Unforgettable Summer: Wild Crush, Book 1 (2 page)

His girlfriend’s sister, the sweet, studious Campbell girl. If Rex hated Ty dating Jasmine, the man would go ballistic if he ever discovered
that layabout surfer
had a major thing for his precious Summer.

“You still could have said goodbye. You could have called or something.”

“What would be the point?” Frustration erupted in the question. “I’m flying to Hawaii in two days, you’ll be going to uni soon—”

“I didn’t get in.”

Ty stared at her. “What?”

“I didn’t get into the course I wanted. I’m not going to be a doctor.”

“Oh, Sum.” It was instinct, completely uncontainable instinct that had Ty reaching across the car’s interior to curl his fingers against Summer’s nape. A gesture of comfort, that’s all. Yet the silken feel of her hair had him growing hard inside his still-damp board shorts, and it was all he could do to keep his hand from wandering. “There has to be a mistake. You’re the smartest girl I know.”

“No I’m not. Smart people don’t let themselves get so distracted that their grades slip.” She looked at him, and in the murky light of the car, he saw the way her black eyes glistened. “Dad found out about the surf lessons.”

He could picture how charmed the man was by the knowledge Ty had been schooling Summer in secret. It wouldn’t matter that Summer had asked Ty, practically begged him to teach her how to catch a wave. Rex probably had a contract out on Ty’s head by now.

“I only wanted to fit in for once, just once in my life, instead of being that Asian-looking girl with the sister who’s…” She trailed off. Even upset Summer would never do anything to criticize Jasmine or the way she’d dealt with their mother’s death two years before. Namely, by flunking out of school and sleeping her way around town.

Summer sniffled. “Surfing’s cool, and I thought people would think I was okay if I could do it. Everyone thinks you’re the greatest.”

Ty laughed, a little embarrassed. “I’m not that great.”

“Yes you are,” she insisted, and Ty’s chest felt like it had filled with helium because Summer thought he was great.

Idiot.

“What am I going to do?”

The tears were slipping down her smooth cheeks now, and the reality of her distress made the full feeling in Ty’s chest turn into a gripping ache, crushing his heart. He could no better prevent himself drawing her into his arms than he could stop the waves from crashing against shore. Her tears wet his skin, and he became uncomfortably aware that he hadn’t grabbed a dry shirt before leaving the party. Having Summer snuggled against his bare chest felt so unbelievably good that his dick responded with predictable eagerness.

She’s crying, you jerk.

Through her tears, Summer spoke. “My dad’s always talked about me following him into medicine, it was the one thing we had in common. He was proud of me for that at least, and now…” she choked on a sob, “…now he’s so angry and he blames you and I can’t stand that he hates you, and Jasmine says you’re a jerk, and they’re all wrong.”

“They’re not wrong.” Hadn’t he been calling himself that same thing a moment ago for having a raging hard-on while all he was supposed to be doing was comforting Summer? “I’m not a good guy, Sum. You shouldn’t be hanging out with someone like me.”

“Like I’m so perfect,” she muttered. Her fingers flexed against his chest, her nails scraping over his pectoral muscle, in very close proximity to his nipple. “I’m not as nice as everyone thinks.”

“Yeah, right.” Ty tried to get air to move in and out of his lungs. Summer’s hand shifted again, her fingertips trailing over his bare flesh, making breathing next to impossible. “Name one thing you’ve done wrong—and getting a B+ instead of an A does not count.”

“I lied to my dad. I told him I was at the library every time I was with you. I lied to Jasmine too. I’m a bad sister.”

“It’s okay to have a few secrets, isn’t it?” Lifting the hand that wasn’t moving in comforting circles over her back, Ty stroked it over Summer’s hair. God, he loved her hair, so long and black and perfectly straight. From far away it was almost as glossy and smooth as a mirror.

Ty had never touched her hair before, but he’d wondered if it would be as velvety as feathers in his hands. It was. Her softness made him hard. Her slightness made him feel huge, like a bloody Viking or something. Summer had always mixed him up and made him feel things he didn’t know how to handle.

