Hit & Run Bride (Hit & Run Bride Contemporary Romance Series) (9 page)

Once she was back in the shallow end, Liam helped her to a standing position. “That was great. You’re really coming along. You were nice and relaxed.”

“I feel great, honestly. I want to do it again.”

He laughed. “And we will. But I want to practice getting you to float on your back again.”

Her stomach pitched. “And just when I was having a good day.”

“You’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Famous last words,” she mumbled.

Liam helped her take off her flippers and deposited them with the kickboard at the edge of the pool. When he returned, she told herself to relax. Just because he was about to have his hands on her was no reason to panic...or jump his bones. This would be okay. No big deal.

She turned and assumed the position. Liam cleared his throat behind her then said, “Remember, the key is to stay as relaxed as possible. You can do this. You’ve already shown how badass you are kicking back and forth across this pool. Floating on your back is nothing for you.”

“Uh-huh.”

His hands were warm as they slid down her back. On a long exhale, Becca forced the thoughts of today out of her head and let Liam lead her into a floating position. His hands were low on her back, right above the curve of her ass, and her body tingled, but she kept breathing evenly. She didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Why don’t you tell me about something good that happened today?” His voice was soothing and calm.

Becca knew what he was doing. Keeping her talking so she wouldn’t think about sinking. “I can’t really think of anything.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, tell me what the heck a Tribot is? I keep thinking about it and can’t figure it out. Hell, I even Googled it.”

“You Googled it?” A laugh bubbled out unexpectedly, and she wobbled.

“Easy now, I have you.”

And he did. In that moment, she knew it. He was there for her, and nothing bad was going to happen while he was around. “Tribots are a specific type of girl. San Diego pretty. Tall, leggy, blond. They only eat organic, gluten-free, and fun-free. And they exercise like maniacs. Like more than can be good for you.”

“What’s wrong with working out? It can be fun.”

“Yeah, but my idea of fun is a Zumba dance class. Not running the Carlsbad Half for shits and giggles.”

He laughed. “Fair enough. What else categorizes a Tribot?”

“Well, she doesn’t do anything fun. And God forbid, if she catches you eating a candy bar, she practically shames you into spitting it out, and that’s just criminal.” She heard his laughter as she let her body go, completely forgetting about her discomfort. “And she complains about how she feels bloated in her size zero workout clothes.”

“Okay, yeah, that is annoying.”

“The worst part is, they all look at me and Van like we’re aliens. Van has the athletic body type, but she’s one of only three black people in the whole office of over a hundred employees. I swear she might kill the next person who asks if they can touch her braids.”

“Why do they look at you like you’re an alien?”

“You’re kidding right? I’m barely over five foot. I might be a size two, but I’m half Brazilian and have more ass than any of them put together. And I don’t try every workout fad or do juice cleansing like my self-worth depends on it.”

His laugh sounded very far away. “I can’t see you doing the workout fads.”

She smirked. “Okay, to be honest, because of work, we get all that equipment and stuff for free. In my spare room, I’ve got every single workout DVD known to mankind. Including that Insanity and Asylum nonsense. Van and I once spent an entire afternoon watching them and laughing our asses off at the instructor. I mean he refers to himself in third person all the time. Who does that?”

“Usually assholes.”

She was really relaxed because she felt so floaty. Liam’s voice seemed to echo in the distance. “Right? I even have one of those standing desk thingies. I mean, really? Like I’m going to stand up and work. Come on. I have a Kettlebell too. Though when I last tried to use it, I almost dropped it on my head. Then I thought I’d do that P90X nonsense and tweaked my back so bad I had to skip Zumba for a month.”

“How long have you been dancing?”

She thought back to trying on her mother’s old costumes. “Since I was a kid. Mom used to be a competition Latin dancer. Then she got married and quit. But as a little girl, I would try on all her old costumes and dance around. She showed me how to salsa, mambo, and all that stuff.”

“Maybe you’ll teach me.”

Holden had always refused to learn, saying he looked stupid. “Of course. It’s not too hard really. All in the hips.”

“Becca?”

“Mmmm?”

His soothing voice lapped over her like the warm water. “I want you to stay relaxed and listen to my voice.”

“Okay.”

“Now, slowly open your eyes, but don’t look around, just stare up at the ceiling.”

“Uhm, okay.” She let her lashes flutter open and blinked up at the enormous skylight. The nearly full moon lit the sky, obscuring the few stars that were visible.

“Good girl. Now take a deep breath.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Do you trust me, Becca?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

“Then take a deep breath.”

She did as she was told.

“Good.” She heard him inhale and exhale deeply. “You’ve been floating on your own for the past five minutes.”

Say what the fuck
? Becca blinked rapidly, then swallowed hard. But she listened to him and stayed calm. “Okay, now what do I do?”

She heard the laugh in his voice when he said, “Enjoy it.”

It was another several minutes before she noticeably felt Liam’s hands back on her back. He gently shifted her to a standing position, and she turned to grin at him. “Holy shit. That was fun.”

“This calls for a celebration. How about a latte on me?”

Just like she didn’t have to think about it when he’d asked if she trusted him, she didn’t need to think about her response. “Free latte? You do know your way to a woman’s heart.”

Chapter Seven

Growing up, Liam had spent most of his time with Dear Old Dad, learning to swim, learning to conquer goals, and learning how to be a champion. The one thing he’d learned from his mother was how to give a woman space when she needed it.

Becca was fighting some demons tonight, and not only because of her fear of the water. But he’d kept her talking, and floating—thank God—and he’d given her space, and the tools, to work through whatever was bothering her.

