SURF: A Second Chance Enemies To Lovers Bad-Boy Romance Page 2

  “Hey, Bubbles, you going through the books?”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. “My name is not Bubbles.” I look past him into the common area of the office. His staff files in. Bubbles isn’t a name he can use or I want to share.

  He steps closer to me. The scent of soap and his body so near me with his tan, and white teeth, and devilish smile. Those eyes that I’ve stared into and loved for what feels like forever and yet a lifetime ago. Thank goodness for the desk between us.

  “You loved it when I called you bubbles.” His voice is lower. Rougher.

  My toes curl. I swallow. My sex clenches. I tighten my lips into a hard line. “That was a long time ago, Jack. A lifetime of things has happened since then.”

  He crosses his arms over his broad chest. He flexes his biceps and the muscles of his forearms are front and center.

  Heat floods my sex. This man. This damn man seems to always make me want him.

  “No one else calls you,” He tilts his head, “Bubbles.” The word comes out of his lips as though he’s just whispered the dirtiest word in my ear.

  I curl my toes. I lick my lips and look down at my laptop screen because I can’t look Jack in the eyes. He’s going to know what I’m thinking if I look him in the eyes and it’s definitely not about numbers, spreadsheets, ROI, or office costs.

  “No,” I say, my tone light and my gaze fixed on the spreadsheet on my laptop screen. “No one calls me bubbles anymore” —I glance up at him—“and that includes you.”

  His smile drops from his lips. He uncrosses his arms. I’ve deflated Jack’s playful attitude. Am I happy about that? Just call me the bucket of water to Jack’s joy. “So these books,” I say. “We need to go through them together.”

  “Right,” Jack says. “But we can’t today.”

  “And why not?” I tighten my eyebrows into a scowl. “I came all the way from Sydney to try and get this mess sorted.”

  “This mess, as you call it, happens to be my life’s work.”

  “This mess happens to be my brother’s company.”

  “It’s also my company,” Jack says.

  “Right, part of it—”

  He plants his hands on his hips. “Half of it—”

  “Not half of it.” I shake my head.

  “Oh, you better check your facts—”

  “Look.” I press my palms to my desk and stand. “This isn’t about who owns what or who controls who or who is this boss. This is about an under-performing branch in a market that should be buying tons of what we’re selling. This office isn’t run well and I’m determined to figure out why.”

  Silence.

  I look past Jack. His staff has arrived to start their day and now they’re all staring at the two of us standing toe-to-toe. Actually, they’re staring at me. Leering, really. At the woman who’s just verbally accosted their charismatic, charming, leader.

  I pull my gaze from Jack’s staff to him. “Shut the door,” I whisper.

  “No problem.” Jack turns. Walks out. And shuts the office door.

  “Not exactly what I had in mind,” I call. I sigh. I sit down behind my desk. After this audit Brett can pay for a month at Mesquale.

  4

  Brett

  I slice my hand through the cold Pacific. I stop paddling and sit on my board. Now I remember exactly why Emma drives me completely insane. There’s no in-between with her. No middle ground. We both wanted control of the relationship and after my accident each of us wanted to go completely different directions with our lives.

  Dotted around me in wetsuits are a half dozen surfers. Usually, sitting here, watching the sun set, and waiting for my wave, my mind clears. I’m able to let everything slip from my mind.

  Not today.

  Today, images of Emma with her hair pulled back from her face, her high-cut cheek bones, long neck, and vivid blue eyes that cut to the core of me invade my mind. The way she tilts her head to the side and her button of a nose. Don’t even get me started on those long-ass legs and full curves she always thought made her look heavy, but really just make her look sexy as hell.

  Luckily for me my feet are in the ice-cold Pacific. I’ve never popped a boner riding waves but letting my long-ago memories of naked Emma plow through my mind would be the one thing that could make me—cold water be damned.

  Emma. Emma. Emma.

  Damn. Deep breath. Two years without her and still the moment I see her my desire for her is back to one hundred percent. The water rocks me. To my left, a kid, probably seventeen, goes for a wave. He’s about the same age I was when I met Brett and then Em. The first time we met she got tossed by a wave and came up sputtering for air. I caught sight of her underwater and all I could see were bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles.

