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“Zane Hollander,” Honor said in her ear, her voice taking on a dreamy quality. “The closest thing to royalty around here.”
Sophie turned and studied her new friend. “You have a crush on him.” She recognized the starry-eyed, lips-slightly-parted look. She’d always had a hard time finding a boyfriend, but when it came to crushes, she was an expert.
“Who doesn’t? But look up ‘bad boy’ in the dictionary and you’ll find his name in all uppercase letters. He is fun to look at, though. And amazing to watch in the water.”
“I have a lesson with him.”
Honor’s eyes widened with excitement. “That is so freaking cool. He only gives a few, so you should feel totally lucky. When?”
“Three o’clock.”
“Today?” She gripped the edge of her barstool.
“Yes.” Sophie took a sip of her drink. Then another. Those pesky nerves were restless again.
“We’d better hurry up and eat then.” Honor bounced in her seat and called out their order to the bartender, adding, “Please make it quick.” Then they talked about the film festival and the schedule and logistics. They talked about the small beach town. And they talked about how neither one of them had ever been truly, madly, deeply in love.
“I always fall for the Mr. Right Nows,” Honor said.
“What do you mean?” Sophie put down the last bite of her slider.
“You know. Guys here on vacation. Or guys who aren’t looking for any sort of commitment, just some fun right now. A fling.”
Sophie didn’t know. She’d had limited experience with guys. And fun had never played a big part in it. “I always crush on the wrong guys.”
“I hear ya.” Honor gulped down the last of her drink and grabbed the check before Sophie could. “I’ve fallen for plenty of jerks I wish I hadn’t.”
“No, I mean my feelings are never returned, not that the guys are jerks.” Sophie was pretty sure Honor received lots of attention. The bartender had been checking her out the entire time they’d been sitting there. “The few times I’ve been really crazy about someone and put myself out there, I’ve had my heart stepped on.”
“I’m sorry,” Honor said, rising from her barstool. She wrapped an arm around Sophie. “Those guyswerejerks.”
Sophie smiled. “Thanks.”
On the walk down the crowded beach after lunch, Sophie had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop from giggling with pleasure. She may as well have been walking in sugar, that’s how soft and wonderful the sand felt beneath her feet. Sunlight glittered and danced around her, as if the sun’s rays acted differently along a coastline. And the brightly colored umbrellas, talk and laughter from beachgoers, and kids chasing each other painted a wonderful picture she tucked away in the back of her mind.
“Come on.” Honor took her hand and skipped down to the water’s edge. When the cold Pacific slid up to her ankles for the first time, Sophie didn’t care what sounds came out of her mouth. Here she was at twenty-four, finally dipping her toes in the ocean, and it feltamazing.
She could almost taste the salt on her lips.
They stepped along the hard, wet sand the rest of the way until Zane Hollander stood in profile a few feet away. Sophie’s breath caught. Up close, he looked like he’d been carved from the most glorious, most gorgeous stone on the planet. His blond hair was straight, on the longer side and sticking up inGQmessiness. Square jaw, high cheekbones, perfect nose. Then he turned and pierced her with ice-blue eyes that knocked her off-balance.
Literally.
She tripped over her own feet and face-planted right into the sand.
“Sophie! You okay?” Honor asked, her small hand taking hold of her arm.
Until Zane’s much bigger hands lifted her up like she weighed nothing and he planted her in the sand like a Popsicle stick. She brushed the sand off her face and prayed he thought her blush was a sunburn.
Who was she kidding? He wouldn’t take a second look at her. She’d been teased her whole life for her looks. With her unruly red hair, boy’s body, and unearthly green eyes—kids had called her an alien—she’d grown up a wallflower. Add in her IQ and college graduation at twenty, and any attention she got was nothing near romantic curiosity.
“Thank you,” she squeaked out.
“No problem,” he said, his voice deep, rich. Warm.
He made her warm all over. Especially now that her regard moved to his bare, lickable chest. She’d never seen anything so…so mouthwatering before. She stared, before little by little her gaze slid along the tan, smooth, lean muscle of his abdomen all the way down to the low-riding waistband of his board shorts. Definition at his hips—the kind she’d only seen on men in magazines—made her gulp. And oh my God. Had she just thoughtlickable?
“Hey, Zane. I’m Honor. We met last year at—”
