Page 23 of Phillip

Phillip opened the door leading outside then gave her a careful once-over. “Are you okay?”

Not a chance.An emotional civil war battled inside her. She longed for the sparks that came from their familiar closeness as much as she wanted to pull away and guard her heart. Ashley tottered in her heels, confused and scared to be alone on the beach with him.

Phillip locked his gaze on her, and the moment felt as though he wanted to read her mind. Her next breath stalled.

“You can do it,” he joked. “Promise.”

Thatpulled her back to reality. Phillip didn’t want to see into her thoughts. He wanted to get under her skin. “I know I can do it.” With deliberate exaggeration, she removed her heels, dropping a few inches shorter, and picked them up. Her mother’s voice chimed at the back of her mind with a much-shared Coco Chanel quote. “Keep your heels, head, and standards high.”

Or what?She’d often bit back the question. God forbid anyone question Agatha Cartwright, especially when she was channeling Coco Channel. The world of style and beauty might implode.

Ashley squared her shoulders and held her head up. “Lead the way.”

“You can leave all that if you want.” He glanced at her shoes and purse.

Her bag was draped protectively across her shoulders, and she held her shoes like a set of daggers. Ashley hesitated. Leaving her shoes would be okay. Her purse, on the other hand… Leaving that would be akin to removing her armor. She’d have nothing to hide behind.

“Or not. Do what you want.” He opened the door.

The warm, salty air rolled in and offered comfort. Walking on the beach with Phillip was not unlike walking on the beach anywhere else in King Harbor. The waves would roll in. The birds would dance on the sand. All would be normal, not necessitating her armor.

Slowly, she lowered her bag until it dangled in her fingers. Maybe she would take her cell phone. Of course she would need her sunglasses. But the bag dropped to the beautiful wood floor.

“No one will take it.” He winked and nudged her bag to the wall with his bare foot.

No matter what her mother had always said, accessories were not her weapons. Also, Phillip wasn’t a bad guy. She didn’t need to be scared of him. That was only what Mother had said.

She glanced at him waiting expectantly for her to walk out the door. He was the only person who’d ever peeled back her layers. She’d almost let him get close enough to figure out what had happened before.Terrifying.

He stepped out the back door, leaving it open for the breeze to tempt her with a promise of the sun. Wisps of the warm afternoon collided with the air-conditioning. The seesawing temperatures mirrored her internal chaos. The outdoors—and Phillip—called to her. Ashley dropped her shoes next to her bag and rushed onto the deck. “Wait for me.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I’m coming.” Ashley rushed to catch up with Phillip. He’d crossed the deck and descended the long, winding stairs. She wanted to rush but the view forced her to slow down. On either side of the stairs, lush gardens and rolling greens framed the private beach that waited ahead.

The sand glimmered even though the sun had started to sink westward in the bright-blue sky. The tranquility called to her for a peace that she hadn’t realized she needed, and Ashley floated down the final steps onto the beach.

“Ouch.” The sandy beach was beautiful, but it was also hotter than Hades on vacation. Ashley pranced more than she walked, quickly shuffling toward Phillip and the damp sand from the lowering tide.

Phillip waited, amused, along the shoreline, but Ashley kept trucking until the bottom of her feet were submerged by a rolling wave.

She wriggled her toes in the wet sand as the wave pulled away. “Sandals next time.”

“Next time.” He laughed.

A breeze picked up, sweeping her hair from her shoulders and tangling it in the wind. Her dress billowed, and the silky fabric blew against her legs. Ashley drank in a deep breath, feeling herself relax. It was impossible to hold on to worries and stress at the beach. She dropped her head back to soak in the sun and wind.

After a long moment of simply existing in the sun, she opened her eyes to Phillip. “It was a good idea to come out here.”

A rolling wave washed over their feet. Two shorebirds flitted ahead of them.

Phillip stood close. Their arms brushed like before, but instead of the fiery intensity from earlier, a quiet fulfillment washed over her. She leaned against his arm then into his chest. Without a word of interruption, he wrapped her to him. The world swayed. Ashley lost herself in him, melting into memories and muscles. The years dissolved, and time slowed as her eyes shut, her cheek resting against his chest.

Ca-caw.The wings of a shorebird flapped hard as it took flight and cut close overhead as it squawked again.

She jerked away. Surprise caught in her throat, and embarrassment flooded from the depths of her unguarded heart.

“I’m sorry.” A blush scorched her skin. “I, uh… didn’t meant to…” Curl into him? Yes, she had, craving that serene intoxication his arms offered. “I’m sorry.”

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