  I smile. Yeah, she’s in nearly every memory of me and Brett chasing big waves around the world; coming up with the idea of Bliss Boards; starting the shops; and the brand. Working, surfing, working, surfing….yeah she’s in every one of my brilliant vivid memories until she isn’t.

  Getting slammed by a 60-foot wave after a tow-in and then a triple-hold down will do that to a guy.

  My heart beats fast. Deep breath.

  After I died, there wasn’t room in my life for what Emma wanted. She wanted to take over the world with Bliss Boards and I simply needed to exist within it. She deserved more than I could give her. Still does. She’s as intense as she always was. Before the accident I was intense too. Maybe not spreadsheets and Return On Investment intense, but hyper-focused and driven to experience every possibly wave I could. Including ones that were bigger than buildings.

  No more.

  Now surfing is my meditation, not my mountain.

  In the distance a swell rolls towards me. There’s my wave. Soft and gentle. Like a walk in the park or riding a rocking chair. The water rolls and I get ready. Once I catch the wave, my mind will clear. I’ll forget the pounding, the oxygen leaving my lungs, the strap trapped around my leg not knowing which way is up or down.

  All that will fade. No more big waves. No more tow-ins. Just smooth and easy—in life and in the ocean. I paddle toward my wave and ride. Not even two minutes later I lift my board from the water and walk out of the surf. My head isn’t nearly as clear as I’d hoped. Impossible, maybe, until Emma’s on a return flight to Sydney. The sun dips low on the horizon. I turn. The giant golden orb dips into the Pacific. Green flash? Not tonight. I strip off the top half of my wet suit.

  I’d hate her too if she’d done what I did in Phuket. Cowardly. Doctor said it was PTSD and to let it go. Never did explain any of that to Em. Just came on over to LA and took over the Venice Bliss Boards shop. Emma deserves an explanation. She deserves to know that me ditching her was more about me and what happened in Teahupo’o, and not about her or my feelings for her. Damn. Not looking forward to that conversation. Especially as intense as Emma is.

  “Hey man,” Devon, my neighbor, walks out of the surf. “Good waves tonight, right?”

  “Just what I needed,” I say.

  Devon and his wife Ilana have the house next to mine. She runs a kindergarten in Venice and he….well, he manages money or something. We walk up the beach side by side toward our houses.

  “Hey, our good friend Amanda the one that owns Legend Gallery—

  “Legend Gallery? Near Scopa?” I ask.

  “That’s the one. Rihannon Bliss local artist has a new collection. She’s a friend. Opens tomorrow night. Want us to put you on the guest list?”

  “Count me in,” I say. “Thanks.” We stop at the back gates to our respective patios. Ilana holds their daughter. She smiles at Devon and gives him a kiss, “Hey Jack,” Ilana says.

  “Dada!” Ava reaches out for Devon. He takes her into his arms and her little arm curls around his neck and she presses a chubby cheek to his shoulder.

  A soft smile curls over my face. I want that.

  Shit. Where did that come from?

  But I do. I want that and there’s only on
e woman I can imagine having kids with. Only one woman I ever could imagine having kids with.

  “You and Daddy ride the waves,” Ava says. Her smile makes her eyes twinkle. “Someday I ride the waves too!”

  “Yes you will!” I say. “And maybe you’ll come to our surf camp in the summers.”

  “Hey,” Ilana says. “I wanted to talk to you about that. Our creative summer camp needs more physical activities for the kids. We should talk. I have a lot of kids who want to surf.”

  “I have a lot of college kids on staff that would love to teach them.”

  “Great! Come by. We can talk about maybe a two week program later this summer?”

  “That might work,” I say. “Tomorrow night, the show at the Legend Gallery, could I bring someone?”

  “Heck yeah,” Devon says. “The more the merrier.”

  “Great. I know just the woman I need to bring.”

  5

  Emma

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna’ work today.”

