A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (25 page)

“Out of shape?” Gemma asked. He looked far from that. Proof of another man thing: eating a plate of brownies, never working out more than shooting a few pictures, yet enjoying defined abs. She looked away, suddenly aware she was staring too much.

“I can’t feel my feet. They’re numb.” He closed his eyes as if he had completely run out of all energy.

Gemma moved and touched his feet. “They’re still there.”

Drew laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.” His eyes stayed closed, and his breathing started to slow.

She settled back on her towel, but her eyes strayed to Drew’s lengthened body. Was she really checking him out?

What’s wrong with me? Drew is one of my best friends.

With determination, she closed her eyes and let the sun bathe her face, completely ignoring the man next to her.

The April sun was warm, not too hot, just perfect. And maybe it was because Gemma had told her parents about the breakup, or because she was spending a lazy afternoon with a friend, but she surprised herself by falling asleep.

* * *

Something soft and warm trickled on her stomach. It took Gemma a moment to realize where she was. She opened her eyes to see Drew lying on his side, facing her, his hand suspended above her torso as he dribbled sand onto her.

“Excuse me?” She lifted up to her elbows and watched the sand slide off on either side. “I don’t exactly enjoy sand in the crevices of my body.”

Drew’s mouth twisted with amusement. “You were way too clean. No one should be so clean at the beach. It doesn’t even count. You might as well stay at home.”

“Ha ha.” Gemma’s stomach flinched as Drew scooped another handful of sand and poured it on. “What? Are you ten?”

“Sometimes I wish I still were.”

Gemma laughed. “Don’t we all. Moms tucking us in bed at night. Dads calling us princess.”

“Speak for yourself.” Drew scooped another handful of sand.

Gemma watched the grains slide from his fingers like a miniature waterfall, then pool on her stomach, only to slide off onto the towel. She made no move to stop him. The falling sand was mesmerizing, like watching the flames of a campfire.

The sand stopped, and she blinked. “Your dad didn’t call you princess?” she said.

“Nope. But I seem to remember being called some other names, ones I can’t say in front of a lady.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. You were like a straight A student.”

His brow lifted. “You remember that?”

“We all thought you’d be a doctor or a scientist or something.”

Drew scooped more sand. “Life has a funny way of changing plans, doesn’t it?”

Gemma nodded, but then stopped, captured by his gaze. It was so intent, so serious, so
not
Drew. She looked away first and started brushing the sand from her stomach.

“Oh, sorry,” Drew said, his smile back. “I’ll do it.” He ran his fingers along her stomach, clearing off the sand granules.

His touch sent goose bumps along her arms and stomach, and she inhaled. It was strange having Drew this close, his hand on her bare stomach. But this was just Drew, she reminded herself. Her friend. And he was only teasing her, as usual.

“I was wondering about something,” he said, his low voice drawing her out of her thoughts. He moved away, no longer touching her.

I don’t want him to move away.
The thought slammed into her, and she blushed.
What am I thinking?
Thankfully, he wasn’t looking directly at her.

“Why do you think you and I never dated?” And then his gaze slid to hers. His hazel eyes seemed to flash gold.

If she’d swallowed a cupful of sand, her throat couldn’t have been any drier.

“I mean,” he said, rolling onto his back and propped his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. “We’ve always had fun together.”

“Yeah,” she said in a slow voice, having no idea what else to say—having no idea where he was going with this. “But we did go out once.”

He turned his head toward her. “Are you mad at me?”

Gemma laughed, remembering the joke from a few years ago. “Are you mad at me?”

He grinned. “Never. And that wasn’t really a date.”

“No?”

“No.”

“You took pictures. Doesn’t that prove we were on a date together?” Gemma said.

He moved to his elbow again, facing her. She tried not to let her gaze slide along his torso. His tanned skin and the warm sun playing off his muscled shoulders wasn’t helping her concentration. There was a reason he always had a dozen women after him at a time.

“I think I still have those pictures,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I found them?”

“That was like three years ago.”

“Two. It was just before you got serious with Randy.”

Two…
Drew sure had a good memory. And Gemma realized she hadn’t thought about Randy for several minutes until Drew brought him up.

He pulled out a camera from his bag and snapped a picture of her.

