“There he is,” Bella said and pointed to the surfer sitting atop his board, waiting for his next ride. “See? When the next wave comes, he’ll stand up and ride it all the way in to the beach.”
“Can I?” Mia asked.
“Sure,” Jackson told her. “When you’re thirty.”
Casey caught Bella’s eye and winked. “He’s a little overprotective.”
“I think it’s nice,” Bella said.
“Me, too, actually,” Casey admitted. “He and his brothers guard their kids like trained pit bulls. It’s really amazing to watch. And when the kids are all together, it’s hysterical, seeing all the King boys riding herd on them.”
“It’s not funny,” Jackson told her, “it’s stressful.”
“I think it sounds wonderful.” Bella smiled, but Casey looked at her with sympathy.
Leaning in closely, she whispered, “Falling for a King isn’t easy, Bella. They’ll make you nuts if you let them. But I promise, it’s completely worth it.”
She nodded, but couldn’t help thinking that it would be worth it if the King you loved, loved you back. Otherwise, it was just torture.
“There he goes!” Mia shouted, jumping up and down on her daddy’s lap and pointing excitedly at Jesse.
Bella stilled her thoughts and focused on his last ride of the day. It was perfect. Jesse lay across his board and paddled fiercely until the crest of the rising wave caught up to him. Then he stood, shook back his hair and walked up and down the length of the board with an easy grace that was beautiful to watch. His arms were relaxed at his sides and even from a distance, Bella could see his grin while he used his body to direct the board in and out of the wave. The roar of the ocean was lost in the roar of the crowd’s appreciation. His ride ended as his board skimmed the lacy froth of the dying wave. He jumped off as he neared the shore, then picked up the board, tucked it under his arm and trotted up the beach.
Bella watched as literally hundreds of bikini-clad women raced toward him, all of them eagerly attempting to capture his attention. He ran past them all as if he didn’t even see them. Bella’s breath caught as he headed right toward her. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as he dropped his board to the sand, looked up at her and asked, “How’d I do?”
“Great!” Jackson shouted then grunted when his wife’s elbow met his midsection. “Hey, what was that for?”
“He wasn’t talking to you,” Casey muttered.
Jesse grinned wider. “She’s right. I wasn’t. Bella. How’d I do?”
“You were wonderful,” she said, aware now that people all around them were watching, listening.
“That’s what I like to hear. Now I need my prize.”
Bella laughed. “No trophies today, remember?”
“Who’s talking about a trophy?” Jesse asked, and reaching up, plucked her from the bleachers and dragged her down to him. “This is the only reward I’m interested in.”
Then he kissed her. Long and hard and deep, sweeping her backward into a romantic dip that had the audience surrounding them cheering in approval.
Vaguely, Bella was aware of the crowd’s applause and even of the sound of cameras clicking as pictures were snapped. But she didn’t care. How could she when Jesse’s arms were around her and his mouth was fused to hers? Electricity hummed through her body and sent sparks shooting through her bloodstream.
He’d sought her out. Come to her. Kissed her in front of the whole world and for the first time in her life, Bella felt like a princess. Like she mattered. Her heart turned over in her chest and she felt even more deeply in love, though she wouldn’t have thought that possible.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he broke the kiss, lifted his head to stare into her eyes and Bella thought she saw…love shining back at her.
Then he grinned, the moment was gone and she couldn’t be sure it had even happened. Instantly, the crowd surrounded them, congratulating Jesse on his win and he draped one arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his side.
Did he love her?
She didn’t know. But the sun was shining and he was holding her tight and just for the moment, that was enough.
Later that night at Bella’s house, they sat out on the top step of the back porch, sipping wine and watching the clouds sail past the moon. From Mrs. Clayton’s house next door, came the sounds of a game show playing on TV and from down the street came the howl of a dog. On the other side of Bella’s place, Kevin’s house was dark.
The spicy scent of chrysanthemums planted along the back fence filled the air, and Jesse took a deep breath, drawing it deep, knowing that he would always associate that scent with this night. With this woman.
He draped one arm around her and smiled when she leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. “It was a good day.”
“It was,” she agreed, taking a sip of wine. “You were amazing out on the water.”
“Not bad for a corporate raider, huh?” he asked, his tone light and teasing.
She huffed out a breath. “Not going to let me forget that anytime soon, are you?”
“No, I figure that’s good for at least six months’ worth of teasing.”
“Six months?”
“At least,” he said, looking down into those chocolate eyes of hers.
“So you think we’ll still be together,” she said, “like this, I mean, in six months?”
He frowned and felt her tense up alongside him. “Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t we be?”
She tipped her head back and stared up at the moon as clouds drifted across its face. “I just didn’t know how you felt. What you expected.”
“I don’t expect anything, Bella,” he said, turning on the step to face her more fully. “We’re good together, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“The sex is great.”
“Yes,” she said, smiling.
“Well, then.” That was settled. It was like he’d told Justice, he didn’t want to move on. He liked being with Bella. He liked who he was with Bella. But he felt hesitation in her and he knew that she was thinking again. Trying to lay out a plan. Or see into the future. “Why should we try to put a time stamp on this? Or define it somehow? Look, nobody knows what’s going to happen to them a day from now, let alone six months from now. But here, tonight, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”