The Best Friend Bargain (Kisses in the Sand) Read online

  Danny cracked up. “Said no fiancée, ever.”

  Liv grinned. This was what they needed, to fall back into their easy banter. A few years ago he had asked her if she wanted to go see the Hollyhock House—Frank Lloyd Wright’s first Los Angeles project—and she’d thought he said Poppycock. She’d expected to see where the popcorn was made and eat some. He’d laughed his ass off when she asked what they were doing at a house with no food in sight.

  “Your turn,” she said.

  He got that mischievous look on his face that upped his attractiveness tenfold. “Niagara Falls. Or wait”—he snapped his fingers—“is it Night at Salls?”

  Her turn to laugh. So she had a hearing problem. She sang the lyrics to her favorite songs wrong all the time, too. Years ago, they’d talked about places they hoped to visit and she’d told him what she’d called the Falls when she was a little girl. Big mistake since he liked to tease her about it still.

  They were just goofing around, but it didn’t stop the twinge of desire from taking root in places it had no business being. She watched his big strong hands massage her feet, the flex of muscle in his forearms.

  What would it feel like if he stroked up her calves to her thighs? Higher. She squeezed her eyes shut to extinguish those recurring thoughts.

  Get off the couch. Quit letting him touch any part of you. But she didn’t. She stayed put to enjoy this little slice of heaven because it was all she’d ever get from her best friend.

  Chapter Five

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: You awake?

  October 15, 10:06 PM

  I just got off the phone with my mom and told her I’m pregnant. She asked how I could let this happen (I’m fairly certain she meant that rhetorically) and said she was disappointed—surprise, surprise—and that she’d call me in a few days after she’d had time to digest the unfortunate news. Yep, she used the word unfortunate. The only nice thing she had to say was that I was lucky it happened with you. She’s always liked you better than me.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: I’m awake

  October 15, 10:15 PM

  She might like me, but she loves you. She’ll come around.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: I’m not so sure

  October 15, 10:16 PM

  I’ve never been able to live up to her high standards so you’d think I’d be used to it by now.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: If you ask me

  October 15, 10:16 PM

  I think you’re perfect the way you are.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Yeah?

  October 15, 10:17 PM

  Tell me more. My ego needs stroking.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Yeah

  October 15, 10:18 PM

  You’re smart, funny, kind, the best friend a guy could ask for, and you’re beautiful. Inside and out.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Aw, shucks

  October 15, 10:20 PM

  I kind of want to kiss you right now.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Careful

  October 15, 10:20 PM

  What kind of kiss are we talking?

  Oliva Lincoln

  Re: Fishing

  October 15, 10:21 PM

  Are you angling for the 4-1-1 on what I like to give or receive, Mr. Ellis?

  Curiosity killed the cat, you know.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Work with me

  October 15, 10:22 PM

  What’s the harm when walls and a hallway separate us, Miss Lincoln?

  Give it to me.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Fine

  October 15, 10:24 PM

  IF I were to thank you for the nice things you said with a kiss, I’d put my arms around your neck and slowly bring my mouth to yours. Our lips would barely touch at first, a feather-light caress until I pressed closer. Then I’d kiss the fullness of your bottom lip before I gradually included your top lip. Once the gentle glide wasn’t enough and I needed to taste inside your mouth, I’d slip my tongue between your soft, but firm lips and continue my thanks by sucking your tongue and nibbling on your bottom lip until I’d memorized everything I wanted to know about kissing you. In thanks, of course.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Fair game

  October 15, 10:26 PM

  You’re assuming I’d let you control the kiss, which by your description sounds better than fine by the way, but you forgot two important things.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Do tell

  October 15, 10:27 PM

  I’m all ears.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: I beg to differ

  October 15, 10:30 PM

  Haven’t noticed your ears lately.

  I’m not a statue, Liv. I’d want my hands on you. As soon as your arms wrapped around my neck, my hands would be on your waist. I’d slide them down to cup the sweet curve of your ass before I lifted them to stroke the skin where your jaw meets your neck with my thumbs. I’d take your face in my hands, holding you still so I could taste you back. But because I’m dying to know how soft your new blond hair is, I’d have to run one hand through the strands. Then I’d cradle the back of your head and make sure you knew which one of us was really controlling the kiss.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Cherry

  October 15, 10:31 PM

  Can you still tie a knot in a stem inside your mouth?

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Cherry x 2

  October 15, 10:31 PM

  I can tie two stems at the same time, Maybug.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Okay, then

  October 15, 10:32 PM

  You win. I guess some tongues are better than others.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: Master Tongue

  October 15, 10:32 PM

  So I’ve been told.

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: OMG

  October 15, 10:33 PM

  I did not need to know that. Now I’m thinking about your tongue even more, thank you very much. Suuuuper inconvenient.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: We’re even, then

  October 15, 10:33 PM

  But it got your mind off your mom, right?

  Olivia Lincoln

  Re: Right

  October 15, 10:34 PM

  Good night. And thanks. I think.

  Danny Ellis

  Re: My pleasure

  October 15, 10:34 PM

  Night, Liv.

