Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) (7 page)

"You've got really pretty hair," he said. "You
don't often see true strawberry blondes."

"Thank you. I..." her voice trailed off as she
felt his hand begin rubbing the lotion onto her back. She felt her body tense
as his hand rubbed slowly up and down and in circles. He wasn't just spreading
the sunscreen on. It was more like he was massaging it into her skin. The feeling
of his strong hands on her body made her feel shivery inside.

"Um, that's probably got it covered," she said in
a soft voice. "Thanks."

He started to speak and cleared his throat. "Sure.
No problem. But you know, I think I need to redo my sunscreen too, so can you
do my back?"

She turned around and saw him sit down in front of
her, knees pulled up and his arms clasped loosely on top of them. Without a
word, she began to spread the sunscreen on his back. Following his lead, she
worked it into his skin, and she felt a jolt of surprise go through him. She
knew she had strong hands as well. And she thought the skin-to-skin contact had
gotten to him, too.

Deciding she couldn't prolong the experience any
further, she gave his shoulder a pat and said, "All done."

"Thanks, Rose. Here, give me your camera while you
do the rest of your sunscreen and I'll get you some pretty shots of the water and
sky."

She gave him the camera and watched him walk off,
muscles moving in his back. He was quite a hunk of a man, she thought. Not just
a pretty face, either. As he clicked away with her camera, she wondered about
him. It seemed almost odd that he wasn't with anyone. Could it be that he had a
hidden flaw? He almost had to have at least one, since he appeared to be
perfect...and she knew nobody was perfect.

Taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly,
she realized she was picking at her concept of him. Today was about relaxation,
letting go of stress, enjoying the day. She finished with the sunscreen and
stretched out on her back. The sun felt warm on her skin, and the boat rocked
slightly in the water. There was a sound of some type of bird further away, and
then there was quiet. Bit by bit, her muscles relaxed and she shut down her
mind, floating on the quiet warm day.

The next thing she knew, someone was running a
finger down her arm.

"What...What's going on?"

"You were asleep," Ben said, removing his hand
from her arm. I thought even with sunscreen you might want to turn over. It's
very bright out here on the water."

"Oh." She sat up and blinked slowly. "I don't
think I've been so deeply asleep in ages."

"Then you must have needed it," he said. He handed
her a bottle of flavored seltzer water. "Feel like a drink?"

"Yes, thanks." She took a long sip and sighed.
"Yeah, that tastes fantastic. It is hot here now, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Cody says he knows of a spot where we
might catch some more fish. On a lake, this would not be the right time of day to
fish, but out here it's different. Do you want to take a ride and find another
spot, or would you rather go back into town?"

"Let's stay out, if you want to."

He grinned at her. "I definitely do. I still
haven't caught the big one. Plus, I need to get at least one picture of you
with my camera."

She noticed his camera was much more complex than
hers.

"I've gotten some panoramic shots of the water and
sky, but I need a few with you in them. Here," he said, handing her a
lifejacket. "Put this on because they are putting on speed. Why don't you come
and sit with me in the seats? We don't want you rolling off the front of the boat."

They gathered up her things and went to the back
of the boat. As she sat by Ben, her leg occasionally pressing against his when
the boat rocked, she realized she'd missed this. She'd missed there being a man
sitting next to her, missed seeing the male body when it wasn't ill or injured.
She looked at his face as he turned to her and grinned. Yes, she'd missed all
of it, and she smiled back at him. She wasn't sure yet whether it was just her
lack of a relationship this past year, or if what she felt when he grinned at
her like that meant something more. But she wanted to find out.

* * * *

Ben liked her smile. He liked her face when she
was serious. He liked her body. He liked her mind. He liked her.

And just what was he doing? He wondered. He'd
known her only a few days and already he was this drawn to her. That didn't
jibe with the way he'd been doing things lately. He'd stuck to his commitment
to not go falling for another pretty face. To take the time to really get to
know someone before going to bed with them. And yet, with Rose, he felt the
pillars of his commitment crumbling. All he wanted was to take her in his arms,
kiss her until they were both breathless, and make wild love to her.

