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“I remember.”
“You do?” Honor teetered a little until her shoulder bumped Sophie’s for balance.
“Of course. I remember all the pretty girls from the Strand.” He moved his gaze back to Sophie. “You’re Sophie Birch?”
Her gaze snapped up to his face. He’d never remember her if they met again next summer. She didn’t hold a candle to Honor and her curvy bikini body. He’d probably take one look at her conservative black one-piece and wish the lesson were with anyone else.
“Uh-huh.”
“Zane Hollander.” He gave her his hand. Somehow she managed to shake it like a calm, respectable woman. “You ready for your surf lesson?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Have you ever surfed before?” he asked, scanning her from top to bottom like he wanted to check for signs she might sink.
Should she mention she’d never been in the ocean before? Nah. She’d been in lakes. They were practically the same thing.
She shook her head. “Uh-uh.”
Honor elbowed her. “Sophie! You are about to take a lesson with one of the world’s best surfers. Speak up, girl. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.” Honor narrowed her eyes at Zane. “Take good care of my new friend. I’ll just be watching from that spot there.” She pointed somewhere over Zane’s shoulder and then walked away.
Leaving Sophie alone with arguably one of the best-looking men in the world, too.Get it together. You’ll be dealing with him all week during the festival.That thought sobered her up. She needed to be professional around him at all times.
“Since this is your first time, let’s practice on the sand before we hit the waves.” He nodded to two boards a few feet away.
“Okay.” She took off her cover-up and dropped it next to her very sandy beach bag. “Is that for me?” A flowered wet suit sat next to one of the boards.
“If you want it. The water’s cold, but you get used to it pretty quickly. Up to you.”
“I’m good.” She wanted to feel the saltwater on her skin with as little barrier as possible, no matter how chilly it might be.
He smiled and led her to her board. “You’ve got sunscreen on, right?”
“Yes.” With her pale skin and freckles, she’d burn in seconds without it. “But…” She hadn’t been able to reach her back. Her simple black suit covered most of her front, but it did dip pretty low in the back. She tried to make eye contact with Honor, but her friend was lying on her stomach on a colorful blanket and chatting it up with some guy.
“You didn’t get your back,” Zane said, picking up a bottle of sunscreen and pouring some onto his hand.
Her legs almost gave out and her heart pounded in her ears. Zane Hollander was about to go where no man had gone before and lotion her back.
“Turn around.” He gathered her hair and put it over her shoulder before rubbing the cream onto all the exposed spots.
Tingles exploded through her body, and it took all her willpower not to melt into the sand under his gentle yet firm ministrations. His breath tickled the back of her neck.Herbreath got stuck in her throat. He was tall and his shoulders were wider than his hips, and he was so very handsome that for a second she thought maybe she’d passed out when she fell and this was a dream. But then she finally inhaled and smelledhimand knew this was real. He smelled like saltwater and mint andman.
This very normal, casual act set her heart aflutter, and she now understood what it must feel like to melt for a guy.
He lifted his hands not a moment too soon.
For the next several minutes, Zane gave her a lesson on land. She copied his form and movements as best she could and hoped the learning process was long enough to commit her muscles to memory. Her brain might be hardwired better than most people’s, but her mind hadn’t been entirely focused on the task. Not when she could watch the strength and power in Zane’s arms and legs.
“I think you’re ready.” He tucked her surfboard under his arm. “You good?”
Besides feeling like she’d just worked out for two hours at her cousin’s kickboxing studio, yeah. She gave him a thumbs-up.
And prayed she didn’t look like a complete fool out there.
The second the water reached her knees, her breath caught and stuck in her chest, making it difficult to inhale. Exhales in rapid succession didn’t help against the chilly temperature, but Zane’s amiable voice did.
“Don’t panic, Sophie. You’ll get used to it in a minute.”
