People pushed in around her, and she wondered if her father was among them. If she would recognize him if he was. It was a thought she often had in populated areas, but she wasn’t immune to it even on deserted streets. He could have been one of the hundreds of people on the Pier that night, or the homeless man that hung out in the plaza on Monday mornings. She could have bought coffee and a sandwich from him, and she’d have no idea.
A trio of teenage boys darting through openings in the crowd cut between her and Des. She stumbled back to avoid being run over. When the last one had disappeared between a couple witha toddler and a pair of grandparents, she turned to where Des had been standing. He was gone. For a beat, her heart stopped.
A set of strong, warm fingers wrapped around hers, and he was there, gray eyes alight with excitement. “Come on.”
When they reached the line entrance for the Ferris Wheel, he dropped her hand. She smothered the urge to snatch it back. He wasn’t her boyfriend, and that wouldn’t change just because they’d made a sexy not-date. There was no point getting all mushy about it, despite how his smile made her heart stutter. She liked him as a person, and she was perfectly content with easy conversation and potential orgasms.
The line wasn’t long compared to the other rides, but it took a few minutes to reach the front. As the ride attendant ushered them into a pale green gondola, Des mumbled, “I can’t believe you’ve never been on this thing.”
“I’ve lived here a year,” she protested and settled down next to him as the attendant locked them in.
“That’s plenty of time if you live close enough to hang out on the Pier.”
“Oh, I live above the store.”
At this, he did a double-take. “I didn’t know that.”
She nodded. The Wheel rolled them backward to allow the next group into their gondola. “When I arrived in Santa Monica, I didn’t have a job or anywhere to stay. Lenny was one of the first people I met, and she offered me the apartment and work. Without her, I’d be living in a cardboard box on P.C.H.”
Another group boarded, and the ride began in earnest, swaying them up into the sky.
“That’s quite the story,” he said, casting a glance at her. “I’m surprised, though. You don’t strike me as the type to up and move without a plan.”
“I’m not.” While her reasons weren’t a secret, she didn’t want to get into them, not on a beautiful night, next to a gorgeousman, on a Ferris Wheel with an incredible view. “Let’s just say there were extenuating circumstances.”
He nodded. She was grateful he understood and didn’t pry.
As the Wheel carried them higher, it became impossible to ignore the myriad of lights on the Pier below. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
The twinkling of red, blue, green, and purple were mesmerizing. “I haven’t,” she admitted. “It’s beautiful.”
“We’ll have to come back another time during the day, so you can see the view of the ocean.”
She tore her gaze away from the dazzling lights below to catch the sparkle of the moon on the ocean horizon. If the lights had been mesmerizing, the ocean must be breathtaking. She glanced at Des. The delicate notch at the edge of his iris caught and reflected the pale moonlight. She smiled. “I can’t imagine a view any better than this one.”
He grinned and winked. “Why, Camille, you sweet-talker.” He lowered his arm along the back of the gondola, brushing his fingers across her shoulder. She shivered at the brief contact, and the world shrank around her. She was lost in it for a moment, as their gondola stopped for their turn at the top of the Wheel.
She could have kissed him then. It would have been so easy. He already faced her. His grin faded to an easy smile, and his gaze lingered on her mouth. She didn’t think he’d pull away. He wouldn’t have suggested their Friday night plans if he wasn’t attracted to her.
But kissing wasn’t part of the deal, no matter how much her lips tingled when his gaze rested on them. Still, for those beats they spent at the top of the Ferris Wheel, she considered closing the distance between them, sliding her fingers around his neck, and pulling him close enough to taste the sweetness of his breath. It would have been cliché, but so, so good.
Instead, she glanced away and inhaled a shuddering breath.
Kissing wasn’t part of the deal.
His fingers breezed against her shoulder again while she tried to shake her lustful thoughts. Then, coming to the conclusion that a clear head was an improbability around him, she forced out, “You never told me what brought you to the Pier.”
“I’m here to see you, of course.” His voice was light and teasing, like their proximity didn’t bother him. When she rolled her eyes, he amended. “You’re right, I sound like a stalker. I was out for a run.” He gestured to his clothing.
“You live pretty close too?”
“A mile or so,” he said. “I’ve got a place in Ocean Park.”
The Wheel dropped another notch forward. She’d hoped that rolling out of the top spot on the Wheel would negate some of the tension buzzing between them, but it didn’t. She lifted her hands to the safety rail and curled her fingers around it, praying the cold metal would seep some sense into her.
Ocean Park was one of the nicer areas in Santa Monica, coveted for being so close to the beach. For the same reason, it was seriously pricey. She shouldn’t be surprised Des lived there, but the thought of anyone she knew being able to afford a home there made her a little light-headed. She sighed. “Of course you do.”
He laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