Some of what he wanted must have shown in his eyes,
because her eyes darkened and her lips parted, and he leaned just a bit toward
her—and then pulled away abruptly. She looked startled and blushed, turning
away from him.

What the heck am I doing, he asked himself.

The boat began to slow, and he jumped up and
walked over to Cody to get his fishing rod. Cody looked from him to Rose.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, uh, yes, of course. I think Rose was going
to lay out again when we stop."

"No, I'm not," Rose said from behind him.

He turned quickly and almost hooked her arm.

"Whoa, there. No sudden moves when you're getting
ready to cast," Cody said with a frown. "You okay, Rose?"

"Yes," she said, looking at her arm. "It didn't
pierce the skin."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Ben said. "I
didn't realize you were going to fish."

"Like you said, we haven't caught the big one
yet."

And from that moment, the competition was on. They
each ended up losing a couple of 'big ones' that afternoon. He and Rose settled
into a pleasant routine of poking at each other verbally, but with a good sense
of humor. In between bringing in more fish, he snapped photos of her. He was
surprised by how self-conscious she was at first. Then one of them would get a
bite on their line and they were back to fishing. She did manage to beat him in
their quest for the biggest fish, but not by much.

"If only that cod hadn't gotten away," he said
ruefully at the end of the trip. Then he laughed and Rose laughed with him.

"We'll take these to the Lobster Shack. They pay
well for fresh fish, especially for Friday night dinner," Cody said. "You two
can go home and get cleaned up. You'll probably sleep better tonight than you
have in years."

"I believe you," Rose said. "Thanks for a super time, Cody."

"Yes," Ben said. "Thank you. And thanks to you, too,
Joe."

Rose had on the cover-up for her suit which still
showed off her body. She was making sure she had everything in her beach bag,
and Ben quickly averted his eyes when she bent to pick up something. Instead of
watching her, he clicked a few last photos of the pile of fish.

Rose came over. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes."

He helped her step onto the dock and then they
walked back to the car. There was a comfortable silence between them. Finally,
he decided to speak.

"I wanted to say...awesome swimsuit."

She gave a laugh. "Thanks. Ben..."

"What?"

"Are we, you know, dating? I know, that sounds
like high school, but it has been a year or so for me since I was with anyone or
dated anyone."

"Been a while for me, too. But I think we are
dating. I want to get to know you better, Rose."

"Me, too, with you."

"Do you want to get dinner together?" he asked.

"Sorry, but no. I am suddenly exhausted. I
consider myself to be in decent shape, but that was utterly tiring."

"You use muscles just keeping your balance
on a boat. But it was fun."

"Oh, yes, yes it was. I'm glad we went. I had a
blast."

They reached the car, and he drove her back to her
apartment.

"Don't bother coming up the stairs with me," she
said with a grin. "If your legs feel like mine, be thankful your cabin has one
story. Thanks again for a lovely day, Ben."

She patted his arm and got out of the car, started
up the stairs and turned back to wave once.

Why hadn't he kissed her? He knew he was right to
not kiss her, yet she was so damned enticing. But she was a model, something he
kept forgetting. He shrugged and left thinking he'd just have to get to know
her better.

* * * *

Why hadn't he kissed her? Rose couldn't stop
thinking about that question as she ran the shower and got in after unbraiding
her hair and taking off her suit. It would have been perfectly normal for him
to have leaned over in the car and kissed her good-bye. But he hadn't made a
move.

Was it her? No, she didn't think so. She'd seen
his reaction to her in the bikini. And he seemed to like talking to her. She
rinsed her hair out and stepped out of the shower, toweling off. The more she
considered his reactions to her that day, the more she was convinced that he
was attracted to her. But for some reason, he wasn't taking that next step.

