Slow Summer Burn: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance by Elisabeth Barrett Page A
Authors: Elisabeth Barrett
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kissed him back. A beautiful, intelligent woman had kissed him back.
Obviously, she liked him, too. So why wasn’t he happier about it?
Maybe because they were all wrong for each other in every possible way.
Val was well aware that women like Cameron Stahl dated men who owned yachts, not houseboats. Men whose hands were smooth, not rough from hand-to-hand combat. Men whose financial worth was in a different stratosphere from his. Sure, he was doing all right. He earned a good salary and had a sizeable nest egg put aside for emergencies, but he was the farthest thing from a trust fund kid.
He was at the boardwalk within a few moments, and a huge rumble of lightning greeted him as he hit the end of Mutterman’s Pier. Instead of running directly to his boat to dry off, something made him stop and turn. Dark, wet sheets of water came down on the harbor. And then he saw it: a crack of brilliant lightning that lit up the sky, another following almost immediately after. It was close, maybe a mile offshore. The storm was magnificent in its splendor.
For a moment, he simply stared. Then, slowly, he walked down to the far end of the pier, his eyes on the water the entire way. Torrents of rain lashed him, running down his neck, seeping into his clothing, and soaking him to the bone, but it felt good. Cleansing.
He’d never leave this little town. No matter where his job took him, he’d always come back here. Star Harbor was thick with memories—of his youth, his brothers and his parents. His dad would have loved this storm. He’d been fearless out of necessity, riding out storm after storm to earn his living fishing, until his luck had finally run out on that fateful Labor Day weekend.
Whenever he thought about his father, Val got introspective. He was fifteen when he lost his dad, and he had to grow up pretty damn fast after that, stepping up wherever and whenever he could. With four rowdy boys to raise, his mom couldn’t do it alone.
His mom. He’d gotten her eyes, along with her disposition. Cool and calm, she’d always tried to help, to make things right up to the day she died.
Exactly like he did.
It was well past the time when he and his brothers should have moved on from their assigned family roles. They’d still been boys back then. Now, they were men. But he was stilldoing it. Still approaching everything with caution. Still fixing everyone’s problems. Still focusing on everyone but himself.
When he saw that woman, all soft curves and gentle heat, he hadn’t stopped to think about what problem he needed to fix, or how he could help. All he thought about was how beautiful she was with her hair dampened from the summer rain. And the way she looked up at him with those luminous eyes. A man could get lost in them.
Only Cameron Stahl could look more amazing half-drowned and huddled under a hardware store awning than she could with fancy hair and sparkling diamond earrings at a society awards function. Today, he hadn’t considered her wealth or prestige or how she was way, way out of his league. The only thing running through his mind was how very right she felt in his arms when they danced, and how she felt even better when he kissed her.
He was a hardworking man, but when it came to women, he usually didn’t have to try too hard to get what he wanted. And every cell in his body was screaming that he wanted Cameron. But he still had doubts. He shouldn’t want someone like her. She was too rich, too cultured—too everything that he wasn’t. And the way she looked at him? With curiosity and awareness and something more.
No , his brain had said. She’s not for you . He’d learned young that rich women with big yachts and expensive diamonds were temptations best ignored. Townies were only curiosities to them, and he and his brothers kept far away from the pricey boats that sometimes docked in Star Harbor. But when he helped Cameron get back to her boutique and she pressed herself to him, wrapped her
Obviously, she liked him, too. So why wasn’t he happier about it?
Maybe because they were all wrong for each other in every possible way.
Val was well aware that women like Cameron Stahl dated men who owned yachts, not houseboats. Men whose hands were smooth, not rough from hand-to-hand combat. Men whose financial worth was in a different stratosphere from his. Sure, he was doing all right. He earned a good salary and had a sizeable nest egg put aside for emergencies, but he was the farthest thing from a trust fund kid.
He was at the boardwalk within a few moments, and a huge rumble of lightning greeted him as he hit the end of Mutterman’s Pier. Instead of running directly to his boat to dry off, something made him stop and turn. Dark, wet sheets of water came down on the harbor. And then he saw it: a crack of brilliant lightning that lit up the sky, another following almost immediately after. It was close, maybe a mile offshore. The storm was magnificent in its splendor.
For a moment, he simply stared. Then, slowly, he walked down to the far end of the pier, his eyes on the water the entire way. Torrents of rain lashed him, running down his neck, seeping into his clothing, and soaking him to the bone, but it felt good. Cleansing.
He’d never leave this little town. No matter where his job took him, he’d always come back here. Star Harbor was thick with memories—of his youth, his brothers and his parents. His dad would have loved this storm. He’d been fearless out of necessity, riding out storm after storm to earn his living fishing, until his luck had finally run out on that fateful Labor Day weekend.
Whenever he thought about his father, Val got introspective. He was fifteen when he lost his dad, and he had to grow up pretty damn fast after that, stepping up wherever and whenever he could. With four rowdy boys to raise, his mom couldn’t do it alone.
His mom. He’d gotten her eyes, along with her disposition. Cool and calm, she’d always tried to help, to make things right up to the day she died.
Exactly like he did.
It was well past the time when he and his brothers should have moved on from their assigned family roles. They’d still been boys back then. Now, they were men. But he was stilldoing it. Still approaching everything with caution. Still fixing everyone’s problems. Still focusing on everyone but himself.
When he saw that woman, all soft curves and gentle heat, he hadn’t stopped to think about what problem he needed to fix, or how he could help. All he thought about was how beautiful she was with her hair dampened from the summer rain. And the way she looked up at him with those luminous eyes. A man could get lost in them.
Only Cameron Stahl could look more amazing half-drowned and huddled under a hardware store awning than she could with fancy hair and sparkling diamond earrings at a society awards function. Today, he hadn’t considered her wealth or prestige or how she was way, way out of his league. The only thing running through his mind was how very right she felt in his arms when they danced, and how she felt even better when he kissed her.
He was a hardworking man, but when it came to women, he usually didn’t have to try too hard to get what he wanted. And every cell in his body was screaming that he wanted Cameron. But he still had doubts. He shouldn’t want someone like her. She was too rich, too cultured—too everything that he wasn’t. And the way she looked at him? With curiosity and awareness and something more.
No , his brain had said. She’s not for you . He’d learned young that rich women with big yachts and expensive diamonds were temptations best ignored. Townies were only curiosities to them, and he and his brothers kept far away from the pricey boats that sometimes docked in Star Harbor. But when he helped Cameron get back to her boutique and she pressed herself to him, wrapped her
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