  Chapter Six

  Give it to me.

  For two damn weeks, those four words kept playing in Danny’s head on repeat no matter what he did to extract them from his memory. Work ten hours days. Check. Run five miles every night. Check. Keep dinners with Olivia short before falling into bed—without logging into his email. Check.

  The time apart hadn’t dismantled the unwelcome thoughts about her like he’d hoped. If anything, he found himself thinking about her more, curious about what she was doing and unable to get the idea of kissing her out of his head. He never should have baited her like that, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself.

  He pulled his shirt over his head, shucked his jeans, and pulled on running shorts. Glancing in the small bathroom mirror, he wasn’t sure he recognized the guy staring back. How much longer could he keep his hands off Olivia? How much longer did he want to?

  Getting physical upped the stakes between them considerably. Sex always screwed with friendship and meant no going back if things didn’t work out. He’d lose the person who understood him and his medical future better than anyone, the one person who had seen him at his worst and best and liked all of it. From her standpoint, she’d not only lose him, but Bryce and Zane, too, her new home, most likely her parents.

  Talk about pressure.

  “Hello?” the woman in question called out.

  Surprised to have her in his shop, Danny turned and almost smacked his forehead into the edge of the doo
r. “Be right there,” he called in return. It took him two damn tries to tie his shoes before he walked through the back room crowded with furniture pieces in various stages of completion. Every new project took him a step better than the last and filled him with greater pride. He paused to take it all in. Starting his own business was the best decision he’d ever made.

  The gorgeous woman on the other side of the wall waiting for him made him question everything else.

  “Hey,” he said, stepping into the small reception space of Ellis Design. The next words out of his mouth were supposed to be, “What brings you by?” but they got stuck in the back of his throat. She took his breath away in black leggings and a cream-colored V-neck sweater that molded to her curves and gave a generous peek at her cleavage. Soft, sexy, inviting.

  “Hi,” she said to his bare chest. “I thought I’d stop by and see where you work,” she said to his abdomen. “And maybe get you to take a break and eat an early dinner with me,” she said to his legs. “I’m starving.” Her eyes tracked back up his body before meeting his.

  Starving about summed up his state of being, too. Although his had very little to do with food—food she’d brought with her if the smell coming out of the brown paper bag in her hand was any indication.

  “It looks like I caught you on your way for a run, though, so I can take this home and you can warm it up later.” She turned to go.

  “Hold on. Let me grab a sweatshirt and we can walk down to the beach.”

  “Okay.” She looked around the room. “This is a really nice reception area.”

  “Thanks. Want to see the back?”

  “I’m mad at myself for waiting this long to visit, so yes I do.”

  “Come on.” He contained his appreciation when she gushed over his work with a huge smile on her face, then he donned more clothing and they headed down to the beach.

  Twilight brought beauty and peacefulness to the coastline, but it would have been better for both of them if he’d turned her down and taken his planned run instead. They didn’t touch as they walked along the palm-tree-lined boardwalk, but damn if he didn’t feel her all around him.

  And it was slowly driving him mad.

  Every minute he spent with Liv, listening to her talk and watching her move, poked at the uneasy sensation that he didn’t have his life figured out. He’d accepted his disease and decision to stay single, but she’d changed that. She’d rushed into town like a tempest and crushed the solitary but satisfying life he’d been living—and had planned to continue. Olivia redesigned the game, revised his world with her warmth, her openness, her beauty.

  She turned her face toward his and he quickly looked away, hoping she hadn’t caught him checking her out. With dangerous thoughts floating around in his head, it was becoming harder and harder to hide his feelings from her.

  “Sit there?” Liv nodded toward a wood bench.

  He took in a deep breath to remind himself to tread lightly. Flirting via email was one thing, following through with their teases was another. “Sure.”

  A good, safe foot separated them on the bench.

  “Burger with grilled onions and Swiss on a boring whole grain bun,” Liv said, handing him his meal. She settled back and pulled out her food. “Burger with bacon and honey on yummy grilled sourdough,” she continued, unwrapping the white parchment paper.

  “Has there been a day you haven’t eaten honey?”

  “Not yet.” She paused mid-bite. “Your point?”

  Danny shrugged. “Just thinking maybe I should change your nickname to Honey.”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  “Why not, Honey?”

  She shoved him in the arm. “Because of Honey Holcomb, you big jerk. You don’t remember her? She bullied me in seventh grade. I hated her.”

  “Was she the one who everyone called Queen Bee?” He took a bite of his burger.

  Liv put hers in her lap. Her shoulders sagged. “Yes.”

  Danny had difficulty swallowing. He put his burger down to take Liv’s hand in his, every protective bone in his body remembering a day in the cafeteria when Honey and her friends swept Liv’s entire lunch onto the floor. They’d gotten the desired effect when Liv was scolded and made to clean it up. He’d tried to help, but she’d waved him off.

  “I haven’t thought about her in a really long time.” Liv studied their joined hands.

  “Sorry for the reminder.”

  “Tell me something I didn’t know about you back then.”

