One Hot Summer Anthology (4 page)

“Understandable. How’s it working out for you so far?”

“Well, I’ve gotten pretty good at the relaxation part this past week. Still haven’t come up with much a plan.”

“Have you given yourself a deadline?”

“Until the end of June. I have a good amount of money set aside to last me way beyond that point, but I don’t want to blow through my savings. I have bills to pay and other things I need to do.”

“Sounds solid so far. What I don’t get is how that makes me a danger to you.”

She studied him silently. “Can I be completely open with you?”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“You are a major distraction.”

“In what way?”

“While this is a vacation, the main goal is for me to come up with a valid plan. Since I’ve met you it’s been hard for me to focus on my purpose. The last thing I need is to add the complication of getting involved with someone, no matter how casual it might turn out to be.”

He remained silent and she wondered if she’d been too honest. If that was the case, then so be it. She had no choice but to be completely up front. That’s what had been driving her crazy from the beginning. At least now he knew a portion of the thoughts racing around her head.

He pushed his plate aside as he leaned forward. “I’m trying to find a reason to feel bad about causing interference with your plan, but I can’t bring myself to.”

One corner of her mouth twitched. He was something else. One thing was for certain, she’d have her hands full with him. “I’m sure you can’t.”

“So where do you want to go from here?”

“I’m not one hundred percent certain. What I can say is I’m interested in getting to know you better. But I’m only here until the end of June, Carson. My life is in Charleston.”

“Are you certain?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but not a sound came out. Snapping her mouth shut, she frowned. Shouldn’t her automatic response be yes? Then why couldn’t she force the three simple letters out?

“Don’t overthink it, Imani. I just asked because six years ago, I never thought I’d be here permanently, but I am. However, you don’t have to worry. I know you’re just trying to warn me you can only give me until the end of this month at the most, so not to get attached.”

“When you say it like that it sounds heartless.”

“Not in the least. A person who is totally upfront from the beginning can never be called heartless. Let’s just get to know each other and see what happens. No pressure. No expectations.”  

She studied his expression and found nothing but sincerity.

“Deal.”

Chapter Four

              Imani sighed as she walked back through the front door. It’d been a busy afternoon. After her impromptu lunch with Carson, she’d gone back to the beach house, changed into her swimsuit and spent a few hours at the beach. Then she’d begun working on a new painting, trying to capture the essence of beach life. It’d probably take her a few days to complete it, but that should work out in her favor.

             
She had a dinner date planned for tomorrow night and she’d need something to keep her as distracted as possible. It was still a little difficult to believe, but when Carson asked, she’d agreed. Laughter escaped her as she sat her tote bag on the kitchen counter. She hadn’t been on a real date in years. He was even going to come by the beach house to pick her up.

             
Her hand itched to reach for her cell phone, but she resisted. While she wanted to share the news with her sister, there were still a few things she needed to digest. Besides, talking to Naja, would probably leave her a nervous wreck.

             
Truth be told, she was excited about being able to hang out with Carson. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized there was more to him than she’d originally thought. He had a wicked sense of humor that always either had her smiling or laughing. Maybe her judgment of his carefree attitude had been a little harsh.

             
It hadn’t taken long for her to realize during today’s lunch he was very well put together. He contemplated the decisions he made with a rational and sound mind. How could she find fault in that?

He was definitely an enigma of a man, one she hadn’t completely figured out what she’d do with. Sure, she’d had lunch with him today and they had a dinner date tomorrow night, but where did she go from there? Would this strictly be a summer fling? Or would it be an on again off again casual relationship? It surely couldn’t be more than that. On a good traffic day there was at least a two hour drive between them.

Imani laughed. She was such a lost cause. As much as she just wanted to kick back and enjoy the experience for what it was, old habits died hard. She couldn’t help analyzing her current situation. It was in her nature. But she had to do her best just to go with the flow. She had enough to worry about.

