Page 32 of Baited

“Good luck with that.” Ethan glanced at the clock, his brows knit together. “What the hell bro? It must be the middle of the night there.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” his tone grew heavy.

Ethan’s senses rose. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I broke things off with Mandy.” A gulp sounded, alerting Ethan that Nate was drinking. He didn’t sound wasted by any means, so likely just a drink to relax him. Like Ethan and Cal, Nate knew better than to over indulge. Ethan wasn’t surprised to hear about Mandy. Though she had been the most serious relationship Nate had had in years.

“What happened?” In all likelihood, Nate’s commitment fears had stepped in and shaken him up.

“She was married, dude. Didn’t tell me,” he breathed. “How stupid is that? Here I’m thinking she may be the one, and she was going home to her hubby every night.”

Anger bubbled inside him. Nate was obnoxious and sometimes a pain in the ass, but he was a damn loyal friend. “You didn’t deserve that, man. Let it go, move on, the right one is out there somewhere.”

He snorted. “You’re always so damn positive. I don’t think there is a right one for me. Just the right one-nighters. Anyway, I was calling to see where you are. Cal said something about the south.”

“Beaufort, North Carolina.”

“No shit. What brought you there?”

He’d been asked that question a million times since he’d decided to spend the rest of his hiatus here. “I used to spend summers with my grandparents here when I was a kid. Haven’t been back in decades since they died. I didn’t expect to stay here this long though.”

“So what’s making you stay?”

“It’s a nice place, good people. But something else has caught me. A young woman went missing about a month ago. Seems to be a cold case. The police are stumped. I was hoping for your assistance actually.”

“Shit, that doesn’t sound good at all. Man, I hate cases like this. Have the detective on her case send me the file. I’ll see what I can find out.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll work on it. Give me a little time.”

“Thanks. In the meantime, I’m going to set you up on a dating app. You’re lonely as hell.”

“I’m not lonely. Matter of fact, I just sent someone home.”

He snorted. “If you don’t see that as lonely, then you may have a bigger problem.”

A beat passed. “Eat shit.” A short laugh softened his words. “I’ll touch base with you by the end of the week.”

They disconnected just as Ethan pulled in his driveway. The humidity hit his face as he stepped out, it was going to be sweltering today. And a good day to spend at the beach. His gaze drifted to Riley’s dark windows. He needed to talk to her, but it would be best to sort his thoughts out first. He couldn’t think when she was in front of him. Her big eyes paralyzed him, her movements gentle and sensual without trying. She had no clue the effect she had on him. Spending Saturday night and Sunday morning with her had been torture. But at the same time, it had been easy.

Being around Riley was easy. A smile tugged at his mouth as he entered the small one bedroom house. Riley would take a lot of work.

Cold air washed over him. Despite the barriers Riley held up, something was there between them. He just didn’t know what the hell it was.

***

The hot sunbeat down on Ethaan’s body, basking him in warmth that radiated to his bones. His sunglasses did little to block the blinding sun. His back tingled telling him it was time to turn over. He pushed himself up and shifted on the towel. His feet hung off the end, coated in sand from his last dip in the ocean. Once he evened out his front, he’d go back in.

“Heads up,” a teenage boy called. A volleyball slammed into the sand next to him. Ethan hefted it into his palm and threw it back to the kid.

“Thanks,” he called, and ran back to his group of friends.

The beach was packed. There had to be hundreds of women laid out on the sand and not one of them drew him in like Riley did. And damn if her secretive life, which had thrown his into such turmoil, didn’t draw him in even more.

He skimmed over the crowd of people. His gaze stopped on a slim woman in a teeny, black bikini—

That body. She waded in ankle deep water, her fingers threaded through her blond strands and fastened her hair in a knot on top of her head. His senses stirred. A smile split his face. He shook his head and got to his feet. His skin burned with the interested gazes women cast him as he breezed past. Not one of them could drag his eye from the blonde in front of him.

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