"You don't need me to join in. You should spend time with him on your own."

  "We've spent enough time together. He'd like to get to know you."

  "Why?" The word burst through her lips before she could stop it.

  Liam stared back at her. "Because I like you, Ava, and because Nate is my friend."

  "Isn't he also Britt's friend?"

  "He is, or he was, but we won't be talking about Britt."

  "Britt is beautiful and very bold. I can see why you fell for her."

  "She's not pretty at all to me anymore," he said.

  "How can that be?" she asked doubtfully.

  "I don't see her looks; I see who she is, and there's no beauty on the inside. I don't want to waste time talking about her. Will you please join me and Nate for pizza? I really want you to."

  She felt helpless under the direct onslaught of his smile and the look of desire in his eyes. "Okay. I'll join you."

  "Good." He stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry our morning after went the way it did, because I didn't have a chance to tell you how much I enjoyed last night."

  "I enjoyed it, too," she murmured. "But…"

  He groaned. "No buts."

  "We can't do it again, Liam. I'm leaving next week, and our lives will be in different cities, going in different directions."

  "We have time together now. Why waste it because there's an end in sight?"

  Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door, followed by a loud, booming voice.

  "Pizza delivery," Nate said.

  Liam let go of her hands. "I'm going to ask that question again later."

  He could ask the question again, but hopefully she wouldn't change her answer, because it would be smarter and far less risky to stop fooling around with him and just go back to being roommates.

  The pizza and conversation with Nate were more fun than she'd imagined. Nate was a fun-loving guy with a million stories about Liam, all of which were entertaining. Having met as teenagers, they'd lived wild lives growing up on surfboards and traveling the world.

  They'd snuck into bars, slept on beaches, and probably made out with a million girls. Nate shared that Liam had been a superstar surfer all his life, and that it was usually Nate who came in second, not Liam. Watching the banter fly back and forth between them brought a wave of jealousy at their long friendship, and a wistfulness for friends she'd let go a long time ago.

  After her parents had passed away, she and Serena had had to leave their home and their friends to start over in a new city. She hadn't wanted to open herself up, to get close to people, to share her feelings. So, her friendships were fun but surface-level. With her work friends, she talked about work. With friends she'd made while running or working out, she talked about exercise and fitness. She'd told herself what she had was enough, but since coming to Ocean Shores, she'd begun to question that.

  The women she'd met here were all friendly and interested in her. And the guys were as well, especially Liam, who had gotten her to open up to him in ways that still scared her.

  But she would be returning back to her life soon, and she was starting to wonder if that life would be enough. Work wasn't going well, and her apartment building was filled with strangers.

  What was she doing with her life? Why hadn't she realized before now she needed more than just her sister in her life?

  "I think Ava has heard enough of our stories," Liam said, interrupting her thoughts. "Sorry to bore you."

  "I haven't been bored," she said quickly. "You two have had amazing experiences. I'm jealous."

  "We've had some good times," Liam agreed.

  "I should probably go," Nate said. "I need to be on my game to beat you tomorrow, Liam. It's been some time since we went head-to-head. I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad you decided to enter."

  She started at Nate's words. "You're competing tomorrow, Liam?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you were done with that."

  "There was a last-minute opening in the field, and I decided to take it," he replied. "While I'm waiting for John to make up his mind, I might as well see if I can make some cash."

  "You should come, Ava," Nate said. "See this guy in action. Unfortunately, for me, my shot at the top prize went down as soon as he entered. But it will still be fun to go against each other."

  "It will be," Liam agreed. "And probably for the last time."

  "We'll see," Nate said with a knowing smile. "I'm not sure you'll ever want to give it all the way up. You're too good."

  She wasn't sure of that, either.

  "I hope to see you tomorrow, Ava," Nate continued. "If not, it was great to meet you."

  "You, too." She got to her feet as Liam walked Nate to the door.

  When Nate was gone, Liam turned to her with a hot gleam in his eyes.

  "You should probably get some rest if you don't want to lose to Nate tomorrow," she said hastily.

  He walked toward her. "I'm not tired. Are you?"

  She wasn't, but she really should say she was. "It's not a good idea, Liam."

  "I disagree. Being together with you is a great idea."

  "Isn't there some rule about not having sex before a competition?"

  He laughed. "On the surfing tour, absolutely not. What else have you got?"

  "It's complicated." She desperately searched for a good reason to say no.

  "I want to be with you, Ava. Do you want to be with me?"

  "It's not that simple. I can't just keep living in the moment, Liam. It's not who I am."

  "Maybe it is who you are now, just not who you used to be." He leaned in and gave her a slow, gentle, exploring kiss that gave her plenty of opportunity to pull away, to say no, to go to her room, but she wanted to do none of those things. She just wanted to savor the taste of his mouth. And if it all went bad in the morning or three days from now, at least she'd have one more night.

  "Okay," she said. "But if you fall off your surfboard tomorrow because you're too tired, don't blame me."

  He smiled. "If that's why I fall, it will be totally worth it."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ava drove herself to the surfing competition in San Diego around eight since Liam had gotten up at seven to head down there, and she wasn't entirely sure she should go. In the end, she couldn't stay away. She wanted to see him in action. Although, she didn't know how well he was going to compete, because they hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. But he'd seemed in good spirits when he'd kissed her goodbye and said he hoped to see her there.

