But a guy she hadn't picked, laying down rules… it all just went against the grain somehow. And yet, there Lorissa stood in her yellow bikini and hopeful expression, so Sam offered a weak smile. "No problem."

Lorissa's grin was brilliant. "I owe you one."

"Yeah. Remember that."

And in perfect sync, they plunged from the still-warm sand into the oncoming wave.


* * *

The next evening, Sam was floating on her back between swells, watching the glorious sun touch its bottom tip on the ocean, that lovely time between day and night, when the birds and stars strained for equal time against a dusky sky. The air was still and hot as the soothingly chilly water lapped over her. Sam figured she could float out here the rest of the evening and never tire of it.

"Sam!"

Damn. Lorissa had found her, and probably just in time for her date. Given the volume of swearing over the roar of the waves, she had precious little time left before her date showed up but she stretched out in the water, trying to swim her doubts away. She didn't often have worries, or so she liked to think, but today she had one big one.

She wished she hadn't agreed to the date. She'd rather be catching the Bewitched marathon in her pj's, eating at will. She knew she had the makings for her newest creation-Fritos smashed into cheddar cheese on French bread. She'd melt it over the stove and happily stuff her face-

"Samantha Anne O'Ryan, get your ass out of the water!"

With a sigh, she flipped over and rode a wave in, beaching herself. Flopping onto her back on the hot sand, she shoved her long, blond hair from her eyes and grinned up at a serious-looking Lorissa. "Hey."

Lorissa put her hands on her hips and studied Sam grimly. "I am not amused."

"So I'm running a little late."

"Run late on your own night."

"I have ten minutes before he's due to pick me up."

"He's here now."

"Ah, man." Sam sat up, taking the towel Lorissa tossed down into her face. "An obsessive compulsive."

"I've given him a soda. He's sitting at a table."

"But I already closed up."

"Well, I reopened. I'll close again after you're gone. Come on. We'll sneak in the back door, get you into the bathroom to snazzy yourself up."

Samantha glanced down at her efficient, basic black bikini. She was covered in sand and had nasty twin bruises on her thigh and hip, where she'd gotten surprised on her board this morning, tumbling through a full set before managing to get upright. "I look fine."

"Don't even think about it."

"Just kidding. Jeez, lighten up. I'm the one facing Boring Night Out." Sam rose, gently patted Lorissa's cheek. "Honestly, you're just so cute when you're being mom, yelling at me, using my middle name-"

"I'm going to use my middle finger in a minute."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

Taking care not to be seen, they crept in the back kitchen door of Wild Cherries, with Lorissa shoving Sam's head low, beneath the counter.

Once in the bathroom, Sam stepped to the sink and eyed herself. Her mirror didn't lie. Her hair had rioted and she wore no makeup.

"Start fancying yourself up, you look like hell," her supposed best friend said, gesturing to the cold water coming out of the faucet.

"You're going to really owe me," Sam swore, but got to work getting the sand off her body Then she dipped her head in the sink to rinse the salt out of her hair. "Towel." Blindly, she took it from Lorissa and dried herself.

"And remember," Lorissa instructed, trying to finger-comb Sam's hair. "Don't talk to the press-"

"I remember." She snatched the black cocktail dress hanging on the back of the bathroom stall and started to shimmy into it. The bathroom was small and hot and she wished she was still in the water. "And don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't told me how gorgeous he is."

Lorissa's gaze met hers in the mirror while Sam pulled the little stretchy dress over her bikini. She slipped into the black strappy sandals her surfer buddies would have howled at, knowing she had maybe a thirty-minute window for comfort. After that, Blister City.

"You are not going to wear your bathing suit beneath that dress," Lorissa said.

"Well… yeah." Nixing her beloved flip-flops had been smart, because that gave her leverage for this battle.

"The ties from your top show."

"Fine." Lifting her arms up, Sam untied the bikini strap around her neck, and then pulled the top out from beneath the dress. She shoved the still damp bra into her black evening purse. "Just in case."

"In case what-you end up swimming at the Palisades Country Club?"

When she'd found out where they were going, she'd checked it out on the Internet. Fanciest place in town. Probably served jellied fish eggs and drinks she couldn't pronounce. Ugh. Sam touched her hair as she took another look in the mirror. Not great. "Blow-dryer?"