  He searched his memory for something she’d find funny. “Do you remember how I had a crush on Taylor Stephens?” Liv nodded. “Zane and Bryce helped me brainstorm pick-up lines. They told me since several other guys also liked her it was the best way to stand out. So one day I walked up to her at her locker and said…”

  Liv looked up at him with raised brows.

  “Did you know they changed the alphabet? They put U and I together.”

  A quick and easy smile bloomed across Liv’s face right before she cracked up. She had the kind of laugh that traveled and touched anyone within earshot. Sure enough, a couple strolling by smiled over at them. “Wh…what did she say?” she managed to squeak out between giggles.

  “She said, ‘Really?’”

  “Wait. You mean like really, really? Or really, dumbass?”

  “Really, really.”

  Liv burst out laughing again and this time Danny couldn’t keep himself from joining her. They laughed until she slipped her hand from his and palmed the sides of her pretty face. “My cheeks are hurting from laughing so hard.”

  Mission accomplished.

  They returned to eating their burgers in happy silence. Daylight hung by its tail behind billows of white clouds. Danny watched and listened to the waves wash onto shore.

  A little moan from Liv drew his attention away from the water. “You have to try this,” she said. “It’s the best burger I’ve ever eaten.” She put it up to his lips, eliminating any opportunity for refusal.

  He took a bite. Put bacon on anything and it tasted good. “Not bad.”

  “Not bad? Your taste buds obviously need an upgrade.” She narrowed her gaze on the corner of his mouth. “You’ve, uh, got a little honey there.” She pointed to the spot.

  Without taking his eyes off hers, he licked the crook of his mouth. “Thanks.”

  Her focus stayed on his mouth a second too long. He heated from the inside out, wishing he’d thrown on a T-shirt instead of a sweatshirt. Was she remembering the same thing he was? The night in the kitchen when their lips had accidentally brushed?

  They looked away at the same time. He finished his burger, she hers, and he threw their trash away. “Walk down to the water?”

  “Sure. Breath mint?” She pulled a small tin of mints from her purse.

  “You’ve never offered me a mint before. What’s up with that?” He plucked two tiny green candies from the container and tossed them into his mouth.

  “Just being courteous.”

  “After you.” He gestured with his arm toward the beach.

  They walked in pleasant silence. Seagulls tiptoed into the retreating waves. A cool breeze carried the scent of the sea. Up ahead a little boy with trunks that almost reached his ankles stood at the water’s edge, his dad, Danny guessed, beside him. Danny couldn’t make out any details, but seeing their silhouettes did enough to signal his brain he could have that if he let himself.

  “I’m excited for that,” Liv said softly. She stopped walking at the same time he did, a simultaneous recognition to soak in the sight of the small boy.

  “The minute I could walk, I walked into the ocean. No fear at all,” Danny said.

  “Me, too. The beach is one of my few really good memories of my childhood. My mom would bring a book and an umbrella and watch me play in the sand and water all day. She always put a hat on my head and I always refused to wear it.”

  The dad scooped the boy up and spun him in a circle. The child’s laughter drowned out
the sound of the surf. Danny turned to Liv. The tail end of daylight cast a glow around her in one-of-a-kind beauty and he found himself tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked up at him with similar appreciation.

  When her gaze moved to his mouth, he was a goner.

  He ignored the voice inside his head reminding him she was his best friend and once they crossed this line they could never go back, and gave her two seconds to say something to change his mind.

  One, two…

  She took a step back.

  One kiss. One kiss to get it out of his head and put it to rest. She might have placed another foot between them, but Danny saw the indecision in her eyes. He inched closer anyway, unwilling to let her go without one more try. It was a jerk move, but if he didn’t get to taste her he’d go insane wondering.

  He cradled her neck in his hands.

  “Danny.” He liked how breathless his name sounded on her lips.

  “We have to. I’m going out of my mind, Liv.”

  She half gasped, half sighed, a pleasure-and-pain kind of sound he wanted to turn into one of satisfaction. They had to get this crazy new attraction out of the way so they could go back to being just Liv and Danny. “Make it terrible,” she whispered.

  He smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

  “To make it awful,” she reiterated.

  “Prepare yourself for the worst kiss ever.”

  Her small smile made itself at home inside his chest. He lowered his mouth to hers. No tongue, he told himself. Keep it innocent. Safe.

  But the second their lips touched, innocence and safety got buried in the sand because he liked her mouth on his. Liked watching her eyes flutter closed. Liked the feel of her palms on his chest and how her body leaned into his.

  She kissed him like it had been on her mind nonstop, too. Her lips gave and received with perfect pressure. She delivered a little “mmm” and he instantly wanted more.

  This was the biggest and best mistake he’d ever made. The sweet sensation coursing through him was completely new. And not at all unwelcome. He turned off his brain and forced himself to focus on the physical only. If he kept his feelings for Liv out of it, he could forget how undone she made him feel.

  He licked her bottom lip, took it between his teeth. She played back, nibbling in return, and that’s when he coaxed her mouth open and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She welcomed him with a sexy hum, and the second their tongues collided he forgot why this was a bad idea.