Jill Shalvis - Out Of The Blue

“I know. I know, ” Tara said mournfully. “It’s just that I’m in the mood for a good romance, that’s all.” If Alexi was the rebel, then the willowy and elegant Tara was easily the sophisticate of the group.

Which left the goody two-shoes position for herself, and Hannah filled it all too well. “No thanks on the romance. It’s too...complicated.”

The understatement of the year.

“Complicated, yes. But lots of fun.” Alexi looked to Tara for support. “Right?”

Wrong.

For Hannah, romance was too much work to be anything other than agonizing. From the beginning she’d been hopeless at it. Maybe it had been her home life, so different from all her mostly upper-class fellow students. Maybe it had been her own shyness. Whatever the reason, it had started in sixth grade, when she first became truly aware of boys. Fool that she was, she’d fallen hard for Alexi’s older brother, Zach, and it had been nothing but humiliating because he thought she was the dreaded “cute.”

No boy her age had compared to him, but she’d given it a try. In seventh grade she’d nearly drowned Eddie Bachman in the pool during swimming class because he’d tried to kiss her and she’d panicked.

In eighth grade she’d given Peter Horn a black eye when she accidentally fell on him as he tried to maneuver her beneath the mistletoe during a Christmas dance.

By the time she’d wanted a boy to make a move on her, she’d garnered the reputation of hurting any male unfortunate enough to give her a second glance.

The bad rap had stuck.

She’d had dates since then, but exactly one per guy. Just enough to warn them their life was in dire danger if they dared ask her out a second time.

She’d never figured out why she was such a big klutz around men. Her brother Michael said it was because she spent too much of her time worrying about things other kids didn’t have to, things like having enough money to eat that week. Or was their mother depressed again. Michael said as a result of those worries, Hannah spent too much time caring about everyone other than herself. But she couldn’t help it, it was a habit years in the making.

Hannah believed her brother. She just didn’t know what to do about it. Rather than face the humiliation of continuing to try, she’d taken a break from actively pursuing a dating life.

But her heart had never gotten the message. It continued to yearn and burn to know what she was missing.

Which had nothing to do with this meeting, darn it. “Guys, come on now, we—”

“Romance...” Tara said dreamily. “Sweet nothings, slow dancing, and long-stemmed roses. I want the whole enchilada.”

“Try a good steamy novel then,” Hannah suggested, determined to move on. “They have guaranteed happy endings.” She leaned over to tap her pencil on their supposed list of goals, which at the moment included only one— Lose Single Status. “We have to get serious here.”

But really, who was she to begrudge her friends needing more, just because she’d always failed at it? Just because her whole life was the Norfolk Inn, that didn’t mean it had to be the same way for them. Yes, it was a dream come true for all of them to work together at their own business, but neither Alexi nor Tara ever put work ahead of their own personal lives.

Hannah did. She just didn’t know how to do anything else.

Maybe they were right. Maybe it was time for a change. A new attitude. She was older, wiser too. Certainly she could do anything she set her mind to.

After this meeting.

“So...it’s settled?” Alexi asked them. “We’re all going for it? Most important goal for the summer, lose single status?”

“Count me in,” Tara said. “Hannah?”

“Well—”

“Just third the motion, would you?”

All she had to do was say the words. Put voice to the need deep inside her, that she’d love to find someone to go out with, someone she could trust enough to lose more than her “single” status to.

Besides, Alexi and Tara looked so excited about the prospect of summer, and of finding someone.... How could she disappoint them? She could just agree, and then forget about it. “I give,” she said. “Can we finish discussing the business now?”

“How about we up the ante first?” Alexi suggested. “Whoever gets unsingle doesn’t have to clean toilets all summer. Seeing as how I’m going to win and all.”

“Maybe our goal should be to hire the maid we’ve been promising ourselves,” Hannah suggested instead, but both Tara and Alexi shook their heads.

“We’re doing good, but not that good, not yet,” Tara reminded her. “It’s not in the budget until next spring.”

“So...” Alexi’s eyes sparkled. “What do you guys think about the toilet challenge?”

“It’s sort of high-school, isn’t it?” Tara asked.

Which had Alexi laughing again. “So naturally, you’re in.”

“Are you kidding?” Tara grinned. “And miss this? Of course I’m in. Like I have to worry about losing anyway.”

“Not when we have Hannah in the mix for the handicap.”

They both looked at her with warm, loving amusement and she cast a glance heavenward. “Just because I don’t date a lot—”

“Honey, you don’t date at all. ”

“Well you wouldn’t if you had my bad luck.”

“Yes, I would,” Alexi said, her face suddenly serious. “I’d try. You just haven’t found the right one yet, someone who makes you feel special.”

“Absolutely,” Tara agreed. “You can’t give up.”

But Hannah had given up. It was far easier on both her heart and ego. “In today’s day and age,” she said as primly as she could, “we have to be careful.”

