Only For Now: Second Chances (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Will lifted his drink in the air and echoed the toast, "To vacation," along with the rest of the wedding party, minus Alexa. He turned back toward the house from his spot on the beach, wondering if she had gotten stuck again and needed help with the story. It had to be after six, judging from the position of the hot June sun, and she would be missing the start of the sunset if she didn't get down there soon. Will had seen lots of sunsets in his travels, but the view of the sun dipping below the water of the Gulf had to be in his top ten. He may just have to go get her.

She was still reeling from the fact that he was here, though, so maybe a little distance was good.

Cara sank down beside him on the sand. "Thanks again for helping Alexa. I rarely get to spend time with her these days, and I've been really looking forward to this week."

"That's not a surprise," said the blonde bridesmaid, Jocelyn he thought her name was, as she took the spot on Will's other side. "Miss Workaholic there never has any fun." She gave Will a toothy smile, obviously implying that she knew exactly how to have fun. He mentally rolled his eyes. So far, out of the other bridesmaids, Brenda and Lauren, Jocelyn had made it abundantly clear that she wanted to spend the week getting to know him on a more personal level.

Ethan, Jace's best man, joined them, sitting down across from Jocelyn. "Maybe you can show her a thing or two." He winked at her.

"I can show her a thing or two." Tyler joked, and Mitch, the final groomsman, guffawed.

"Hey, that's my sister you’re talking about," Cara protested. Will thought she looked pretty pissed and made a mental note to be very careful where he tread as far as Alexa was concerned. Alexa had made it obvious that she hadn’t talked to Cara about him, and he wasn’t sure how she would react once she found out what his intentions were this week.

"I'm sure he was just joking," Jace soothed, shooting his friends a death stare.

"Totally joking," Tyler confirmed, then turned his attention to Brenda and Lauren as the final members of the group all sat down on the sand.

For the past hour they had all been having a great time in the ocean and on the beach. Will loved that their portion of the beach was more or less private and away from the main resort, but there was still enough activity along the shore to provide some entertainment. He briefly regretted leaving his camera in his room, but tried to remind himself that he needed a break too. For him, drawing the line between personal and professional time was a bit fuzzy.

"So what did you think?" Cara asked. "Will she have a good story to turn in? I don't know if she told you, but she's hoping this could be her big break."

"I think it's fantastic," Will said truthfully. In fact, he was more than impressed that this was her first attempt at a published piece. "If they don't print it, they're idiots." And he meant it. He had been blown away by her writing ability. The story was engaging and entertaining, which was saying a lot when the topic was economics. He especially loved how he could get a better sense of her personality by reading her words.

"Well, it is the media." Cara laughed.

"Funny." He ruffled her hair and laughed along with her. Even though he’d spent nearly as much time with Cara as Alexa growing up, he’d always thought of her more like a sister. The same couldn’t be said for Alexa.

"So what's it like travel all over the world?" Jocelyn purred, edging closer to him. He turned slightly to put a little distance between them, and caught sight of Alexa making her way down the stairs and across the sand, arms full of new drinks for the group. She had a giant smile on her face.

"All done," she called out. "Time to celebrate."

Will jumped up and rushed over to her. "Here let me help you with those." He took them from her, noticing the way her gaze lingered briefly on his bare chest. A smile spread over his face as she realized he'd caught her looking, and she clenched her jaw.

"Thanks," she grumbled. She stalked over to the group where they all cheered at her arrival, some more enthusiastically than others. Will trailed behind and passed out the beers to everyone. "How about another toast?" she suggested as everyone cracked their drinks open. "To living life."

"Atta girl." Cara smiled, lifting her can.

Another chorus of cheers spread around the group, except for Jocelyn who mumbled, "About time." She then continued in a syrupy voice, "So Will was just about to tell us about some of his traveling adventures, weren't you, Will?"

"Uh, sure," he offered. He really didn't like talking about himself all the time, but the others seemed pretty interested. His independent and free lifestyle was pretty enviable, he knew that, but he wasn't one to brag. "I got some really in-depth coverage of New Orleans last week. I'm hoping it will get picked up by a major outlet when hurricane season starts up again."