As she swung through the door to the tiny coffee shop a block over from the Club, she was still beaming. And bouncing. He loved how she had this little bounce in her step.

Now dressed in jeans and a Batman T-shirt, she bellied up to the counter and gave him a smile with enough megawatts to light Solona Beach from end to end. This carefree Becca was so much better than the tense Becca.

“What’s your poison?” he asked and watched her face as she scanned the menu board. She seemed to take the choices quite seriously.

“Iced mocha, skinny, extra whip.”

The gal behind the counter punched a couple of buttons on the cash register, grabbed a plastic cup from the nearby stack, and asked, “Name?”

Becca pointed at her shirt. “Batman. Who else?”

The gal smacked her gum and rolled her eyes. She sent the cup down to the kid working the espresso machine and returned to the cash register. “Is that it?”

Liam suppressed a smile. “Latte, extra shot, also skinny.”

Repeating her movements, she didn’t ask his name, simply wrote “Robin” on his cup and sent it to Mr. Espresso.

Becca found a table while Liam paid. By the time the counter gal made change, Becca’s drink was ready. “One iced mocha for The Dark Knight,” the kid yelled.

Becca grinned from the table as Liam retrieved it and walked over to her. “Cute,” he said, handing her the drink and sitting down next to her. The place was busy for so late at night, packed with mostly college kids, and the table she’d found barely seated two. He had to squeeze his legs under the booth and try not to jam his knees into hers.

“I try.” She played with her straw for a moment. “So who are you, Liam Swim Instructor? It occurred to me I don’t even know your last name.”

“It’s Caldwell. And apparently, I’m Robin to your Batman.”

“I always wanted my own personal Robin.”

With her husky voice, the comment sounded entirely dirty. Or maybe he’d been without a girlfriend too long. Luckily, the barista shouted his pseudonym and saved him from responding.

He jumped up, nearly knocking the table over, and went to get his drink. He took his time grabbing a few napkins and headed back to their table. What exactly was he going to talk to her about?

Swimming. Safe topic, right? But really, what was there to say? He shimmied back into his seat, sipped his latte. “Skinny but with whip, huh?”

She nodded, completely serious. “Gotta know where to cut calories and where not to.”

“I see.” He liked a woman who didn’t obsess over calories and would splurge for the good ones. “Are you enjoying your lessons?”

She scrunched up her face. “
Enjoying
might be the wrong word.”

He laughed. “Give it another couple of lessons, and I’ll ask again.”

“Are you avoiding telling me about yourself?”

Absolutely. Once women found out who he was, and who his family was, they changed. Things with Becca were going well. He wanted to keep them that way. “You’re not originally from around here, are you?”

Becca narrowed her eyes. “No. What, the lack of blond hair give me away? I’m from Princeton, New Jersey. And cool it on the Jersey jokes.”

That’s where the slight accent came from. “Beautiful area. I swam a time trial for Junior Olympics there once. Why’d you move out here?”

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I was working in New York for Bloomingdale’s corporate office. My boss and I had a difference of opinion on how to move my career forward, so I quit. Got a job out here and never looked back.”

“Do you miss it? Jersey?”

“Uhm, yeah, sometimes. My family is still there, and I miss the changing seasons. Princeton in the fall is stunning. But I don’t want to move back or anything. Lots of new places to see and explore.” She eyed his chest, and he felt the heat of her direct gaze. “Have you always loved water?”

There was a safe topic. “I was a water baby from the start. I grew up in it. My dad is a trainer, so I had free access to a pool every day. My older brother was just like me, and we spent our young years being chased out of the training areas by the dedicated swimmers.”

She smiled, and like always, it lit her face. Liam’s heart beat like he’d just swam a lap.

“Your dad’s a trainer? Like you?”

Not like me. Not at all.
“He’s a competitive trainer.”

“For swim competitions? Like, say, the Ironman?”

“Sort of. He’s trained kids for all kinds of competitions. His focus, though, is Olympic champions.”

Her eyes went wide. “No way. Has he trained anyone I would know? Like guys who won gold medals or something?”

Only a few dozen
. Liam ticked off the names of several gold medalists on his fingers and watched Becca’s mouth drop. “You’re kidding!”

“Nope. He’s the man.”

“No wonder you’re so good in the water.”

Yeah, no wonder.

“Did you ever want to be an Olympian?”

Only my entire young life
. “I dreamed of it for a while.”
Until my father worked me to the point of exhaustion for months on end
. “I developed swimmer’s shoulder, which led to tendonitis. Everything went downhill after that.”

“That sucks the big one.”

No apology or
pity in her tone—just the straight, unadulterated truth. He appreciated that. “It did suck, in many ways. My father and I were pretty tight up until that happened, then he didn’t have time for me. His dream of seeing me go to the Olympics died along with mine.”

“But thank God it happened.”

His brows rose. “What?”

“Well, I mean, if it hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here, and where would that leave me? I’ve taken swim lessons three times in my life and never got this far. So excuse me for being rude, but thank God your Olympic dream never materialized and you’re stuck helping crazy people like me overcome their fear of water.”

Laughter bubbled up inside him. She was such a refreshing change from the usual women he encountered at the Club and the bars Alex dragged him to. “My mother always says, we all have a purpose.”

“And yours is teaching me to swim.”

The way Becca smiled at him made his heart dance around in his chest again. He wasn’t supposed to fraternize with his clients, yet here he was…

To hell with the rules. “How about we meet again tomorrow night? I have something special planned for you.”