Lorelie Brown - Riding the Wave

“Keeping it open would keep your dad’s legacy alive.”

“Jesus fucked, why the hell would I do that?” He stepped back fast enough that someone who didn’t know better would think him almost scared. More like pissed as hell. Something hot burned across his shoulders and dove down his spine in a curved pinch. “In case you’ve missed it, I’ve been trying to duck Dad for almost ten years. Not to mention he seemed to have misplaced his dick at some point. I’m not really into his legacy bullshit.”

She shook her head. The hand she set on his forearm was both soft and shaking a little. “Fine, then think of it this way: This store matters. That’s the important part. There are people who rely on it. They come from an hour away to shop here. How crazy is that? Wright Break is an institution. I think your mom needs it more than she wants to admit right now too. I don’t want her making any rash decisions while she’s upset.”

Fuck, he didn’t want to have anything to do with it. But the way Avalon looked at him, with her huge eyes turned up and her lips barely parted, was proving to be pretty damn kryptonite-like. “I’ll think about it,” he said.

No way had he really said that. Had he? Crap.

She lit up. No two ways about it. The apples of her cheeks rounded until her eyes were almost squints and her smile turned huge. Lifting up on her toes, she kissed him. “That’s good enough.”

“Better be,” he said, pushing as much grumble into his voice as he could manage. But truth was, he liked making Avalon happy a little too much.

Hell, he needed something to do once his career ended, didn’t he? Scrubbing a hand over his head, he looked past Avalon’s dark head. Could he do retail?

Probably not. More than a couple hours inside on a gorgeous day left him itchy at the edges. His feet would feel too confined in real shoes and he’d be eager to surf at the first opportunity.

That wasn’t even taking into account living under his father’s shadow. Definitely not his style.

Avalon brushed another kiss over his jaw. The girl was so definitely wound up. Not to mention, almost absurdly easy to please. He hadn’t even agreed to anything definite, come to think about it. And she was fawning all over him like he’d won the championship. There was something relaxing about her.

His hands found purchase along the sleek curve of her waist. No point in letting an opportunity like this escape. He took her mouth and pushed the kiss deep, tasting the smile on her mouth. The only thing that stopped him was bumbling footsteps from the back.

Krissy took her place at the front register, but not before giving Tanner a sly smile and tugging down her bright blue Wright Break T-shirt. He only smiled in return.

So he was kissing Avalon in public. Not like she was his dirty little secret or anything, but he trusted the Wright Break staff to keep things under wraps anyway. Avalon wouldn’t want too many people talking about them. In fact, he turned back to Avalon and brushed hair out of her eyes.

More like any chance he got to touch her was a very good thing. “If Mom wants to sell, though . . . She’s incredibly stubborn.”

“No, she’s not.” Avalon’s chin took on a stubborn angle of its own. “She’s incredibly sweet. Eileen doesn’t deserve to lose everything because she’s upset.”

He felt that one right under his ribs, a hard fist of contrition slamming through him. “More like she’s not your mom. She’s never had to put the crackdown on you.”

“That’s what you think.” Her soft smile made him curious what secrets she was hiding.

“Name one.”

“Hmm.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, then glanced up at him. Pink washed across her cheeks. “How about the time that I talked Sage into sneaking out of the house and going to a party at Ricky Talbot’s house?”

“You didn’t. All the way down in Newport?” Tanner laughed. Under his grip, her sides were sleek and smooth. He snuck his thumbs up under the hem of her T-shirt. “I knew Ricky’s older brother.”

“I know you did. You were supposed to be at the party. First time you’d even been back in California after you stopped talking to your dad.” But she shook her head, as if declining to head down that road. She dangled her wrists behind his neck, her ever-present camera strap grazing his back. The tips of her breasts didn’t quite brush him. Damn it. “But your mom found out somehow. She was waiting outside for us. Never even made it inside.”

“Probably Sage.”

She gasped, making a pretty O of her mouth. “No way.”

He nodded. “She was always a scaredy-cat in certain situations. She’d call me and talk about how you were going to get her in trouble, ask me for help.”

Stunned shock widened her eyes and opened her lips. Avalon laughed, then wiggled her way out of his arms. “Did you tell her to rat us out?”

