Desire flooded her. Every part of her wanted him, wanted his lips on hers, wanted to feel his arms wrap tight around her. She tried to speak, but emotion clogged her throat.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” she managed. Trusting him to take her on a picnic and trusting him with her heart were two different things entirely.
She reached out and touched his cheek. It was warm, holding the heat of the sun, the sandpaper edge of his five o’clock shadow getting a hefty head start. He leaned into her hand, which was now shaky.
“I know you’ve been hurt,” he said. “But I’m not Cooper. I’m just…me. Just Tony.”
Tears welled up. Was he the boy, now the man, that she’d always known? She believed that he was. Her heart felt that he was.
She reached up and tugged him down to her, her lips finding his. His lips were soft and warm as they slid over hers, and he angled his head to take her mouth more freely. He tasted wonderful, like the sweet wine and…himself. In the warmth of the sun and the saltwater-tinged air, a feeling overtook her that was akin to relief. A rightness that she hadn’t felt for years.
Suddenly they were lying on the towel, and the feel of him over her, strong and sun-kissed and warm, was both familiar and new as the soft sand shifted subtly beneath them and their kisses turned from tentative to deeper and more urgent.
She slid her hand around his neck, under the curling length of his hair, feeling the powerful muscles of his back as she pulled him closer.
His kisses were…perfect. Just right. Insistent, skilled, yet…gentle. She kissed him back like this was their last day on earth. Like it was their last day on this beach. Like he was what had been missing all these years.
He broke from her lips to kiss her neck, nuzzling the soft, sensitive hollow between her neck and shoulder. Heat built in her lower abdomen, spreading everywhere, her body arching toward him, achy and wanting.
“You taste…amazing,” he said, his hair brushing against her cheek as he continued leaving a trail of kisses on her hot skin.
“You too,” she managed, her fingers tangled in the silky, close-cropped waves of his hair.
He kissed the swell of her breast above her swimsuit top. A whimper escaped her throat, and she was unable to stop the warm, languid sensations flowing like liquid gold all through her. He smiled up at her, then returned to his task, the rough scrape of stubble pleasantly rough against her sensitive skin.
Suddenly from above they heard scuffling and laughter. “There’s some old people over there having a picnic and making out,” a male voice said.
Cam rested his forehead against her chest as they both froze. He seemed in no hurry to move but she scooted out from under him and sat up on the picnic blanket. A couple of teenagers were at the top of the path, peeking out from over the boulders. “Ew, gross,” the girl said, giggling. “Where else can we go?”
Hadley put her head in her hands. Cam finally sat up, clearly not in a rush, and gave her a wry half-smile, lifting her hand and kissing the palm. “Come on, Grandma, I think our picnic’s over.”
“Grandma?” she exclaimed, mock-incensed. She busied herself by gathering their towels, trying to slow her rampant pulse.
He ambled to his feet and slid into his flip-flops. As they gathered the remnants of their picnic, his words echoed in her head. Just me. Just Tony. Someone still capable all these years later of stealing her heart and running with it. And that was exactly what she was most afraid of.
* * *
The timing couldn’t have been worse for Cam’s business meetings in New York. Was that interruption on the beach karma or what? He should’ve taken Hadley somewhere private, somewhere far away from giggling teenagers, where they might’ve had the chance to finish what they started.
Now, three days later, he was back and waiting for her at the beachside park downtown to decide on the final layout for the gala.
Maybe the universe had stopped him in his tracks for a reason. It had only been a few months since her breakup. She was wary. His life was unsettled, and he still had to get through that television interview.
All of which was making him very cranky. Because he really didn’t care about any of that anymore. All he could think of was her. Her beautiful smile, her snorty laugh, her sense of humor that always kept him on his toes.
“Hi,” she said as she met him at a picnic table in the late afternoon. She was wearing glasses and carrying a clipboard. “Did you mail your half of the envelopes?” was her first question.
“Yes, ma’am.” When had she gotten glasses? He felt like he was talking to a hot librarian. Or a schoolteacher. “Did you mail yours?”
“Three days ago.” They’d tag-teamed all the chores for the benefit and gotten the tickets mailed out ASAP.
“I’ve done everything on my list,” Cam said. “I’ve talked with the tent people, the table and chair people, the portable restroom people, the park staff, and checked with the city about parking regulations.”
Not to be outdone, she said, “Well, I’ve done the flowers, the programs, the music, and made sure the speakers know what to do. And I’ve confirmed all of our business sponsorships and done media outreach on radio and TV. And, by the way, I booked you to do a TV spot with some pediatric specialists at the hospital to talk about why it’s important to have a regional center for kids to have their health needs met. While you’re there, you’re also going to get to talk to some kids about football. Would that be okay?”
“Only if you bring some dogs.”
She did her snorty laugh thing. “Why on earth would you want me to bring dogs?”
At least he’d gotten a smile out of her. “I don’t know. Don’t people bring dogs to visit sick kids?”
“Can you imagine Jagger with a bunch of kids? First of all, he’s taller than most of them.”
“And he might lick a few to death.”
She shook her head at that, but she was still smiling. “After the photo op, you’re going to meet with the CEO of the hospital and—”
“Nice PR work,” he interrupted. “I’m game for whatever you set up. Did you miss me?”
“Look, we have a lot to do to get all this work done on time,” she said. “I’m not going to mix business with pleasure until we’re through here. Because look what happened the other day.”
He stabbed a finger in the air. “Aha! So you were thinking of pleasure.”
Her cheeks colored at that. “No, I’m thinking that we have to tell all our vendors exactly how we’re going to set up this gala. We’ve got a food tent, tables, portable bathrooms, and a dance floor. There’s parking and a band. And it all has to flow.”
“So what are you thinking?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“Well, the lot by the beach isn’t big enough for all the cars. So there will be overflow parking on the grass. Except the problem with that is people should enter the event on the end of the lot farthest from the beach. So it doesn’t flow right. Also, I had this idea that we could turn the boardwalk into a dance floor. String it with lights. But we can’t have people parking right near the dancing.”
“Look,” he said, “you need to think of this like a football field.”