Her hand moved lower, brushing over his abdomen until the muscles there tensed painfully. Her voice was a throaty whisper as she repeated her earlier statement. “I’m a bad sister.”

Lifting her head, she met Ty’s gaze. In the dark of her irises—usually so unreadable—Ty saw it all. The self-recrimination, the need. Summer didn’t think she’d wronged Jasmine because she’d lied about meeting Ty for surf lessons. She thought she’d betrayed her sister with her thoughts, her dreams.

The same lustful dreams that had kept Ty awake and wracked with guilt many, many nights.

Having it confirmed that Summer had been in as much torment as he the past year was a rush of adrenaline like none he’d experienced, not even on the biggest waves. It compelled him to commit one reckless, impulsive act, something he’d wanted to do, had fantasized about doing, for far too long.

Ty dipped his head and sought Summer’s lips with his own.
One little kiss. Only one. It can’t cause that much trouble, can it?

Soon after, Ty discovered how wrong he was. One little kiss could cause all hell to break loose.

Chapter One

Ten years later

“You’ll never guess who Kelly saw in Sanderson’s today.”

Glancing up from her computerized booking system, Summer Campbell followed her employee’s gaze to the building across the street, the real estate office of AJ Sanderson. “Nope, I have no idea.”

Penny Irving leaned on the counter between them, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper even though their last client for the day had left. “Ty Butler.”

Summer schooled her expression to remain unchanged even as her breath hitched.
It’s not true.
The thought helped her hang on to her equilibrium. After all, it wasn’t the first time such a rumor had surfaced, only to be revealed a falsehood. Ty Butler was a legend around Leyton’s Headland, the small-town boy who’d made it big in professional surfing. Over the years sightings of him had taken on an air akin to folklore, like sightings of Elvis Presley.

Penny prattled on. “Apparently he was looking at properties—to purchase. So I guess he might be moving back here.”

Feigning boredom, Summer returned her attention to the list of tomorrow’s appointments. “Oh really? And will Big Foot be coming with him? What about the yeti or that black lion that has the opposite of albinism?”

“I’ll have you know that last one’s not a hoax. I saw it on Facebook.”

“Didn’t you hook up with your last boyfriend on Facebook? Tell me again how that turned out.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “It turned out he was a teensy bit married. When are you going to let me forget that?”

“Penny, it was last month.”

“Practically a lifetime ago in dating circles.” Penny eyed her with faux haughtiness. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”

“You don’t need to be a dating expert to know Facebook might not be the best place to start a serious relationship.”

Penny sighed and tucked a strand of her short blonde hair behind her ear. “Given recent events you might be right. At least I’m trying.”

Summer groaned. “Please don’t start.”

“Fine. I won’t say ‘you’re divorced, not dead’ or ‘let me set you up with a really cute guy’.”

“Thank you.”

Summer felt the imprint of Penny’s green eyes on the side of her face as she straightened the items on the front desk of her naturopathy practice, Summer’s Retreat
.
She ignored her employee’s stare, lining up the business cards and fridge magnets just so, readying the clinic for the next day’s trading.

“Summer?”

Summer scowled, recognizing the pleading look on Penny’s face. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on! He’s really cute this time, not at all overweight, bald and living with his Aunt Agnes. I have it on good authority he’s a catch.”

“So who threw him away?”

“Nobody. He’s single, gainfully employed and a fan of classic rock music.”

“He sounds great. Why don’t you date him?”

“Because I already have a date with Bryan, a fine specimen who is most definitely not married. He’s new in town and his brother is dying to meet you.”

Great. Penny wanted her to date someone who got his own brother to pimp for him. She muttered, to nobody in particular, “Save me now.”

“Come on, pleeeeaaaase. Double dating is so much less stressful.”

Rounding the counter, Summer approached Penny and placed her hands on the taller woman’s shoulders. “Penny, I do not need a man to be happy.
You
do not need a man to be happy. We are strong, independent women, professional women with rich, fulfilling lives. Falling in love is not something you can force or choose. You’re twenty-four. Stop being in such a hurry.”