“Hey. I didn’t sign a release form for my picture to be taken,” she said.

A smile touched his mouth. “Close your eyes. With the cloud overhead, the light is perfect on your face.”

She obeyed, and the camera clicked several times. Drew had been taking pictures of everyone forever, but now that he earned big bucks to do it, it was strange to be the focus.

Gemma opened her eyes to find him staring at her. To thwart a blush she said, “Aren’t you worried about getting sand in your camera?”

He glanced at the camera in his hands. “This isn’t one of my better ones. And it’s pretty hardy.”

She sat up. “Can I see it?”

He handed it over then leaned in and showed her the basic settings. She snapped a couple of pictures of him before he could protest. Then she started to scroll through the pictures he’d taken. A bunch of scenic shots, followed by close-ups of plants and rocks. Some of the plants were unique, and quite a few she didn’t recognize. “Where’s this?”

“The South Coast Botanical Gardens. We should go there sometime.”

Gemma ignored the increase in her pulse at his suggestion. “It’s beautiful.” She felt his eyes on her. She continued through the pictures stopping at a picture of a dark-haired woman laughing, sunglasses perched on her head.

For some reason, her heart dropped. Maybe this was the woman he wasn’t telling them about. “Who’s this?”

“Avery. An editor for
Redbook
.”

“She’s really pretty,” Gemma said, scrolling through more pictures of Avery.

“I guess. She wanted me to take some pictures of her to send to her husband.”

So he isn’t dating this one.
Another woman popped up on the screen. A skinny blonde at a café, holding a cup of coffee. Her painted lips smirked at the camera. Gemma’s throat tightened. Surely there was something behind her look that had to do with Drew.

“One of your models?” she asked.

“Luisa. She nearly passed out at a shoot, and I forced her to eat a bagel and drink some coffee. I haven’t stopped teasing her since.”

She nodded. “So is Luisa the mystery girlfriend you aren’t telling us about?”

“Gemma,” he started. “There’s no mystery girlfriend.” He reached over, his arm brushing hers, and deleted the picture.

“I didn’t mean for you to delete it,” Gemma said, feeling terrible. “I was just kidding.”

“I know.” He nudged her shoulder.

She hoped she hadn’t annoyed him. She didn’t want to go through any more pictures, and she handed the camera back, only to find his eyes intent on her.

“I was serious when I said I haven’t been dating anyone for two years.”

Two years. Why does that keep coming up?
He broke up with Valentina two years ago. Two years ago, they’d went on that crazy double date with the couple from hell. Two years ago, Gemma started dating Randy.

Before she could reply, Drew said, “Gem, I want to ask you something.”

“There you guys are!” Liz called.

Gemma turned to see Liz coming toward them, a couple of shopping bags in her hands. She was all smiles as she settled on Gemma’s towel and opened her bags.

Liz focused on Gemma. “Cute swimsuit.”

“I agree,” Drew said, snapping another picture.

“Hey,” Gemma said, reaching for her tank top and pulling it on.

Drew smiled and took another picture. “You can’t hide from a camera.”

Liz looked between Drew and Gemma, her brows arched. “Okay, you guys sound like you had fun. But I had more fun. Look at this adorable sarong I bought.”

Gemma gave the proper oohs and ahhs over Liz’s stuff. Within seconds, Drew was on his feet. “Well, ladies, I’m encrusted with salt, so I’m going to go shower. Anyone up for grabbing something to eat after?”

“I’m starving,” Liz pronounced.

“Me, too,” Gemma added.

“We’ll meet you in a few,” Liz said. As Drew walked away, she said, “That’s one fine man.” She laughed. “Not that I’m looking. Sloane is a fine man too.”

Gemma smiled. “Missing Sloane already?”

A sly smile came onto Liz’s face. “Just a little. But, holy crap, Drew was totally checking you out.”

Gemma tried not to let her mouth drop open. “He was
not
. I’m like dog breath compared to the women he knows. Plus, he’s
Drew.
Like-a-
brother
Drew.”

“Drew is
not
your brother,” Liz said, narrowing her eyes. “And just because he’s one of our best friends doesn’t mean—”

Gemma covered her ears with her hands. “Don’t say it. The Five are the best thing that ever happened to me in high school.”