  I look up from my laptop. Jack stands in the doorway. White T-shirt. Board shorts. Bulging Muscles. Sexy smile.

  I clench my sex and my nipples grow hard.

  “Definitely looking like the president of the North American division in that,” I say. I suck in my cheeks and provide Jack with my most disapproving look.

  “And you look like an angry librarian.” He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms.

  His flexing bicep catches my eye. His look isn’t disapproving. No. His look is playful and teasing with a raised eyebrow and a half-smile. He nearly makes me smile too, and then the memories of Phuket pester my mind. Waking up alone in bed. No note. No ticket. No nothing. I clear my throat and stare at my spreadsheet.

  “I’ve gotten through the numbers for January and February and—” I lift an eyebrow.

  “And what?” The corner of his mouth lifts up like he knows exactly what I intend to say and dares me to say it. “How were January and February?”

  “Surprisingly good,” I admit. “Not what I expected.” I run my fingertip over the track pad on my computer. “We’ll see if it holds.”

  “Yeah, I guess we will. So, as I was saying—”

  “Yes, what were you saying?” I ask. “Something about not working today?”

  “No.” He tilts his chin.“What I said is that what you’re wearing isn’t going to work today.”

  I squint. “I’m not following,”

  “Today we need all hands on deck. It’s the first day of our second session of summer camp and we need everyone outside.”

  “Outside?”

  “Outside. You know, on the beach. Where our clients surf. Big ocean. Pacific.”

  “Ha, ha, very funny. Well that won’t work either, because I’m wearing a suit and these,” I press my foot from behind my desk and flinch my calf muscle..

  Red blossoms over Jack’s face.

  He always liked my calves.

  He clears his throat. “Yeah, well, go grab a swimsuit and a rash guard from downstairs because while you might be COO in Sydney, Venice Beach is my location and I say we need everyone outside today.”

  I flare my nostrils. I close my eyes and then open them. He lifts his eyebrows and there’s a smug look in his eye. Still leaning against the doorframe like some surfing god. Technically he’s not wrong about this being his store, and I don’t have the energy to battle him on whether he has the authority to tell me what to do.

  Which he doesn’t.

  I’m here to assess the store and make recommendations as to increased profitability. Honestly, watching how Jack and the staff interact with their clients and the surf school is exactly the kind of thing I can observe and make recommendations on.

  “Swimsuit, eh?” I say.

  “Yeah, you wear them into the water,” he says. “When surfing.”

  “Ha!”

  “You used to carry one in your purse.” He glances toward my bag on the chair. “I’m guessing the new very grown-up and professional COO Emma no longer keeps a bikini in her bag?”

  Heat travels up my neck. Now it’s my turn to blush.

  “You do,” Jack says. “You still do.” He moves toward my purse and reaches for it.

  “Hey!” I jump up from my chair. “A man doesn’t open a woman’s purse. That’s a well-known rule.”

  He jerks his hands back. “Sorry. You’re right. My mom taught me that one.” He picks up my bag and hands it to me. He’s close to me. A clean soapy smell mixed with sunshine and a scent that is quintessentially Jack floats into my nose. “Still keep a bikini in there, Bubbles?” His voice is low and rough.

  My nipples pebble beneath my blouse. I toss my head. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”Damn him. So playful. So fun. So handsome. And so close to me right now. Again with those biceps and the white T-shirt stretched over his chest. That chest. A memory of me trailing my fingertips across his flesh and then my lips and—

  “Em?”

  I tilt my head up. His lips, those gorgeous full lips are right there in front of me. The heat of his breath swirling around me. Dizzying, his presence and nearness flusters me. “Mmmhmmm,” I close my eyes. Kiss me. Let those big beautiful lips press to mine and—

  “Meet me downstairs in fifteen,” he whispers.

  I pop my eyelids open. Jack’s wicked smug smile greets me.

  “Right,” I say and back away. “No problem.”

  He walks toward the hall and turns back. “Oh, you can use my bathroom to change. Just be sure to lock the door.”