Kicking off her flip-flops, she made her way over to the door leading to the back porch. Opening the door, she allowed the cool salty breeze in. It was such a nice evening. How in the world had she stayed away from Myrtle Beach so long? Somewhere along the way she’d forgotten how to stop and just enjoy life. Fortunately, she had the opportunity to do it now and she wouldn’t let it pass her by.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back inside, closed then locked the door. She didn’t need to stay up too late. Tomorrow she had an early morning appointment at the spa. When she booked it a few days ago, she hadn’t realized how much it’d come in handy. Hopefully she’d be able to relax enough before her date with Carson.

Shutting off the lights downstairs, she made her way up to the master bedroom, a wry grin on her face. If anyone had told her a few months back she’d be where she was today, she would’ve laughed in their face.

A short time later she crawled in between the cool sheets, rolling onto her side. The window next to the bed gave her the perfect view of the beach. She focused on the water, allowing the ebb and flow of the waves lull her off to sleep.

* * * *

              “Relax, Imani, or you’re going to pass out.”

             
She stared at her reflection in the mirror and did her best to follow her own advice. She’d just finished putting the final touch on her make-up. Carson had advised her to dress casual, so she’d chosen a teal colored sundress and a pair of white strappy sandals. Her hair fell into soft curls around her face, but she had hair clips and a ponytail holder in her tote bag in case she needed them.

             
The doorbell rang and she jumped. Laughing at herself, she shook her head, studied her appearance in the mirror one more time, then headed downstairs.

             
When she opened the door, her breath caught in her throat. While Carson’s usual wardrobe consisted on khaki pants and a golf shirt with Baxter’s Bar and Grill on it, she hadn’t really taken the time to admire his physique.

Have mercy. He had a nice one.

              He’d paired a deep purple T-shirt with a pair of white swim shorts and a tan flip-flops. A pair of what looked to be designer shades sat on top of his head, keeping his unruly hair in place. Corded muscles in his arms and firm calf muscles let her know he did some sort of workout regimen.  He was freaking gorgeous.              

             
Boy am I in trouble.

             
“Hey, beautiful. You look lovely.”

             
And you are walking sex-on-a-stick.

             
He grinned and for a moment she wondered if she’d said the words aloud. Then she realized she hadn’t. In fact, she was just standing there, staring like a loon.

             
Clearing her throat, she shook her head. “Hi, Carson.”

             
“Are you ready?”

             
“Yes. Just let me grab my bag.”

             
She stepped back to allow him to enter while she walked over to the coffee table where her tote sat. When she turned around, he stood just inside of the doorway, looking as handsome as ever. “I’m ready.”

             
“Great.”

             
She struggled to focus on locking up when he placed his hand at the small of her back. The heat radiating off of him threatened to singe her. How in the world was she going to make it through this date in one piece when he made her so…aware?

             
Carson led her toward a nice luxury sedan parked in the driveway. He opened the door for her, making sure she was settled before heading around to the driver side. Her gaze never strayed from him. It was impossible to look away.

             
When he slid in the seat next to her, his masculine scent hit her hard, as if she weren’t already overwhelmed enough. He smelled nice, like warm sunrays and the beach. She did a discreet inhale. Nope, the scent was all him. She didn’t detect a hint of cologne.

             
He started the car, so she settled back and attempted to get herself under control before they reached their destination. It was easy to do since she had no idea where they were going. Her mind raced at the thought of all the places he could be taking her.

             
She looked outside of the window as he drove. Her eyebrows bunched together once she realized he wasn’t leaving the residential neighborhood to get on the main highway. A few moments later, he pulled into the driveway of a beach home that didn’t look all too different from her grandparents.

             
“Where are we?”

             
He killed the engine as he looked over at her. “Welcome to my home.”

             
Every muscle in her body tensed. “I thought you said we were going to dinner.”

             
“We are. Everything is ready so I hope you’re hungry.”

             
“Carson, I’m not comfortable with—”

             
He placed a warm palm on her bare thigh, stopping her in mid-speech.

             
“Imani, I promise I didn’t bring you here to try anything with you. As a matter of fact, you won’t even see the inside of my home. Well, not much of it anyway. I know you don’t know me well, but I’m hoping you’ll trust me on this. My plan is to show you a good and relaxing time. How about we make a deal?”

