Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4) (23 page)

Amara continued walking slowly toward him, staying in step with the walk he'd taught her. "But the only opinions I care about are yours." She stopped just inches from him. "Are you going to call out these compliments during the live event?"

"I might not be able to help myself," he whispered, running his hand over her bare arm. "Not when you look this exquisite."

She opened her mouth to speak, but her breath caught. Goose bumps ran down her arm. He moved his fingers up to her shoulder and then up to her face, tracing her jawline and then moving toward her mouth, stopping just before he reached it.

Amara wanted him to kiss her right then. The look in his eyes was so intense, she knew the kiss would be full of passion. Her mouth gaped open, but she couldn't will herself into any more action.

They stared into each other's eyes, his thumb lingering next to her mouth. Rafael took a step closer so they almost pressed against each other. "I'm not sure I'll be able to stay quiet."

"Then I won't be able to focus," she whispered, her heart pounding.

"Me neither." Rafael moved his lips toward hers, but then paused and cleared his throat. "Maybe we've had enough practice with the fashion show. We should, uh, decorate some more."

Amara nodded, still holding his gaze. The tension between them was so thick it could spark a fire—and that both excited and scared her. "I'll go change into my own clothes."

"Good idea."

She didn't move. Amara couldn't bring herself to leave his presence.

"I'll find the box of decorations," he said. But he didn't move, either. He swallowed, still staring into her eyes.

If he didn't actually find them, Amara was ready to throw herself into the kiss. She'd never felt anything like this before, and it was overpowering. Rafael was the whole world, and nothing else existed.

The bell above the door dinged, and they both jumped back about a foot.

"Am I interrupting something?" Zachary asked, his hair sticking out in all directions.

"No," Rafael and Amara said in unison.

Zachary glanced at Amara. "Is that one of yours, Raf?"

Rafael cleared his throat. "It is. She was just practicing the catwalk with it. You want to show him?"

Amara stood taller and walked down the pretend runway, nailing the perfect walk. She gave herself a mental high-five, rounded the corner into the back room, and then fell onto a plush chair, trying to catch her breath. As much as she had wanted to throw herself into the moment, she was glad Zachary had come in when he had.

Her feelings for Rafael were growing stronger by the minute, and she didn't want to end up doing anything she might later regret. She'd been raised to believe that certain things should be saved for marriage, and if she went by her emotions, she would throw all that by the wayside.

Zachary and Rafael's voices carried back to where Amara sat, but she couldn't make out any words. Perhaps it was best that she get dressed and get home to work on her online orders. The two of them would be able to handle decorating.

She got up from the chair, found her clothes, went into the bathroom and got dressed. She stared into the mirror, trying to figure out what Rafael saw in her. It wasn't that she still felt like the geeky girl she'd once been, but she certainly didn't feel like the alluring woman he seemed to see. She was pretty, but no more.

Shrugging, she turned around. There was no need to question it. The lifelong man of her dreams adored her—who cared why? She would take it as long as she could. Amara went back to the employee lounge and laid the runway outfit with the others she'd modeled on a table near a wall. She slid on her coat and the hat he'd given her.

Out in the main part of the store, Zachary and Rafael stared at the screen of Zachary's laptop.

"I'm going to head home," Amara said. "I have some orders to fill."

"It's an online business, right?" Zachary asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you do any of it here?"

Amara raised an eyebrow. "My inventory is all at home."

The two guys exchanged a glance.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Rafael frowned. "We were having such a wonderful time, I didn't want to bring this up, but with people going after me, I'm worried they might try to do something to you."

Amara froze. She hadn't ever thought about that. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"They're obviously trying to rattle me. What better way than to go after the woman I love?"

They stared into each other's eyes.

"I don't know what to say," Amara said.

"Would you consider staying with someone for a while?" Zachary asked. "I'm sure Jasmine and Lana wouldn't mind you staying with them. They'd probably love the company."

"I wouldn't want to intrude. I hardly know them."

Rafael frowned. "Would you at least think about it?" His eyes pleaded with her.

"I have friends I could stay with," Amara said. But why was she even entertaining the thought? Her house was safe—they lived in Kittle Falls. The worst that had happened there was the vandalism Rafael had been dealing with.

"Still," Zachary said, "I'll talk to Jasmine. They'll welcome you with open arms."

"My neighborhood is safe," Amara said. "We have a strong community watch program."

"But look what these guys have gotten away with already," Rafael said.

"Destruction of property," Amara pointed out. "They haven't laid a hand on anyone. I appreciate the concern—really, I do. But I'll be okay. If I have any doubts, I'll crash at Janelle's."

Rafael didn't appear convinced. "Are you sure? I'm just worried."

Amara's heart warmed. "You have my word. If I have the slightest inkling of anything wrong, I'll run to her house."

"What if she's not home?"

"I know where she keeps the spare key."

"I'll still talk to Jasmine," Zachary said.

"Okay, thanks." Amara gave Rafael a hug, and he squeezed her tight, bringing back the whirlwind of feelings. "Let me walk you to your car at least."

Amara didn't trust herself around Rafael alone. She needed to get home and take a shower. A cold one. She shook her head. "I parked just around the corner. I'm fine. Really."

He frowned.

"This is Kittle Falls. I'll be fine. Just like I've been safe every other day since all of this happened." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the door. "See you tomorrow. Bye, Zachary."