"The thing blew up six months ago and you never replaced it."

"Right. No problem." Twisting up her hair, she searched for something to pin it with.

Lorissa rolled her eyes and pulled the shiny black clip out of her own hair, offering it to Sam. "Makeup."

Sam knew this was not a request. She offered up her face and Lorissa applied blush, mascara and lip gloss. The last item she handed to Sam. "Keep this with you and reapply every once in a while. Please remember that. Now, it's time to get out there and-"

A heavy knock sounded on the bathroom door, accompanied by a low male voice. "Hello?"

In the mirror, Sam raised her brow at Lorissa.

"Uh-hi," he said through the door. "Do you suppose we can get on with this?"

Get on with this? "A real charmer," Sam said beneath her breath.

"I'm sure he's just-"

Another knock. "Hello in there?"

"-in a hurry," Lorissa finished weakly. "Yeah, well, he'd better be hot," Sam whispered, and with one last deep breath, hauled open the door.

And came face to face with her date. Or more accurately, her date's broad, wide chest. "I think he's got the hot covered," Lorissa whispered in her ear.

Good thing she was a fairly tall woman herself, Sam thought vaguely, tilting her head back to catch sight of his face, because the guy had to be six and a half feet tall.

"Oh, good," he said with obvious relief, running his gaze down her own five-foot-ten willowy body. "You're ready." He held out his arm, which she didn't take.

"I don't go out with nameless men," she said.

He looked surprised, as if shocked she had no idea who he was. "Jack Knight," he said in that slightly husky voice.

Okay, not a bad name, she'd give him that. In fact, it sounded vaguely familiar… "Sam O'Ryan."

"Yes, I know. Nice to meet you." He was wearing a tux and a frown, and to her relief, wasn't ugly or fat, but quite…

Actually, Lorissa had put it most aptly. Hot. He had dark hair and even darker eyes, a wide, sensual mouth that wasn't smiling at the moment but seemed to have good potential, and a strong jaw covered in a barely there five o'clock shadow, all on top of a long, lean, tough body… Nice combo, she'd admit that.

Not that she was hung up on appearances, but on her run to the bathroom, she'd caught sight of the black Escalade out front. The guy was indeed rich and, as she'd told Lorissa, rich guys usually didn't have much else going for them. So really, she didn't hold out much hope for this one.

But she was committed to tonight. With a last look over her shoulder at Lorissa, she settled her hand on his arm and let him lead her out of the café.

"We probably should have met at a safer location than this," Jack said. As they walked outside into air that was no cooler than the café bathroom had been, he favored his right leg, but she didn't say anything about it because he'd sidetracked her with the "safe" comment. She glanced back at the Wild Cherries sign she'd painted herself five years ago when she'd bought the place from Red.

"It's perfectly safe," she said.

"Now, maybe, but I don't want to drop you off at some isolated hole-in-the-wall later tonight when it's dark. There are no lights out here."

"Watch it," she warned lightly. "I own this hole-in-the-wall, and happen to be quite fond of it, lights or no." She wasn't open at night, so she'd never felt the need to add outdoor lighting.

He glanced at her as he unlocked the passenger door with his remote, but she avoided his gaze until he opened the door and turned his body, blocking her way into his SUV with those long arms and broad shoulders.

Not fond of intimidation, she tipped her head up and slowly cocked a brow, then realized… he wasn't trying to intimidate her at all. Not with his eyes filled with apology and self-deprecation.

"I didn't mean-"

"Forget it." She wasn't willing to fall for a simple sweet look, not when, for all she knew, the man might be full of them.

"No, really." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and met her sardonic gaze. "Look, obviously, I've made a hell of a first impression."

She felt a smile curve her mouth. "Do you care?"

"Actually, I didn't plan to. But…"

"But…?"

His gaze danced over her features. "I find that I do care." His smile was slow and genuine, and made her tummy flutter. "I want to enjoy this evening with you."

"Why? Because I'm passably pretty?"

"More than passably," he said lightly. "But no, I don't suddenly want to enjoy this just because you turned out to be an extremely pleasant surprise, but because we might as well have fun."

"You mean for two people who didn't want to do this in the first place?"

His smile went to a grin that jump-started her pulse, startling her. "Yeah, something like that."