Total Abandon (4 page)

“What do you mean?”

“Did you and Devlin have a fight or something?”

“No.”

“First, you insist we go shoe shopping today instead of joining Devlin at the art museum for the new Escher exhibit, which I know you wanted to see. Now you want to blow him off when you know he’s been looking forward to that new thriller movie for weeks.”

Sandra shrugged. “I just need some alone time.”

“Aw, honey. Is it about the divorce?” Aimee rested her hand on Sandra’s. Her deep blue eyes gazed into Sandra’s with sympathy. “Did the anniversary bring up bad memories?”

Sandra appreciated her friend’s comforting gesture.

“No, it’s not that, I…” She bit her lip. “It’s just that … I sort of made a fool of myself last night with Devlin.”

Aimee’s well-shaped eyebrow arched upward. “Really? How?”

Sandra’s cheeks burned in embarrassment.

Aimee grinned. “Hmm. With cheeks that red, I’ve gotta know. Give.”

“When he dropped me off last night … I … sort of kissed him.”

“Boy, if you’re not sure, you are definitely out of practice.”

Sandra picked up her diet cola and swirled it around, sending the ice cubes tinkling against the glass.

“Aimee, you’re not helping.”

“Okay, so what happened then? Did you guys…?” Aimee’s eyes glittered in amusement.

“No. He…” She stared down at her plate. “He couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

“Really? Hmm. I find that hard to believe.” Aimee took a bite of her sandwich.

“Well, believe it.”

Aimee chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed. “Okay, so now what? You going to avoid him forever?”

Sandra gazed at Aimee sheepishly. “Can I?”

Aimee laughed melodically. “No, I won’t let you get away with that. He’s a great guy. And you guys are friends.” She patted Sandra’s hand. “But I will allow you a reprieve. We’ll skip the movie tonight and, to help you out even more, how about you and I go up to my cottage next weekend. It’s a long weekend, and the weather’s supposed to be fabulous. We’ll enjoy three days of sunshine, water, and relaxation. That should give you lots of time to forget all about any nonsense between you and Devlin, and the following week we can all pick up where we left off. What do you say?”

A weekend at Aimee’s cottage. Sandra had never been, but had heard many stories from Aimee about the good times she’d had there. And where better to spend a glorious sunny long weekend than at a lakeside cottage?

*   *   *

Sandra’s hair whipped wildly in the wind as the small boat, with Aimee behind the wheel, raced across the sunlit water. Sandra glanced at the cottages along the treed shoreline. Off to the right, several teenagers enjoyed a large swim raft, some sunning themselves on top while others swam around the edges. Shrieks rang out as the ones in the water splashed the others, then several dove into the lake, probably with revenge in mind.

“Over there.” Aimee pointed to a small island beyond the end of the channel where the shores widened. “We’re coming up on Silver Lake, and that’s the island where the cottage is.”

Aimee shared the cottage with her sister. It had belonged to their parents, but they hardly used it anymore and found it not worth the maintenance headache, so they’d given it to their two daughters.

“An island all to yourself. That’s pretty cool,” Sandra said.

“Well, it’s a tiny island, and it’s not exactly all to myself. There is one other cottage, but it’s on the opposite shore, so it’s pretty private.”

Sandra liked that. Aimee had told her there was a lot of waterskiing, canoeing, and other water sports in the main lake, but most people didn’t come in too close to the island because of the danger of rocks. There were better places to go in the large lake, so the traffic around them would be practically nonexistent. Sandra enjoyed the idea of a quiet weekend on the water without swarms of people around.

“Do you know the people who own the other cottage?”

“It used to be owned by the Reeds, friends of my parents, but they didn’t get up all that often anymore, so they sold it last year. To a friend of their son’s. His name’s Craig. In fact, I used to date him.”

“Oh.” Sandra pursed her lips. She didn’t think she’d want to date someone she shared an island with. When the relationship ended, things could get dicey.

As the boat approached the island, Aimee slowed down. Sandra spotted a neon orange buoy off to the left, and another couple way to the right. Aimee headed straight ahead toward a wooden dock. A sleek maroon boat was tied on one side of the dock.

“I guess that means someone is at the other cottage this weekend,” Sandra said. “So you dated the owner. Is this going to be awkward?”

“No way. Craig and I are still good friends. We dated for a while last summer, but it didn’t last long after that. It may not be love, but we get along really well.”

Aimee’s face lit up with a smile and she waved. Sandra glanced toward the shore and saw two men walking along the dock, each carrying a tall-necked brown beer bottle in his hand.

“That’s Craig,” Aimee said. “And that’s his friend James.”

The way Aimee looked at Craig, Sandra wondered just how well Aimee and Craig got along. Of course, she might just be imagining the hunger in Aimee’s eyes, reflecting her own hunger for a strong, sexy man.

“We still run into each other the odd time during the summer and we always have a good time together. You’ll like him. James, too.”

James, too.
Suspicion reared up and Sandra’s eyes widened.

“You sneak. This is a setup, isn’t it.”

Aimee grinned. “Well, maybe a little bit. But I just figured it would be a way for you to meet a couple of nice guys in a casual setting. No pressure. And if you decide you don’t want to spend time with them, we’ll just keep to ourselves.”

Yeah, right. No pressure. They were on an
island
together. No other people for miles.

Sandra’s gaze locked on the two men standing on the steadily approaching dock. They were both tall, just over six feet, the one with the short, sandy hair slightly taller by about an inch. The dark-haired one wore a shirt draped open, revealing his masculine chest, while the other wore no shirt at all. Sandra couldn’t peel her gaze from his tight, sculpted abdominals. She didn’t know which one was Craig and which one was James and, quite frankly, it didn’t matter. From what she could see, both were drop-dead gorgeous.

