Page 28 of Blame It on the Bikini (Ocean Shores #4)

Cupping his face with her hands, she pressed her body against his as she kissed his lips, and as he wrapped his arms around her, she sank deeper into his embrace.

She felt so connected to him. Every taste, every touch, was better than the last. When they finally broke apart, she looked up at him and said, "Well? How did it compare?"

"The scorecard doesn't go that high," he murmured, his hands lingering at her waist. "I've never met anyone like you, Lexie."

"Same," she said, but she couldn't help wishing that the reason they'd met was not because he wanted to sell her home. And just like that, the dark cloud was back. "We should go. We still have to walk back to the car."

He nodded, but there was reluctance in his gaze. "All right, but I'm going to hang on to this," he said, taking her hand in his. "Just in case the path gets rocky."

She had a feeling their path was always going to be rocky, and there was going to come a time when he would let go, but that time was not now.

They arrived at the car thirty minutes later and as they drove out of the park and down the highway, she was glad that the light was fading.

She might need the shadows to hide from herself, from her growing feelings for the man beside her, a man she'd probably never see again in two weeks.

But she wasn't going to think about that now.

Twenty minutes later, as they were nearing the turnoff for the highway that would lead them through the mountains and back to Ocean Shores, traffic came to a crashing halt with lights, fire engines, and police cars blocking the exit.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Looks like some kind of bad accident," he muttered. "This isn't good."

They barely moved for the next ten minutes, and they had no idea what was going on because there were several trucks in front of them, blocking the view.

Finally, the traffic started to move a few feet at a time. When they got to the exit, they saw it blocked off by orange cones. She rolled down her window to hear one police officer talking to another about the road being closed for the foreseeable future.

Grayson put their destination into the GPS as they were forced to move down the highway. "Any other way to the coast is going to add a couple of hours to our trip," he said.

"Do we have a choice?"

He didn't say anything for a few minutes, then said, "We could find a hotel, spend the night, get up early, and drive back in the morning."

Her heart began to race. "I guess that's an option."

"Do you have to be anywhere early tomorrow?"

"No. I'm doing a family portrait at four, but I don't have anything before that. I'll look something up."

She ran through the local options. "The closest place is back in Joshua Tree."

"Then we'll go back."

She gave him the address, and he got off at the next exit and circled back around.

They hit more traffic as they neared the exit from the opposite direction, but they weren't delayed too long.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the Rustic Cottages, which was a bed-and-breakfast with a main house and several small cabins tucked in the surrounding trees.

The office at the Rustic Cottages was decorated with vintage desert memorabilia and staffed by a friendly woman with silver hair and kind eyes.

"You're in luck," she said. "I have one cabin left. Queen bed, private bath, little kitchenette. It's our nicest one, actually."

"One cabin?" Lexie asked.

"I'm afraid that's all I have. We've just checked in some folks who can't get home because of the accident."

"That's why we're here, too," she said.

"Well, we're happy to have you. We have drinks and snacks in the dining room now. Breakfast in the morning runs from seven to ten." She reached into a drawer. "And since you don't have any luggage, here's our overnight kit. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a few other items you might need."

"Thanks," she said. "This is very nice of you."

"It's nothing. I hope you enjoy your stay." She handed them a key. "It's the first cottage on your left. But feel free to grab some drinks and snacks before you go."

As she took the key, she turned to Grayson. "Let's check out the dining room."

He smiled. "We should have found somewhere to eat dinner."

"I'm not that hungry, but I wouldn't mind a little something."

The dining room had a bigger spread than she'd expected. She poured herself a glass of wine and filled a plate with cheese and crackers, fresh berries, and a chocolate chip cookie. Grayson also grabbed a plate, and she couldn't help but smile when he bypassed the brownies for a cookie.

He met her gaze and grinned. "It wouldn't be as good," he said as they sat down at a small table.

"Look, there's a chessboard," she said, pointing to the set between them. "Do you know how to play?"

"I do. Do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. My father loves chess. What do you think about a game?"

"Sounds good," he said.

She was relieved to have something to do to postpone going into that very small cabin with the queen bed. She knew Grayson would be the perfect gentleman. She just didn't know if she wanted him to be.