The Perfect Indulgence (14 page)

Zac dived after her and brought her back onto the bed so she was lying half under him. “You’re not going anywhere yet.”

“But I have to start—”

“The sun’s not even up.” He waggled his eyebrows menacingly. “And I’ve got the car keys.”

She glared up at him. “You’re holding me hostage?”

“Yes.” He challenged her with a what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it stare. Five seconds later, the soft beauty of her eyes emasculated his stare, and he lowered his head, unable to keep from kissing her.

God, he was a sap. She deserved to win that one. Except instead of celebrating his capitulation, she wound her arms around his neck and responded eagerly.

Minutes later, he discovered all over again that it was virtually impossible to stop kissing Chris once he’d started. Every time he pulled back, he’d catch sight of her lips and think of another spot he might not have tasted enough. Or he’d catch her looking as if she were about to speak, or tensing as if she wanted to move, and he’d have to nip that in the bud in case she suggested they get out of bed.

He’d desired women before, but never with this combination of lust and tenderness, or with such an awareness of the soul within the body. He’d always prided himself on not having a scoring mentality, but this was a whole new dimension of feeling.

It thrilled him that Chris was back, in all her fiery overachiever glory and passion. He’d like to think he had something to do with that.

But with Ames likely to get a job offer this week, Chris’s immersion in this new project meant Zac might not have enough time before she left for New York to convince her she belonged with him.

11

“T
HANKS
VERY
MUCH
.”
Chris punched off the phone in her office and pumped a fist in the air. The Valentine’s event, conceived way too late to pull it off, was nevertheless on its way to being pulled off. The
Tribune
was sending someone out to interview her tomorrow, and the story would run Wednesday, plenty of time for some coffee-loving man—or maybe a woman—to make plans to propose at Slow Pour.

All Chris needed to make the event a success was one couple. She had no illusions that a coffee shop was the ultimate make-lifetime-memories place. But someone would go for it, maybe a couple who’d been living together for a while, for whom the commitment to marriage would be a mutual decision, not a surprise ooh-he-popped-the-question moment. After all, free coffee for a year added up to decent savings; the engaged couple could take a honeymoon cruise somewhere and only pay for one ticket with the amount of money they saved on coffee. Not bad. Chris would be sure to mention that in the interview.

She couldn’t believe things were going so well. After realizing that what she really wanted and needed was this friends-with-benefits relationship with Zac, she seemed to grow calm and steady all on her own. No longer did she have to breathe consciously in order to regain control of her emotions or mood. Nor did she have to force herself to try to accept something she wasn’t predisposed to accept. Colors suddenly seemed brighter, the air fresher—gosh, could you believe it, chirping cartoon birds followed her wherever she went!

Okay, now she was just being ridiculous.

Bottom line: instead of having to work at finding calm, it now seemed to come from inside her. It was a different calm, too. She felt more alive and energized, filled with a deep joy. Maybe Eva was right and she had been depressed before.

All she knew was that this felt absolutely wonderful. She had spent the most erotic, passionate, fantastic night of her life on Friday and well into Saturday, in a beachfront cabana in a private cove—who ever got to do
that
?
—
with Zac, and she still felt entirely stable and in control. She wasn’t worried about whether he’d call her or not, she had no need to wonder where this relationship was going... It was all so perfect.

When the inevitable happened and Eva called to tell her Ames had gotten a job offer, which might happen very soon, she’d be able to say goodbye to Zac and go home to New York renewed and refreshed.

She couldn’t ask for anything better.

Her cell phone rang. It was Zac.

A warm thrill coursed through her. “Hey, there.”

“Hello.”

That’s all it took. One word in that deep voice, and she was a Krispy Kreme doughnut—all jelly inside.

“Zac, you shouldn’t be calling me at work.”

“I know. I shouldn’t be calling you from work, either. But if I don’t hear your voice at least once every three hours I start having painful withdrawal symptoms.”

She snorted, more pleased than she wanted to admit. “Anything embarrassing?”

“My colleagues are a little disturbed by the howling, yeah.”

Chris turned to hide her giggles from an elderly couple sitting near the counter. As shop manager, she should only be conducting business calls in front of customers.

“So, Chris, what are you doing tonight?”

“Not seeing you.”

He inhaled sharply. “Oh, I’m sorry. That sounds like a really dull evening.”

It did. She admitted it. “We have a date Wednesday.”

“But Wednesday isn’t tonight.” He could not sound any sexier.

“No, it’s not.”

“Agreed, then. I’ll pick you up after work. Will you be home?”

Chris frowned, wanting desperately to say yes, but feeling as if seeing him every day might...

Might... Um...

Wait, hadn’t she just finished telling herself that everything in her life was under control, especially in regard to Zac? What exactly was she afraid of?

