Sarah Morgan Summer Collection

He watched her for a long moment and then his eyes slid to her mouth. ‘Evanna—’ He broke off and lifted his gaze to hers.

For a long moment they stared at each other and she felt her heart hammering rapidly against her chest. There was something in the atmosphere. Something—

No.

She was doing it again! She wasn’t going to start imagining something that wasn’t there! She wasn’t going to start dreaming again!

Anxious to get away from him, she turned towards the shore, her voice bright and breezy as she spoke. ‘Well, I’ve finished my swim so I think I’ll go and eat something.’

There was a long, aching silence and then he cleared his throat. ‘Go ahead. If you’re hungry.’

See? She spoke firmly to herself as she waded to shore. He hadn’t even tried to detain her. And what had they spoken about? Work. As usual. It didn’t matter whether they were in uniform or swimming gear, their relationship was the same as ever. Professional friendship.

Determined not to wallow, she pulled the blue sundress on top of her damp bikini and left her hair loose. And tonight she wasn’t going to spend her evening staring at Logan. She was going to socialise. Mingle. Allow him the space to find the woman he wanted to move on with.

Determined to enjoy herself, she talked to everyone she knew and at least a dozen people who she’d never met before. She spoke at length with Janet Price who was there with Helen, she helped Meg serve the food, she laughed with Kyla as they shared a delicious hamburger, trying not to drip ketchup on their clothes. Then the music started and she kicked off her flip-flops and danced barefoot in the sand with Ethan and then with Nick.

But no matter how much she talked, laughed or danced, she was always aware of Logan standing in the shadows. He danced with no one. Occasionally he exchanged a few words with someone but only when they’d made the effort to approach him. Other than that he stood alone. Apart.

And as midnight approached and lots of families started gathering their things together, Evanna couldn’t stand it any longer.

He’d said that he’d forgotten how to approach a woman but surely that couldn’t really be the case? Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Polly from the cafе, laughing at one of Nick’s terrible jokes.

Pretty Polly. Wasn’t that what all the boys had called her at school? Evanna knew that she’d be only too thrilled to be approached by Logan, so why was he hesitating?

Part of her wanted to leave for her own self-protection but a bigger part of her wanted to see Logan happy.

She walked over to him. ‘All you have to do is ask, you know.’

‘Ask?’

‘You say something like, “Do you fancy joining me for a walk on the beach?”’

‘Oh.’ He put his drink down on the upturned crate that had been placed on the sand. ‘In that case, do you fancy joining me for a walk on the beach?’

Evanna giggled. ‘Not me, you idiot. Polly. She’s standing there, looking hopeful. If you want to approach her, this is a really good time.’

‘But I’ve already asked you.’

‘W-we were j-just practising,’ Evanna stammered. ‘Role play.’

‘All right. In that case, I want you to walk along the beach with me. Call it role play, if you like. It’s been so long since I’ve walked along the beach with a woman, I’ve forgotten how to do it. I might put my feet in the wrong place.’

There was a dangerous glint in his blue eyes that made her feel strangely uncertain. She couldn’t read his thoughts. She really had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. ‘Logan, you should be asking Polly.’

‘I’m asking you.’

He was obviously still afraid to approach Polly. Deciding that he clearly had no idea just how attractive he was to women, Evanna smiled. ‘All right, then. Let’s walk. Towards the road or towards the cliffs?’

‘The cliffs.’ He’d pulled on a loose linen shirt over cut-off shorts but his feet were bare.

‘Is it so hard, Logan? Approaching another woman. Is it because you’re thinking of Catherine? Does it feel strange? Wrong?’ She wanted to understand. She wanted to help. Despite the late hour, there was still enough light for her to make out his features.

‘I’m not thinking of Catherine. Not at the moment. Should I be?’

‘No. I think it’s good. But I don’t understand why you were reluctant to approach Polly.’

They moved closer to the water’s edge and the sea rushed in, swirled around their ankles and then retreated with a gentle hiss.

She glanced back and suddenly realised how far they’d walked. ‘I can’t see the others.’

‘Does that matter?’

‘No. I just thought you might want to be getting back so that you can—’

‘Are you afraid of the dark?’ He gave her a lazy smile and took her hand in his. His fingers closed over hers, his grip strong and firm.

‘I’m not afraid of the dark.’

Without announcing his intention, he gave her a gentle pull and started walking away from the sea in the direction of the dunes.

What was he doing? ‘Logan—’

‘Don’t say anything.’ His voice sounded strained and suddenly her heart was beating so rapidly that she felt dizzy. This was ridiculous. She was walking hand in hand along a beach with a man she adored. And she didn’t have a clue what was going on. She just didn’t know what to say or do.

They crested the first dune and then slithered and slipped down into the dip. The sea breeze immediately faded away and they were enclosed, cocooned by the gentle swell of sand that created an intimate atmosphere.

‘Logan, I really think we should—’

His mouth came down on hers with a hunger that knocked the breath from her body. For a moment Evanna just stood still, so shocked that she couldn’t move. She felt the firm pressure of his hand behind her neck, felt his other arm slide round her waist, dragging her hard against him. And then she felt the tip of his tongue demanding an entry and excitement devoured her like a ravenous beast.