh. Did you wish to pick up with the group in the middle of the tour? I can take you to meet them.”

“No, thanks. I’m good.” He held up the apple he was now working his way through. “Just stopped by for some lunch. G. fixed me up.”

Ginny gave him one of her evil-eye looks. He just smiled.

“I have more work to do this afternoon, anyway.” He crunched into the apple, not in any hurry to leave. He liked it there. He felt more relaxed than he had in years.

“Oh.” Kayla nodded, her eyes questioning Ginny’s as if asking why one of the guests was in the kitchen instead of following along with the laid-out plans. “Okay.”

If Kayla had been the one to organize the wedding expeditions, he had to give her credit. She had quite the two weeks laid out for them, and she hadn’t seemed to miss any details. Even, apparently, saving Andie’s rear when they’d somehow managed not to get lunch delivered as planned.

Ginny put the box away in a back pantry, then returned, eyeing him. “You’re good in the hotel, then?” she asked.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t have the view of this place, but the bed is nice.”

Kayla jumped as if she’d been shot. “Wait. We have a room for you here now. We got it fixed.” She nodded and smiled at him, then did the same to Ginny. “Right? Shouldn’t I put him back in the house?”

The look on Ginny’s face was total innocence, but Mark knew exactly what she was thinking. She wanted him back under the same roof as Andie. But why?

And how did he feel about her wanting him there?

Because he knew how he felt about being there. Very damned good.

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
he sound of the waves pounding into the shore eased the tension from Andie’s shoulders as she slid down lower in the swing, her back curving at an angle no doctor would approve of. She snuggled in deeper as she held her e-reader up. She was in her spot, and though it was nearing midnight, she did not want to leave.

She’d had a long couple of days. Today nothing had gone wrong, at least, but yesterday on the tour they’d gotten to the midpoint, where they had an arrangement with the historical society to use the grounds for lunch, and she’d realized that because she’d overslept — because she’d been thinking about Mark, and about kissing Mark — she’d forgotten to run lunch over to the storage cooler before the tour had begun.

Thank goodness Kayla had realized this and showed up just in time. Sometimes Andie wondered what in the world she was doing. Kayla should be running things instead of her. But it was her and Aunt Ginny’s business, and she was determined to do a good job.

Another wave broke and she peered up at the sky. All the stars were gone. The sea had been growing rougher over the past hour, a good indication that the weathermen had been correct. A storm was heading their way.

She just hoped it moved out before morning so they didn’t end up with a house full of guests looking to be entertained. She needed to spend some quality time working before she headed to her weekly class at the senior center. The business had gotten a lot of calls over the last couple of days, both from excited brides as well as inquiring magazines.

Word was getting out: Seaglass Celebrations was making waves. She suspected it had a lot to do with Penelope Jordan. The girl was sweet, and Andie was pretty sure she’d been calling everybody who would listen and letting them know how the trip was going. It was far more than Andie could have asked.

The sky lit with a flash of lightning, and she let out a sigh and rose from her seat. She’d had the swing installed a couple of years ago. The area was separated from the house enough that she could disappear in the evenings if she wanted to, and rarely did any guests find their way to it. There were walking paths nearby, just down the slight hill, and an area with a waterfall and benches. There was little reason for anyone to look beyond that.

She could sit hidden in her cocoon for hours and no one would notice.

But right now, she was about to get soaked.

She gathered her pillow and set out for the house. It wasn’t a straight shot, and in the silent darkness the stroll was almost eerie, but she enjoyed it. She loved being out there by herself after everyone else was in bed.

And from all accounts that’s where they now were. The chartered bus they’d hired for the daytrip to Savannah had pulled up a couple hours ago. She’d heard the noise as everyone had made their way either into the house or back to their bungalows. They were a fun group, but she would be glad for them to be gone.

Avoiding Mark hadn’t been too hard yet — she hadn’t seen him since two nights ago on the beach — but she knew she couldn’t escape him for long. He was a part of things, and her newly acquired talent for hiding out from the group couldn’t last for much longer. Phillip Jordan’s watchful eye would make certain of that.

The clock ticked on the mantel as she let herself in through the back door and pulled off her sandals. She didn’t want to wake anyone. When she reached the second floor, she turned right. She had the large corner room on the end, directly below where Phillip and Marilyn Jordan now slept. It was a nice room, and though she’d offered to move to a smaller one when she and Aunt Ginny had decided to open to guests, Aunt Ginny wouldn’t hear of it.

It had been the room Andie had slept in since she’d been a little girl, and it would remain her room. She hadn’t argued. She hadn’t wanted to turn those memories over to strangers, anyway. It
was
her room. And chances were good it would be her room for a long time. Possibly forever.

A breath whispered past her lips as she stepped inside without turning on any lights. Was that how her life was really going to play out? Alone? Forever? She was only twenty-nine, for crying out loud. It didn’t make sense to throw in the towel yet. But then, she’d likely have to quit working so hard if she wanted anything more. Possibly quit working altogether if she wanted kids.

She leaned back against the wall, thumping her head softly in the dark as the thought rolled through her.

It wasn’t realistic in this day and age that in order to raise kids she’d have to be a stay-at-home mom, but what floored her was the fact that the idea didn’t upset her as it once had. When she’d been with Mark before, that had been one of their many arguments. He’d claimed he didn’t mind if she worked, yet something had bothered him about the idea of her not being there for any kids they might have. He’d never admitted it out loud, but she’d always felt it. Since his mother hadn’t worked, she’d assumed he’d expected the same from his wife.

Yet honestly, that had never felt quite right, either. Something had just been “off” when it came to him and talking about kids. Not that he didn’t want them. He did. But something odd, which she’d never quite been able to put her finger on, had lingered in any such discussion they’d had.

