Best I've Ever Had (Sea Breeze Meets Rosemary Beach 3)

“Eat.” His words sounded like an order. Right now, the idea of him ordering me around was exciting. I opened the bag and took the second cannoli out. Before I took a bite, he walked past me toward the espresso machine.

He wasn’t going to fuck me and I was aching for it. Damn. I had to get control of myself. When had I started thinking about sex all the time? Oh, that’s right. When Eli had shown me how amazing it could be.

“I called Bliss last night when I decided to come bribe you into spending the day with me condo hunting. She asked Nate and he called your mom who knew exactly what would work,” he was explaining the food as if I cared. I was past that.

I chose to eat instead of try and speak.

He managed to fix the coffee correctly and get the espresso shots going as well. When he had accomplished both, he turned around to look at me. “Have you eaten it all?” he asked.

I had eaten half of the second cannoli and decided to put it down and eat the croissant before I got too full to enjoy it. I’d only managed to get half of it eaten. Possibly because I wasn’t hungry for food anymore.

“I can’t eat it all. I tried,” I explained. The two half-eaten items were on the bakery paper in front of me.

Eli walked over to it and picked up the cannoli. “Can I try it?” he asked before taking a bite.

“Of course,” I told him then added, “but don’t blame me for your instant addiction.” I was trying to lighten the mood. My mood that is. He seemed fine. The sexual threat in his eyes was now gone. That quickly.

“It’s good. But the caramel cream cheese one I had on the way here was better,” he countered with a gleam in his eyes expecting me to argue.

“I’ve never tried the caramel so I can’t be sure that you are wrong. But I am going to go with my gut that dark chocolate and raspberry will always beat anything caramel.”

Eli finished it off then shook his head. “We will just agree to disagree. Caramel is always better.” Then he added, “To me at least.”

I would remember that for the future. My mom could make the world’s best caramel cake. It had been her mother’s recipe. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off without Mom’s guidance or her just doing it while I watched, but I was getting him one.

The coffee finished and he turned to begin fixing his drink. “Do you want me to make you one? Or do you trust me to get it right?” he asked as he pulled down a cup like he had been here a million times. I liked how comfortable he seemed. In the past, a man feeling comfortable in my home always bothered me. Made me feel suffocated. This was one more thing that I realized was different. Everything I felt for Eli was different.

“I’ve had my caffeine for the morning but thank you,” I told him.

When he turned back to me with his cup in hand, he gave me that grin I was seeing more and more of. The one I hoped he didn’t give to anyone else. “Then you better go get dressed. We have a drive ahead of us and a full day. That is if you’re still planning on holding up your end of the bargain.”

HA! As if I would let him leave without me. The uncertainty I saw for just a second in his gaze made me feel a little relief that he wasn’t aware just how sunk I was. No man needed that power. Not this soon.

JUNE 12 / 4:46 PM

Eli Hardy

FINDING A FURNISHED place that I could rent monthly without a long-term lease had been more difficult than I’d hoped. However, Krit Corbin had called me two hours ago to tell me that the condo he owned was currently empty. My mom had given him a call when she found out I was looking for somewhere to live. I hadn’t thought to ask him about it. I figured he had it rented out weekly for the summer. It had once been an apartment complex when he had lived there before marriage and kids. However, as Sea Breeze built up and the tourism began to grow, it had turned into primarily vacation rentals. Which meant the place was fully furnished and I needed nothing but my clothing.

I was relieved when we went to meet Krit there and look at it. Not that I thought I wasn’t going to find a place. We had seen two places that might have worked for me. I had been waiting on a callback from both. I had been relieved because it wasn’t even four yet and that meant I got to spend time with Ophelia doing something other than this.