Liz pursed her lips together as she gathered up her stuff. “Did you find out about his girlfriend?”

“I looked through some of his pictures, but he insisted he doesn’t have one.”

Liz met Gemma’s gaze, her eyes gleaming. “You know what I think?”

Gemma said nothing; she didn’t want to know what Liz was cooking up.

“He hasn’t dated since breaking up with Valentina because he’s been waiting for
you
, Gem.” Liz stood, her bags in hand.

Gemma scrambled to her feet, facing Liz. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.” Her heart thundered, and she felt breathless, but that was because Liz was talking crazy. There was no way Drew would ever be interested in her like that. Sure, they were awesome friends, and she loved him—like a brother, of course—but Drew would never...

Liz was trudging back to the beach house. Gemma grabbed her towel, sarong, and bag, hurrying after her.

As soon as she reached the house, she’d take a cold shower.

Chapter Five

They ended up at a charming Mexican restaurant with yellow-painted walls and red shelves holding multi-colored pottery. Gemma couldn’t help but be on high alert around Drew now, and she cursed Liz for putting her there. Gemma focused on keeping the conversation on Liz and the other girls in the Five who weren’t there, talking about updates in everyone else’s lives but hers.

For once, Gemma wished the restaurant music was louder and the place more crowded. Then talking would have taken more of an effort. But as luck would have it, the restaurant wasn’t busy tonight, and Gemma had plenty of opportunities to steal glances in Drew’s direction. He was his regular self though, laughing, teasing, joking, and sharing bizarre stories about some of his shoots.

Gemma tried to read more into his stories with various models, but there was nothing she could pinpoint that would show that he was in a relationship. The only thing left was the fact that he really was single, available, and not serious with any other women.

But why? And had it really been for two years? Despite Liz’s theory, Gemma decided that things with Valentina had messed with his head more than Drew himself probably realized.

Yes. That was it—he was still hung up on Valentina. Gemma could breathe easier now, relax, and not worry. This weekend would be fun catching up on old times, and then she’d go back to normal life. Still, she stuck with nonalcoholic drinks.

“What are you guys up for tonight?” Liz asked, on her second glass of wine. “Clubbing?”

Gemma was surprised that Liz would want to go clubbing, with the whole mom-thing, but then, Liz always surprised her.

Drew shrugged, his hazel eyes landing on Gemma. “I’ll go if Gemma wants to.”

She ignored the significant look that Liz threw her. “I didn’t sleep much last night,” Gemma said. “So maybe we should just watch a movie at the house.”

A smile played on Drew’s lips. “Sounds perfect. I’ve got a bunch of new releases on my laptop.” It was hard to ignore Drew’s smile. He was a bit of a movie-expert and always seemed to have new releases in advance of their actual release date.

Liz let out a yawn. “Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I forget that I’m on a kid schedule.”

Back at the beach house, Drew hooked his laptop to the big screen in the living room. Liz started popping a bunch of popcorn, while Gemma grabbed a blanket and sat in the middle of the couch. She curled up in the blanket and pulled one of the throw pillows onto her lap. Cozy. Perfect.

“What movie is this?” Gemma asked Drew as he fiddled with the television.

“
The Bourne Legacy
. Did you see the earlier films?” he asked then turned off overhead light.

“At least one of them,” Gemma said. “Is this even on DVD yet?”

“Nope.”

The screen glowed with the opening credits, and Drew sat by her. As in, right next to her. He’d taken off his jacket, so his bare arm was right next to hers, save for the blanket.

Gemma was grateful that the blanket covered her goose bumps.

Liz came in with two bowls of hot popcorn and handed one to Drew. She kept the second one settled on the other side of Gemma.

“I don’t get my own bowl?” Gemma asked.

“You and Drew can share,” Liz said with a laugh. “I never get anything to myself, so tonight I’m indulging.”

“So, catch me up,” Gemma said to Drew. That was a mistake, because Drew obeyed and leaned closer, practically whispering in her ear.

The goose bumps were back in full force. Gemma was suddenly grateful for the dimness of the room. Liz seemed oblivious, eating her popcorn, focused on the screen. Gemma took a couple of handfuls of popcorn then stopped eating. She was still full from dinner.