Just Sandra, Aimee, and two exceptionally hunky guys for the entire weekend. Her pulse began to race and tingles danced along her nerve endings. This weekend was going to prove more of a distraction than she had anticipated.

*   *   *

As Aimee brought the boat alongside the dock, the shirtless man with sandy brown hair handed his beer to the other man and grabbed the side of the boat and pulled it closer to the dock. Then he tossed a loop of rope over the cleat on the front of the boat, and hooked it back, neatly tying the boat to the dock. Sandra’s gaze fell on the large tattoo of a tiger, which prowled up his right arm and along his muscular shoulder.

“Got a load of stuff, I see.” He stepped into the boat and picked up the huge cooler, then hefted it onto the dock.

“Thanks, Craig. This is my friend Sandra. Sandra, this is Craig.” Aimee nudged her head toward the other man. “And that’s James.”

Craig’s sandy brown hair was short and straight all over, the spiky tips almost glittering with golden highlights, probably from a lot of time spent in the sun, judging from his dark tan. James had his back to them as he placed the beer bottles on the other side of the dock, but Sandra could see that his dark brown hair was short on the sides and full and wavy on top.

Sandra smiled. “Hi.” She grabbed her small wheeled suitcase and lifted it.

James turned around and stepped toward the boat. “Here, let me.” He took the bag and placed it on the dock, then offered his hand to help her from the bobbing boat.

Her gaze locked with his as her fingers nestled in the confines of his strong grip. Awareness flashed through her. Of his strong masculine body, his arms and chest bulging with muscles. Of his glittering blue-gray eyes that nonchalantly perused her body. Of the attractive dimple in the center of his chin as he smiled at her.

Her eyes widened as recognition struck.

“James Connor?”

Four

Incredibly sexy, wickedly tempting James from college.

Sandra had spent her entire freshman year trying to ignore her wild infatuation with this man. He had been her lab partner in chemistry, and the chemistry between them had been sizzling. He’d been a constant source of hot sweaty dreams for which she’d felt no end of guilt because she was dating Eric at the time. Had been for five years.

Eric hadn’t wanted her to go to college so far from home—so far from him—but she’d assured him she would be true to him. Even though she had kept that promise, she’d always felt guilty about her intense attraction to James. An attraction she’d never forgotten.

James’ smile broadened. “Sandra Blair. It’s been a long time.”

From the heat in his eyes, Sandra could tell he hadn’t forgotten, either.

“You two know each other?” Aimee asked.

James still hadn’t released Sandra’s hand, and the heat simmering through her at his touch was becoming overwhelmingly distracting.

“We knew each other in college.”

Aimee smiled. “Did you guys date?”

He squeezed her hand. “We would have if I’d had my way, but she was dating a boy back home.”

“I see.” Aimee tossed her duffel bag to Craig, then took his hand as she stepped onto the dock, too. “So you two will have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Definitely,” said James.

He finally released Sandra’s hand, then placed her bag on top of the wheeled cooler. Craig piled Aimee’s bag on top of Sandra’s, then grabbed the long handle and pulled it along the dock. James retrieved the beers and followed his friend.

Aimee and Sandra fell into step behind him, which gave Sandra an excellent opportunity to notice James’ tight, well shaped butt as he walked in front of her. Every bit as gorgeous as she remembered it.

Aimee caught her staring and winked at her, a big grin claiming her face.

The cooler wheels bumped along the uneven ground as Craig dragged it up a well-worn dirt path heading through the trees to the right. After a couple of moments, a cottage came into view: rich stained wood with a deck around two sides, and huge windows overlooking the water. Stairs from the deck led down to a stone patio with a picnic table, and beyond that there was a beach. A hammock hung between two trees off to the left.

Aimee trotted ahead of the men and unlocked the back door, then they all headed inside. The living area was light and airy, with comfortable chairs and a couch, a full kitchen overlooking the living and dining area, and all of it with a great view of the lake.

James pulled the bags off the cooler and set them near a hallway that probably led to the bedrooms, and Craig dragged the cooler into the kitchen.

“Do you want us to help unpack?” Craig asked.

“That would be great. I’ll get Sandra settled in,” Aimee said. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”

Sandra grabbed the handle of her suitcase and drew it behind her as she followed Aimee down the hall to a bright bedroom with a double bed, a pine dresser and side tables, and sky blue bedding. A rattan chair and footstool sat by the window where she could relax and read.

“This is really cozy.”

“I aim to please.” Aimee sat down on the bed. “So what’s the deal with you and James? How could you not go out with such a hunk?”

“Like he said, I was already dating Eric.”

“You were engaged back then?”

“No, but we promised each other we wouldn’t date anyone else.”

“So you were celibate all through college?”

“No. I still saw Eric several times each term. And summers, et cetera.”

Aimee’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Is Eric the only guy you’ve ever been with?”

Sandra nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Wow. Well, I think we ought to do something about that.” Aimee patted the bed beside her and Sandra sat down.

“You were attracted to James in college, right?” Aimee asked.

“Um. Yeah.”

“I mean, from the look on your face when you recognized him, I’m guessing
really
attracted. Right?”

Sandra simply nodded her head.

“Okay, so do you think you and he might … I mean, do you think there’s the possibility of starting a serious relationship?”

“Oh, no. I mean, he is a really special guy but … it’s too soon. I haven’t even started dating again after my divorce. Jumping right into anything serious wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Aimee nodded. “Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. Just in case, though, I want to tell you. James and I dated, too.”

“You and James?”