Page 20 of Blame It on the Bikini (Ocean Shores #4)

Chapter Eleven

Somehow, Grayson managed to avoid Lexie for four days. They'd exchanged a few texts with her inviting him to see the rest of the photographs, but he'd told her he had a busy week and would have to catch up with her on the weekend.

He'd spent most of the week at a local workspace, where it was easier to concentrate on business.

Then he'd grab dinner out and head home around nine.

Usually by then, the courtyard was empty, so there was less of a chance he would run into people.

That was his new plan—stay at Ocean Shores but keep his distance.

After parking his car in the lot, he walked into the courtyard and ran into Brad, who was holding his beautiful baby daughter in his arms. "You're home," he said.

Brad gave him a beaming smile. "We are. This is Amanda Jane Morrison." He pulled the blanket away from her face to give Grayson a better look.

"She's beautiful," he said, amazed by the beauty of her perfect, tiny features and her dark hair. "How's Serena feeling?"

"Tired but good. She wanted to go to bed early tonight, and this little princess was not cooperating, so I thought I'd bring her outside. She quieted down as soon as the fresh air hit her face."

"She's looking all around," he commented, noting the baby's wide-eyed look of wonder. "Taking everything in."

"She does that a lot, especially at night. The doctor said her days and nights are mixed up. I'll be happy when that changes," he said, stifling a yawn. As the baby started to fuss, he said, "I better keep walking. She likes to move."

"Have a good night." He was about to head up the stairs when he heard a loud banging noise coming from the direction of Lexie's apartment.

He walked around the pool, realizing the clanging sound was actually coming from the apartment next door, which belonged to Kaia.

Her curtains were partly drawn, with only a dim light glowing inside.

He put his hands on the window as he looked into the room, wondering where the banging noise was coming from. It didn't appear that Kaia was home, and Lexie's apartment looked dark, too. He needed to get Josie to open the door so they could see what was happening.

As he started to turn around, a man grabbed his arms and shoved him up against the window frame.

"What the hell?" he swore, struggling to get away, but the man was strong and determined.

"Who are you?" the man demanded in a sharp voice. "What are you doing peering through my sister's window?"

Grayson tried to turn around, but the man's grip tightened. "I heard a noise?—"

"I asked who you are." The man spun him around, and Grayson found himself face-to-face with a tall, broad-shouldered guy who had cop written all over him, even in jeans and a T-shirt.

"Grayson Holt. I live here. And I was looking in Kaia's window because I heard a banging noise."

"Ben! What are you doing?" Kaia yelled as she jogged down the hall in her paramedic uniform, keys jangling in her hand. And right behind her was Lexie.

"I caught this guy looking in your window," Ben said.

"Because something is going on in your apartment, Kaia," Grayson interjected. "If you would all just listen for one second."

As they fell silent, the banging from inside became very clear.

"Oh, my God! What is that?" Kaia asked. "Is someone in there?"

Ben grabbed Kaia's keys and opened the door. As Ben stepped inside, he switched on the lights, and Kaia followed. Because Grayson wanted to know what was going on, he moved into the apartment, and so did Lexie.

The noise was coming from the far corner of the living room.

An oscillating fan had been left running, but it had tilted just enough that every sweep sent it smacking into the side of a bookcase.

The impact made the whole shelf tremble, rattling the framed photos on top until one toppled over with a clatter.

Kaia let out a disbelieving laugh and strode across the room to turn off the fan. "I was in a rush this morning. I guess I left it on, and it fell over. Sorry about all this. Ben, you owe Grayson an apology."

Ben didn't look convinced. "He was looking in your window, and you told me some guy has had a hard time taking no for an answer."

"That's all resolved now," Kaia said.

"Grayson is the owner of Ocean Shores, Ben," Lexie interjected. "He's staying here for a month."

"Oh, right," Ben said, realization suddenly running through his gaze. "I thought your name sounded familiar. I'm sorry." He awkwardly cleared his throat. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"I'll live," he said shortly.

"Kaia is my sister, and when I saw you looking in her window…"

"I understand. You were protecting your sister."

