Rebound (Boomerang #2)(11)

Nice, Blackwood. Way to set yourself up. But there’s no backing out now. “At times, yes. I do.” I smile, realizing how it sounds. “There’s this static sometimes . . . This noise in my thoughts, and I can’t settle it down. Getting out on the waves does away with it, though. It just . . .”

“Cures it?” Catwoman offers.

I shake my head because I don’t think there is a cure for what I’ve got. Four years have passed, and I’m still not cured. “Quiets it. For a while.”

I can’t believe what I’ve just said. I’ve never even admitted this to my brother, and Grey knows everything.

Catwoman’s eyes narrow like she’s picturing it. Being on a board. Watching a wave set up. Like she’s trying to imagine how that could equal quiet and calm. I like the way she looks, like she’s dreaming, but it’s probably been three minutes since I’ve kissed her. Well past time to take care of that.

As I’m leaning in, she surprises me and ducks her head. Next thing I know, she’s hugging me. Just hugging me, hard, and not letting go.

“Sorry,” she says. “I don’t know why, but . . . I just had to do that.”

And . . . I’m sold. It’s her impulsiveness. Her total and complete sweetness.

Something in my chest starts to creak open, getting its first taste of sunshine in years, and I don’t fight it. I let it happen.

I am in.

Screw the masks. I need to know who this girl is. I need to see her again. So I tell her that. I tell her I want her number. I tell her I want to see her face. “Let’s keep the adventure going after tonight. What do you say?”

“Okay,” she says, smiling. “Yes,” she adds, nodding. “I want that too.”

She reaches behind her head. My heart’s climbing its way out of my chest as she unfastens the mask. Then all I can do is look.

She’s more beautiful than I expected, and I expected a lot.

Graceful features. Smooth fair skin. Wide blue eyes that are intelligent, like I’d already seen, but there’s something more now. Taken with all of her, with her whole face, there’s something gentle in them that verges on vulnerable.

I haven’t given a thought to her age but now I realize I’m surprised. Maybe my subconscious was reading her as older, upper twenties. But she’s young. My age, twenty-three. Maybe even younger.

“Catwoman got your tongue?” she asks, giving me a small, crooked smile. “It’s okay if you change your mind. Really. If you want to call off the adventure, I can take it.”

The speech center in my brain finally comes back on line. “You’re kidding me, right? Because, you. You are—”

Whoa, Blackwood. Settle the hell down. “Look,” I say, “you should never wear a mask again. I mean it. Do the world a favor.” I tip my chin to the mask, which she’s started twirling around her finger. “Burn that thing. Burn it dead.”

She laughs, relaxing a little, like she was actually worried I wouldn’t like how she looks, which I don’t get. How could she not know she’s beautiful?

“Okay, Zorro.” Her weight settles onto a hip. I know I’ll be thinking about the way she looks right now later. “Your turn. Show me what you got.”

Jesus. This girl is killing me.

“Okay. Be kind.”

She laughs. “I will.”

I reach for the knot securing my mask, but stop. “Before I do this, how about one more,” I say, and kiss her deep and hard, hold onto this just a moment longer before everything changes. Catwoman responds, and we catch fire again, tongues stroking, pressing closer, hands exploring.

“Mask,” I say, drawing away. I’m ready now. I want it done. I slip the black fabric off, dropping it on the bench beside me.

Catwoman’s smile disappears. Her gaze drops to my mouth. Then to my chest, my arms and hands, and back up to my face, like she’s trying to put something together.

Does she recognize me?

Do I know her?

No way. If I’d met this girl before, I’d remember it.

“Adam? Excuse me, Adam?” I recognize Cookie’s voice, behind me. “I hate to interrupt, but there’s something I need to tell you. It’s important.”

“Sorry,” I whisper in Catwoman’s ear. “Give me a minute.” I force myself to turn to face Cookie. I’ll deal with her first. Then figure out Catwoman’s reaction.

“What’s going on, Cookie?” Anger seeps into my voice, but I can’t stop it. This is a private moment. Whatever she wants to tell me, I’m sure it can wait.

“You know Alison Quick?” Cookie says. “The liaison who’ll be doing due diligence for Quick Enterprises?”

My brain is skidding out trying to make this turn from Catwoman to the twenty million dollars I’m raising for my company. “Yeah, Alison Quick. Graham Quick’s daughter,” I say, finally.

Graham is the president and owner of Quick Enterprises, the company that’s going to give me the funds to take Blackwood Entertainment to the next level. I’ve been funding small-scale film and television projects for more than a year on the periphery, but I want to bring that part of my business front and center. I have plans to start my own production company with my best friend, Brooks Wright. The wheels are in motion. It’s happening.