Page 8 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

But her sister was right; this time was different. She could feel it. Carly sat with the idea, let it seep over her doubts and put them to rest. She could do this. She could move on and have a life outside of Jimmy. Even if a part of her hated the idea, an even bigger part of her knew it was necessary.

I’m actually going to be working with Mark Craven’s son.

The thought hit her anew. Now that she’d resolved herself to accepting the job, Carly had to pause at the magnitude. This was the famous actor’s actual son. Mark Craven—as in the first grown man Carly had ever had a crush on as a girl.

When she’d first spotted the guy walking alongside Christian—tall, dark, and as muscled as the buff dancer himself—every thought in her head had been hijacked by the sight. Even now, her heart skipped a beat at the recollection. Strong, well defined jaw accented by a masculine five o’clock shadow. As they neared, she’d noticed that his eyes were dark, almost brooding, and filled with something Carly had wanted to call interest, maybe even in her, though she couldn’t be sure.

Gage,she reminded herself. His name was Gage Craven. One of her favorite melodies played in the back of her mind: Beethoven’sMoonlight Sonata.It was an appropriate one for the man in her thoughts—dark, mysterious, and laced with an unknown quality that left her wanting more.

Of course, all of those swoon-worthy details had vanished once Carly found out he was literally hijacking her job for the summer. From that point on, he’d come off as arrogant.

Her shoulders drooped at the recollection. He’d barely given her more than a glance when she confronted him and Christian about the lessons, like he was too good to be part of the conversation.Sorry, but you two are the hired help. Figure it out amongst yourselves, would you?

It all begged a question: What kind of privileged life had he led, anyway? Cooks and maids waiting on him hand andfoot.Oh, you’d like silk chocolate mousse for dessert with fresh raspberries and a mint leaf? Well, it’s past midnight on a school night, but I’ll have the cook whip one up for you. How about a Mercedes for your sweet sixteen? Souped-up speakers and spinning rims? Only the best for our son. Oh, and you’d like the female instructor instead of the guy who’d actually behappyto work with you? No problem!

She fought back a wry grin, reality of who this guy really was setting in. Whatever she’d mistaken for interest in her was exactly that—mistaken. The guy was probably determined to marry a super model who could match his good looks and magnify the spotlight he’d be walking in once his movie came out.

Heck, even now people were probably throwing themselves at him to get on his good side. But Carly hadn’t, and suddenly she was glad about that. Too bad if he thought he was better than her. They were onherplayground now. If Mr. Hollywood wanted to learn how to surf for his upcoming role, he’d have to get over the notion that he was superior in some way.

She nodded as that thought settled in. She would simply refuse to be intimidated by him. He was human like everyone else. Besides, he was the one coming to her for help. Not the other way around. Her chest swelled with a fresh wave of confidence. She was a good instructor, and this guy was nothing more than her newest student. Of course, she might treat her little guests like royalty, butMr. Cravenwould not get any special treatment from her.

Without invitation, her sister’s challenge popped into her mind.“Promise me you’ll make out with at least one guy on the beach.”

A smile crossed over her lips as she let herself imagine that very thing. It wasn’t likely—in fact, it was closer to impossible—but just the idea caused a swell of goosebumps to ripple up her arms and a delicious heat to stir in her tummy.

Stop, Carly. Jimmy’s going to come around, and you don’t want to be distracted and miss your chance.As soon as the thought came to her, she acknowledged how backward it was. It was that kind of self-talk that had held her back for so many years. If she was ever going to move on, she’d need to allow herself to think of other men. Even if they were clear out of her league.

With that thought, Carly rose to her feet. She would go straight to the lockers, retrieve her cell phone, and text Christian an apology. She hadn’t been as good at the whole “go with the flow” mindset of her surfer friends, especially since losing Ava, but she’d learned enough over the years that fighting against the current hadn’t done her any good.

Perhaps now that the tide was changing, Carly could learn to apply the advice to her life on land: catch that wave and enjoy the journey. An image of those dark eyes shot to her mind once more. With Gage Craven as her newest student, it was sure to be one heck of a ride.

CHAPTER 4

Gage strode toward the beach with a smile on his face. The sun was high, the weather was great, and he had a date with the hottest babe on the beach. Well, a lesson, technically, but still.

The truth was, Gage had been haunted by Carly’s face since Christian had introduced them yesterday. The sexy way she’d dominated the surfboard. The innocent kindness in her eyes when they first met, accented by a hint of mischief. And then there was the look of hurt and surprise that followed. As if she’d been betrayed somehow.

A knot of guilt rolled through him at the mere recollection. If Gage wasn’t so intrigued by Carly, he might talk to the owners and tell them he’d work with Marcus after all. As it stood, he wanted to win her overwithoutgiving up his time with her. At least now he had three hours a day with Carly, five days of the week. Six, if he wanted, from what they’d told him. It was like starting off a relationship with a round of steady dating. Not bad.

Dad’s voice broke into his musings, reminding him he shouldn’t be looking for love right now. “Right,” he mumbled. The odd thing was, it was rare for Gage to find himself so intrigued by a woman. What were the chances one would catchhis interest during the one spot of time he’d agreed not to get involved?

That didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. Lucky for Gage, Christian had shared a bit of inside information about Carly. He glanced down at the peanut butter protein bar in his grip and grinned. The peace offering was sure to impress her. According to his old buddy, Carly couldn’t get enough of them. Forget the fact that the gift shop sold them for the price of a gourmet burger; if it would win him her favor, Gage might buy her one for every day of the week, even her day off.

His heart picked up speed as he spotted Carly beside the surf shack. His board awaited him there, which caused an entirely new series of nerves to rush through him. Perhaps he should have agreed to have Marcus train him for the first week so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself in front of Carly.Too late now.

About five yards of sand separated him from his eleven o’clock session.

Now four.

Her blonde hair was dry, as well as her wetsuit, which was black today, like his. Gage caught her eye for a blink, glanced off in the distance as his heart thundered in response, and pumped himself up like he did before encountering a gorgeous, intimidating woman.You’ve got this Gage. Just be yourself.

Three yards.

“Hi there,” she called. Dang, her voice was low, smooth, and sweet sounding. Repentant almost.

Gage tugged the sunglasses off his face and set his gaze back on Carly. In the same moment, a wave crashed against the shore. The effects seemed to reach clear to his chest as he sucked in a breath of air. Those blue eyes, even more hypnotizing than before, were fixed on him. “Hi.” He cleared his throat. “It’s gorgeous out here today.”Shewas gorgeous out here today, thatwas for sure. And he’d noticed the view was pretty too, until Carly caught his eye and put the view to shame.

A beautiful smiled pulled at her lips, introducing two adorable dimples he’d missed when they first met. Heaven help him.