‘You can say if I’m boring you,’ he said as I clamped my hands over the lower half of my face, eyes wide with apology. ‘I know, I’m a bird nerd.’
‘I’m so sorry, it’s not that,’ I exclaimed through a second, smaller yawn. ‘I only landed a couple of hours ago and the time difference is killing me. It’s a miracle I’m still awake, let alone standing up. I’d be much happier flat on my back in bed.’
The words were out before I realized what I’d said. Ren spluttered with laughter and I closed my eyes, willing time to do me a solid and rewind by about fifteen minutes or so.
‘What I meant to say was, I really need to get some sleep,’ I corrected, my cheeks burning with the heat of seven suns. ‘A lot of it. Urgently.’
‘Jet lag is a killer,’ he agreed, reaching one arm across his chest and clasping the opposite shoulder, his triceps flexing casually. I wasn’t even sure I had triceps. It was disgusting how handsome he was. ‘But I’m glad you stayed awake long enough to see the hawk.’
‘And I’m glad you’re not a pervert.’
He laughed again as I groaned at myself. What was wrong with me?
‘Sorry,’ I said again. ‘My mouth is completely bypassing my brain. I’m going to go before I say somethingreallystupid.’
‘Let me help you back up the stairs,’ he offered. ‘Unless you’d rather go through the house?’
I glowered at the steep, shallow steps that led back up to the terrace. The front door was locked and my keys were upstairs on the kitchen counter. There was only one way I was getting back up.
‘I’m sure I can do it,’ I said, steeling myself. ‘But if I do fall, please leave me to die. Suzanne says you have to pay to go to hospital here and I forgot to get travel insurance.’
‘OK, but I’m going to need that in writing,’ Ren replied. ‘I’ve heard your sister yelling at people on the phone. She wasn’t even talking to me and I was still afraid of her.’
I smiled proudly.
‘That’s my Suzanne. Absolutely petrifying, isn’t she?’
With the promise of a hot shower and a good night’s sleep in a king-sized bed hovering in front of me, I grabbed hold of the exposed root sticking out of the hillside and scrabbled around in the dirt, trying to find my footing. Climbing up the stairs required a lot more strength and focus than climbing down, but I was determined not to embarrass myself in front of my sister’s god-like neighbour. At least not any more than I already had.
‘You said your grandad used to do this every day?’ I huffed, looking back after climbing what felt like Mount Everest only to discover I was about three feet off the ground. ‘Was he part mountain goat?’
‘The stairs were cut in a little deeper back then,’ Ren admitted, slapping his palm against the dirt. ‘And there used to be a real railing at the side which made life easier, and abuelito didn’t have to climb over such a high fence at the top – your sister added that.’
‘Practically exactly the same as it is now then,’ I said with a grunt, my foot slipping out from underneath me as I felt around for the next step. ‘I’m OK,’ I yelled, dangling precariously. ‘But like I said, I’ve no health insurance. Unless I stop breathing all together, I’m sure I’ll be able to walk off any injuries.’
‘Let me help,’ he offered. ‘I’ve got you.’
‘Got me how?’ I asked, glancing down between my legs just in time to see him bend over and squat down, positioning himself directly underneath me before hoisting me up onto his shoulders. I shrieked with surprise, clamping my thighs around his neck and grabbing at his head, clutching handfuls of hair as tightly as I could.
‘It would be great if you could take your hands off my eyes,’ he said, arms outstretched like Frankenstein’s hot monster. ‘This feels like one of those moments where being able to see would be a real bonus.’
‘Sorry,’ I squealed, moving my hands from off his eyes and into his hair as we rose upwards. ‘It’s been a long time since I had someone’s head between my legs. I mean, my legs around someone’s head. I mean, well, both actually.’
‘Please don’t make me laugh or we’re both dead,’ Ren replied through gritted teeth, holding me steady as he climbed.
‘My name is Phoebe and I say stupid things when I’m in awkward situations,’ I whispered, ignoring visions of Therese smiling and shaking her head. The moment it was within reach, I grabbed hold of the fence and hauled myself up and over with all the grace of a drunken guinea pig, and only once I was sure there wassolid ground beneath my feet did I turn back to see Ren casually hanging one handed from the tree root, muddy marks up and down his bare chest.
‘Oh no,’ I said slowly. ‘I made a mess of your … body.’
‘Pretty sure it’ll come off in the shower,’ he replied, dropping down into his garden and rubbing at his skin. But rubbing only made more of a mess, smearing it across his pecs and his abs and it was all too much for my tired, confused brain. I hadn’t felt anything approaching a knicker flicker in so long and I was suddenly both intensely aroused and deeply confused, almost certain I was one bicep flex away from spontaneously combusting. He wasn’t even my type, far too perfect, but some things were beyond reason and one of them was Ren Garcia’s six pack. It wasn’t my fault, it was the jet lag. Twenty-four hours without sleep combined with twelve plus hours of watching Taylor Lautner with his top off on the plane. It couldn’t be helped.
‘I’m going to go inside,’ I announced. ‘Thank you for … that.’
‘Great to meet you, Phoebe,’ he said, raising a hand in farewell. ‘I hope you have a great vacation. Let me know if you need anything at all.’
Slack-jawed, I watched him walk back to his house, muscles rippling under the skin of his back as he brushed himself down, wondering just how far that offer extended.
I’d only been in LA for a few hours and I’d already seen a hawk, been attacked by a flock of parrots, abandoned by my sister and muddied the torso of a very handsome man.
