Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(48)

Mason chuckled. “Well, don’t go off and start having sex in the middle of the Manhattan Beach pier or anything.”

Paxton’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “I think I have it. Leave it to me,” he said. “I have the perfect idea to get him fired up.”

“Just whatever you do, be careful. The sooner we get this mission done, the better. I don’t like having to wait to kick ass. So do what you have to do and I’ll call you back later with more details on Josh.”

We said our goodbyes and Paxton jumped up and started toward the stairs.

“Where are you going? Don’t you want to eat?” I was starving, so I took a bite of my sandwich and moaned when I swallowed it down.

“I’ll be back in a minute. There’s something I need to get. Keep in mind, after we eat, we have somewhere to go.” He winked and darted up the stairs. By the time he made it down, I had already finished my sandwich and cleaned up the kitchen.

Paxton stuffed a huge bite of his sandwich in his mouth, smiling the entire time.

“What are you up to?” I asked curiously.

His grin grew wider. “I can’t tell you, but whatever I do just go along with it, okay? I’m actually kind of curious to see your face when it all happens.”

“Where are we going?”

“The beach,” he replied. “Why don’t you go and change clothes and by the time you get down, we’ll be ready to go.”

“Okay, but if you embarrass me today, I’m going to kick your ass.” When all he did was laugh, I rolled my eyes and bolted up the stairs in search for my bathing suit. It was hidden in the drawer with all of the sexy lingerie I had yet to wear for Paxton. Maybe I could wear some tonight, if we weren’t ass deep in trouble. Stripping out of my clothes, I put on my neon green bikini and covered up with a pair of denim shorts and a yellow tank top. I was ready to go.

Downstairs, Paxton had a cooler all packed up with waters and some snacks. His smile made my heart flutter when he watched me come down the stairs. I’d never felt like that before. “What beach are we going to? Are we going to stay around here?”

“I figured we could stay around here. Since the sun will be setting soon, we can walk up to one of the piers and back. If Rage isn’t watching us, I’m pretty sure he’ll find out what we did very quickly.”

“Oh, dear God, I can only imagine what you’re going to make me do,” I laughed. “Well, let’s go, the suspense is killing me.” I was clueless, but also scared with how this was going to provoke Rage. This wasn’t a game.

Paxton had a blanket set out beside the cooler, so I carried it while he handled the cooler. Once out of the back door, he locked it up and even locked the gate when we exited. We were going to be walking along a beach and we wouldn’t be close by to see if anyone tried to get in. If Rage got into my apartment, there wasn’t really anything stopping him from getting into Paxton’s home.

Reaching the beach, Pax found a spot and stopped. “Let’s set our stuff down and take a walk. We should be able to make it to the pier in thirty minutes or so.”

Smiling, I spread our blanket on the sand, and he set the cooler down on top of it so it wouldn’t blow away. “Sounds good to me. Lead the way.” I held out my hand and he took it, pulling me in the direction of the pier. I could see it in the distance, but it was still a good little ways away.

Hand in hand, we strolled up the beach, letting the cool water rush across our feet. “I bet Ashleigh misses the ocean,” I mumbled more to myself than anything.

“Probably, but she’s happy with Ryley. If you’re happy with who you’re with, I believe you can be happy anywhere.” He squeezed my hand. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Furrowing my brows, I gaped up at him. “Uh-oh. Is this a ‘we need to talk’ moment? The way you said it makes it sound like I’m going to get pissed.”

He chuckled lightly and kept walking. “Ashleigh hasn’t told you that we talk, has she?”

“What do you mean talk? When?” She never told me anything about talking to Paxton. Sly she-devil.

“A couple times. For example, before we got started, she said you and I acted like her and Ryley did before they got back together.”

“So this was her way of helping me?”

Lifting my hand, he kissed it and smiled. “Helping us, sunshine. She was the one who kept telling me you were interested. Why do you think I pushed so hard?”

“I don’t know,” I teased, “maybe it’s because you’re a stubborn ass.” I elbowed him in the side and he laughed.

“That’s part of it, but I’m not the type of person to give up when I want something. Neither are you. She wanted to help you like you helped her and Ryley. I admire that in you, Gabriella. You love your friends and you protect them. There aren’t many people in the world that are like that.”

“Well, I know of one person like me,” I said, turning to face him. We were finally at the pier and there were tons of people around, but all I could focus on was him. It was as if we were the only two people there. Backing myself against the post, I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re just like that too. It’s not something you let everyone see, but it’s there. I’m just glad you let me in. If not, I don’t think we’d be here right now.”