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“That towel is really see-through.”
…
Wes hadn’t expected that sight this morning.
Sarah Lewis in a towel, wet hair hanging down her shoulders, long legs coming out of the towel from one end and an amazing view of her cleavage above the other had nearly made him fall off the ladder. Her body was insane. She’d always been an attractive girl in her understated way, but she’d definitely grown into the long, lanky build and filled out in all the right places. The sexy collarbone and the soft-looking skin at her chest had his mouth going dry, and the hourglass figure hugged by the barely there towel had him struggling not to envision the body beneath.
He shook his head as he climbed back up the ladder. What the hell was wrong with him? It was Sarah. Sarah didn’t make his body react this way. She’d been his smart friend, his tutor, the quiet, introverted girl who watched the fun from the sidelines.
So why was he now dealing with a semi-hard-on while he worked in the sweltering mid-morning heat? The instant he’d seen her standing there soaking wet, he’d been transported back to that night in the ocean.
His dare was one he’d thought she’d never take him up on, but she’d surprised the hell out of him. Discovering that she had a wilder, less reserved side had him wondering what else he was missing when he looked at her. What other qualities was she hiding from the rest of the world? He’d found himself intrigued by her that night in a way he hadn’t expected.
Then, when he’d joined her in the dark ocean waves, illuminated by the moon, there had been a moment. Just a quick one…
He shook his head. That was in the past. Nothing had happened between them then, and nothing would now. He’d never really thought of her that way, and it had to be just the sexy body she’d grown overnight that had him reacting like he was.
But damn, what a body.
It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Since Kelly. He wasn’t interested in dating or one-night stands. He had too much responsibility and too much on the line to mess around. It had been five years, but he wasn’t sure there was a time limit on grief. Just because a significant amount of time had passed and it was okay to move on, Wes couldn’t jump into a new relationship if he wasn’t ready. If his heart wasn’t in it. It wouldn’t be fair to himself or to the woman or to Marissa.
His daughter was his priority, and he wasn’t ruling out the possibility of another relationship in his future, another shot at happiness, but to take a chance, to take that leap, it needed to be worth it.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t deny that something had stirred in him just now seeing Sarah. He hadn’t been tempted by someone in a long time, and he’d certainly been tempted looking at her.
He hammered several tiles into place, desperate to shake the image of her, to shake the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, but both lingered.
And that worried the hell out of him. Good thing she planned to leave right away.
Hearing her stressed-out voice inside her room, he stopped hammering. She must be on a call.
“It’s going to cost how much?”
Obviously checking out the insurance.
“No, that’s fine. I really don’t have a choice. Please send me the paperwork as soon as possible,” she said.
He heard the regret in her voice, and a slight pang of guilt hit him. He’d basically convinced her to do the renovations and had purposely started them before she could have a change of heart. He hadn’t meant to cause her more headache, but he really didn’t want to see Dove’s Nest torn down and replaced by some big hotel chain resort.
“It’s going to take how long?” he heard her say. “Can’t I sign the documents electronically or something?” A long pause. “So I’m basically stuck here guarding the place until the paperwork goes through?”
An unexpected twist in his chest he couldn’t quite define had him even more uneasy. Obviously Sarah wasn’t able to make the quick escape she’d been hoping for.
And he wasn’t sure just how he felt about that.
Chapter Five
“What do you mean, you’re staying?”
“Believe me, Gail, if there was any other way around it…” Sarah rubbed her chest as she paced the bedroom an hour later after boiling water to rinse her hair and sponge bathe her body.
This was a nightmare. She should never have agreed to these renovations. She’d back out now if she hadn’t already received the huge fruit basket from Mayor Rodale’s office thanking her for being such an amazing community member. She couldn’t return it—she’d already eaten all the grapes.
“Can’t you just put barricades around the property and no trespassing signs?” Her boss clearly thought this was the least of Sarah’s priorities right now.
“Apparently, I’ll still be liable if anyone gets injured.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The call to the insurance company had not gone as planned. They needed copies of new ownership, which Sarah needed to apply for from the city with a copy of Dove’s will, and then the application could take a few weeks to process, with their prehistoric way of filing paperwork with actual paper!
“How long do you think you’ll need?”