“Not that time, but I would have.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and couldn’t help his smile. “No way could I have my kid sister at a rager like that one.”

“I was so upset that I didn’t get to see you that weekend.” She smiled around the words, but something dark wriggled behind her eyes. “Sage met you in Long Beach, but I . . . I didn’t.”

“You wanted to see me?”

She flashed a wider smile, then lifted her camera. Armored up again. “Didn’t every girl in Southern California?”

Two hours later, Avalon still couldn’t believe what she’d almost admitted.

There was absolutely no reason in the world for Tanner to know she’d had a crush on him when she was seventeen. He’d been a world-traveling surf star already and twenty-three. When he’d stopped coming to the house, it had felt like losing a heart she’d never realized she had.

Tanner chilled out at the front of the store, looking every bit the gorgeous man worthy of a teenager’s crush. In fact, the two blondes who bubbled and bobbed in front of him were probably still teenagers too. He smiled and joked with them, then signed a pale pink visor, of all things.

Much like she figured he would have humored her if she’d actually made it to that party. Tanner was a good guy. He wouldn’t have taken advantage of her, even if she’d been young and dumb. He was too good for that.

Sage had shown up at the store for a while, but then she’d headed to the back, where music had heralded the beginning of her creative process. Avalon was always faintly surprised to hear heavy-duty rock leaking through the door, no matter how many times Sage explained she needed to “hit a deeper point of her subconscious” when she was working.

Avalon wasn’t nearly as hippy-esque about her work. Checking her watch, she realized it was more or less lunchtime. She stowed away her cameras, then slid over toward Tanner.

He was still laughing and talking with the young women, but white strain at the corners of his eyes gave him away. He was certainly not having a good time.

She thought about leaving him to his own devices, but even she wasn’t that cruel. Wrapping an arm around his waist, she tucked herself into his side. “Ready to go, sugarnibs?”

His eyebrows almost climbed into his hairline, but he tossed his arm around her shoulders in response. “Sure.” He slid another smile toward the matched pair of blondes. “Sorry, but we’ve got to go.”

“We’ve got a date,” Avalon said, opening her eyes as wide as she could. “Matching pedicures.”

The teenagers’ gazes dropped instantly to Tanner’s feet. But they were big and strong and not decorated with even a smidge of polish. The girl on the left caught on faster, heaving what looked like a relieved sigh and grinning at Avalon.

Five minutes later, they stood outside on the sidewalk. Holding back the smirk was too incredibly difficult. Putting on her sunglasses, she probably failed. Then she grinned.

“Sugarnibs?” Tanner echoed. “Seriously? Do I look like a ‘sugarnibs’ to you?”

No. Not at all. Wearing a pair of board shorts and a white shirt emblazoned with WavePro’s logo, his feet shoulder-width apart in an easy stance, he looked lickable. Fuckable.

And a little too much like her hero.

He’d only agreed to think about saving Wright Break. No promises.

She’d learned the hard way that even promises didn’t mean much. Not without follow-through.

After a nano-quick check up and down the street to make sure she didn’t see anyone she knew, she leaned up on her toes and kissed him. With her eyes closed, it was harder to paint him in rainbow colors. Not to mention dirty thoughts went a long way toward de-hero-fying.

Her head spun when he kissed her, every time. The tingling under her skin threatened to incinerate every speck of caution she possessed, but she was beginning to wonder if she really minded. Her fingers dipped underneath his waistband. The tiniest brush of manly hair reminded her how far she could go for him.

But a public street wasn’t exactly the place to try licking his skin. No matter how badly she wanted him.

She pulled back, her fingers still twined in his belt loop. “I solemnly swear never to imply you get pedicures again. You forgive me?” She delivered the words with her best enticing smile.

His big paw curved around the back of her neck. Warmth and steadiness dove through her and anchored her. “If I say no, will you kiss me like that again?”

“No, not this time. But I will buy you lunch.”

“I think you owe me anyway.” He nodded solemnly.

“You’re out of your mind. Again.” They swung into alignment, walking down the street without having to consult each other. Most of the lunch options were closer toward the beach, the better to grab some of the tourist trade. “If anything, you owe me. Do you know how long I’ll have to answer questions from Sage? She’s going to drive me batshit crazy.”