"You have a bruise on your face," Lexie said, her gaze narrowing with concern. Then she shot Ben a dark look. "Did you hit him?"

"I just shoved him."

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "It was a misunderstanding. And now, I'll say goodnight."

As he walked out of the apartment, Lexie followed him to the stairs. "Are you sure you're okay, Grayson?"

"I told you I was."

"I just want you to know that Ben is a good guy. He's a cop, and he has quick reactions when he thinks there's trouble. Usually, it's a good thing. He actually saved Emmalyn from a bad situation several months ago."

"Don’t worry about it, Lexie."

She stared back at him, uncertainty in her gaze.

And even in the evening light, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and concern creasing her brow, she was beautiful in a way that stole his breath.

He knew he should go upstairs and into his apartment, but now that she was standing right in front of him, it was difficult to walk away. "Were you out tonight?" he asked.

"Yes. I took photos at a woman's ninetieth birthday party. It was actually fun. She's a live wire, and she loves to line dance, so everyone had to get up and join in. I think some of the younger ones got tired before she did. It was nice to see someone really living every minute of their life."

"She sounds like a spirited woman."

"She is. Also very opinionated, but I enjoyed talking to her. She told me the secret to not just a long life but also a happy life is to never make decisions in fear or anger and to look at change as an opportunity, not a setback."

"That sounds like good advice."

"I thought so, too." She paused. "I still want to show you the photos I took in the cave."

"It's late."

"Not tonight—maybe tomorrow. What are your plans this weekend?"

"I'm not sure. I may drive out to Palm Springs to see some property I'm interested in purchasing."

Her gaze suddenly lit up. "Palm Springs?

That's really close to Joshua Tree. I've been thinking about getting out there to take some photos.

The trees are amazingly twisted creations that look like aliens.

There are also rock formations and a cactus garden.

I have a photo on my dining room wall that I'd like to replace with one of my own.

" She paused. "I guess you know where this is going… "

"You want to come along," he said, not at all sure how he felt about that.

"It would be more fun to go with someone. And if you haven't seen the park, you might enjoy it. You loved the caves. This could be another great trip."

That's what he was afraid of. Because more great experiences with her weren't part of his game plan to maintain distance and make an objective decision about the building. But seeing the light of excitement in her eyes along with a hopeful plea, he could not even consider saying no.

"It does sound interesting," he said.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Great. I'm excited. I'm going to do more research so that I know exactly where we should go and what we should look for."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, Grayson."

"Goodnight," he murmured as he finally did what he should have done a few minutes earlier: go up the stairs and into his apartment.

But he couldn't be that unhappy about setting up another adventurous outing with Lexie.

He'd missed talking to her the past few days.

And maybe he needed to stop working so hard to stay away from her and just enjoy the time they had before he left, because it was all going to end in a little over two weeks.

Lexie was still excited about her upcoming trip to Joshua Tree when she woke up Friday morning.

She told herself it was just about the photographs, but she knew it was also about Grayson.

She'd missed talking to him the past few days, and while she was sorry Ben had roughed him up the night before, she was glad that the incident had brought them back together.

But before Sunday, she had work to do, and she needed to concentrate on that.

While most of her time was spent on her photography business, she also helped her aunt with random issues around the building.

To that end, she opened the billing portal and realized their newest tenant had not yet paid his rent.

He still had a day to go, but she was concerned.

So, she headed over to her aunt's apartment a little after nine.

"It smells like a bakery in here," she said as Josie opened her door.

"That's because I've been baking," Josie said, her cheeks flushed, a streak of flour across her forehead.

She followed her aunt into the kitchen as a timer went off. While her aunt liked to bake, she was surprised to see her pull a batch of cookies from the oven while there were already two pans of brownies cooling on the counter. "Are you participating in a bake sale?"

"No, but I have friends who need sweets."

"Like…"

"Serena and Brad. They love my oatmeal raisin cookies, and with the new baby, they could use a little sugar for those late-night feeds."

"That's a good idea."