“Careful yes,” Tara corrected. “Alone, no.”

“I said I’d do it.” And she would, just so they could get on with their work stuff. She didn’t want a relationship; she didn’t have the time or inclination. And anyway, if she was going to set a goal for herself, it would be something easier.

Something personal.

She wanted to lose her virginity.

“To us then.” Alexi held out her hand. Tara placed hers in it, and with reluctance, so did Hannah.

“Good luck, ladies,” Alexi said as they shook.

“I declare this meeting concluded. May the best woman win.”

“Okay, great.” Hannah raised her pad of paper. “Now back to business.”

Alexi and Tara sighed but settled in, mostly to humor her. It didn’t matter; Hannah was glad to be back on track.

And yet for the next hour, while they discussed finances and services, all she could think about was...what if she’d been too hasty in assuming she would lose their challenge?

What if she could really do it, really actually manage to meet her personal goal of losing her virginity? She could just dip her toe into romance, so to speak, then get back to her life.

Nice dream, but impossible, given reality.

There was no man in sight begging for her body.

* * *

HANNAH STOOD ALONE in front of the freshly scrubbed kitchen sink, having just happily run herself ragged cleaning up the evening’s meal for their very full house.

Out the window to the right, the sun slowly disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. The colors exploded, and she stood there riveted by the sight.

She loved it here. It was calm, peaceful. Perfect.

To the left, she could see the quaint main street of Avila. All the galleries and specialty shops had their lights on, welcoming. Inviting. Tourists were hustling down the street, shopping, eating, enjoying themselves.

As were their own guests. Their land was only an acre, but it was a fabulous acre, complete with the lodge, a small restaurant, an ice-cream and gift shop, spa, barbecue area, wildflower gardens and eight suites—though they only used five for visiting guests. The other three belonged to Tara, Alexi and herself.

Alexi ran the restaurant with amazing talent for both cooking and charming the guests out of huge tips. Tara handled the books with the fierceness of Attila The Hun, and since Hannah had a way with both greenery and sweetness—or so she’d been told—she worked the wildflower gardens and ran the ice-cream and gift shop.

She could think of nowhere else she’d rather be, and was looking forward to the wonderful summer months ahead...unless of course, she was on toilet duty.

Oh God, she’d almost forgotten.

She’d agreed to the unsingle challenge.

A half-hysterical laugh escaped her. It was so out of her league she might as well wish for a trip to the moon. And anyway, how bad could it be cleaning the bathrooms every single day, for three entire months?

Pretty bad.

Darn, she needed a man. Not just any man either, she wanted him to be kind and sensitive. Passionate. She wanted him to desire her.

That she also wanted him to be an incredible lover went without saying.

Oh, and then she wanted him to go away.

She laughed at herself, and then shrieked in surprise at the shadow of a man behind her.

“Excuse me,” he said, coming into the kitchen. “I—”

He broke off abruptly and stared at her in surprise.

She understood perfectly. Her heart was inexplicably in her throat, she could hardly breathe, because she recognized that voice, recognized the boy who was now a man. It’d been ten years, but that low, husky tone was indelibly printed in her mind.

Alexi’s older brother, Zach Thomas.

The first boy she’d ever had a crush on.

He’d changed, was her first thought. Lord, he’d changed.

Then a grin broke across his face, and she had her second thought—she hadn’t realized her toes could really curl.

“Hannah? Is that you?”

“What—what are you doing here?” Oh gee, wonder why she couldn’t catch a man. But she was truly stunned to see him since only six weeks ago he’d nearly been killed in the line of duty, shot down by some gangbanger.

Alexi had taken the news very hard, and it had been Hannah who held her best friend while she cried during that first agonizing telephone call. “I thought you were still recuperating,” she added. “Are you okay? Should you be up and about?”

“Yep to both, especially since I’ve only one week left on my first vacation in ten years.” He grinned again, and it quite simply took her breath.

It was all coming back to her, the horribly humiliating teenage infatuation—which had absolutely not been reciprocated. He’d been kind to her, yes, and as she was a friend of his baby sister, he’d also been indulgent and protective.

But other than that, Zach had been far, far out of her reach; too wild, too gorgeous, too everything. Avila had smothered him, he’d hated the tight confines, the lack of adventure.

Which had been everything she loved about the peaceful, sedate town.

Then he’d left her world to become a cop of all things, and they hadn’t seen each other since.

Why should they?

He lived the wild, exciting life he’d always wanted and she...she lived hers the way she’d always wanted, with a few exceptions. Okay, one exception—her lack of a love life, which of course brought all sorts of erotic images to mind, images best not thought about at the moment.

Why? Because Zach was standing right in front of her looking a bit wicked, definitely gorgeous, and just a tad dangerous. He was back and her tummy had gone all tight, her toes were still curled and all sorts of currents were racing through erogenous zones she hadn’t even known existed.

Because of one simple smile.