Keeping Mr. Right Now: A Kisses in the Sand Novel (Entangled Bliss) Read online

  After narrowing it down to two dresses, Sophie decided on one of Ivy’s designs. A breezy, off-shoulder sundress in a beautiful emerald color that reminded Sophie of photos of tropical oceans. She loved the ruffled neckline, eyelet cutouts, and flowy A-line shape. Pretty, not too sexy. Not that she’d ever thought herself capable of sexy.

  “Zane is going to love you in that,” Honor said.

  “I’m not so sure about that, but I did feel good in it. Thanks for insisting we do this.”

  Sophie placed the dress on the register counter. Maybe Zane would compliment her if someone were nearby to eavesdrop. Otherwise, she doubted he’d notice much about her at all. She’d accepted her looks a long time ago and liked herself very much. One day she’d meet a man who loved her red hair and thin frame and freckles.

  Honor bumped her side. “My pleasure. And do not cut yourself short. You’re going to look hot.”

  Hot as someone feverish. Because despite her mind’s protest, she’d fallen for Zane a little bit. That’s what she did. Crushed in less than ten minutes. A terrible habit she needed to break before it broke her. She’d quickly grown infatuated with lots of boys back in college. Most heartbreaking had been Henry Clark, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and inquisitive mind. But he wanted nothing more than to copy her notes when he missed class because he’d been out too late the night before.

  Ivy rang up the dress and then showed Sophie two pairs of lacy bras and panties in white and lavender. “I thought maybe you’d like some pretty undergarments, too?”

  “Um, okay.” Sophie dressed conservatively, but underneath her clothing, she liked to rebel. Well, at least she had twice. Once for boyfriend number one and once for boyfriend number two. Neither had seemed impressed, and the relationships were so short-lived that she hadn’t bothered again.

  “How about a manicure and pedicure?” Honor looked at her hands. “I could so use some pampering.”

  Sophie glanced at her polish-free fingers. “Sure. Why not?” She had a feeling Honor had planned this all along, but she didn’t mind in the least. Without her friend’s prompting, Sophie would still be back in her hotel room or maybe sitting alone by the pool.

  “I’ll call Maggie and let her know you guys are coming over.” Ivy picked up the phone. Her nails were painted with a pink French tip and Sophie decided she wanted the same.

  “Maggie?” Sophie said.

  “Ivy’s sister,” Honor answered. “She owns Pretty in Pink, the best place to get your nails done around here. Oh, and during the summer, Monday is Margarita Monday. They’re mini, so don’t worry.”

  “She serves drinks? Does she have a liquor license for that?”

  “Yep. And the blender is always going.” Honor bounced up and down. “We’ll take the edge off you. You’re nervous. I can tell. One or two mini-margs and you’ll be cool as they come with Zane.”

  She hoped Honor was right. And cursed her darn habit of fidgeting when anxious. That combined with her easy blush made her the perfect target for Zane’s teasing, and that just wouldn’t do. She’d been around plenty of good-looking men, and just because Zane took handsome to a brand-new level didn’t mean her brain cells had to crash-land. After she performed her duties tonight during the reception and made sure the films kicking off the festival had started without a hitch, she’d join Zane. When the movies ended, she’d excuse herself to oversee the cleanup and make sure things were in place for tomorrow’s Taste of White Strand, taking place before the film screenings.

  He’d most likely attend one of the after-parties, and Sophie would head back to her hotel for a soak in the bathtub with her romance novel.

  She would not, under any circumstance, give any more thought to her crush after that.

  …

  “So yeah, there I was, paddling into a lineup with Zane, thinking holy shit, I’m surfing with Zane Hollander. The water was ego-to-ego with surfers that day, so the only waves I caught were when Zane shouldered away the show-offs. My last attempt to prove I was semi-decent, I sailed down the line, but hell if the guy next to me wasn’t pulling a three-sixty aerial.”

  Zane threw his head back and laughed. As a sports reporter for the Surf Times, Chris wrote a lot better than he surfed.