She didn’t know. But something deep inside her was sending out warning signals.

“I’ll behave myself, Chris, I promise. I’ll wait ten, no, fifteen, no,
twenty
seconds before I start taking your clothes off.”

She rolled her eyes. “Impressive.”

“I really, really want my mouth on your incredibly beautiful breasts again.” His voice dropped to a murmur. “And I want to slide my hand down your pants and touch you all over.”

Oh, my.
She had to swallow before she could speak. “I’m at work, Zac.”

“After that I’ll take off your panties so I can—”

“No, that won’t work. You haven’t taken off my pants yet.” She waited in delight, knowing he’d tease her for being so precise.

“Oh, my God.” Zac was laughing. “Even your
fantasies
have to be perfect?”

“Look, Zac, if you’re going to do something, you have to—”

“She said he hasn’t taken off her pants yet.”

The elderly woman’s voice made Chris whirl around in horror, to find the couple staring at her.

“I thought that’s what she said.” The man smiled and nodded approvingly. “Go on, go on. We don’t mind.”

Ew.

“Chris?” Zac sounded worried.

She spun back around, utterly mortified. “I have to go.”

“Can I pick you up at five-thirty?”

“Uh...” Chris gestured helplessly. “
Yes
, okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you then.”

She hung up the phone and stared at it. How did that happen? She wasn’t supposed to see Zac until Wednesday, and that had felt like a very smart decision. Now...

A grin spread across her face. Now she was going to see him tonight, and that felt like a smarter one.

But—she glanced at the couple who, thank God, were back to drinking their coffee and reading their newspapers—absolutely no more phone calls about her pants coming down.

At least not at work.

The door to the café opened and Gus strode in, accompanied by a tiny blonde woman, who hung on to his arm as if she’d crumple if she let go.

“Hey, Chris, how’s it going? I want you to meet Pammy.” He gazed down adoringly at the blonde. “She
surfs
.”

Chris smiled warmly. Wow! Had Gus found someone? This was great news. “Hi, Pammy.”

“Hi, Chris. Gus has totally told me all about you.” Pammy blinked up at him with puppy eyes, which made Gus puff out his chest, looking even hotter and goofier than usual. “He says you’re the best.”

“
Second
best.” Gus leaned down to rub her nose with his.

Chris’s smile turned slightly sick. She could only take so much goo. Of course, she’d just been discussing her panties in public. “Can I get you guys some Suja Juice?”

“Wow!” Pammy stared at Chris as if she’d just performed a miracle. “That’s totally what we came in for! It’s like you
knew
.”

Uh-huh. No question. Gus and Pammy were perfect for each other. “It’s all Gus ever orders.”

“I’ll go with my usual, Berryoxidant. Pammy?”

“Um...you decide for me.”

“Okay. For you...” Gus waggled his eyebrows. “Honeybush Peach.”

“Coming up.” Chris turned to get the juice before she started gagging.

“Yo, so, Chris, have you seen Bodie? The dude didn’t show up at the beach today and he’s not answering his phone.”

“Haven’t seen him since Friday night.” Chris put the bottles on the counter. “He dropped me off and said he was going back to the A-Frame.”

“It’s weird. He’s never missed a session without letting me know.” Gus held up his fingers half an inch apart. “I’m this close to calling the police.”

“Hmm.” Chris frowned, trying to look concerned, but thinking the police wouldn’t be too impressed by one broken surf date. “I’d wait another day. He’s probably busy, or his phone died, or both.”

“That’s exactly what I said!” Pammy stroked Gus’s arm. “I’m sure he’s fine, sweetie.”

“It’s just freaky, is all. Oh, well.” He passed the Honeybush Peach to Pammy and hoisted his Berryoxidant. “Ready to catch some waves, babe?”

“Totally.” She clinked her bottle to his and turned to Chris. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here.” She watched them leave, hoping the relationship worked out for Gus, feeling a little wistful about their blissful coupledom. Not that it was right for her just now. But someday she’d like a guy to go that crazy over her. Gus was so sweet.

The next couple of hours were fairly quiet, and she was able to escape to the office to work up a fun poster for the Valentine’s event, which she then emailed to a print shop in San Luis Obispo for overnight printing. In the morning, she’d pick up the posters and deliver them to a company that had promised to plaster the area for a reasonable price. Terrified she’d run out of food, she’d also scheduled a run to a big-box store for bags of everyone’s favorite Valentine candy, along with extra decorations.

Chairs, tent, extra tables—was she forgetting anything? Something for the prospective groom—or bride—to kneel on? Romantic music to play throughout the day? Yes, and yes, add those to the big-box run.

She heard the front door of the shop open and bolted up.

