For Finn. That was why she thought she was doing this. Interesting.
‘Great.’ It wasn’t moving on, not really. But it might be the best he got from her, and at least it gave him a way to help her. It could be worse. ‘Then let’s get to the beach.’
‘The beach?’ Her nose crinkled up adorably, and Dylan looked away to stop himself staring at it.
‘I always do my best brainstorming when I’m relaxing,’ he said, faking a smile.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LADIES’ BEACH WAS comfortingly familiar to Sadie. As they walked from the car down onto the soft sand she took deep breaths and let the salt air fill her lungs, while the sound of gulls and families playing in the sand and surf echoed in her ears. But even as she let the comfort of the seaside wash over her, the feeling that something was missing ached in her middle.
She missed Finn. He loved the beach so much—especially this one. They could play for hours, searching for shells to decorate sandcastles or jumping over the waves as they lapped against the shore. When they’d first moved here they’d spent almost every weekend at the beach the whole summer.
‘It’s a nice beach,’ Dylan commented, his trainers dangling from his fingers as he walked barefoot beside her.
‘Nice?’ Sadie said disbelievingly. She took another look around her at the perfect yellow sand and bright blue water. ‘It’s perfect.’
Dylan chuckled. ‘Okay, yeah. It’s pretty gorgeous. I can see why this, at least, is a big draw for the tourists. Finn must love it here.’
‘He does.’ The heavy weight of a pebble of guilt joined the ache in her middle. When was the last time she’d brought Finn down to the beach? Things had just been so busy... ‘We haven’t made it down here together for a while, though.’
She flinched with surprise as Dylan’s hand came up to rest against the small of her back, rubbing comfort through her tee shirt and steering her around a hole some enterprising young child had clearly spent some hours digging. She needed to pay more attention to where she was going. But Dylan’s hand stayed at her back and the warmth of it, so much more heated than the bright sun overhead, was too much of a distraction in itself.
Friends, she reminded herself. That was what they’d agreed. And beyond one drunken attempt at a kiss she had no evidence at all he wanted anything more. A hand on the back was not seduction—however much it felt like it right now.
‘When we get the Azure back on track, you’ll be able to hire more help,’ Dylan said, apparently oblivious to the effect his touch was having on her. ‘Give you more time with Finn.’
‘That would be perfect.’ Finn deserved so much more than an overworked, stressed mother. She needed to be both parents to him now, and that meant being there all the time. A reduced workload would definitely help with that.
She just hoped it wouldn’t be too reduced. After all, what else was she going to do once Finn was in bed or at school? And once Dylan was gone. All the times when she was alone again. She would need something to distract her then, and work was perfect.
Sadie almost laughed at herself. From one extreme to another—it seemed she’d always find something to worry about. They had to actually save the Azure first anyway, and that by no means felt like a sure thing.
Everything was so much harder without Adem there to help—even if it was just someone else to help build sandcastles or explore seaweed clumps.
Suddenly Dylan stopped walking, right in the middle of an open patch of sand unmarred by castles or holes and a decent distance from any of the other beachgoers.
‘This looks like the perfect spot,’ he said, dropping his bag and towel to the sand.
‘To brainstorm?’ Sadie asked, one eyebrow raised.
He flashed her a smile. ‘To sleep off the remains of my hangover.’
‘I suppose that is the first step to saving my hotel,’ Sadie said, only half sarcastically. After all, it was going to take Dylan on top form to help the Azure.
‘Definitely.’
Without warning, he reached for the hem of his tee shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing more muscles and hair than she’d expected—and definitely more skin than she felt comfortable with as a friend. Sadie’s mouth dried up and she swallowed painfully as she tried not to stare. God, but the man was gorgeous. She’d known that, of course, objectively. But she’d never spent much time with such upfront and undeniable proof, certainly not in the last decade.
Dylan had always been good looking, but now he’d grown into his looks completely. He wasn’t a playboy any more, Sadie decided. He was all man.
She needed to get out of there. ‘I’m going to go and swim.’
‘Okay.’ Dylan looked up from laying out his towel and grabbed for her wrist before she could turn away. His proximity and the feel of his skin on hers sent every sense she had into overdrive. How did anyone ever manage to be just friends with someone who looked like Dylan Jacobs? She needed some sort of handbook.
‘Sadie,’ he said, staring down into her eyes, his gaze so compelling she couldn’t even think of looking away. ‘I will find a way to save the Azure. You know that, right?’
Sadie swallowed again, her throat dry and raspy. ‘I believe you.’
His mouth twisted up into a half-smile. ‘Millions wouldn’t, right?’
‘This is business,’ Sadie said with a shrug. Something she would do well to remember. ‘And you know business. If anyone can save the Azure, it’s you.’
‘Only for you,’ he murmured.
It was too much. ‘Right. Swimming.’ Sadie pulled her hand away from his and tugged down her skirt and pulled off her tee shirt, leaving her in just her sensible purple tankini. Then, with what she hoped was a friendly smile, she headed straight for the water.
She couldn’t afford to be swayed by fizz, or touch, or the way he looked at her. Dylan looked at every woman he met that way, she was sure. He was a walking chemistry experiment for the female half of the human race. She couldn’t read any more into that.
Money and business advice was all he had to offer her, and only for the short term. Once he got bored he’d be on the move again. She really needed to remember that.
* * *
Settling onto his towel, Dylan propped himself up on one elbow in the sand and watched Sadie’s tankini-clad form sashaying towards the sea. He doubted she knew she was doing it, but her hips swayed as she walked all the same, her feet sinking into the sand. All those slender curves she kept so well hidden under dark suits and shapeless jackets were on display now and, friends or not, he wasn’t going to miss a minute of watching them.
Friends. She’d sounded so certain over breakfast that friendship was all she wanted from him. After the night before, and her escape from the lift, he’d almost believed her. Until he’d touched her wrist on the beach and watched the colour flood her cheeks as their ski
n had met. Until he’d watched her watching him and known that whatever she thought she wanted, her body had other ideas.
Bad ideas, admittedly. She was a single mother with more responsibilities than money and a rigid sense of commitment that was in complete opposition to his own. But she wanted him. Maybe even half as much as he had always wanted her.
He couldn’t give her what he knew she needed—what she’d always wanted since they’d met. Sadie was the kind of woman you settled down for, that you built a life with. Another reason why Adem had been perfect for her. Despite his own fears and apprehensions, he’d put aside every reason not to and jumped at the chance to have Sadie with him for life.
Even if that had turned out to be far shorter than any of them had imagined.
No, Dylan wasn’t the man to replace Adem in her life, if anyone even could. He couldn’t commit to forever, and he knew that Sadie deserved nothing less. And even if he wanted to try...what would it do to her, not to mention Finn, when he failed? It wasn’t worth the risk.
But he could offer her something else. After all the sorrow and stress in her life over the last couple of years, he could see shoots of new growth in her—the first hints of spring ready to return to Sadie’s world. She was ready to get out there again, to blossom into a new life.
He could be a friend and business partner in that new life. But right now, in this brief time of transition, maybe he could be something more. Something temporary. A first step, perhaps. Something that would waken that new Sadie completely.
It might be the worst idea he’d ever had—and if he told Neal what he had planned he had no doubt his old friend would be on the first plane out there to stop him. But it had been over a decade now—thirteen years of watching her, wanting her and wondering about her. Who could really blame him for wanting to taste that forbidden fruit, just once, now he knew how much she wanted it too?
Just one night. How bad a sin would that be, really? As long as he was honest and upfront with her, and they both knew what they were getting out of it. They were adults now. If Sadie knew exactly what he was offering, she could make her own decision.