Penny sighed. “It’s just that I thought I’d have someone by now, but they all seem to be duds. I really, really want to fall in love, Summer. Or maybe I want someone to fall in love with me. That’d be nice.”

Summer wasn’t so sure that there was anything to recommend either of those situations. The one time she’d fallen head over heels for someone, it turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. Certainly the last word she’d use to describe that tornado of emotion was “nice”. It hadn’t been good for her relationship with Jasmine, which to Summer’s mind had never been the same after suffering the fissure caused by their mutual longing for Ty Butler.

Summer shook off the memory. That was well and truly in the past, rumors of the man’s appearance notwithstanding. She’d moved on from that teenage infatuation, and moved on from her marriage too. All she wanted to do now was live life on her terms.

Penny said quietly, “He really hurt you, didn’t he?”

An image of Ty Butler flashed through Summer’s mind, his cheeky smile and kind eyes. His words echoed through her too, a hangover from the past.
Promise you’ll meet me tomorrow.

She hadn’t met him, because it would have been the wrong thing to do. There were days she wondered, if what she’d done was so right why did she still feel a pang of regret every time she thought about Ty?

Summer let out a slow sigh. “It wasn’t his fault.”

“It must be hard, dissolving a marriage.”

Summer froze. Of course Penny thought it was her short-lived, regrettable marriage to Duncan Heyworth that had caused her heartbreak. How could she know that her feelings for Duncan had never run deep enough to touch her soul?

More guilt to carry.
Sometimes Summer wondered if she could ever do enough to atone for the mistakes she’d made in the past.

“It’s getting late,” Summer said, her voice flat. “Let’s lock up and go home.”

It didn’t take long to do the few remaining chores, and both Penny and Summer left via the front door on the dot of five o’clock. Waving, Penny turned left, heading toward her parked car. Turning in the opposite direction, Summer began the six-block walk to her apartment located on the outer rim of Leyton’s Headland’s business center.

As she passed the offices of AJ Sanderson, she had to wonder something else. Would she ever be able to hear Ty Butler’s name without reliving the past?

“Medium chai latte and a fig cookie?”

Summer approached the counter and collected her order. Thanking the server, she grabbed a couple of sugar packets and slipped out of the cafe. The warm morning air hit her as she stepped into the street. It was the first week of autumn, but the heat and humidity in the air said that Leyton’s Headland promised to hang on to the remnants of summer for as long as possible.

As she passed the resort-wear boutique a few shops up from her clinic, the door to the real estate office across the street opened. The morning sun glanced off the plate glass, momentarily obscuring Summer’s vision as a man emerged from the interior. A man with brown hair streaked by the sun, the style too long to be called conventional. His shaggy fringe swept low over his forehead, touching the top of a pair of dark wraparound sunglasses. He wore a white T-shirt filled out by broad shoulders and a pair of knee-length, black-and-white board shorts.

Summer’s stride faltered. The man stopped to look in the office window, perusing the houses-for-sale listings. His muscles were more developed than ten years ago, but Summer knew the set of his shoulders, the indolent way he had of carrying himself. Even though he had his back to her, there was no doubt in Summer’s mind she was staring at Ty Butler.

Someone bumped into her, making Summer aware she’d been standing stock-still in the midst of pedestrian traffic. Muttering an apology, Summer moved out of the middle of the footpath, shifting back against the boutique window while she gathered her breath and her wits.

When she’d moved from Sydney back to Leyton’s Headland a few years ago, she’d known running into Ty was a possibility. His parents still lived here—his mother Irene came to Summer’s Retreat for massage once in a while. But the rumor mill had let her know pretty quickly that Ty spent most of his downtime split between a place on the Gold Coast and another one in Southern California. And his visits to Leyton’s Headland had evidently been few and far between, because she hadn’t seen him once in the three and a half years since she’d opened her business. Not once in ten years, as a matter of fact.