Tidal (24 page)

plucking them out the cake to lick the icing

off the bottom.

He grinned and nudged himself

between my legs. He slid his hand up the

front of my body, stopping just behind my

ear. A strangled moan escaped the back of

my throat as his fingers gently threaded

through my hair.

“Happy birthday, Willow,” he said,

his voice serious this time.

I reached out and skimmed the back of

my hand along the side of his face, through

his hair, before pulling his head down to

mine. I laced my fingers through the hair at

his crown, and wrapped my ankles around

him.

When the kiss turned sweet, it took me

a moment to realize he’d dipped his finger

into frosting and was sliding in and out of

my mouth as his lips probed mine. I

groaned, melting against him, but he shook

his head.

“I’ve got a birthday surprise for you,

Wills.” Another surprise. I wasn’t too

sure if I could handle another today

without bursting into a puddle of

waterworks but I nodded despite myself.

His hands slid down the bare skin of my

arm, tangling with my fingertips for just a

moment before he stepped away. “But

first, cake.”

We each ate a slice, sitting on the

countertop, and then he said it was time to

go. I asked him a million questions as he

maneuvered his Jeep down Honolulu’s

back roads but he wouldn’t budge.

“And Paige and Eric know?” I asked.

When I’d asked him where they were

while we ate our cake, he said they were

taking the day off and would be around

tonight.

“Paige is a planning goddess,” he

said, winking as the corners of his lips

tugged up.

I sat back in the seat, crossing my arms

over my chest, but I couldn’t fight the

smile that spread across my lips.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Our destination turned out to be a

small cove a half hour from his house. As

I jumped out of the Jeep, taking in the sight

of the jewel green water below the rocks,

I said, “I am so not skinny dipping with

you.” I glanced back at him, where he

stood leaned against the front of the Jeep

with a giant beach blanket slung across his

shoulders.

He clutched at his chest, pretending to

be hurt. “God, Wills, I can’t even get you

to let me see you naked in the lights. I

wouldn’t dream of trying to get you to

strip down in Cockroach Cove.”

I froze. “Cockroach Cove?”

He laughed again, coming up beside

me to wrap his arm around my waist. I

sighed and rubbed the top of my head

against his shoulder. “No actual

cockroaches,” he said, steadying me as we

walked down the rocks toward the water.

Then he twisted his mouth to the side. “At

least I don’t think.”

Nice to know.

We spent the next hour hiking through

the cove, stopping every now and then to

step away from the blowholes scattered

throughout the place. “What would happen

if I jumped in?” I asked at one point, as

the salty spray hit my skin, moistening it.

He flicked the tip of his tongue over

his full lips. “You would tumble to a

certain death.”

I turned to him, placing my hand on his

chest and biting the inside of my cheek.

“Thought you’d always look after me?” I

asked dramatically.

“As much as humanly possible,” he

replied.

We stretched out in a shadowy portion

of the cove, in front of a cave that I

refused to go in, and I let the sunlight that

occasionally hit our spot warm my bare

feet. “We can go diving off that over there

if you really want to jump off something,”

he said after a long, lazy silence. I

followed his pointed finger to a steep

collection of rocks that dropped down to

whirling white water.

Giving him a sharp look, I shook my

head.

I’d been pulled under too many times

to count since coming here and that was

the last thing I needed.

“I’m not the best swimmer,” I

whispered, turning my body into his. I

rested my cheek on his bicep, and he

looked down into my eyes.

“I know.” He reached out and stroked

my hair back from my forehead. “But I’ll

catch you when you fall.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced

down between us at the blanket, messing

with a snagged string. I took a shaky

breath before replying, “It’s hard letting

go.”

We both knew I wasn’t talking about

the cliff, and he was silent again for a long

time. When he spoke, his voice lowered.

“I’m falling in love with you, Wills.”

He slid his fingertip over my lips, hushing

my response. “You drive me crazy. I

mean, it started out as this need to get you

out of my head, but the longer I’m with

you—” Giving me a sad smile, he lifted

his shoulders.

My throat went dry. I’d heard

declarations of love from more guys than I

could count, the first being Tyler and the

last being Gavin, but they’d never looked

at me like this whole cove could tumble

around us and they wouldn’t even notice.

I parted my lips to speak, but he

replaced his finger with his own mouth,

kissing me slowly, carefully, as if I’d

break. I was barely aware that I was

crying until he drew back and my tears

had left streaks on his cheeks.

Using the pad of his thumb, he swiped

them away from my skin, and then kissed

his fingertip.

Why did he have to do things like that?

Why did he have to tell me he was

falling in love with me when I had no idea

what would happen after this movie was

complete?

“This has been the best month of my

life and, Cooper I—”

Half dozen flashes, all from a

distance, slammed against my face,

making me flinch, exposing me. My heart

jumped into my throat as I faced a

cameraman several feet away, standing on

rocks as he happily snapped pictures of

me. Of Cooper and me. I covered my face,

but he continued to take photos. Strong

arms encircled me and steadied me to my

feet.

“Let’s go,” Cooper said in a rough

voice, burying my face into his shoulder. I

felt him shift. “If you come close to her

I’ll break that fucking thing in your face.”

We left my shoes. And the blanket.