  “But this guy.” Chris pointed at Zane and continued talking to the people around them. “He made a fuss over my abysmal ride and the other surfer’s freestyle jump, like the two were equally impressive. That’s why I love him. He gets excited for everyone out there.”

  “Thanks, man,” Zane said. “You want to go out again, just let me know.” He looked around at the group of reporters, festival staff members, and guests surrounding him in the large outdoor foyer of the White Strand Cultural Center and Gardens. “I’m happy to take anyone out.”

  “I’d love to give it a try,” a female reporter said. She eyed him with much more than surfing on her mind.

  Zane didn’t take the bait. After leaving Sophie last night, a weird conviction to keep himself in check had taken hold. “Let my manager know, and he’ll see if we’ve got any time.”

  She arched an eyebrow and continued to look at him like she didn’t need much time at all to accomplish what was really on her mind.

  “Have you been in touch with Sophie Birch since your surf lesson yesterday?” Chris asked.

  Zane’s attention jumped to Chris. “I have, actually. She’s…” He cleared his throat. “She’s my date for this evening.” He glanced around the bluff-top Spanish Colonial estate thinking maybe he’d catch sight of her, but the crowd had grown. The opening-night reception was always popular, and he’d forgotten to ask where they should meet up.

  “Your date, huh?”

  Zane waited for Chris to say more, but he didn’t. Why that made Zane nervous, he wasn’t sure. It could be the surprise and amusement he’d heard in Chris’s tone. But that was good. Sophie wasn’t like any of his usual dates, and Chris was intrigued.

  Conversation veered to the films, and Zane talked easily about his film, Isolated Warriors. “We tried to capture the simple but risky stoke of surfing,” Zane said. He and his team had traveled the globe from Australia to Hawaii to Sri Lanka to shred the best, most savage backwash out there.

  “So we can expect scenes with some powerful, high-risk breaks?” Chris asked.

  “I hope you’ll be blown away by the footage. Gnarly waves and no hassling with other guys meant our filmmakers could grab amazing shots, and I think the lens caught much more emotional depth and complexity than we expected.” The other surfers and the camera work had awed Zane.

  “We pushed the limits on clean point breaks and ferocious swells and added a kick-ass soundtrack. It’s not just a self-absorbed montage of barrels and huge airs, but something more.”

  “And I just read your proceeds are going to SHE.” Chris typed something into his cell phone. The casual atmosphere didn’t mean things said were off the record.

  “Yes. Would you excuse me? I see someone I need to speak with.” He feigned interest in Danny, who’d just walked by. He didn’t want to talk about SHE just yet, didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

  The reception buzzed with energy. Conversations and laughter filled the air space. Long tables with white tablecloths and platters of appetizers were set up. Two bartenders worked a bar underneath one of the curved archways across the tiled ground. The Beach Boys played through speakers mounted on the smooth stucco walls.

  Zane took a less-traveled path until he reached the edge of the grounds and a spectacular view of the Pacific. He raked a hand through his hair and relished the quiet until the loudest sneeze he’d ever heard drew his attention to a woman standing under a palm tree, her gaze out to the sea.

  Auburn hair fell in soft waves around her bare shoulders. A loose emerald dress covered her slender frame, but showed off a sexy pair of legs in a pair of killer high heels that kicked his pulse from a walk to a run. Slowly, his gaze traveled up to a pert nose that couldn’t possibly have made such a powerful sound.
The corners of his mouth lifted.

  Wait a second.

  “Sophie?”

  She turned, and those green eyes of hers sucked him in further. They matched the color of her dress. He stepped closer.

  “Hi, Zane.” She wiped a tissue under her nose.

  “You okay?”

  “Allergies.” She stared down at the grass. “Seems I’m allergic to something. I’m not sure if it’s the bushes or the flowers or maybe the pollen in the air.” She turned her head and sneezed again. Twice.

  With no idea why, his smile grew. Sophie Birch confused him. Those mega-sneezes from such a small person, her struggle to look him in the eye. Her sweetness. She definitely wasn’t his usual type, but under a blue sky streaked with brushes of orange and yellow as the sun dipped behind the mountains, he was drawn to her.

