Page 103 of Along Came Amor
“If they did, they are very lucky.”
“Roman!” Despite her indignant tone, she smothered a laugh as he helped her with the ties.
Once she was covered, Roman wiped his face again.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He rubbed his nose. “Fine. I just have seawater leaking out of my brain.”
“Pobrecito.” She pushed his hair back from his forehead and gave him a look of utter fondness. “I was planning to tease you a whole lot more—turnabout is fair play, and all that—but I think we’ve beached enough for one day, don’t you?”
“More than enough. I’m totally beached out.” Roman glanced at his waterproof watch. His surprise was likely underway. If he could get Ava to her room and keep her away from the kitchen and patio, there was a good chance it would stay a surprise. “Can you bring me a towel and a robe from the deck?”
She nodded, but before she left, she put her hand on his chest and gave him a soft, closed-mouth kiss. “This was fun. Thank you.”
Mi sirena, he thought, as he watched her cut through the waves to the shore. When she was in the water, she was as carefree as a mermaid, shedding her reserve along with her clothes and leaving all her inhibitions on land.
He was so fucking lucky that she let him see this side of her.
If he hadn’t already realized he was in love with her, this would have been the moment that did it. And as much as he wanted to announce it to the entire beach, he’d keep it to himself.
For now.
Chapter 31
After they returned to the house, Ava showered and washed her hair, then slipped into a white cotton dress. The dress had a halter top with a deep vee and skinny straps, an embroidered waist, and a floaty skirt that fell to her knees. She could get away with not wearing a bra, but when she opened the drawer where she’d put her underwear, she hesitated.
What if she forwent the panties, too?
No panties meant she expected something to happen tonight. That shewantedsomething to happen.
She thought about what she and Roman had done in the shower that morning. What they’d done at the beach before their epic wipeout.
It was time to face facts. Despite her best intentions, she couldn’t keep her hands off him.
Damaris was right. Ava deserved to make the most of this romantic island getaway with Roman. Instead of denying herself what she wanted, she’d go after it. She still had her boundaries—two more days in Puerto Rico, two more days to revel in pleasure—and then she’d go back to real life. Back to Old Ava.
She shut the drawer with a decisive snap, leaving the panties neatly folded inside.
In front of the bathroom mirror, Ava worked product into her hair in silence. She usually listened to music or audiobooks while she did her hair, but her phone was still on the coffee table in the living room next to Roman’s, where they’d left them before heading to the beach.
At first, the thought of having her phone off all day had rocketed up her anxiety levels. But in hindsight, it was nice to have long stretches of uninterrupted time to think.
Lord knew she had a lot to think about. Visiting the distillery and seeing how much it meant to him touched something in her. She was still mulling over everything he’d shared about himself and his family.
Their connection was deepening, which scared her. But maybe... that was okay?
“Stop overthinking it.” She scolded herself in the mirror as she finger-curled a few locks of hair around her face. “You’ll be home in two days. Worry about it then.”
It was almost time for dinner, so she decided to let her hair air dry, something she almost never did. If she went swimming again tonight or tomorrow, she’d regret spending the time to dry it with a diffuser. Next, she glanced at her makeup bag, but as she had with the blow dryer, she hesitated.
Roman had seen her first thing in the morning. He’d cared for her while she was sick. If he didn’t like her face the way it was, too bad for him. She swiped on some tinted lip balm and called it a day.
New Ava isn’t afraid to be seen without makeup, she thought. It had taken years before she’d let Hector see—
No. No more thinking about Hector. No more comparing who she was then and now. That part of her life was over, and it was time to embrace who she was at this very moment and move on.
With Roman?a little voice in the back of her mind asked.
