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He went back to his book, but every few minutes he checked on Erin again. She was still going, riding those waves with a confidence he admired. The more he watched, the more he finally saw how often Erin was overshadowed by her overachieving siblings, and yet it slowly dawned on him that hers was the voice he had unconsciously listened to all those years when the Davenport family were exchanging views—or arguing.
It was Erin who made the most sense.
He put his book down, unable to concentrate. She’d been out there a long time. The last of the sun was being swallowed in a teal horizon—she had to be getting cold. When he grew truly worried, he took action. He went up to the master bathroom and chose one of the super plush, fluffy gray towels from the custom towel warmer that he’d decided to always keep turned on. Tucking it under his arm, he headed out, crossed the street and reached the beach just as Erin was coming in.
As he walked closer, he could see she was shivering as she pulled off her wetsuit. Underneath she had on a black bikini and even in the dim light, he appreciated the curves of her petite frame.
Trying to be a gentleman, he averted his eyes and spoke in a low voice so as not to startle her. “Hi. I was getting worried about you.”
She jumped slightly and turned, her eyes widening with recognition. “I got carried away.” She shivered again. “Stayed out too long.”
Without thinking to ask, he wrapped the still-warm towel around her shoulders. “You must be freezing,” he said by way of explanation, trying not to notice how sweet she looked swamped in his oversized towel.
“Oh, wow,” she said, pulling the towel tightly around her. “Thanks. You read my mind.”
Briefly, he wondered if she was as conscious as he that she’d been standing there in a bikini, but then shoved the thought from his mind. As she shivered again, it was all he could do not to scold her for staying out too long. What had she been thinking?
Instead he said, “Why don’t you come to my place for hot chocolate? Warm up.”
She looked a little embarrassed. “I don’t want to bother you. I’m fine.”
He held back a grin. Erin was so different from her siblings he sometimes forgot she was a Davenport and as stubborn as the rest of them. “Erin, your lips are blue and you’re shivering. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
He bent to gather up her things and then began the short walk back up to his house, trying to ignore how good it felt to be the one who could offer Erin some comfort.
Chapter Five
Watching Jay take down a tin of Ghirardelli chocolate powder and then select a copper pan from his extensive collection, Erin asked, “When did all your stuff arrive?”
“Yesterday and today. I worked with a designer Mila recommended and chose most of the stuff so it just had to be delivered, and I sent some of my personal possessions here too. It’s been pretty intense, but I like to get things done fast.”
With enough money you could get anything done, but even so, she was impressed. The house didn’t look lived in, exactly, but it looked settled. Like a home.
In a huge bouquet of flowers on the kitchen island, a card read,Welcome home. She didn’t even need to read it. She recognized the personalized cards that went with her sister’s housewarming gifts.
Even his kitchen was completely outfitted, and she’d bet Jay hadn’t taken a buggy around Safeway to stock up on food either. Erin laughed. “I feel like I’m onMasterChef.”
He grinned at her. “One of those guys is my client. I asked him for a few tips once, but he refused to give me any.” He tipped milk into the pan and then stood for a moment, staring at the range. “I’m gonna be honest. I haven’t attempted to work this thing yet.” He gestured at the extraordinary range, which looked like it cost more than her entire apartment. “Why don’t you go have a hot shower while I figure it out?”
Erin laughed. Of course he didn’t know how to work the range yet. He probably hadn’t made his own hot chocolate in over a decade. A shower sounded like heaven right now, butaccepting a warming drink was one thing. Getting naked in his house was another entirely.
“Don’t be polite,” he said, firmly but not unkindly. “We’ve known each other too long and your lips still look a little blue.”
She hesitated, then said at last, “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
Upstairs, she chose one of the guest bathrooms, instinctively steering away from his gorgeous ensuite. Still, there was nothing shabby about the guest bathrooms either. She sighed as she stepped into the hot, pounding rain shower. Erin couldn’t believe where the evening had taken her. She’d meant to surf for an hour max, just long enough to clear her head about Jay and the newspaper assignment. Now she was showering in one of his luxurious bathrooms, slowly feeling her body come back to life.
She’d been foolish to stay out so long and get so cold. Maybe even more foolish to allow Jay to all but rescue her. Still, she’d solved one problem. Now she wouldn’t have to send him an awkward text to ask if he would mind being interviewed—she could do it in person.
And yet the bubble of nerves in her stomach hadn’t disappeared. As she soaped her body with a creamy ylang-ylang gel, she was reminded of how odd she’d felt standing in front of Jay in her bikini, even though they’d been out surfing together on countless hot days over the years. She couldn’t help but imagine herself through his eyes—eyes that had appreciated a hundred supermodels and lingerie models with their perfect, sculpted bodies. She wasn’t ashamed of her own—she loved her small frame and her curves, but next to those gazelles she must have appeared unimpressive at best.
Then she shook her head. What did she care what Jay Malone thought?
She stepped out of the shower and rubbed her gleaming skin dry with another of his warm and fluffy towels. A pleasanttingling in her toes told her there must be underfloor heating beneath the slabs of white and gray marble.
As he’d insisted, she helped herself to the body lotion, feeling like she was in a high-end spa, taking the time to massage it into her skin. It smelled heavenly. But as she reached down to smooth it over her legs and thighs, the image of Jay’s large hands came to mind. For a split second, she closed her eyes and imagined it was his fingers traveling across her skin. The image felt so good she shuddered with pleasure and then caught herself.
No, this was Jay. Her brother’s brash, loud agent. What was she thinking? Mila and Tessa, as well as the hot water and steam, had gone to her head.