He grabbed my arm as I went to get up. “Don’t, Riley,” he grunted. “It’s okay. I guess that sometimes there’s just some old baggage that can’t be thrown away. But I like being here with you. This old dock needs some happier memories to take away the old ones.”
“Screw that,” I answered angrily as I plopped my ass back down on the wood. “You bring the gasoline, and I’ll bring the matches. We can torch the whole thing later.”
He chuckled. “You sound like a lioness trying to protect her young.”
I smiled weakly because I was still pissed off. “Not that,” I denied. “But I’d like to think we’re . . . friends. And friends protect each other, right?”
“Usually,” he agreed. “You say that like you’ve never had a single friend.”
Since he was spilling his guts, I felt okay with doing it myself. “I haven’t, actually. Remember where I grew up. My parents wouldn’t accept me being with anyone unless they were from our supposed class. And there weren’t many kids in that circle who I actually liked or trusted.”
“Not surprising,” he drawled. “What about college?”
I shrugged. “I was too busy studying. I dated a guy for a while, but it didn’t work out. We wanted different things, and we were young. He found somebody else who was in his own major who he had a lot more in common with, eventually.”
“And then Easton when you got back home?” he guessed.
“Yes,” I said sadly.
“You must have felt isolated.”
“I did. But I got used to it. Maybe I was so accustomed to being alone that I was actually more comfortable being that way. Plus, I never really knew any other way. Even when I was engaged to Nolan, I felt alone. I was still playing the game.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t a game for you then, Riley. It was your reality. I think all you ever wanted was to fit in. But you never did, because you’re not like them.”
“It’s really hard to stop wanting my mother’s approval, even though I know that’s never going to happen.” A pang of pain rippled through my heart.
“You don’t need it,” he growled. “I know it’s hard not to want to try. Fuck knows that my brothers and I wanted our father’s approval, too, even though he was an asshole. I think it’s an instinct that you have to work hard to shake off. It’s normal to want our parents to be proud of us. But at some point, I think you have to break free and tell them to fuck off. She’s never been a mother to you, Riley, and I hate to say it, but she probably never will be.”
I sighed. “You’re right. And I’ve been working on that since I kicked Nolan to the curb.”
“It will happen when you’re ready,” Seth said in a low, empathetic baritone.
“I get closer to it every day,” I answered lightly. “I love it here in Citrus Beach. Nobody judges me, because most people have no idea who I am. To them, I’m just an attorney in town. To be honest, I like that.”
“Whether they know or not doesn’t matter,” he mused. “You can blow off the people who don’t care about you for the person you are, and keep the ones close who do.”
I shot him a slightly admonishing look. “Like you blow off the women who are chasing you for your money?”
I never saw him making them scurry away. Ever. In fact, he seemed to have a problem doing it himself.
“Doesn’t matter,” he answered offhandedly. “I don’t like that kind of attention, but I don’t take it to heart, either. I know what they’re after, and it sure as hell isn’t me.”
I started to fume over the fact that some women treated him like he was nothing more than a bank account. The more time I spent with Seth, the more I knew that he had so much more to offer than just money. “Some of the women in this town are crazy,” I mumbled. “You’re a true catch, money or not.”
“To be truthful, I have to admit I didn’t try all that hard when I was broke. A few rejections taught me a lesson, and I really didn’t have much to offer a woman,” he said in a genuine tone. “There wasn’t really anyone I was that interested in, either. I’ve never been in Aiden’s situation, where I met a woman I wanted more than anything else in the world. One of the amazing things about Skye was that she fell for my brother when he was dirt-poor. She saw . . . him. That’s pretty rare.”
I had to stare straight ahead so Seth didn’t see my watery eyes. The fact that no female had ever seen . . . him seemed so incredibly sad to me. Yet I didn’t want him to find that woman now, either.
Because I want him for myself.
I balked at the thought, but I knew damn well it was true.
For some reason, I didn’t want any woman to be with this gorgeous, sensitive man next to me . . . except me.
I didn’t have much time to mull over my revelation.
There was a gigantic pull on my fishing pole that surprised the hell out of me.
“Oh, my God! I have a fish, Seth! I have one!” I got so excited that I stumbled to my feet, not remembering a single thing he’d said about setting the hook or bringing a fish in.
When the monster tugged hard again, I lost my balance in my enthusiasm that I’d actually caught something, and before I knew it, I was plunging forward.
“Riley!” Seth bellowed as he got up and reached for me.
But I was already tumbling ahead, straight into the water, fishing pole and all.
I sputtered to the surface. “Shit! It’s cold,” I said with a hiss, swiping water from my face.
I looked up at Seth as I treaded in the chilly water. His expression of horror had turned to one of mirth. Probably after he realized I wasn’t hurt, and I could obviously swim.
I scowled at him as his laughter boomed through the air. “It’s not funny,” I said unhappily. “I think I lost my fish.”
The pole was still in my hand, but the vicious tugging on the line had ceased.
The bastard just laughed harder, like he couldn’t stop.
His hand came out to hoist me up. “Let’s go get you warm. That water is probably in the low sixties, and it’s not exactly hot out here today.”
After the initial shock, I started to adjust to the brisk water. We were in Southern California, and the Pacific was rarely all that warm, even in the late-summer months, but some brave people did swim in it all year long on decent days.
Seth was still smirking, and I had the sudden urge to wipe the smug expression off his face.
I grabbed his outstretched hand, but instead of letting him pull me up, I put a foot solidly on a heavy pile and then yanked with all my strength.
If he was going to laugh at my predicament, he could just end up in the same situation.
I felt elated when I heard a huge splash next to me.
When he came to the surface soaking wet, an evil grin formed on my face.
Just like me, he’d come sputtering to the top.
“How funny do you think this is now?” I asked, trying to keep the humor out of my tone.
He started to laugh again. “You caught me off guard, woman.”
“I know,” I said cheekily. “That was the plan.”
We started to cavort in the water like children.