"We were in New Orleans last week," Brenda chimed in. "For Cara's bachelorette party. That city knows how to live it up."

The bridesmaids all laughed, excepting Alexa. She pointedly avoided his gaze.

"Yeah," Lauren said. "For a minute we thought Alexa had decided to breathe a little too."

Jocelyn laughed. "Please. She just went home and missed out on all the real fun."

Will watched her reaction carefully. Her face burned, but he wasn't sure if from the memory of what she thought had happened, or from Jocelyn's incessant belittling. The woman really was a bitch, he thought.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who thought so. Jace looked at her disbelievingly and Cara gave her a sharp look that made it clear she needed to rein herself in. Tyler jumped to her defense.

"I think Alexa knows how to have fun, she just takes her career seriously." She smiled at him gratefully, and Will felt a wave of jealousy that he ruthlessly pushed away. He had no right to be jealous that she was smiling so sweetly at another man. But it resurfaced a moment later when Tyler pulled her up from the sand. "Let's hit the waves."

Alexa agreed and pulled her short beach dress over her head and tossed it aside. Will's mouth instantly went dry. He'd tried excessively hard to avoid looking at her last weekend when she'd attempted to strip down, but he couldn't pry his eyes away now. Her frame was slight, but she had just the right amount of curves which her fire-engine-red bikini highlighted to perfection.

Tyler grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the crashing waves, making her laugh as the salt water sprayed her. Will knocked back his beer and forced his eyes away. He caught sight of Cara watching him and he forced himself to unclench his jaw. This was going to be an eventful week. He wasn't the only male in the party lusting after Alexa.

* * *

Alexa gasped as the cold water took her breath away. She hadn't been on the beach all day to get heated up like the others, so the cold was more shocking than refreshing.

"Come on," Tyler taunted. "Don't just stand on the edge like a scared girl." Before she knew what was happening, he rushed her and scooped her up, then dropped her into the water a few yards out. She came up sputtering and laughing, then pushed him under as another wave crashed. Tyler was definitely attractive, but she really did think of him more like a brother. Which was a good thing since he was Jace’s brother, and they'd probably be spending holidays together for the rest of their lives.

She caught sight of Will watching them, Jocelyn practically pressed up against his side. She had an uncontrollable urge to punch the woman in the face, but settled instead on a little harmless flirting with Ty. She knew it was petty, and probably childish, but she wanted to make Will feel as jealous as she currently did. She avoided thinking about why exactly she would feel so jealous when half the time she couldn't stand the man.

She didn't fight him when Tyler lifted her up and tossed her into the waves again. She hadn't let loose in a long time and it was fun to splash around a bit, even though part of her wished it was Will out there with her. Tyler swam out a bit deeper, leaving her to ecide whether she'd follow after him.

Turning around against her better judgment to get another glimpse of Will, secretly hoping he was still watching, she was surprised to find him only feet away from her.

"Your sister is not a happy camper." His low voice gave her chills. Or maybe it was just the breeze on her wet skin.

She sighed. "What now? First I work too much, but now I can't have fun?"

Will inclined his head toward Tyler. "I think the protective big sister is coming out."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "What's she going to do, start a fight with her fiancé’s brother?" Will was being ridiculous. Cara didn’t care if she had a little harmless flirtation with Ty.

"I'm just saying you may want to go easy on the flirting." He said it nonchalantly, but Alexa caught something in his eye that made her heart skip a beat.

"What's the matter? Jealous?" She laughed and dragged her hand through the water, splashing him in the face. She grinned tauntingly and turned back to Tyler, but his response had her stopping dead.

"Yes."

Slowly she turned again, hands on her hips. The look on his face was full of desire and she couldn't do anything but open and close her mouth. She had the fleeting thought that she must look like a fish, or at least a drowned rat. He certainly couldn't find her attractive standing there drenched her hair plastered to her body. She became painfully aware of her nipples tightening and knew the thin material did nothing to hide it. She mustered her resolve, determining not to let this man keep putting her off balance. She tilted her chin up toward him, ready to put him in his place, but was horrified at the words that came out of her mouth instead.

