“Have you ever caught me lying to anyone?”
“No.” She bit at her lip and burst out with, “Tell me the truth, Cruz. Are you a player? Do you mess with untold numbers of women, lead them on for your selfish purposes, and dump them, thinking it’s all fun and games?”
“No!” He begged her with his gaze to believe him. “I’ve dated some different women since I left home.”
She nodded as if that was expected.
“But I don’t play with women and dump them. All the social media crap you’ve seen is women who’ve taken pictures with me and made something out of nothing. Everybody wants their time in the spotlight, Mer. Too many people will use anyone to get that.”
Meredith didn’t speak for a few seconds. “But you’ve happily taken pictures with a whole slew of women.”
“I always try to be nice to my fans, and snapping a picture isn’t a big deal to me, but if it bothers you, I’ll stop.” He said the words decisively, and he meant them. He might lose some fans and lose some sales on his apparel, his specialized Ronix boards, or his personally-designed wakeboarding ropes, but he didn’t care. He had plenty of money and plenty of fame. At the same time, he always wanted to be kind, and he hated to think of being the jerk that said, “No pictures. I’m too pretty for that.”
“I don’t want you to stop. I don’t want you to be the guy who won’t take a picture with someone.”
“Thank you.” Of course, she didn’t. Meredith was one of the kindest people he knew. He took a step closer. “Do you believe me that I am not dating and discarding woman after woman?”
“What about Hope?”
“What about her?” Hope. That was a blast from the past. He’d dated her off and on his senior year. He was always praying for another kiss like the one in the woods that had knocked him for a loop, but it had never come. She was a great friend and a fun girl but definitely not right for him.
“You played her our senior year and then left her to pursue your career.”
He arched his eyebrows. “We dated, but we weren’t right for each other. I kept trying to make it fit, but it didn’t. Have you asked her about it?”
“No.”
“You should. We both agreed before we graduated that we wouldn’t work as a couple. She loves me as a friend.” He took another step closer.
Meredith didn’t say anything.
“Do you have any other questions?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I want to believe you, Cruz. If you say you aren’t a player, I’ll believe you aren’t a player.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” He looked deeply into her eyes and said as seriously as Cruz ever said anything, “Mer, I promise you I am not a player.”
She smiled tremulously. “Thank you.”
They stood there for a few seconds, neither saying anything.
“Can I ask a question?” Cruz asked.
“Um … sure.” She tucked her hair back.
“What was the chart on your pantry door all about?” he burst out. His timing was off, but he had to know. “How do you earn ‘Google Cruz’ time and what do you google about me?” She must’ve seen a lot of pictures of him online with different women to label him as a player, but the fact that she wanted to google him had to be good for him.
She backed up a step, put a hand to her throat, and murmured, “Somebody in heaven help me.”
Cruz pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. He crossed the distance to her, gazed down into her beautiful face, and said, “It’s just me, Mer. You can tell me why you google me and what you do to earn it.”
She stared up at him, opened her mouth, and stopped. He waited to hear the truth. Instead she said, “I really want to go swimming. I don’t like to swim by myself like Cat does, and I can’t keep up with her, and my parents aren’t big swimmers. Will you go swimming with me?”
Cruz couldn’t believe how she kept dodging the serious questions, but they had made a lot of progress tonight and he didn’t want to push her away by pushing too hard. He tilted his head and said, “After we swim, are you going to answer my question?”
“Um … maybe,” she squeaked out.
“I’ll let you off the hook for now.” He felt a wicked rush go through him and asked, “Are you going to be okay swimming with me? I don’t wear a shirt while I swim.”
“Oh, good heavens, Cruz. Why did you have to remind me of that?” She shook her head. “I won’t look at you as we get in, and then we’ll be in the water so your chest will be covered.”
Cruz chuckled. He loved, loved how innocent she was. “Good luck averting your eyes from all this beauty.”
“You’re too pretty for that?” she threw at him.
He brushed the hair over her shoulder and then softly grasped her firm, smooth shoulder in his palm. She pulled in quick pants of air, and he wasn’t breathing too easily himself. “No, you used it wrong. I ask you to do something, and then you say, ‘I’m too pretty for that.’”
Her smile was unsteady, and he could swear she eased in closer to him. He was lost in a sweet cloud of peaches and cream. Pretty as a peach. She definitely, definitely was.
“Okay, ask me a question.”
“Mer …” His voice dropped low and husky, and he went for it. “Will you please tell me why you google me?”
She licked her lips, and his heart thumped quicker. “I’m too pretty for that,” she said as sassy and beautiful as could be.
“Mer, will you explain to me how you earn time to google me?”
She shook her head and said, “I’m too pretty for that.”
It wasn’t quite right as usually he and his crew were asking each other to do a job no one else wanted to do, but he liked this interaction with her. He realized he was setting himself up for rejection, but he still asked, “Mer … can I kiss you?”
Meredith froze. She stared up at him with those large, dark eyes, and her pulse was racing in her neck. Her lips were so soft and appealing that he about went for a kiss without waiting for her answer.
She licked her lips. Those full lips were so ready to be kissed by him. He’d waited years for this moment, and it was finally going to happen.
“Um … I’m too pretty for that, and it’s time to swim.” She pulled from his grasp, ran for her bedroom, and slammed the door behind her.
Cruz stood there with disappointment rolling through him. He had less than two weeks to go now. In a way, he knew he’d broken through some of her barriers, and even though he hadn’t gotten the kiss he’d been hoping for, they’d had some decent flirtation. Yet he still feared he couldn’t completely break down Meredith’s barriers before he had to leave.
Chapter Nine
Meredith was calling herself a wimp again and rightly so. Cruz had promised her he wasn’t a player. She knew Cruz well, and she trusted him. Yet she was terrified to kiss him and take their relationship to the next level. She knew what his kiss would do to her. Thirteen years had passed since their last kiss, and it was still affecting her. Would he know it was her if they kissed? What would kissing him do to their relationship? Cruz had promised he wasn’t a player, but he also hadn’t committed to anyone besides his career throughout the past twelve years. Did she really think she was special enough that he’d commit to her? What would that kiss tell both of them? She wanted to kiss him, but she had to somehow overcome all of these concerns.