Jess laughed. “I would make you pay for that comment, but you’re hiding behind a tiny human shield. Not fair.”
“Let’s walk along the shore for a bit. I promise not to drown Ella.”
Jess looked down at Lena, who was still squatting, digging with one hand in the wet sand. “Do you need help getting up?” Jess gestured to Ella. “Is she too heavy?”
“No, she’s fine.” Lena stood without assistance even though the muscles in her legs quivered slightly.
Her long, well-formed legs Jess couldn’t look away from. She’d noticed them before, of course, as Lena often wore shorts in the garden or one of her asymmetrical knee-length skirts, like today. But now she knew how soft that skin was even covered in goosebumps like yesterday. Lena’s naked feet dug into the wet sand, and she was wearing the sexy dark-purple nail polish again.
Jess’s feet were sensibly clad in trainers, with long jeans covering her ankles. They hadn’t been swollen for a couple of weeks, but she hadn’t lost the habit of hiding them. Well, cold water was supposed to be good for circulation. She toed off her shoes and bent down to remove her socks and cuff her jeans.
“I can’t remember when I last took the time to actually walk on the beach. I mostly saw the ocean from afar.” Jess kept her gaze on the ground as they walked. Just so she wouldn’t tread on anything sharp. Not because she didn’t trust her eyes to stay away from Lena’s legs or Ella’s head resting contently on Lena’s cleavage or Lena’s smile as she took in everything the ocean had to offer.
“That’s sad.” They had reached a stonier part, and Lena slowed to pick her way. “And now?”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Jess held her breath and stepped into the surf. The first contact with the cold water stabbed her toes with a thousand icy needles, but after a few seconds, a not-so-uncomfortable tingling replaced the pain.
This was real. Like Lena.
The blackberry bushes were hidden at the western end of the lot and as loaded as Diana had promised. In a wind-sheltered area, the hedge grew higher than Lena could reach, and many long branches were pulled down to the ground by the weight of the berries.
Jess stared open-mouthed. “That’s more than enough to feed an army.”
“Even if we only pick the ones that are easy to reach, we should get plenty.” Lena grinned and lightly elbowed Jess. “Don’t worry. We don’t need to pick all of them.”
“Whew.” Jess exaggeratedly wiped her brow. “I thought we’d spend the next couple of weeks here.”
“Nah, I don’t want to get on the wrong side of Maggie by kidnapping her family.”
Jess spread a blanket in the shade of a pine and placed Ella’s carrier on it. “She’s asleep again. Lazy girl doesn’t want to help us.” She bent down to drape a white cotton cloth over the opening to shield Ella from the sun. Her faded jeans looked as soft as the cloth. A loose navy T-shirt hid the rest of her figure, but Lena remembered the feel of her body all too well.
Her fingertips itched with the desire to go over and explore again. Instead, she drank deeply from the water bottle she’d brought. It was still cool but didn’t help to douse the heat that had simmered inside since their kiss. Stop it.
Unlike her own mother, she knew better than to follow every impulse, no matter how pleasurable it was. Ever since Jess had admitted to being attracted to her, Lena had been playing the what-ifs in her mind. If Lena messed this up, she would jeopardize her living situation and the job with Jess’s mom. Or worse, if Lena gave in to her attraction and fell for Jess, she would surely break Lena’s heart. Jess had said it herself—she wasn’t ready for a relationship. But what if they managed to have amazing sex and stay friends?
Before her libido could win the argument, she forced herself to look away. Concentrate on the blackberries. That’s why you’re here, not for a romantic weekend at the sea.
Jess joined her a minute later and picked up her own bucket. She either sensed Lena’s need to work uninterrupted or was busy with her own thoughts. Wordlessly, they picked side by side and had soon filled all but two containers.
“Wait.” Jess put her hand on Lena’s arm to stop her from placing a berry in her empty bucket. “What do you think about a competition?”
“Competition?”
“Let’s race. Whoever finishes her bucket first gets a prize.”
“Oh, what would that be?”
Jess plucked the berry Lena still held between her fingers and popped it in her mouth. “Mmmh. What would you want?” A tiny drop of purple juice stained her lip.
The urge to wipe it away was strong, and Lena clutched her bucket with both hands to stop them from reaching out. What did she want? Another kiss. No! That was not an appropriate price. Something innocent, like food? “Dinner?”
Jess pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and studied Lena for a moment. “Like a date?”
Whoa, that wasn’t innocent at all. Lena wanted to say yes and no at the same time, so she made a joke instead. “Just a dinner. Two friends, maybe the loser’s daughter…”
Jess laughed, and her eyes twinkled with mischief. “You mean the winner’s daughter.” She pushed her sunglasses down as if to ready herself for the race. “On the count of three. One, two…” She lightly pushed Lena out of the way and reached for the branch full of ripe berries she had been working on. “Three!”
Lena reached around Jess and stole the berry she had just picked, then fled a few feet away to another good spot.
She worked methodically along the hedge until the bucket was nearly full. Once she had picked everything within easy reach, she was still a few berries short. A branch arched above her, taunting her with ripe berries. But even on her toes, it was
