A Stranger on the Beach(26)

The water stopped. Blood pounding in my ears, I shoved the gun in the drawer and eased it closed, holding my breath for fear that I’d give myself away.

But the bathroom door stayed shut. I went over and searched the pockets of Aidan’s coat, breathing a sigh of deep relief as I pulled out my keys. When Aidan emerged from the bathroom a moment later, a towel cinched around his narrow waist, I had my coat on, my keys in hand, and I was ready to bolt out the door at the first sign of trouble.

“You’re in a hurry,” he said, and he didn’t look pleased.

He stood by the bedside table, inches from the gun. If he reached for it, I would run.

“Yes, I’ve been saying that. I’m meeting my daughter. Remember?” I said.

“Right.”

He seemed angry with me, but he didn’t say anything more. He dropped the towel and reached for his jeans. Despite my best intentions, I watched. Even now, with my deepening doubts about him, I couldn’t deny that he was gorgeous.

“Let’s go,” he said.

A few minutes later, I was driving him to work like everything was normal. We rode in comfortable silence like old acquaintances, friends even. Or like an older woman whose one-night stand with a younger guy was coming to a close, and they were both fine with it. We’d had our fun. It was over. Nobody was upset.

I worried it wouldn’t last.





19


Aidan couldn’t give Caroline riches. He couldn’t give her gold or diamonds or cars or designer handbags, not without robbing somebody anyway. Her shitty ex had an advantage on him there. But he could give her himself, his love, the things he was good at, the places he knew.

He took her to the cave, and she didn’t love it the way he did. He tried to see it through her eyes, and he understood. The place was his from way back, and the secretness of it was what made it precious. The things that had happened to him there over the years. The memories. Naturally she didn’t feel any of that. He tried to explain it to her, but she was too distracted by the lack of creature comforts. Yes, it was damp in there. The rock wasn’t a feather bed, even when he took off his jacket and laid it down for her like a blanket. She was used to the finer things, to always being safe and warm. He had to remember that.

“C’mere,” he said. “I’ll warm you up.”

He was gentle with her, like he’d never been with any woman. He was shocked at the depth of his feelings, but he’d fallen, hard and fast. He kissed her eyes, her lips, the hollow of her throat. He stroked her hair and removed just enough of her clothing so they could make love without exposing her velvet skin to the elements. She trembled under his hands. They stared into each other’s eyes, touched the deepest places in each other. The light filtered in from above. Water shimmered in reflection on the walls like they were inside an aquarium. He held her, with tears in his eyes. He belonged to her now, and she to him.

Then the surfers had to go and interrupt them and break the spell. It wasn’t until later, at Aidan’s apartment, that he realized how upset she was about being discovered. She must be, from the way she went all distant on him. He got it, kind of. She’d been seen, half naked. She had a reputation to maintain. Aidan admired that, envied it actually. His reputation had been shot to hell years ago, and he’d give his right arm to have it back now. He hadn’t known what it was worth till he lost it. Year after year of people giving him side-eye, never cutting him any slack. Refusing to forgive and forget. People who paid lip service to Jesus at church on Sunday, too, but that was a big fucking lie. Bunch of hypocrites, all of them.

It was on toward October, and the East End was wet and cold. Their fingers and lips were blue as they sat in her big, beautiful Escalade blasting the heater, trying to warm up. Aidan didn’t want to take Caroline to his apartment. He was afraid of what she’d think. But the rain beat on the windshield, and she was soaked and shivering. She wanted coffee, and she didn’t want to go to a restaurant. Afraid to be seen with him, probably. She had her reasons. He felt close enough to her now to brave her judgment. She knew him. She could see the soul in him, see through the stupid surfaces of things. She wouldn’t be troubled by the difference in their status in the world. She was better than that. So, he drove her to his apartment, and waited while she talked to her daughter on the phone. Then he took a leap of faith and led her inside, full of hope and anxiety at the same time.

The second they walked in, he saw he’d made a terrible mistake. It was there in her eyes. Pity. Disgust. His worst nightmare. He’d been imagining they’d warm up in bed, picking up where they left off before the surfers barged in. But Caroline immediately started talking about leaving.

“What is it? Is it the apartment? It’s bad, right? I know I’m not rich, but I was hoping maybe you could get past it.”

“I would never hold that against you,” she said, her expression softening. “I didn’t come from money, you know.”

“I wondered. You seem like you do, but—”

“Not at all. I grew up more like you than you could imagine. Thank you for bringing me here. It shows your honesty.”

“Honesty is the only way to get close to someone, you know?”

She nodded. Her skin up close was luminous, her mouth lush. She was like a dream to him. He pulled her into his arms, and a minute later, they were back together, the way they should be. The way they belonged.