"I'm not being mysterious. I just like my privacy."
"Then I'll say goodnight." At that, she walked back to her car and got inside.
As she drove away, he felt a mix of emotions. The almost-collision had woken him up in a weird way, and it felt like something had shifted. He didn't feel numb anymore. His nerves were firing in an almost painful way. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Maybe once he got home, back in his apartment, behind a locked door, it would shift back…
Chapter Two
The pool at Ocean Shores was Kaia's favorite place. The water was where she let go of everything, all her worries, all her concerns, especially those that came from the job—the people she couldn't save and the ones she helped but couldn't stop worrying about, like Walter Cobb. He could have been badly hurt last night.
Thank God, Jax had stopped in time. Running into him had certainly been a surprise. And the fact that he'd spoken to her was even more surprising. He'd been skulking around in the shadows for months. But she didn't want to think about him right now. Ocean Shores on a Saturday morning in late June was a particular kind of paradise, and she just wanted to enjoy it.
The building was a sprawling beachside complex—two stories of sun-bleached stucco arranged around a central courtyard, with a pool at its heart and palm trees that threw long, swaying shadows across the deck. Bougainvillea climbed the south-facing walls, and the salt air drifted in from the beach across the parking lot.
It wasn't a fancy pool. The tile had been patched more than once, and the lounge chairs were old and somewhat lumpy, but the courtyard and pool were always alive in a way that other apartment buildings weren't. There was a feeling of community, of family, and no matter how many tenants tried to stay away from it all—like Jax Ridley—most eventually came around and became a part of the group.
But she wasn't sure what that would take when it came to him. She knew nothing about him, and when anyone asked, Josie, who was the manager of the building, just told them that she knew who he was and everyone needed to respect his privacy. So that's what they'd done, but she couldn't help being curious. And she wondered if the next time they ran into each other, he would say hello. She thought the odds were probably less than fifty-fifty.
Stripping off the skimpy cover-up she wore over her light-blue bikini, she stretched out on her usual lounger with a happy sigh. She'd applied her usual sunscreen to protect her fair skin, but she was lucky that she tanned instead of burned. It was an odd trait for someone with hair that was a mix of red, brown, and blonde. Chestnut, her mother had called her particular shades, but that was when she was a child. Now, she mostly thought of herself as a redhead. And she was fine with that. She liked being different.
"You look like you could use a drink." Lexie appeared beside her, holding out one of two glasses of iced tea with a sprig of mint. She wore a white bikini top with cutoff shorts, and her dark hair was pulled up in a messy knot. As Lexie sat down on the adjacent lounger, she said, "Damn, it's hot."
"Tell me about it." She took a long swig of the cold tea. "I'm so happy I do not have to put on my uniform again until Monday. Hopefully by then the heat will have broken."
"How was work yesterday?"
"Long."
"You still have a sub for a partner?"
"Yes. I got to spend eight hours with Eric Valero, the most annoying partner I have ever had."
Lexie smiled. "Did he ask you out again?"
"Of course. He does not take a hint. Oh, and he talked about wanting to move in here. I told him there were no openings. Maybe you could mention that to your aunt, in case he contacts Josie."
"I'll let her know. Did you see Emmalyn's text? She's having a crisis about the amount of lace in her wedding dress. She thinks it's too much, and she's made a terrible mistake."
"Emmalyn worries too much about what other people might think. She looks amazing in that dress. It's not my style, but it suits her perfectly."
"I agree. And she grew up in such austerity that she should have the wedding of her dreams and as much lace as she wants."
"Is she coming down to the pool?"
"No. She's going to run some errands before we meet her this afternoon for the final fitting of our bridesmaids' dresses. I can't believe her wedding is less than six weeks away."
"I have a feeling yours won't be too far off."
"Stop. Grayson hasn't proposed."
"He will," she said confidently. "The man is completely mesmerized by you."
"Now, you stop," Lexie said with a laugh. "Let's talk about something other than men."
"Ooh, I don't think I can, because I was just about to tell you that I ran into our mystery man, Jax Ridley, last night."
Lexie's eyes filled with surprise. "Really? Where?"
"Downtown. In the middle of the street. An old man walked right in front of his car. Jax stopped in time, thank goodness. I was right behind him, and I knew the man from a call I had earlier in the day, so I got out to help."