  “Bless you.”

  “Thanks.” She looked up. “What are you doing way over here? Shouldn’t you be mingling?”

  With a gravitational pull he couldn’t stop if he wanted to, he moved even closer. She smelled awesome, like no other woman he’d had the pleasure of being this close to. Not with coconut oil or perfume that made him want to sneeze, but like cinnamon sugar.

  “I needed a break.” He put himself out there for reporters because he had to, but it was never easy. Never his first choice—the water was that.

  She took a deep breath. His gaze dipped to her chest. The dress hid her slim body, but he remembered how she’d filled out her bathing suit yesterday. Her breasts, he imagined, would fit nicely in his palms.

  Jesus, dude. Stop thinking about her body like that. He focused back on her pretty face.

  Pretty? Shit.

  “Yeah. Me, too. I’ve been moving nonstop and wanted a few minutes of peace and quiet.”

  “Should I go?” The last thing he wanted to do was leave her side. His head quieted when he was around her—aside from the dumbass thoughts about her body—and he liked the feeling.

  She bit her lip before turning her head back toward the sea. “You don’t have to.”

  They stood in comfortable silence, sides almost touching, for a long while. Zane had the strangest desire for a pause button so he could stay in this untroubled moment for as long as he wanted.

  “Do you ever go out there when it’s like this?” she said softly. “When it’s almost dark and there’s no one else in the water?”

  “I do. It’s nice being alone out there.”

  “It doesn’t make you feel lonely?”

  “The ocean is a great companion.”

  She took a quick glance at him. “I long for that solitude sometimes, but my family is pretty much always in my business, so…”

  “You’ve got lots of brothers and sisters?”

  “No, lots of extended family, which is worse because they feel like they need to look out for me constantly. I know it’s because they care about me, but it feels really good to be here right now.”

  Yeah, it did.

  The sun hid; the breeze picked up. Sophie shivered, and he wished he had a coat to wrap her in. How would she feel about his arm around her shoulders?

  Don’t do it.

  He did it.

  Her body tensed, went rigid beneath his hold, but then she relaxed and melted against him, and her surrender almost knocked him on his ass. This woman, nervous around him one minute, unbuttoned the next, threw his sensibilities into complete disorder.

  He had women figured out. But not this time.

  And this time, too much was on the line to cross it. He’d no doubt hurt her if he acted on impulse. His liaisons were for fun, nothing more. He didn’t put his heart into anything but surfing, and he sensed Sophie wasn’t the type of woman to do anything lightly.

  He told himself he was just being nice, keeping her warm because it was the gentlemanly thing to do. But her soft body against his hard one, her even breathing, the fresh expression she wore like he didn’t impress her, he intrigued her, all made him wonder if maybe he was feeling something for her. He’d known her one day, but in that moment, he’d swear it was much longer.

  She pulled away. Brushed a strand of hair off her face. “I should get back.”

  “Wait.” He caught her arm as she twisted to one side. “You still good for being my date?” He glanced at his watch. “The screening starts in half an hour.”

  “I’m still good.”

  “Hello, gorgeous,” a woman said, drawing his attention away from Sophie.

  The muscles in Zane’s back tensed. He recognized the woman from last year’s festival. They’d had one night together. Caroline? No, Chloe. “Don’t tell me boy saves girl and suddenly they’re an item,” she added, getting closer.

  Zane stepped in front of Sophie. “Hey, Chloe. It’s cool to see you again, but this is a private conversation.”

  “Even from me?” She ran her hands down his chest. “I just wanted to see how you are.”

  He gently took hold of her wrists and dropped her hands, took a step back. And bumped into Sophie.

  She surprised the hell out of him when she wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted enough to put her chin on his shoulder. His body relaxed. Got warm. “He’s good. Very good.”

  Chloe narrowed her eyes at Sophie. “Was I talking to you?”

  “Hey,” Zane said, keeping his voice even as he addressed Chloe. “We had some fun, but I’m no longer interested.”

