Do You Take This Daddy?. Katie Meyer
when you’ve never been anywhere else, you get a good appreciation for a place.” She shrugged. “But thanks. I’ll see you later.”
She found Noah waiting for her out back. Nothing like watching a man’s mouth fall open to boost the ego. She didn’t have the curves of a supermodel, but her new push-up bikini top seemed to be working just fine. “You can put your tongue back in your mouth now.”
He chuckled. “I’ll apologize for staring if you want, but it would be a lie.”
She understood his predicament. She was doing some ogling herself, taking in all six-foot something of him. She’d known he was tall and broad-shouldered, but she hadn’t anticipated all the lean, tanned muscles he’d been hiding under his street clothes. Jillian was right—this man was no stray.
“Shall we?” He gestured for her to pass, and she padded down the sandy wooden steps, the boards still warm from the heat of the day. Summer had barely started, but the temperatures were already in the eighties. At the bottom she paused for him to take off his shoes; she’d stashed hers in her backpack when she changed.
“You can just leave your shoes next to the steps. No one will touch them.”
He didn’t argue, and she gave him a mental bonus point. Not all guys tolerated being told what to do. The sand was hot under their feet, but when they neared the water it phased it out. “Just so you know, the water is still pretty cold this early in the year. By August it will be like bathwater, but for now it’s a bit bracing.” Then, grabbing his hand, she pulled him in with her.
“Whoa, you weren’t kidding. This is freezing.” He stopped her when they were about chest deep. Well, chest deep for her; he was significantly taller.
“You’ll get used to it.” She released his hand and leaned back to let herself float, her body rocked by the calm swells. Nothing was better than this. It was that magical time of evening when the day was over but night hadn’t quite taken hold yet. The sky was an abstract ballet of colors dancing in the light, changing minute by minute as the sun dropped. If she had to be stuck in one place forever, Paradise Isle wasn’t a bad choice. But she didn’t plan on staying stuck.
Turning her head, she could see Noah floating beside her, as mesmerized by the view as she was. Moving on instinct, she reached out and took his hand, sucking in a breath at the buzz of attraction that sparked between them. She’d meant to show him a bit of the peace that Paradise had to offer. Instead, he was creating his own version of chaos in her world.
* * *
The cold Atlantic water had washed away the last lingering effects of the alcohol, leaving Noah feeling more clear-headed than he had in days. Maybe longer. Everything had gone haywire the minute he’d met Angela. At first her need for excitement had been fun, the constant parties a way to let loose after the months of work he’d put into his latest project. But then the drama started. Late-night fights over nothing, constant demands for attention. She thought that a man of his fame, who had been touted as one of Atlanta’s most eligible bachelors, would live an extravagant life and spend lots of money, preferably on her. His modest lifestyle had been a shock, and any attraction had faded quickly, on both their parts. But the drama had lingered until the final day, with fights over everything from what car he drove to where they were going to live.
Mollie tugged at his hand. “You aren’t brooding over there, are you?”
“Are you kidding? I’m literally in Paradise, hanging out with a beautiful woman, watching the sun set. What do I have to brood about?”
She blushed at his compliment, a faint pink creeping across her face. He liked that behind her boldness, there was an innocence about her, too. There was no cunning or guile with her. “How long have you lived here?”
“All my life,” she answered easily. “Actually, I was born on the mainland, at Palmetto Hospital, but only because the Paradise Medical Center wasn’t built yet. I’ve been an islander since I was a few days old.”
“Seriously?” He couldn’t imagine living in one place your whole life.
“Yeah, I’m a native. How about you—where are you from?”
He never knew how to answer that question. “Everywhere. Nowhere.”
She stood, wiping at the water dripping down her face. “That’s not an answer.”
He stood, too, a full head above her. “I’m not trying to be evasive. I just don’t have a good answer. I was born in Colorado, but I’ve lived in more places than I can remember. Dad’s army, so we moved every few years. I think the longest I stayed in one place was four years, and that was in college.”
She tilted her head, considering him with those big brown eyes that seemed to see more than they should. “Was it hard? Moving all the time?”
A dozen different goodbyes flashed through his head. “Yeah. It was hard.”
She ran a hand up his arm, her fingers leaving a trail of saltwater and awareness. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was as warm as her touch, drawing him in.
“Don’t be. I had just as many hellos as goodbyes.” He moved closer until he could feel her slick skin pressed against him.
She tipped her chin up, her gaze locked on his. “Well then, I guess we could consider this a hello.”
He could make a joke, laugh it off and swim back. He probably should. He hadn’t so much as looked at another woman since he met Angela, even though they’d had separate bedrooms for the past six months. But there was a single drop of water clinging to Mollie’s lip and he just had to have a taste.
Slowly, giving her time to stop him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She tasted of salt water and sweetness, like the taffy he’d had at a carnival as a kid. She floated in his arms as they kissed, the waves washing against them while he feasted on her mouth. He wanted more, to take her right there, to feel her from the inside out while the first stars of the night peaked through the sky.
Mollie pulled away, leaving him with her taste clinging to his lips. “This is crazy.”
“It doesn’t feel crazy.” It felt incredible.
“Despite the fact that you’re on the rebound and I don’t date?”
“Well, yeah, aside from that. Are you sure you don’t date?” She was pretty and fun and could have her pick of guys. So why was she off the market?
She nodded, bobbing in the water. “Very sure. No offense, but men have a way of getting in a woman’s way when it comes to a career. I’ve got too much I want to do to risk getting distracted by a relationship.”
She had a good point, but something in him wanted to try to change her mind. Maybe it was the months of celibacy talking or the need to forget all the crazy parts of his life, at least for a few minutes. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to say goodbye, not yet. “I don’t know, distractions can be fun.”
She shivered. The sun had fully set now, and the air was no longer warm enough to make up for the cold water. “Nice try, but I don’t even know you.”
“Sure you do. You know I’m a military brat, my parents are crazy, and I can’t hold my liquor. What more is there?”
She splashed him. “I mean, I don’t know where you live, what you do for a living, if you have any pets, that kind of thing.”
“To be fair, I don’t know any of that about you, either. But I’m willing to keep making out anyway.” His body didn’t care about any of that stuff. And the rest of him was too spellbound to think straight.
“How very generous of you.” She was shivering again.
Taking her hand again, he waded up to the shore. He wrapped her in one of the soft, oversize towels they had left there and then rubbed himself down.
“You’re like ice. We need to get you