  She'd been noncommittal about attending, which he'd taken in stride, apparently getting used to her saying "I don't know" when invited to do something. She really did need to break that bad habit.

  When she got to the beach, all the parking lots were jammed, so she had to park about a half mile away and walk back.

  There was a festive atmosphere and energy on the wide sandy beach, with a platform set up for the judges, and a registration table for competitors, as well as several tents and booths selling food, drinks, apparel, and surfboards.

  It seemed like the kind of place a business like the Beach Shack should be at, she thought, as she moved through the crowd. That was probably something Liam would do if he was able to get the business. Maybe today would bring good news on two fronts: a win here, and a win with John Peterman.

  She took off her sweater as the sun hit her face. It was already warm for half past eight, with the sun bright in the blue sky, shimmering off very sizable waves that made the waves she'd surfed look like swells in a bathtub.

  There were already surfers out in the water. She wondered if Liam was one of them.

  "Hey, Ava," a woman said.

  She turned to see Lexie moving toward her, camera in hand, a smile on her face, her brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. "Hi," she said, happy to see a friendly face. "Are you photographing the event?"

  "Not officially, but I thought it would be good to shoot photos and build my portfolio. Are you here to see Liam?"

  "Yes. But I'm not sure where he is, or if he's already in the ocean. Have they started the competition yet?"

  "The first heat starts in five minutes. Each heat gets twenty minutes to perform. Liam is going out later, I think. I just saw him with his friend, Nate." Lexie turned her head. "Oh, there he is."

  As Lexie pointed to Liam who was standing in a group with Nate and a female surfer—who wasn't Britt, thank goodness—he turned around and saw them. His gaze instantly fixed on hers, a smile spreading across his face as he walked toward her. Lexie was saying something to her, but all she could see was him.

  He was so damned attractive, she thought, especially seeing him bare-chested, wearing only a pair of board shorts that rode his narrow hips. He was fit and tan and powerful, and her stomach clenched as she remembered tracing all those muscles with her fingers, feeling all that power inside of her. Heat ran through her, and she felt a little sweaty as he joined them.

  "You came," he said.

  "I did," she replied, feeling her cheeks warming as they looked at each other.

  "Why don't I get a photo of the two of you?" Lexie stepped back to take a quick snap. "Get a little closer."

  "Happily," Liam muttered as he put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "I'd like to kiss you right now."

  "That will get the gossip flying at Ocean Shores."

  "Who cares? Never mind, I know," he said with a teasing smile as he let go of her. "You care."

  Maybe she did or maybe she didn't. She was tired of caring so much about so many things that probably didn’t matter.

  "I'm going to take some more shots," Lexie said. "I'll catch up with you, Ava, when Liam goes out."

  "Sounds good." After Lexie left, she turned to him. "So, when is it your turn?"

  "Nate and I are in the second heat. It starts in twenty minutes."

  "How do they decide who wins?" she asked.

  "There's a complicated scoring system based on the length of the ride, the size of the wave, and the maneuvers made."

  "What kind of maneuvers?"

  "Cutbacks, aerials, barrels."

  She looked at him in confusion. "Aerials—you're airborne?"

  He smiled. "Yep."

  "As if riding a monster wave isn't enough."

  "It's not enough if I want to win," he said with a smile.

  "Well, you better win, because I didn't come all the way down here to see you be the first loser."

  "There's some motivation." He looked around, then stole a quick kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

  "I wanted to see you in your element, doing your thing."

  "It might be the last time."

  "Really?" She waved her hand around the beach. "There's a lot of excitement here. I can feel it, and I don't even surf. It must get you going, too."

  "The ocean gets me going more than all this, but it is fun."

  "Do you surf more than one heat?"

  "Yes. My division has three heats. The top two surfers in each heat then compete in the finals." He paused, his gaze narrowing.

  She turned her head to see what had put the frown on his face and saw Britt making her way across the beach like a queen pausing every now and then to talk to her royal subjects.

  "She does know how to make an entrance," she said, watching a group of teenage girls in bikinis run up to her to pose for a photo, which Britt happily obliged.

  "Excuse me," someone said. She turned her head to see a young boy with a hat and a pen, looking up at Liam with adoration in his eyes. "Could you autograph this for me?" he asked.

  "Sure." Liam squatted down. "Who's it to?"

  "Joshua. My dad says you're the best surfer of all time."

  "Well, thanks," Liam said as he signed the hat. "Is your dad here?"

  The little boy pointed to a stocky man standing a few feet away. "I got it, Dad," he said proudly.

  His father gave him a thumbs-up. Liam waved to the dad, who seemed a bit shocked to have gotten any recognition at all. And then the little boy ran back to his father to show off his hat.

  "The best of all time, huh?" she said. "I think you've downplayed your career to me."

  "That was an exaggeration. But I am good, Ava."

  She laughed at his words. "I'm sure you are. You don't lack confidence, that's for sure."

