Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [111]
"Believe me, I've never done anything like this," he said dryly. And that included getting personally and emotionally involved with a woman he'd spent the night with. He'd managed to keep sex casual and easy the past decade, but there was nothing casual or easy about his relationship with Julia, and it was getting more complicated by the second. Maybe when they stopped living out of each other's pockets, he'd be able to get his feelings for her back into perspective.
"Do you like roller coasters?" Julia asked as they approached the main entrance. A monster roller.coaster with three wild, curving loops was just off to the right, and they could hear the screams coming from the cars hurtling down the first drop.
"I haven't been on one in years. What about you?"
"I love them," she said with a smile, "and I haven't been on one in years, either. We should take a ride while we're here. I could use a good scream right about now. Get out all my frustration." She cast him a quick look. "I really thought your dad would be at the house and he'd tell us everything we wanted to know."
"It's my fault. We shouldn't have left yesterday. I was just so pissed off, I couldn't think straight."
"I know, and I completely understood why you had to get out of there."
Alex bought their admission tickets, and they strolled into the park, stopping at an information sign to check the location of the Pirate's Cove Cafe. When he saw the skull and crossbones next to the name, a funny feeling swept over him, a vague, distant memory teasing the back of his brain. He'd been only five or six, and his dad had taken him to Disneyland for his birthday. They'd ridden on Pirates of the Caribbean, and he'd loved the waterfall drops. He'd made his dad take him on the ride three times in a row. He hadn't wanted that day to end, but it had. And the next day his father had left for another business trip. It was a^ month before they saw each other again.
It had been hard, he realized, all the times apart, and even more difficult for his mother. She used to cry when his dad left. He'd forgotten that-until now.
"I think it's this way," Julia said, tugging his arm. "Is something wrong?"
He shrugged off the memories. "No, everything is-"
"Fine," she finished with a smile. "Your favorite word and always a lie."
"Hey, a little while ago you said I was the most honest man you knew."
"Not when it comes to yourself. You never let on how you're feeling."
He flashed her a smile. "I think you figured me out pretty well last night and this morning."
A warm blush spread across her cheeks, and it made his smile widen. She was so beautiful and sexy, and f yet there was also an appealing innocence about her. It was a potent combination and one he probably should have resisted.
"Let's keep our minds on the present," Julia said.
"That's fine with me."
"Yeah, I know," she said with a laugh. "Pirate's Cove is over there."
Alex let her lead the way, enjoying the view from behind. Julia wore tight blue jeans and a clingy camisole top that left her shoulders bare. Her blond hair danced around her shoulders with each step. He had to stick his hands into his pockets to stop himself from reaching for her. He had the insane desire to hold her hand or put his arm around her, and that kind of casual affection had never been part of his life.
"There it is," she said, pointing to a wooden shack with a skull and crossbones painted across the front and a dozen tables with umbrellas set amidst thick green plants and a dark pool of water that was probably supposed to be the cove part of Pirate's Cove.
Only a few of the tables were taken, and those were occupied by families and small children. Alex glanced down at his watch. It was only three thirty. They had a good half hour to wait. "We're early," he said. "Or else they're watching us from somewhere else."
"That's a creepy thought." She took a step closer to him as she looked around the area. "I don't see anyone suspicious."