"Bye. Do you want Jasmine's number?"

"Maybe later." Amara hurried out the door, the wind blowing snow against her face. She tucked her hat lower, almost to her eyes, and walked around the building. The parking lot was emptier than usual, most likely because of the weather. Who would have expected snow flurries in October?

As she neared her car, she noticed a couple standing by a red sedan near hers. It was hard to tell from the angle, but the front appeared crunched. The woman's bleach blonde hair blew all around. She didn't recognize either of them.

Amara dug her keys out of her purse and prepared to remote unlock the doors when the couple turned to face her. She froze, her pulse racing.
Thanks, Rafael
. She was letting his worries get to her.

Picking up her pace, she took the long way around the couple to her car. They stepped in front of Amara blocking her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Can I help you? Are you lost?" Amara clutched her key, ready to use it as a weapon if she had to.
Next, I'll carry mace and wear a whistle around my neck.

"Are you Amara?" asked the guy.

Hairs on the back of her neck rose. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"He asked you first," said the blonde, her tone snarky. The woman stepped closer to the man. Even wearing a winter coat, she managed to hold a seductive pose.

"Let her answer, Kristine," said the guy, running his hands through his dark, spiky hair.

Kristine snapped gum. "Whatever, Tony."

"I need to get to my car," Amara said. "Can you let me by?"

"Answer his question first." Kristine squared her shoulders, chomping on her gum.

Amara narrowed her eyes at Tony. "Why do you want to know who I am?"

He stepped closer to her, lowering his hands from his hair. As he did, the collar of his jacket went down, exposing part of a tattoo on his neck.

"You guys don't seem like you fit in around here," Amara said. "Do you want directions out of town?"

"No, honey," Kristine said, snapping her gum again. "We're here to tell you to walk away from Rafael. Like, now."

Blood drained from her face. "And why would I do that?"

"Because." Kristine stepped closer to Amara, her high heels crunching over a twig.

"Who are you?" Amara demanded, her keys digging into her flesh as she squeezed them tighter. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

"Me?" Kristine asked, shifting her weight onto her other heel. An overhead light came on, shining off Kristine's black leggings. "I'm Rafael's one
true
love."

A gasp caught in Amara's throat, and suddenly, she wanted to attack that liar. "Then why hasn't he ever mentioned you?" Amara asked through gritted teeth.

Kristine leaned against Tony, smiling. Amara noticed how she had exaggerated curves in all the right places, even with her coat on. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Amara felt like the ugly kid she once was, with curves in all the
wrong
places, but she pushed aside those feelings. She wasn't that girl anymore, and more importantly,
she
was Rafael's one true love. She stood taller, staring down Kristine and her too-much-makeup- coated face.

"I need to get by," Amara said, glaring at both of them.

"On one condition." Kristine stepped even closer.

"What?"

Kristine narrowed her eyes. "Leave Rafael alone."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because once he hears I'm in town, he's going to throw you away like the trash you are." She turned to Tony. "Can you believe Rafael's dating
that
? After me?"

"There's nowhere to go but down after you, baby."

Anger burned in Amara's stomach. She felt one of her keys puncture the skin of her palm.

Kristine turned back to Amara. "Leave him alone, or you'll regret it."

"Get out of my way!" Amara shouted. Not that there was anyone else nearby to hear her.

"You gonna leave him alone?"

Amara considered her words carefully. It didn't matter what she said to them, she just needed to get them to move.

"Don't think we won't know if you don't." Kristine popped her gum again. "You think the car accident was bad? You haven't seen anything yet."

"That's right." Tony wrapped his arm around her. "Raf might not be able to walk away from the next one."

Amara stared at them, fear beginning to replace the fury. "You were behind his collision?" she whispered.

Kristine played with Tony's spiky hair. "That, the eggs, his garage. What else did we do, honey? I can't even remember." She laughed.

"Are you in love with him or Rafael?" Amara demanded.

"Does it matter?" Kristine asked. She kissed Tony's ear and then turned back to Amara. "I just don't want you near Raf. Got it?"

"She don't want him," Tony said, "but neither of us want him happy. If you want him safe, you stay away. As in, no texting even. We'll know."

Amara stood there shaking. Even her kneecaps moved up and down on their own. Anger surged through her. How dare they? How
dare
they?

"How's a man in a wheelchair sound?" Kristine asked. "Sexy?"

Terror surged through her imagining Rafael bound to one. "You'll leave him alone if I stay away?"

Kristine grinned. "That's all we ask."

Amara continued to tremble. She dropped her keys to the ground. "Fine. You have a deal, but if I hear about anything more happening to him, it's off."

"Perfect." Tony grabbed Kristine's arm and pulled her aside, allowing a path for Amara to walk to her car.

Twenty Six

Rafael hit snooze for the third—fourth?—time. He needed to get to the store to meet Zachary and Cruz to work on the final details of his grand opening. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He'd barely fallen asleep a couple hours ago, and he wasn't even sure how that had happened.

His stomach twisted in knots just thinking about Amara. He'd called and texted her for hours with no response. Had he scared her off? He'd not only called her the woman he loved, but he'd basically said it was dangerous to be with him.

Could she be having second thoughts about him?

He sat up, pulling the twisted covers away from himself. Where was his phone? He dug around the blankets until he found it stuffed between a spare pillow and the comforter. No missed calls or texts.