"What are you going to do about it?"

He let out a low growl that sent shivers up and down her spine, and she bit her lip. He took a step toward her, but when he shifted, she caught sight of her sister watching them closely, and it brought her back to her senses. She was sure Cara would love nothing more than for something to come of her unrequited love for Will. But she would never let that happen. Not in a million years. She’d worked too long and too hard to protect herself.

She turned abruptly and swam out to meet Tyler at the sandbar.

* * *

She must be trying to kill him. He didn’t know why, but she had a vendetta against him, he was certain. Why else would she taunt him like that then run off to hang with another dude? He couldn't seem to control his response to her.

And what had just happened? She'd done nothing but rail against him, both today and the last time he'd seen her, but now here she was practically inviting him to come and get her. If she'd wanted a reaction, she'd gotten it. A little voice in his head whispered that he was just getting a taste of his own medicine. How many times in their earlier years had he wanted to make a move on Alexa, but found himself sating that desire with another woman?

She was different, he’d always known it. And before, it had terrified him to think of the power she could hold over him. So while he hadn’t ever been able to keep away, he’d never touched her. Not until that fateful night four years ago. He’d finally given in to all the years of wanting and never having, only to scare her off. And she’d been gone ever since.

He had to watch himself or he’d end up reliving history.

"What was that about?" Cara asked, coming up behind him and putting an arm around his waist. She gave Will a meaningful look that he couldn't begin to fathom. "You just jumped up mid-conversation and ran out here to my sister, who looked like she couldn't get away from you fast enough."

He pretended not to know what she was talking about. "I just wanted to cool off a bit."

Cara eyed him doubtfully but didn’t press the matter. “We’re heading up to the deck to watch the sunset if you want to come.”

“I think I’ll stay here for a bit,” he replied. She took the hint and left him there alone. Will sat down in the sand again, wanting to watch the sunset from the shore.

Tyler and Alexa seemed to be tired of their romp in the water, and were making their way to the shore as well. "Catch you later," Tyler called to him as he passed by. Will nodded, expecting Alexa to follow him.

He couldn't have been more shocked when instead she sat down beside him, letting her toes slide into the surf. There was a good three feet between them. He tried to figure out what to say to her next, but she began speaking first.

"We can't let my sister know about us. I’m sure you think it's ridiculous, but I have my reasons."

"About that. There is no 'us.' At least not the way you're thinking." He made air quotes with his fingers as he said it.

She gaped at him and stammered out, "No, I know, that's not what I mean. I don't want there to be." She paused and took a breath. "What I mean is, I know that it was just a one-night kind of thing and I don't expect it to be anything else."

He shook his head. "You misunderstand me. In fact, you have from the beginning. There was no fling."

She stared at him, bewilderment written all over her face. "I remember, Will. I woke up in your bed. In nothing but your bathrobe." Her face nearly matched her swimsuit.

"What else do you remember?" he prodded gently. "What about the night before?"

She knit her brow together. "I've been working on that, and a few memories seem to be there, but I'm not sure if they're real or imagined."

"Maybe I can help you out with that."

"Maybe." She leaned back on her hands and crossed her feet at the ankles. Her toenails matched her swimsuit as well. For someone who seemed to have a reputation of a boring workaholic, she sure did resemble a spitfire. At least in his experience with her, now and before.

"I remember running into you. At least I think I do. I remember being surprised. No, shocked is more like it. I had gone up to the bar to get a drink, and there you were." She glanced at him for confirmation, and at his slight nod, she continued. "I also remember that I was supposed to meet up with the girls at the next location, but I wanted to spend a little more time with you." She looked away, embarrassed. "After that it gets kind of fuzzy. The thing is, I hadn't had that much to drink. Not enough to not remember an entire evening of, well, you know. I don't drink very often, but I know my limits, and I shouldn't have reached it."