Oceans Apart Book 1 (Oceans Apart #1)(7)

He shook his head and replied, “No, no girlfriend. You? — I mean boyfriend, obviously.”

“No, not any more. I had one for a while but he did some things and it’s over, been over for a long time.” The vision of Brad with his dick in Helena’s mouth flashed across my mind and I felt a twinge of fury creep up in me. “Let’s not talk about that right now. You wanna go for a swim?”


“Sure! Okay.” He stood up and reached out his hand to help me up.

When his fingertips touched mine, tingles went all the way up my arm and through my body. “My! What a gentleman; must be that posh English upbringing.” I blushed, hoping he didn’t notice the effect he had on me. “I have to tell you though, the water is freezing cold!”

He pulled me closer to him. I shivered as he said teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows, “Maybe someone can warm me up afterwards?”

“Aren’t you a little fresh?” I pulled away and quickly slid my dress over my head. I threw it in the bag and started running toward the shore. “Race you there! First one in is a rotten egg!”

I felt him coming up behind me and as he passed me, he turned, smiled, and ran straight into the water. I had to laugh when he grabbed his junk and I heard him yell, “Ahhh! It’s freezing! Shit!”

I ran to him, telling him, “I told you! You gotta jump in quick!” in a half pant, half yell. The water was cold, and I was sure my nipples were going to show through my brand-new bathing suit. I should have rethought what I was wearing, but maybe the white polka dots on this emerald green suit would hide it. I just really liked the way it hid my tummy, and the princess neckline showed off the tatas.

I ran further into the water with him. He started splashing water on his legs, probably trying to numb the rest of his body, and he drenched me in the process, so I splashed him back. Bad idea. We tumbled into the surf, the waves taking us under, and when I came back up, he was nowhere in sight. “Tristan! Tristan!” Just as I turned around to call his name again he came up from under the waves and grabbed me. I let out a loud screech and screamed as we both fell over, back into the sea again, only this time he was holding onto me. I could feel his six-pack in my hands. He had goose bumps; I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold water or me. But I hoped it was me.

“Hey pretty lady. The sun, the wine, it’s killing me; and I need to get back and get things packed up, although I would love to have spent the rest of the night here at the beach with you.”

I could feel the heat in my cheeks when I answered. “Sure, and honestly, I’d love to spend the night — uh — more time with you, but I understand. Fifteen hours is a bitch.”

We packed up the car and headed back to the hotel. It was closing in on eight in the evening. I had the top down, there was still a beautiful orange glow in the sky, and there was something magical about the way the sun looked over the ocean as it set.

As I pulled up into the parking lot of his hotel, I looked over at him. His cheeks were a little pink, probably from the sun. I gave him my best smile. “I guess this is where I let you out.”

“I guess it is,” he replied, but didn’t make any moves to get out of the car. “I wish I had met you when this trip first started. I would have had a lot more fun with you and Kari than I ever did with my father and his cronies at their little cocktail parties.”

I giggled at his words. “Oh, but cocktails sound like so much fun. Old stuffy men in suits drinking martinis and gin and tonics, and talking about whatever business they’re in. Sign me up!”

“Believe me; you are much better off never having to attend those sort of things. If there’s anyone there under fifty you’d never know it, and except for my dad, they’re all on their second or third marriages. It’s a nightmare.”

“But it’s business,” I said.

He nodded. “Pretty much.” He hesitated, drumming his fingers on the door handle like he was thinking about something.

“Yes?” I asked, “What are you thinking?”

“I wonder…would it be totally inappropriate to ask for your number?”

I looked at him quizzically. “Planning on coming back?” Although my heart wanted to hear him say yes, I knew this would probably be pen pals for a few weeks, then nothing, so I didn’t get my hopes up.

“Sometime, I’m sure. My father’s determined to make the business a household name and he’s set his mind on LA, so I’m sure I’ll be back. When? I have no idea, but I meant…” he sighed. “Well, it’s like this. I had a good time today. And…I’ve had the same best friend for the last fourteen years of my life because it’s rare for me to find someone else I want to be that close to. But today was nice, and I find myself wanting to talk to you more. You remind me a lot of my best friend, only he’s…well... he’s …nothing like you at all.”

I shook my head, totally confused. “Huh? Your best friend? I don’t think I understand.”


He let out a little laugh. “Let me try that again, because none of what I just said came out right. What I mean is, you both make me feel comfortable in a way I like, and I would very much like to get to know you better. If you’d be okay with that.”

“Sure, I had a really good time with you today. I’d love to get to know you, too.” I tried to stay calm and collected while he pulled out his phone. I pulled mine out of my purse and scrolled through it for a moment. “What’s your name on Facebook?” I asked.