  "I am confident about surfing, not necessarily about everything else, but don't tell anyone. It would ruin my image."

  She liked that he could make himself somewhat vulnerable to her, because she'd certainly done the same for him.

  "Get ready, Ava," Liam said, his smile vanishing.

  "For...?" She didn't have to finish her sentence because Britt was right there.

  "Hello," Britt said, shocking Ava with a hug that she hadn't expected. And then Britt turned to Liam, who suffered an awkward hug as photographers snapped photos of them.

  Britt really was smart, Ava thought, hugging her first to make it look like they were all friends, but making sure to get a photo with Liam. Although, his irritated expression probably wasn't helping Britt's cause.

  "Don't do that again," he told her. "Don't set me up."

  "It was just a hug and a picture. No big deal. Good luck today." She paused. "Oh, sorry, I forgot how much you hate thinking there's any luck involved. So, I'll say, do your best. I think it's about time for you to hit the water. I'll keep Ava company."

  "Actually," she said, "I have a friend here, so I'll see you both later." Irritated with the way Britt was trying to control everything, she impulsively walked over to Liam and gave him a kiss, gossip be damned. She felt a little foolish after she did it. She didn't know why she'd felt the need to stake a claim, because she certainly didn't have a claim on him, but it was nice to stick it to Britt. Unfortunately, it didn't matter, because Britt had already walked away, and the photographers had followed her.

  "I expect a bigger kiss when I win," Liam told her.

  "We'll see," she said.

  He laughed. "Well, that's a nice change from I don't know, even though it means the same thing. I liked that you stuck it to Britt."

  "I don't know why I did. It was silly."

  "Whatever your reason, I liked it."

  And she liked him. "I want to say good luck, but I guess that's taboo."

  "No, it's not. Not from you."

  "Well, just to be safe, I'll say I hope you win. And be careful." She felt stupid for adding those words on, because the last thing Liam was going to do out there was to be careful.

  "I'll see you soon." He kissed her again and then jogged down the beach.

  She saw Britt watching her as she held court a few feet away, a thoughtful and possibly worried expression on her face. Maybe she was finally starting to realize that when Liam had said no, he meant it.

  For the next twenty minutes, she wandered around the event, perusing cute bathing suits, tote bags, and sunglasses. But when she heard the announcer call Liam's heat, she walked over to the makeshift stands and climbed to the top row to get the best view she could.

  All the surfers were in wet suits now, and from her distance, she couldn't quite make out which one was Liam. But then the announcers called off their names in order, and she kept her gaze focused on him. There wasn't a lot of action at first. Everyone seemed to be waiting, and then finally someone took off. That person started out strong, then spun off the board in the middle of a turn and landed in the water.

  "That wasn't good," Lexie said as she sat down next to her.

  "It wasn't Liam."

  "I know. He's too good for that. At least, that's what I've heard. Brad and Tyler have raved about his surfing skills many times."

  "He's going now," she said, her nerves jumping as Liam chose the next wave. "That's a big one."

  "That will get him more points," Lexie said. "The higher the difficulty, the better the score."

  "And the better chance of getting hurt," she muttered, silently hoping it would all go well.

  "He's doing a great job," Lexie put in.

  She had no idea what the moves he was making were called, but his form did seem good, and he rode the wave all the way to the end.

  "That's going to be a good score," Lexie predicted.

  She turned toward the scoring table to see Liam's score posted on the digital board. It was high enough to put him in first place. "He's ahead," she said with delight.

  Lexie smiled, a new gleam in her brown eyes. "You like him, don't you?"

  "Yes," she admitted, tired of pretending otherwise. "But I'll be leaving soon."

  "Do you have to? Are you sure you can't talk your boss into letting you work remote permanently?"

  "I'm absolutely positive I can't do that."

  "Too bad. I don't know Liam that well, but what I know is impressive. When I first met him, I thought he'd be cocky, but he's really not."

  "No, he's not," she agreed. "He's really down-to-earth."

  "I hope he gets the Beach Shack. Would he leave town if he doesn't get it?"

  "I don't know."

  "Maybe he'd go to LA," Lexie suggested.

  "I don't think so," she said quickly.

  "You never know."

  "Well, I don't want to wish for that because he really wants that store, and he's worked hard to get it. I hope it happens for him." She didn't know why she felt so emotional at the end of her sentence. Maybe because this conversation was making her very aware of how little time they had left. But she had to stay in the moment, just enjoy where she was. She turned her gaze back to the ocean. "Are the waves getting bigger?"

  "I think so," Lexie said as they both watched a monster wave rise out of the sea and come crashing down. No one in the current heat, including Liam, had chosen to ride that wave, and Ava was happy about that. But she was less happy about the next wave beginning to build. "Do they ever bring the surfers in if it gets too rough?"

  "I don't know. I haven't been to that many competitions," Lexie said. "I'm sure Liam will be fine. He knows what to do out there."

  "Right. Of course he does." But she couldn't help thinking that Liam had a lot of motivation to stay out there. There was prize money on the line, maybe enough cash to help him buy the Beach Shack if John raised the price. Not that she thought it was worth more, but there was always an intangible value when the buyer was extremely motivated to go all in.