And I left behind the words I’d wanted to

say to him as we rushed to his Jeep with

the sounds of the camera following us.

I’m falling in love with you too,

Cooper.

Chapter Seventeen

Finding my photo plastered on the

homepage of nearly every gossip blog and

magazine in the country had always been a

frustrating pill that I’d choked on and

swallowed before moving forward,

somewhat, with my life. But seeing myself

all over the Internet with the guy I was

slowly drowning for, finding my face

posted up beside his dead mother’s photo

as columnists made comparisons between

the two of us was one of the worst

feelings in the world.

Inside Cooper and Willow’s Love

Nest

Willow Avery Trains with Surfing

Prodigy Lover on Kailua Beach

Hilary Norton’s Son Makes Waves

with Disgraced Actress in Sunny Hawaii

The headlines went on, and each time I

read a new one, I just wanted to stick my

head into the sand. A week after the run-in

with the paparazzo on my birthday,

Dickson called a conference with both me

and Cooper in his trailer. As we sat

across from him, I wrung my hands

together.

Cooper’s reached down, prying my

fingers apart before giving me a smile

meant to calm me down. I tried to return

the expression but the only thing I

accomplished was a clenched jaw and

feeling sick to my stomach.

“You’ve been doing amazing,

Willow,” Dickson began.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

He worked his thumb and forefinger

over the bridge of his nose. “But I’ve got

to admit I’m a little worried about the two

of you.”

I frowned. I’d had producers confront

me about everything from showing up late

to work to stumbling onto set too high to

remember my lines but never for dating

someone. Especially when that someone

wasn’t even a member of the cast or

crew.

“Why?” I asked, my voice raising an

octave.

Dickson leaned forward, resting his

elbows on the laminate desk he was

working from. A hundred emotions

washed over his face as we all sat in

complete silence before he finally settled

on one: regret.

“I’m terrified that this won’t end

well,” Dickson said truthfully. “I’m afraid

that if that happens, Willow might not be

able to fulfill her contractual obligations.”

He pointed his gaze at Cooper as the

words fell from his lips.

“That’s the most idiotic bullshit I think

I’ve
ever
heard you say,” Cooper

muttered, narrowing his blue eyes at

Dickson.

I wasn’t going to let it go there.

“Dickson, I’m not sure if you realized it or

not but I’m not a sixteen year old kid,” I

said.
Not like I’d been when I fell for

Tyler
. “I’m twenty and free to date

whoever the hell I want. You’re an

incredible producer, but please don’t turn

all fatherly on me. I can take care of

myself.”

Dickson sighed. “I just want to keep

you happy, Willow,” he said.

“I am.” I squeezed Cooper’s hand

tight. “I love this role. I love the crew.

Fuck, I even adore working with Justin

and he’s a cocky asshole who’s always

grabbing at me or talking about himself.

Please . . .
please
don’t make this

awkward. I mean, if you have to, call

Kevin and tell him your concerns.”

Dickson gave a little jerk of his head

and a tight smile. “I understand. I’m so

sorry for invading your personal life.”

Then he refocused his eyes on Cooper.

“Willow, can you excuse us for a

moment?”

I nodded, ducking my head as I left.

I’d barely made it to the end of the trailer

to meet up with Miller before the

explosion inside began.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

I ask you to watch out for her and you

have sex with her,” Dickson’s voice

filtered outside, and I felt myself flush

from head to toe from the shame.

My ears were tingling and Cooper’s

soft accent made it impossible for me to

hear what he said next. Not that I was sure

if I even wanted to at this point.

“Come on,” Miller said, placing his

hands between my shoulder blades and

guiding me forward. I cast a gracious look

up at him, thankful that he was smart

enough to get me away from the situation.

That he realized that moments like this—

they were the ones that threatened to send

me over the edge.

But that night as Cooper and I lounged

under the setting sun on his deck, I asked

him what Dickson had said to him after I

left. He shifted in his beach chair, lifting

his shoulders. “Something along the lines

of me being a professional fuck-up for

having taken advantage of you.” If he

hadn’t said it in such a strained voice, I

would have believed he hadn’t been

affected by it.

I winced, rolling to my side to gather

my bearings before I met his gaze. When I

did, I kept my eyes closed and asked,

“You think this will affect you getting

another job working for—”

He cut me off quickly. “I don’t care

whether I ever work for these people

again. I just want them to leave you

alone.”

I let out a shaky laugh, squeezing my

closed eyes more tightly together to

suppress the moisture that was slowly

building. I wouldn’t let myself cry over

this. I refused to let this fuck with me

anymore than it already had. “Don’t tell

me you’re going to make a YouTube video

crying for the world to leave Willow

alone,” I said, my voice broken.

“Nah,” he said.

I heard him get up from his beach

chair and then I felt his hands plant down

on either side of my own. I opened my

eyes to see his halo of blonde hair in front

of my face—his blue eyes staring into my

own—and my lips parted. I flushed when

he brought my wrists to his lips, rubbing

hot kisses on the insides.

A long silence passed and then

Cooper’s eyebrows knotted together. “On

second thought, maybe I will do that

YouTube video. Except I’ll have to use

your real name for dramatic effect.” After

he said that, the tension clouding the

atmosphere around us seemed to fade

away and we grabbed our surfboards to