  “Really?” Her sarcastic tone had him wrapping his arms around Sophie’s.

  “Really.”

  “Well, if you change your mind, and we both know you will, I’ll be around.” She threw an expression of disapproval at Sophie, turned, and walked away.

  Sophie let go of him, and he spun around. She chewed her bottom lip in a far too unsettling way and blinked repeatedly. He gathered she’d surprised herself, too.

  “What was that?” he asked, his voice quiet, gentle.

  “I heard you have some groupies who can be a little aggressive.”

  A slow smile took hold of his lips. “Who told you that?”

  “Honor. We were shopping this afternoon, and some woman made a show of disgust when she overheard Honor talking about how…” She paused and swallowed. “Anyway, Honor told me there are a few locals who like to follow you.”

  Voices drew his attention toward a small group of people walking in their direction. Zane took Sophie’s hand and tugged her to the stairway that led down to a small observation terrace with an unobstructed view of the coastline.

  Her breath caught, and she leaned against the iron banister. “Oh my gosh. This view is spectacular.”

  With the last remnants of daylight and first signs of nightfall crossing paths, the view was pretty amazing. “I’m glad you got to see it,” Zane said.

  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “And thanks for helping me out.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck, focused on the midnight-blue sea. “Out in the water, I don’t have to worry about uninvited attention or my reputation or letting anyone down. The world falls away and…and it feels good.”

  “You’re feeling bliss,” Sophie said, seeming equally taken with the darkening ocean. “You’ve trained almost your whole life to be out there, and you’ve got a connection to nature that can lead to a naturally soothing psychological effect.”

  Zane stared in awe at Sophie’s profile. She was right, and it blew his mind. How had she gotten into his head like that? He needed to change the subject.

  “What did Honor say?” he asked.

  Her head tilted and turned at the same time. “Sorry?”

  “When you two were done shopping. You said someone overheard her say something but you didn’t say what that something was.”

  “It was nothing.”

  “Oh, I think it was something.” He brushed his side against hers as he wrapped his hands around the railing. This woman intrigued him, pulled at him. They barely knew each other, y
et she’d come to his defense. He itched to move behind her, hold her against his chest, and put his chin on her shoulder.

  She pushed back and sat on the bench in the corner of the terrace. If she was trying to keep her distance from him, it wasn’t going to work. He took the spot beside her, his leg grazing hers.

  “Why does it matter?”

  He shrugged. “Probably because I noticed your blush again and wondered if her comment had something to do with me.”

  “You think everything revolves around Zane Hollander, don’t you?”

  “No. But I think your blush does.”

  Her shoulders tensed and she pressed her lips together. The thin line of her mouth didn’t prevent him from hearing her irritated sigh. She was annoyed—at him, at herself?—and hell if she didn’t look cute in the process.

  “Your notice makes me jumpy.”

  “Sorry.”

  “And I don’t like it.”

  “Here’s the thing.” He bent to whisper in her ear. “I do.”

  She shivered, and he felt it as if she were a part of him. He should stop teasing her, he knew he should, but something about Sophie Birch jerked at his control.

  “I like the pink flush that rises in your cheeks and moves down your neck, your throat.” He slid a finger across her collarbone. “Makes me wonder how far down that blush goes.”

  “Please stop,” she breathed. Her eyes drifted shut.

  “What did Honor say?” Asshole.

  “She said Zane is going to love how you look, so relax and have fun tonight.”

  He dropped his arm and rested against the bench to take in her dress. “You went shopping for something to wear tonight?”

  “Yes.”

  Zane imagined Sophie wasn’t the first girl to do this, but she was the first genuine person he’d met in a long time. She had no ulterior motives. Didn’t seem to care about his fame or his money or getting her picture taken with him.

  “Sophie?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Look at me, please.”

  She very slowly turned her head. Worry, warmth, and innocence swirled in the shimmering pools of her light green eyes.

  “I should have told you the minute I saw you that you look beautiful. I do love the way you look tonight.”