She shook her head, clearing it from the past, and from thoughts of giving up her life to raise kids. That wasn’t who she was. She was a career woman. Just like her mother.

She was also very much like her aunt, who had been alone and happy since she was thirty-five. So it wasn’t out of the question that Andie might follow suit.

But she wanted sex.

She thumped her head against the wall again.

Her inner voice had recently developed the silly notion that there was more to life than going home alone every night and burning up the occasional battery-powered device. It wanted hard-core, full-body-contact extracurricular activities.

And right now, it wanted that with Mark.

Ridiculous, but ever since that scorcher of a kiss, her insides had been lit up like a Christmas tree. Her libido suddenly remembered what sex was and it wanted it.

But with Mark? Really? She couldn’t have grown and evolved over the years?

Why did he have to be the one who still set her on fire?

She plopped down on her bed, making a face in the dark, and wondered what it was about him that made it near impossible to put him out of her mind.

It was all the abstinence, she decided. Her friends had been right. She should have started dating again a long time ago. Then the first sighting of Mark wouldn’t have made her remember with clarity how good he was with his hands. And other parts of his body.

Go out with a few men, kiss a few. Surely someone would wake her up like Mark did.

She rose and went to the sliding doors to push them open, wanting to hear the night. Seeing the slow, straight rain coming down, she tossed her e-reader on the nightstand and went to the mini refrigerator she kept in the room. It was the perfect night for a glass of wine and a quiet, introspective sit on the deck. She’d think about the men she knew from the island, and figure out who she would be inviting out on her first date.

No need to wait for them, she decided. If she wanted to do something about the situation, she needed to make the first move.

And making sure she didn’t get caught wanting to wrap her legs around Mark again was priority number one.

So she needed a date.

She poured herself a glass of Riesling and took a sip as she slipped out of the shorts and T-shirt she’d been wearing. The ankle bracelet caught the light shining in through her balcony doors, and she paused to lift her leg, wondering why she still wore it.

It had been her mother’s, though she’d never seen her mother wear it. Andie had found it in her jewelry box when she’d been young and asked about it. Cassie had merely taken it from her and put it back, telling her not to bother it again. It wasn’t something anyone needed to wear.

Years later, Andie had taken it when she’d gone away to college. She had no idea why, but she’d wanted it. Something about the delicacy of the chain combined with the single crescent moon charm had always called to her. Also, if she were to be honest, the jewelry had made her feel closer to her mother.

Granted, it hadn’t done a thing to improve their actual relationship. Her mother had still worked sixty hours a week, all for the purpose of looking forward to vacations — with her husband. And she did not worry about Andie. Yet Andie continued to wear that chain.

Some things didn’t make sense. Not worth thinking about tonight, though.

Nor was it worth wondering what had happened to the sea turtle charm Mark had once given her to go on it. It hadn’t been there when she’d dug the anklet out of her jewelry box after Aunt Ginny had returned from Boston. Andie had sent her to pack up her belongings. She’d known Mark wouldn’t be there since he and Rob had apparently headed off to Vegas after bailing on the wedding, but she hadn’t even wanted to step foot in the place again. It had been too raw. Too painful.

The loss of the charm had at first made her sad, but she’d used Ginny’s logic and scratched that one up to fate. She hadn’t needed that reminder of Mark for all these years, anyway. Just as she didn’t need to be reminded of anything about him now, either.

She tossed down another gulp of wine, then topped off her glass, pulled on her pajamas, and slipped out into the night.

The breeze hit her first and then the smell of honeysuckle from below. She leaned against the railing and inhaled, staring out over the pool and on to the ocean, watching the slow rain dance upon the water. Occasionally the sky lit as if a massive flashlight beam arced briefly across it, followed by the distant rumble of thunder. Maybe Mark leaving her and her subsequent firing had been the best things to happen to her.

And maybe she wouldn’t screw up and lose this place next.

Ugh
.

She had no idea why she’d let herself go there. She just wanted to relax. Tomorrow would come soon enough, and she’d go back to worrying then. Tonight she wanted to get more than a little lit and think about all the good-looking men she wanted to date.

She settled into a lounge chair that was pushed up near the exterior wall of her room. With the rain falling as it was, and the third-floor deck shielding her, she could easily sit there without getting wet. She tilted her head back and tossed down more wine, searching for the light-headedness that would soon come. She wanted to float in a major relaxed state, and not worry about one single thing.

When over half the glass of wine was gone, she smiled, slumped low in her chair, and closed her eyes to think of men.

“You’ve been avoiding me, Andie.”

Andie shot up in her seat, spilling the remainder of the wine across the legs of her pajamas, and whirled around to stare at the man standing quietly in the shadows, about fifteen feet from her.

Mark was propped against the stucco wall beside the open balcony doors of the room next to hers, his arms crossed over his chest. His bare chest. Of course. And he looked as tasty as a forbidden snack. Good enough to sneak a nibble.

She’d never regretted not installing partitions to separate the deck space until tonight.

“What in the devil are you doing over there?” she whispered. Her pulse pounded in her throat. The man had nearly scared her to death. That room was supposed to be empty until the elder Mastersons arrived next week. She glanced past him to ensure no one else was out on the deck.

“Kayla invited me back over. Said there was no need to stay at the hotel when there was a perfectly good room right here in the house.”

Andie blinked, wishing futilely that she hadn’t guzzled the wine so fast.

“Well, that room isn’t it.” Stinking, efficient Kayla. “You’ll need to move your stuff. You belong at the other end of the hall.” The room on the side of the house that
didn’t
have a deck connected to hers.

She heard a shuffling noise and squinted in hopes of seeing more clearly. He was heading her way. She started to get up, but he lowered himself to another lounger before she could get her feet under her. He was still on his side of the deck, but now within a couple feet of her.