Page 7 of The Game
His awe and wonder reflected back at her, his eyes glittering like onyx in the dim lighting.
Lowering her gaze, Alyssa turned back to the water, her skin tingling with awareness. There was something magical about being with another person when you witnessed such majesty in nature. It tethered you to them, the shared experience creating something palpable between you, something unique that couldn’t be replicated or shared with anyone else. For that moment in time, it was just the two of you and the miracle of creation.
The dolphins swam about for a while longer until eventually they surfaced further away and were gone. The night air sparked with electricity as Dean turned and met her gaze. He swallowed and inched closer. Alyssa’s heart pounded in her chest. She sat frozen, yearning to feel Dean’s lips on hers, but the weight of the lies she’d told perched and wobbled precariously on her shoulders.
When his breath warmed her lips, her ice cream, so easily forgotten, dripped onto her hand.
‘Oh, geez!’ And just like that, the spell was broken.
She lifted her cone and licked the mess from her hand, and when Dean chuckled and moved away, she thought he seemed as relieved as she felt.
They left the jetty soon after, and as Dean walked her home, they fell into an easy silence. At least, it seemed easy on the surface, but inside, Alyssa’s gut churned. Flirting during dinner was one thing—but a kiss? She’d felt a spark between them, a connection. Kissing Dean would lead to something more, she was sure of it. But letting him into her heart would be a mistake. For him. For her. For too many reasons to count—the most pertinent being that she was determined to remove herself from his life in just four weeks.
She could keep things casual, though, couldn’t she? Plenty of people did it. And you weren’t required to share every intimate detail of your life with someone you were only having a fling with, were you? As long as both parties knew the score…
She’d made a decision tonight to enjoy life—and it would definitely be enjoyable to explore the chemistry between her and Dean. But if they crossed that line, if they went there, they could only ever be friends with benefits. Fun and casual. That’s all this could be.
They arrived at her parents’ front door and turned to each other.
‘I had fun,’ said Dean.
Perfect.
She smiled softly. ‘Me too. Thanks for dinner.’
‘Next time, it’s your shout.’ He put his hands in his pockets and took a step backwards.
This time she grinned. ‘Fish and chips it is.’
He huffed in feigned annoyance. ‘Cheapskate.’ But he threw her a wink. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow? Nine a.m. near the Catalpa Memorial. I’ll be the one with the paddleboard.’
‘I’ll be there.’
But as she watched him walk away, an ominous feeling settled over her. Had she made the wrong decision? Had she just set them both up for disaster, possibly heartbreak?
She scoffed aloud at the thought, now convinced she was getting ahead of herself. Heartbreak only came after falling in love, and in Dean’s own words, love wasn’t on the cards for him.
When hearts are involved, someone always gets hurt.
So they’d keep their hearts out of it. Simple.
Feeling better about her plans, she made her way inside and up to her room. As long as she kept her wits about her, she was sure she could protect both Dean’s heart and hers.
Chapter 4
Palm Beach on Sunday mornings was always buzzing with activity and today was no different. A few teens were already jumping off the jetty further down the beach while younger kids paddled and splashed in the shallows, their parents keeping watchful eyes on them from underneath sunshades on the sand. Someone had a drone up in the air, and the incessant hum added to the din. Further out on the water, a few jet skis zoomed about, and the sight had Dean adding another excursion to Alyssa’s hometown tour. To have her pressed up close behind him…well, that would be one hell of a way to spend an afternoon. Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea…
After dumping his paddleboard on the sand, he took a tube of sunscreen from his backpack, and his mind wandered as he lathered the lotion over his skin. Alyssa’s face, aglow with flickering candlelight, her eyes gleaming with mischief, danced before him. Her voice, low and suggestive as she’d asked for his help, washed over him. He’d been mesmerised during dinner, had nearly lost his head on the jetty and tried to kiss her—thank god he’d been saved by the melting ice cream—and once he’d gone to bed, he’d tossed and turned all night. Alyssa had starred in his fantasies when they were younger, and now, ten years later, all it had taken for her to commandeer his dreams once more was a day—no, a fewhoursspent in her company.
Yesterday, he’d been keen for the chance he’d never had with her in high school, but now he was wondering whether it would be dangerous to start something with her. They had history—at least, in his mind they did—and she already meant more to him than any woman he’d been with. Although she’d cleared up his concerns about the baggage she carried around, which all seemed to centre around her career, he was terrified that if he got a taste of her, it wouldn’t be long before she’d own him body and soul. In fact, he believed it with as much certainty as he knew the sun would set tonight and rise again tomorrow. And in that lay his dilemma.
‘Hey!’
He turned at the sound of her voice.
She waved as she crossed the sand and came towards him. Her long legs, a little paler than he remembered, were bare, and he let his gaze travel their length until he reached her cut-off denim shorts. She wore a loose-fitting shirt, the white transparent fabric billowing to show the purple bikini top underneath. Her smile stretched wide, her eyes hidden beneath sunglasses, and when the breeze picked up, she lifted a hand to keep her floppy wide-brimmed hat on her head. Over her shoulder, her long chestnut hair fell in a loose braid.
He had to fight the urge to tug on it.
