The moonlight hit his dark wet hair, and for a moment his slate blue eyes almost glowed in the darkness. She knew instantly that it was Conner. But for a moment, it was as if she was seeing the man for the first time.
“Yes,” she finally answered him, “I’m okay.”
Chapter Two
Conner was hovering over Kara, looking down into her hazel eyes and trying to decide if she needed further saving.
The fact that she was still smiling threw him off, and he frowned down at her.
Her dark hair was fanned out on the wet sand, and her pale skin almost glowed in the moonlight. The sight of her beauty at such a time caused him to wonder if she was part mermaid. After all, most women he’d known didn’t look half as good as she did after almost drowning.
He’d noticed how pretty she was the first time he’d seen her, but she’d been busy and, well, he’d been trying to avoid entanglements. The kind that came with sexy hazel eyes and skin he wanted to spend a lifetime exploring. He balled his hands beside her head in the sand to try and control the urge to lean down and kiss her lips, which were turned upward in a slight grin.
“You didn’t hit your head or anything, did you?” he asked, suddenly concerned that she was concussed.
“No.” He watched her lips as she smiled up at him. “I’m fine.”
Why hadn’t he seen how beautiful she was before? Sure, he’d noticed her. But the woman laughing back up at him now was a complete knockout. He felt the effects of her smile deep down in his soul.
Then he realized what had happened to her, how reckless she’d been, and he felt his temper grow.
“Do you have any idea how stupid it is to swim in the ocean at night?” he heard himself saying.
The fact that he too had been on an evening swim when he’d bumped into her warm body fighting the tide did little to discourage him from berating her.
His words cause that sexy smile to slip from her lips, and he realized he should have kept his mouth shut.
“I wasn’t in any danger. Not really,” she said softly. He knew instantly that she didn’t believe her own words. Then she reached up and shoved his shoulder until he moved to sit next to her in the sand.
“Really? Because it sure seemed like that to me.” He’d grown up around his sister and cousins and knew all too well that women always won arguments. He shouldn’t have tried to argue with her, but he wanted to stress how badly things could have turned out if he hadn’t been there.
Her eyes ran over him and narrowed. “What were you doing out here?” she finally asked him. Her eyes landed on his bare chest and then dashed down quickly to his boxer briefs.
“I’m highly trained at swimming in the ocean. I grew up here,” he replied quickly.
There was a moment of quiet, then she started laughing again.
“You’re Kara, right?” he asked, trying to test her, just in case she really had bumped her head.
He knew for a fact that there were sharp rocks under the surf. When he’d been around ten, he’d found out about them himself after being pulled under the surf one summer and needing stitches in his shoulder. The scares he’d gotten were a constant reminder to him of how dangerous the ocean could be.
“You’re Conner, right?” she said back to him as she hugged her knees to her chest.
He leaned back in the sand and watched her. Her wet hair hung over her shoulders now, and he could see that her makeup had washed away with the saltwater. Her clear face made her even more beautiful.
“Yeah.” He glanced back towards the brightly lit barn. “Shouldn’t you be in there… doing whatever it is you do after weddings?”
“I’m all done for the night.” She glanced over at him. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I was training,” he said quickly. “You don’t have to help clean up or… whatever?”
She smiled again. “No. Training for what?”
He frowned and glanced off towards the dark waters. “A test.” He knew he was being vague but didn’t really feel like going into the details at the moment. “You shouldn’t swim after dark. If you’re not a strong swimmer, you shouldn’t be in the ocean at all.”
He watched her change. Gone was the laughter, replaced by annoyance. Good. He wanted to make sure his point got through to her clearly.
“I’m a strong swimmer.” She started dusting herself off and made a move to stand.
He jumped up and took her elbow to help pull her up. When her body bumped against his, he felt a zip of desire race through him like lightning. It knocked the breath out of him, forcing him to freeze up. Well, everything except for his dick, which tented his still wet boxer briefs.
“Why are you training at night?” she asked. If she’d noticed his reaction to her, she thankfully didn’t mention it.
Then she glanced down at his hand, still holding her arm. He would have let go, but he was still trying to figure out what to do with the knowledge that no one else had ever caused his body to react quite like this so quickly before. Well, at least since he’d gotten out of the awkward puberty stage.
“I train at all hours. Any free time I can get.” He needed to find a way to get himself under control. He glanced off down the dark beach. “You live in The Roger family’s old cottage.”
She glanced in the direction of the place and nodded. “Yeah, we got the barn when we purchased the cottage.” She glanced back down the beach at the barn.
“Did you buy the home for the barn or vice versa?” he asked, curious what had brought the sisters to Pride.
“The cottage was a bonus.” She glanced back over at him. “You’re in the Coast Guard, aren’t you?”
He shrugged. “For now.” He glanced back out over the dark water and thought about his future. The one that was still so uncertain to him. “Why weddings?”
She smiled and shrugged slightly. “It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember,” she answered with a slight sigh.
He frowned as she talked about starting the business with her sister. He’d finally distracted her from asking him questions about himself. He didn’t mind listening to her talk about her life, but just knowing that all she thought about was perfect weddings reminded him that he’d never believed he was the marrying type.
Sure, the rest of the Jordan clan had been ripe for marriage. But not Conner. For as long as he could remember, he’d known that he would never marry. Never have a family and be… normal.
He wasn’t made for it. There was just something inside him that told him he’d go through life lonely.
It wasn’t as if he was torturing himself, it’s just… he was different. He didn’t have what it took to be normal. Things like knowing what he wanted out of life. Knowing which direction that he wanted to take. Hell, he couldn’t even make up his mind what color socks to put on most mornings. Which is why signing up with the Coast Guard Reserve had been perfect. Those choices had been taken from him.
Every other Jordan had their own missions in life. They had all known what they wanted or who they wanted to be. Starting with his parents.
Iian Jordan was one of the best chefs along the Oregon coast. He’d taken over the family restaurant at a young age after losing his hearing in a boat accident that had taken the life of his father, Conner’s grandfather George.