“Hi, Chris.” Summer’s voice floated back. “I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

Startled, Chris glanced at the clock. It was after two. She’d never known Summer to be late. “Don’t worry about it. I had plenty to do here.”

“Yeah? It’s been busy?” The younger woman appeared in Chris’s doorway, eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No, actually, I think it’s all under control.” She described the event briefly, delighted to watch Summer react with genuine enthusiasm.

Chris gathered up her lists in a neat pile, wondering how far she could pry. “So did you have a good morning?”

“Yeah, it was fun.” Summer grabbed her Slow Pour apron from the wooden peg on the wall outside the office and lowered it over her head. “Luke and I hung out in San Luis Obispo.”

“Oh, how...nice.” Chris wasn’t so sure. Summer had admitted to Chris sometime ago that she made bad dating choices. Now she was hanging out with a bar brawler? But then...Luke was Zac’s brother. He couldn’t be all bad. At least, she hoped not. “He seems like a nice kid.”

“Yeah.” Summer blushed ruby red. “Yeah, he’s nice.”

“Okay, Summer.” Chris pushed back her chair from the desk. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Summer...”

“Okay, okay.” She smiled her fantastic white-toothed smile. “He’s great, actually. I’m still being careful, but underneath the attitude he seems really solid. He’s amazingly honest and he can be really sweet.”

“And the whole arrest thing...?”

Summer pressed her lips together. “Like I said, I’m being careful. So far, though, it seems like he’s working hard to change. And it seems like the kids he hung out with back east were jerks. Plus, I don’t know...I feel safe with him. It makes me realize I never did with the other guys.”

“That’s wonderful.” Chris nodded, understanding more than Summer probably realized. “You’ll be a good influence, too.”

“We’ll see.” Summer tied the apron ties behind her back and gave Chris a sly smile. “So. What’s going on with Zac?”

Chris faked surprise. “Whatever do you mean, Summer?”

“Chris...”

Chris grinned, feeling herself blushing. “Things are fine. Casual, but good. I feel great.”

“Same here.” Summer put a hand to her chest. “I feel like I’m coming to life or something. I’m so enjoying this. And him.”

Chris nodded. Yeah, she got that, too. “I’m very happy for—”

“Hello?”

Yikes. Chris hadn’t heard the front door open. “Customer.”

“I’m on it.” Summer disappeared around the corner.

Chris locked up her desk, took off her apron and grabbed her jacket. She’d go home, take a nap and a nice bath and get ready for her unexpected date tonight.

Boy, did she
love
this feeling of anticipation, knowing that her emotions and her spirit were not going to be ground down and hijacked by the agonies of falling in love. Everything about this relationship felt so completely right.

She walked out into the shop, where one of the most gorgeous women she’d ever seen was standing at the counter. Voluptuous, dark and exotic-looking. Maybe a hint of Spanish or Italian blood? Brazilian?

Immediately Chris started wondering if she’d seen her in a movie or on TV. California was full of those types, and you never knew when they’d show up. One day Jennifer Aniston had walked in for an espresso. Chris had nearly dropped dead of shock.

“You must be Chris.” The woman’s voice was low and musical. Was anything not perfect about her? She couldn’t be a movie star if she knew Chris’s name.

“Yes, I’m Chris.”

“Jackie Cawling.” She held out her hand, which wasn’t perfectly manicured. Ha! Human after all.

“Nice to meet you.” Awkward pause. Was the name supposed to mean something to her? “Are you from the
Tribune
?”

She looked taken aback. “No, no, I’m a friend of Zac’s.”

“Oh, yes. Hi.” She searched her brain, trying to figure out if Zac had mentioned a Jackie, and came up empty.

“We met in the Peace Corps, in Kenya?” She waited expectantly, as if this prompt should have cleared everything up.

It didn’t.

“Ah.” Chris nodded politely.

“He didn’t mention me?” Her full lips curved in a smile. “I’m staying at his place.”

Huh?

“Uh. No.” She felt stupid. Why did Jackie know about Chris but Chris had no idea about her? “Or maybe he did and I... No, he didn’t.”

“Oh. Well, that’s weird.” She laughed, a sexy, low laugh that made Chris want to growl at her. “You stayed at my friend’s cabin on Friday night.”

“Oh. Right.” She searched her brain again. Zac had said friend of a friend, but had never elaborated. Nor had he mentioned the woman was sleeping at his house.

As was Luke.

How many bedrooms...

No, come on. Zac wasn’t the juggle-women type.

“Anyway, I came in today because Zac doesn’t have an espresso machine at his house and I’m addicted. And because I wanted to meet the woman he’s so taken with.”

“Oh, how nice.” That felt
much
better. If Zac had told her they were involved, he certainly wasn’t playing games.