As he draws closer, I can see that his eyes are obscured as he squints into the sun. But I don’t need to see them to recognize the rider. I felt the tug of the string the instant I looked up. It’s Alec. And he’s coming straight for us.
“Holy effin’ shit,” Chris breathes beside me, articulating the feeling that’s rattling around inside me. “This is like one of those Old Spice commercials.”
Chris walks a few steps ahead of me. That’s when I realize that I’ve stopped moving completely. I’m standing in the surf, staring at Alec like he’s the key to my survival.
And, at the moment, it feels very much like he is.
He comes to a stop in front of me. His eyes never leave mine, even as his horse fidgets to get back to a run. Alec is frowning and he looks anything but pleased to see me. I say nothing and neither does he.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Chris says when the silence and the tension become too much.
“Yes,” Alec says, but speaks no further.
Still he watches me. And still, I don’t move.
Chris, never one who has been comfortable with silence, chimes in again. “We’re, uh, we’re here looking for sea turtles.”
“Hmmm,” Alec murmurs, his gaze searing me all the way to my soul.
Too many things are drifting through my head, warring with the vision of Alec on a horse.
I feel breathless when he looks at me this way.
A guy like this is dangerous to my heart.
Will I regret it if I don’t let this happen?
Will I regret it if I do?
But he didn’t call.
Maybe he changed his mind.
Maybe he lost interest.
Why does that make me feel so hopeless?
I should be glad. My problem is solved.
Out of nowhere, resolve bubbles up, resolve to do the smart thing and stay away from him. I clear my throat and smile politely.
“Well, it was good seeing you, Alec.” I turn to Chris. “Let’s look once more back the other way.”
Chris’s mouth drops open and she gives me a stare that says I’ve completely lost my mind. I wind my fingers around her upper arm and turn her with me as I start off in the other direction. At first she resists, but I give her arm a meaningful squeeze and she bends to my will.
I look back over my shoulder at Alec, still sitting atop his magnificent horse. He’s watching me. Intently. Like he always does.
“See ya,” I say before turning to walk away.
My heart is thumping wildly inside my chest as a spot right between my shoulder blades starts to burn. I can almost feel his eyes on me as I leave.
I’m thinking of Alec rather than watching where I’m going. I don’t even see the depression in the sand until it’s too late.
I step into it and lose my balance, tipping toward the water. I reach out to catch myself, but my foot has already been gobbled up by the wet sand which keeps it stationary even as my body turns. I feel the muscles along the outside of my left calf wrench and I yelp in pain as I contort my body to avoid further damage.
“Ohmigod, are you okay?” Chris asks, bending to my side.
I feel my face burn with embarrassment and I refuse to look back at Alec, who I know is still watching me. I can feel it.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just help me up.”
Chris takes my hands and pulls, bringing me to my feet. I straighten and wiggle my foot to free it from the sand. Pain shoots up into my knee. I gasp.
“You’re not okay. You twisted your ankle, didn’t you?”
I bite my lip and try gingerly to bear weight on my left foot. It’s far too painful to walk on.
“It looks like it.”
“You can’t make it back to the car like this.”
“Sure I can. It’ll just take a little longer and you’ll have to help me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alec’s deep voice says.
I whirl to find him looming behind me, a scowl on his face.
“I’m not being ridiculous,” I snap. “I’ll be fine.”
“This is not something that can be ignored,” he replies.
“I’m not ignoring it. I just have to take it slow.”
“Sometimes even taking it slow won’t help.”
Something in his eyes tells me he’s talking about much more than the situation with my ankle. It’s as though he’s speaking to all that I’ve been struggling with. But that’s impossible for him to know, right? Unless he’s struggling, too.
That doesn’t make any sense, I reason with myself. Why would he need to stay away from me?
“I think he’s right, Sam,” Chris offers. I want to turn and glare at her, but I can’t. I can’t seem to look away from Alec and the unspoken things I see in his eyes.
“My house isn’t far. Let me take you there and get some ice on that.”
“Thanks, but I’ll—”
“That’s a good idea,” Chris says. “Sam, he can take you on his horse so you don’t have to walk. I can drive around to get you.”
“No need. I can bring her home later,” Alec mutters. He sounds bothered by the situation, which gives me a perverse sense of pleasure. I hope he is aggravated. Serves him right for putting me in this position. He should’ve just let me go.
I ignore the part of me that’s happy he didn’t, the part of me that’s begging to spend a few more minutes with him. Close to the flame.
“Don’t I get a vote? I told you—” I begin halfheartedly, but Alec cuts me off.
“Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t be taking no for an answer?” he asks gruffly.
He did. But, until now, it seemed he’d forgotten about me.
“Yes, but—”
“No buts.”
It’s hard to argue effectively when I actually want to be stuck with Alec, even though I know it’s not a good idea. He’s bad for me. I don’t think there’s a question of that now. The problem is that, for the most part, I don’t seem to care.
“I’ll call in a while to check on you, Sam.” Chris is all but bouncing up and down with excitement. I doubt Alec can see it; at least I hope not. But I can.
Before I can even respond, Alec bends and sweeps me into his arms. Reflexively, I reach around his neck to hold on. I try to ignore how good it feels to have his warm skin touching so much of my body at once—my arms, my side, my hip, my leg. He looks down into my face, his eyes serious and trained on mine. “No need. I’ll take good care of her.”