  * * *

  Bright blue sky. Turquoise blue water. Warm sand. I love the ocean. I love the beach. I love the sunshine. Deep breath. The scent of sunshine, sand, and ocean fills my nose Yeah, this is the way to live. Beneath the pop-up tent on the beach, a dozen Bliss Board employees check in kids, re-assure parents, and group the children for day one of camp.

  “Here you go Bubbles.” Jack hands me a rash guard with the Bliss board logo emblazoned in bright blue across the front. I pull off my T-shirt and Jack’s eyes travel over my body tracing the edges of my bikini.

  Heat moves across my flesh with his gaze. Yeah, being attracted to each other wasn’t ever the problem.

  “So this is your day?” I pull the rash guard over my head. “Hanging out on the beach?”

  “Just today. I like to be out here for first day of each summer-session. It’s the most hectic. Makes the parents and the staff feel better having me around.”

  Moms and dads scuffle about and shuffle through the four lines, trying to make certain their kids are enrolled and will be safe.

  “Excuse me.” A frazzled mother in jeans and a T-shirt walks toward me. She grasps her son’s hand. “Can you tell me which group is for eight-year-old boys?”

  “Uh…I..” I turn and glance toward the far end of the table beneath the pop-up tent.

  “Over here,” Jack waves. “Hey Mrs. Lee, we’ve got Kayden’s group over here.”

  A smile of relief passes over Mrs. Lee’s face. “Thanks, Jack! Have to get this one dropped off and get the other one to ballet,” she says to me. “It’ll be easier tomorrow.”

  “Sure will,” I say.

  Jack flashes me a smile. Mrs. Lee heads to the far end of the table. I move to the table. I smile at the next mom in line. “Hi, how can I help you?”

  Forty-five minutes later all the kids are checked in for session two of summer surf camp and their instructors begin their camp session.

  “That was crazy!” I watch two instructors work with six kids each.

  “But so worth it,” Jack says. “Once they learn to surf, they’re a surfer for life.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so. Plus they’re safer in the ocean after our school.”

  “We don’t have the same need in Sydney. I mean we have the school but it’s tiny in comparison to what you guys have. How many sessions?”

  “Usually six a summer. Two-week camps. We have some kids that go the whole summer w
ith us.”

  Some of the more experienced kids hit the water with their boards and instructors.

  “You’ve made Bliss Boards a part of your community,” I say.

  Pride takes over Jack’s face. “Trying. Getting ready to work with a school here in Venice. The founder and her husband invited me to an art show at a local gallery tomorrow night. Want to go?”

  I widen my eyes. “I…uh….” It’s not like Jack is asking me on a date—even though I kind of wish he was. It’s business. To increase awareness for our company and brand. “Of course,” I say. “What time?”

  “The show’s at seven. I’ll pick you up a little after six. You’re staying at Brett’s place while you’re in town, right?”

  I nod. A flutter pulses through my belly. What if it was a date? Would I want this to be a date? Maybe…yes….definitely.

  “Okay, I’m off to talk about a surf camp for a kindergarten. See you later.” He lifts an eyebrow. “Bubbles.” He smiles.

  My old nickname on his lips makes me wet.

  How does he do that? He swaggers away with this brilliant sort of Jack-ness about him. Joyful. Easy. Fun. Being around Jack is like being on the edge of the best laugh you’ve ever had all the time—but you can’t live like that. Not really. Not always. At least we couldn’t. Is it possible that now we can?

  6

  Jack

  “Hey, Presley, I wondered if you could pull all the data for income and expenses for last year and this year.”

  Presley looks up from her computer screen. She’s the primary reason that the Bliss Boards Venice location functions. A self-described comic-book nerd with a penchant for books, computers, and math, she’s never surfed and hates the outdoors. I don’t even know if she can swim. She scoots her thick black-rimmed glasses up her nose with her pointer finger. “Yeah, boss, is it for the woman from corporate?”

  “You mean Emma?”

  “One in the suit and high heels with reddish blond hair and a stick up her—”

  “Hey, hey, hey.” I force the smile to remain off my face. “Emma is just…she’s serious about work.”