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He shook his head. “I don’t.” He frowned. “Do you?”
She swallowed. “No. I don’t. I … I’ve been thinking about it too. I think the whole stepbrother, stepsister thing is a non-issue. And I don’t think Dad, or your mom, would have a problem with that. The only part of it that bothered me was them knowing – or guessing – the way we met.”
He squeezed her hand and smiled. “That bothered me, too. But it’s behind us now. We told them that we were going to keep in touch. We told them that we were going to discuss the possibility of working together. I think they’ll find it perfectly understandable that in the course of getting to know you, I fell for you.”
Alyssa’s heart felt like it exploded in her chest. Had he really said that? That he was falling for her? She knew that she was already falling for him, but …
He squeezed her hand again. “Yes, I said that. And yes, I meant it. I know it’s too soon, so we can just leave the words out there and move on, but I’m not going to hide it. I don’t want to hide it from our parents, and I’m not going to hide it from you.”
She set her fork down and stood up in her seat so that she could lean all the way across the table and press a kiss to his lips. “You really are amazing. And I’m still nervous about telling ourfolks, but I don’t want to hide it from you – I’m falling for you, too.”
~ ~ ~
Bentley couldn’t stop smiling as they walked hand-in-hand across the beach toward the water. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent a day like this. Alyssa had brought him over to Baker Beach, and he could see why. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from here was amazing. And it felt so good to be out in the ocean air, with the sun shining down. He raised his hand to cover his eyes. The sun felt good on his skin, warming him through his shirt, but it was so bright that he had to squint.
Alyssa grinned at him, she looked gorgeous in a white sleeveless top and cut-off jeans. Her long dark hair hung loose around her shoulders and blew in the wind. She was wearing a pair of big, dark sunglasses, not squinting in the same way he was.
She gave him a puzzled look. “Are you okay? Did you forget your sunnys?”
“I hate to admit it to someone as organized as you, but yes. I didn’t even think about needing them. This is San Francisco, after all.”
She laughed and pushed at his arm. “Hey! It’s not that bad. Sure, the fog rolls in a lot, but there are plenty of days like today.” She held her arms out at her sides as she spun around. It made Bentley’s heart happy to watch her. She was so beautiful, so carefree, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her to be his.
She stopped spinning abruptly and started to rummage in her purse. “Oh, wait! I might be able to help.”
He had no idea what she might want to help with, but he wasn’t worried. He was happy just to watch her. He couldn’t help thinking that she was the perfect woman for him. In his experience, women who were as organized and as capable as she was held no appeal outside of the office. And the few women he’d dated for their looks and for the fun, social side of life hadn’t managed to hold his attention for long. She was the elusive mix of a beautiful, desirable, fun-loving girl and a capable, no-nonsense businesswoman.
He had to laugh when she emerged from her purse and held up a pair of sunglasses and cried, “Voilà!”
She held them out, and he took them from her. “Thanks,” he said. His smile faded as he looked down at them. They were a pair of aviators. They were men’s glasses. It surprised him, but he couldn’t deny that he felt a heavy weight settle in his stomach. He’d never thought of himself as the jealous type, but he didn’t relish the idea of wearing her ex’s glasses.
“Oh!” She was watching his face and had obviously noticed the change in him. She pushed at his arm, but she didn’t seem to be mad at him. In fact, she gave him an understanding smile. “They’re mine. I know it’s dumb, but I went to see the new Top Gun movie when it came out and …” A hint of pink touched her cheeks as she waved her hand at the sunglasses he was holding. “I thought they were cool. I wanted to wear them. But I look silly in them; they don’t suit me.”
He looked down at the glasses in his hand, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He would need to examine that later. He shouldn’t have reacted the way he did, but he couldn’t deny that he was relieved to hear her explanation.
“Go on. Put them on.” She still looked worried, as though he perhaps didn’t believe what she’d said. He hated that.
“Thanks.” He put the glasses on. “And I’m sorry. That was a jerk move. All I can say in my defense is that I didn’t do it on purpose. It just hit me hard …” He met her gaze and held it. “I don’t like thinking of you with some other guy.”
She held his gaze for a long moment, and then he had to brace himself when she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. When he realized that she was laughing, he had to laugh with her. His arms had closed around her of their own accord, and he lifted her feet off the sand and spun her around.
When he set her back down, she pressed her lips to his neck and sent shivers chasing each other down his spine when she spoke there. “I get it, Bentley, I really do. I feel the same way about you.” She leaned back so that she could look up at him. “This is crazy, isn’t it? If any other guy said that to me after just a week, I’d be running for the hills. But with you, it doesn’t feel that way. You’re just being honest, and I love that about you.”
His heart was pounding in his chest, and not just because he’d put things at risk by being such a jerk. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she told him that it was none of his business – that he shouldn’t have a problem with other guys, even now, let alone guys she’d been with in the past. No, his heart was beating so hard because, once again, when she saidI love that about you, he’d thought she meant something more.
“It probably is crazy that I feel so strongly about you after such a short time, but it doesn’t feel crazy to me.” He ran his fingers over her cheek until they sank into her hair. Then, he drew her closer so that he could kiss her. He wasn’t worried that they were out on the beach, wasn’t worried that there were people all around. None of that mattered; all that mattered was trying to show her how he felt. And from the way she kissed him back, he’d guess that he was getting his point across.
When they finally came up for air, he wanted to hold his arms out to the sides and spin around in a circle just like she’d done earlier. But just the feeling was liberating enough for him, he doubted he’d ever actually do it. Instead, he grinned at her and squatted down, holding his hands out from his sides.
“Climb aboard.”
She gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
He laughed. “I mean exactly what I say. Climb aboard. Don’t tell me you don’t know what a piggyback is?”
She gave him her answer with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hopped up on his back. He was grateful that she was so light. He spent a lot of time in the gym, but he didn’t think he’d given anyone a piggyback since he was about ten years old. That made him smile. She made him feel like a kid, and that was a good thing – a very good thing.
He laughed when she squeezed her legs tighter and yelled, “Giddy up!”
