Let Me Burn (Angel Sands 1)

“But he has a heart of gold,” Ember said.

“He really does. I remember when I was about ten and wanted to buy my mom a little trinket for her birthday. I thought I had the right money, but when I counted it out I was fifty cents short. He pulled out a rag from beneath the counter and some spray polish. Said if I cleaned the shelves for half an hour he’d let me have it for fifty cents less.”

“Is that kindness or slave labor?” Ember asked.

Lucas laughed. “I’m still not totally sure.” He opened his mouth to say something, but then he hesitated, as if unsure whether to say it or not. He swallowed, his prominent Adam’s apple pushing at his throat. “I, ah, just wondered if you were okay after the other night.”

Oh. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for being there to help me.”

“Did you ever hear from that guy?” he asked.

“The one who didn’t turn up?”

“Yeah.”

She licked her lips. “No. I ended up deleting the app, so I doubt I’ll ever hear from him again.”

“Good riddance.” Lucas grinned. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

There he went again with the compliments. She felt that spark, the one that made her whole body feel weightless. Then she was smiling back, lifting her head up to meet his gaze, and for a second the air between them felt thicker than it should.

They were standing so close it would take less than a moment for them to close the gap. Ember’s breath caught in her throat. She could feel those little jolts of desire again, prickling up through her skin.

But the desire was quickly followed by fear. It was like a splash of cold water against her face. A reminder that she’d just recovered from the kind of pain she never wanted to feel again, and that opening yourself up to somebody exposed you to being stabbed in the heart.

“I should go,” she said quickly, reaching out for the handle again. This time she didn’t meet his gaze. “I have an early start tomorrow. Breakfast club at school.” She smiled but still didn’t look at him. “I’ll see you on Saturday at the fair.”

* * *

“You know, I could get used to you being around in the evenings,” Griff said, as the two of them lifted their boards onto the flatbed of his truck. They’d gone further this evening, over to the next cove. “Maybe you should stay in Angel Sands instead of going back to work. That way we can surf together every night.”

There was a teasing tone to his words that made Lucas grin. “Yeah, we can be the oldest surfers in town. You bring the muscle rub and I’ll bring the walking sticks.”

“Don’t knock it. It beats getting old gracefully.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “There’s nothing graceful about you, my friend. I saw the way you tumbled under that wave. You looked like a drowned monkey when you climbed back out.”

It was Griff’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “As far as I can tell you’re becoming a fixture in this town. First you volunteer at the fire department, next you’re helping Frank Megassey with the Angel Day Fair. I’m just waiting for you to tell me you’re falling for a local girl and getting married, then I’ll know that hell really has frozen over.” He rubbed his beard with his hand, grinning at Lucas.

“You’ll be waiting a long time.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

Lucas frowned. “What?” He tried to keep his face relaxed in spite of the frown that was trying to push down his brow. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

Griff pulled up the tailgate and locked it. Walking around the side of his truck, he unlocked it, pulling the front door open, and climbing inside. Lucas followed suit, sitting on the passenger side, his eyes still fixed on his friend.

“Of course you know what I’m talking about. I heard you’ve been taking girls out to the beach.” Griff pressed his palms to his chest and pouted his lips. “And I thought this was our special place.”

“Who told you that?”

“I know everything around here. People seek me out just to tell me stuff, I’m the keeper of all Angel Sands secrets.” He winked. “So is it true? Has a small-town girl captured your heart?”

For a moment Lucas considered denying it again, because he hated talking about this stuff. But then his need to confide in somebody about his feelings outweighed his natural inclination to laugh it off.

“Maybe.” He swallowed hard, waiting for Griff to laugh. But instead when he turned to look at his friend all he saw was concern. “I don’t know, man,” he continued, frowning. “She’s beautiful and she’s funny, but she’s fresh out of a relationship.”

“How fresh?”