             
She studied him warily. “I’ll hear you out.”

             
“Allow me to show you the surprise I have in store for you. If you don’t like it, then I swear I’ll take you home, no questions asked.”

             
She searched his expression for any signs of insincerity. When she didn’t find any, she looked away, biting her lip as she contemplated the idea. She wasn’t afraid take a chance. She was frightened of what might happen if she did. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to demand he take her home. To be completely honest, she didn’t want to leave.

             
Finally she turned her attention back to him. “You’ll take me home no questions asked?”

             
“I promise.”

             
She released a pent up breath. “Okay then, let’s see this surprise.”

             
Before she could blink Carson was out of the car and heading around to her side. He led her up the steps to his home. She found he was true to his word. He ushered straight through the living room, through the kitchen and out to the back patio.

             
“Have a seat here.”

             
She took a seat at the table that offered up a spectacular view of the beach. As she sat she noticed the blindfold on the table. Her gaze jerked to his and he chuckled.

             
“If only I could get you to stop assuming all of my intentions are nefarious.”

             
“Tell you what, tell me what you plan to do with that and we’ll see if I’m wrong.”

             
“I’m going to blindfold you until I can get the rest of the surprise set up. It won’t take me but five minutes—ten minutes tops.”

             
“You sure are asking a lot of me.”

             
“For which you shall be greatly rewarded.”

             
She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Go ahead and blindfold me. You aren’t tying up my hands, so I can always remove it if necessary.”

             
“Exactly. Just promise you won’t peek too soon.”

             
“You have my word.”

             
“Okay. Go ahead.”

Before she could draw her next breath, Carson whipped the blindfold off the table and covered her eyes.

“Can you see anything?” he asked after he was done.

“No.”

“Wonderful. Now give me a few minutes to set everything up and then we can have dinner.”

“I’m waiting.”

She heard him reenter his home, then nothing but the sound of the beach filled her ears. This date was definitely off to an interesting start. She couldn’t wait to tell Naja about it. It’d probably help her younger sister get over being upset about not knowing about the date beforehand.

The sound of the patio door opening pulled her from her thoughts. She turned her head in Carson’s direction.

“I’m almost finished. Just a few more minutes.”

“Take your time.”

She was surprised at how much she meant the statement. The tension that’d coursed through her earlier had dissipated. She didn’t doubt his capability to take care of everything. He’d done a good job so far.

A few moments later she heard his footsteps.

“Everything is ready. I would make you keep the blindfold on, but I want you to make it safely down the steps. So are you ready for the big reveal?”

“I am.” She stood still as he undid the ties of the cloth covering her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to readjust. Once they had, she gasped.

He’d gone through the painstaking task of setting up a romantic dinner for two on a blanket a few feet away.

“Do you want to leave your tote up here on the patio or would you like for me to place it inside on the kitchen table?”

“The kitchen table would be fine,” she murmured.

He disappeared briefly. Once he returned he took her hand into his and led her down the steps. Once they reached the bottom, he paused, kneeling in front of her. She inhaled sharply when his hand brushed her ankle. Lifting her foot she allowed him to take one sandal off, then the other.

He rose slowly, his gaze colliding with hers. She found it difficult to take a normal breath. Several heartbeats later he broke the intense stare off and took off his flip-flops. Situating their shoes into one of his hands, he placed the other on the small of her back and guided her down to the blanket.

As they drew closer, she realized there was a huge covered container in the middle of the blanket. Next to it sat a bucket of ice with a bottle of white wine sticking out of it. Two wine glasses accompanied the set up. There were two more small containers, one sitting in ice, the other just on the edge of the blanket. A small covered basket rounded out the set up.

He helped her ease down onto one side of the blanket. She crossed her legs at the ankles for comfort and decency. He sat down next to her with a huge grin on his face. She watched silently as he uncovered the basket, revealing paper plates and sliced lemon wedges. He placed the towel over the skirt of her dress then handed her a plate with a few slices of lemon. Her heart rate sped up at his thoughtfulness.