Chasing Carly (Holiday Cove 3)

I dropped the cups from my chest, revealing myself to Nick and only after another heartbeat, locked together, did he drop his gaze to take me in. “God, Carly…” his voice trailed off as he lowered his mouth to my breasts, kissing and teasing them.

My hands went to his head, raking through his dark auburn hair while he sucked on my boobs, each in turn, sending a shower of sparks over every inch of the skin I’d bared for him.

His hands began to wander south, going for the button on my jeans, when I was pulled from the trance he’d put me under. “Nick!”

“What?” He jolted upright and craned around, following my line of sight to an approaching car, right as I dove off his lap and into the passenger seat.

Red and blue lights flashed and my heart pumped frantically as I dug around on the floorboard to find my t-shirt.

Nick rolled down the window and turned his body to block the passenger seat from sight. The cop car rolled up and I sucked in a breath, stuffing the shirt on—no doubt backward or inside out or both—and squirmed back into the seat.

“Evening, Sherriff,” Nick said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Sherriff? Oh God, we were going to jail…

“Everything okay here?” the voice carried in.

“Yes, sir. Just didn’t want to text and drive. Thought it would be safer to pull over.”

I blinked twice, shocked by his easy lie.

“Good call. Well, you have a good evening.”

I could see Nick’s shoulders shake as he held back a laugh. “Same to you, Sherriff.”

The red and blue lights stopped flashing and I slunk back down in the seat with a relieved sigh as the taillights sped off down the road.

Nick burst out laughing as he rolled the window back up and I couldn’t help but join in. “Shit!” he exclaimed. “You got a warrant out or something? You dove out of the way like a pro.”

I shook my head, still giggling. “No, I just didn’t want to flash my tits to some officer. Knowing my luck, it would have been Jerry Sawyer, the deputy at Holiday Cove, who comes in for blueberry scones a few times a week. That would have been a nightmare.”

Nick only laughed harder, dropping his head back as he tried to get a grip.

I shook my head, my giggles petering off. I ruffled my hair back and wiped under my eyes to fix any makeup smears. “Close call though, a few more minutes and we would have ended up in a lot more trouble…”

Nick grinned over at me. “It’s all part of the fun, baby.”

“It was a nice little flashback to my high school days,” I said, returning his happy-go-lucky grin.

“Do tell, naughty girl.”

I laughed and shook my head, miming that I was zipping my lips. “I can’t give away all my secrets. Not yet.”

“Someday though?”

I shrugged. “We’ll see.”

A thick silence settled between us as our grins faded and a more serious tone took hold.

“I should get home though,” I said, meeting his dark stare across the cab of the truck.

He gave a firm nod but I could tell he didn’t want to say goodnight. But he didn’t complain, and when he dropped me off at home, it was with a goodnight kiss and the promise that I’d see him in the morning for his cup of coffee.

As I walked up the steps to the front door, I couldn’t get the smile off my face. I certainly hadn’t been looking for a guy like Nick, but now that he’d barged into my life—it was hard to remember what it was like before he’d shown up in Holiday Cove.

17

Carly

* * *

A few days passed, and life resettled into a comfortable new routine. The drama from the first few weeks of the summer were fading into a distant memory and I was thankful I hadn’t made a rash decision and sent Alesha packing.

Since getting Lady, she spent more time hanging around the house or down at the beach taking the pup for long walks—most of which the little dog spent cradled inside Alesha’s sweatshirt. I was able to focus on work, knowing she was staying out of trouble. The only downfall was the hole in my bank account from the shopping spree we’d gone on at the local pet shop. Even days later, I still cringed when I thought about the amount of money I’d dropped on the little hairball.

Somehow the little shit had grown on me too.

Nick and I kept things casual when he stopped by the coffee shop, neither of us letting on that anything was going on between us. However, Alesha told me anyone with eyes could tell we were picturing the other naked. I wasn’t tapped into the town gossip pool but if I’d cared enough to dip a toe in—I wouldn’t have been surprised to find the rumors about our relationship—or the possibility of one—was a hot ticket item.