She threw on a knee-length long nightshirt and
robe, and then got lettuce, scallions, tomatoes, and cucumbers out of the
fridge to make a salad. Suddenly she was ravenous, and ended up eating a large
chef salad after adding ham and swiss cheese to it. As she finished up, it
occurred to her that she'd only known Ben a few days.

What had she been thinking? Here she was, acting
as if he should have already made love to her, and they barely knew each other!
Exasperated at her own reactions, she did wonder if maybe he was special, and
that was why she had wanted him to kiss her so soon after meeting him.

Her phone rang after she'd put everything away in
the kitchen. It was Beth.

"Well? How was it? Did you have a good time?" Beth
asked.

"Yes, I did. It was loads of fun, and now I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, being on the boat can take it out of you.
But what about Ben?"

"What about him?"

"Are you two...you know..."

"Beth, we aren't in seventh grade."

"Do you think something is there between you?
William thinks he's going to make a memorable Darcy in the play. Practically every woman in
L.A. has been after him. He's a hunk, and he's nice, and you have
been too long without a man, dear sister."

"Honestly, Beth. I don't know, okay? He seems to
like me. And I like him. But aside from putting lotion on my back today, he
hasn't touched me. I get the feeling he's holding back. I don't know what the
deal is."

"Hmm."

"What is that, that 'hmm'?"

"I'm wondering if one of the rumors I heard is
true."

"What rumor?"

"Well, William is hiring a young actress from L.A.
as my understudy after a ton of begging by the actress and her agent. And I've
heard that she and Ben may be an item, in secret."

"Really?" Rose was dismayed at the drop in her
stomach and the fluttery feeling of her pulse.

"Of course, I have no idea if this is true.
Starlets have been known to start rumors like that to make themselves look
intriguing in the public eye. You know, 'she's with so and so, she must be special,' that kind of
thing."

"Ben told me he hasn't been in a relationship for
months, but he could have lied."

"Or he told you the truth, Rose. I think he's a
good guy, from what I've seen and heard of him. Anyway, I guess we'll find out
the real story once she arrives tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"Yeah, she'll get here around lunchtime. Look at
it this way—you won't have long to wait to find out if there is something
going on between them."

"Gee, thanks, Beth."

"Sorry, but I thought you should know what I'd
heard."

Rose sighed. "You're right. I am glad you told me.
Is it weird that I really hope it isn't true?"

"Not weird at all."

They ended the call at that point, and Rose walked
into the bedroom and flung her body down on the bed. She was going to feel
massively stupid if he was involved with someone. Wearing that tiny bikini
today...what had she been thinking?

She'd been thinking he was available. And with
that thought she started getting angry. He should have told her if he was with
someone, secret or not. True, nothing had gone very far with them, but still.

She took off the robe and climbed under the sheet.
Tomorrow, she thought drowsily, falling asleep all of a sudden. They'd talk
tomorrow.

Chapter 4

Ben woke up to a ringing cell phone. He groaned
and rolled out of bed, startled at a slight ache in his shoulders and legs.

"Hello?"

"Ben, this is William Christopher."

"Oh, hello. What can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted
you to hear this from me before anyone else told you. Today the actress who
will understudy Beth in the play will be arriving. Her name is Suzanne Hardtman
and..."

"Suzanne? Here? Oh, damn."

"What is it, Ben? It sounds like this is a problem
for you."

"No. Yes. I don't know for sure."

"Can you give me a little more to go on than
that?"

"Yeah, sure. We dated last year, almost...nine
months ago. It ended badly. She didn't want to break up and I did. She got very
emotional. For a while there, she maneuvered to be wherever I was going, even
following me. Then it all stopped. I thought she must have gotten some therapy,
gotten over whatever she thought we had. But if she is coming here...did you
recruit her for this?"

"No. She and her agent bugged me until I agreed.
Well, this will teach me. I should have touched base with you before bringing
in someone from L.A., and definitely before I signed a contract. Don't worry—I
can get out of it. Just might be a bit expensive."