When they arrived at the table, Baker picked up her cooler and nonchalantly put the strap around his free arm. Then he looked around for a moment, and upon seeing Rome, whistled loudly. The boy looked over at them, and Baker used his head to direct the kid over.
Jody could only shake her head in amusement when Rome immediately jogged toward them.
“What’s up?” he asked Baker.
“Jodelle and I are headed out. You good?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll let the others know?”
“Sure.”
“Great.”
“We’re planning on riding the waves at Laniakea Beach at dawn patrol on Wednesday. Wanna join us?” he asked, using the slang for surfing first thing in the morning.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Baker said. He held out his fist and Rome gave him a fist bump. “Stay outta trouble,” he warned. “Don’t make Jodelle worry.”
“We will, and we won’t,” Rome said with a grin.
“Don’t stay too late,” Jody warned, not able to help herself.
“I won’t,” Rome said. “You coming to the last day of the competition tomorrow?” he asked.
Jody opened her mouth to say that yes, of course she’d be there, but Baker beat her to it.
“Nope. You guys’ll be on your own.”
“Baker!” Jody exclaimed, but he kept his eyes on the teenager.
“No problem. The finals are tomorrow and we’re stoked to watch,” Rome answered with another smile.
Baker nodded at him. “We’ll catch up to you later then.”
“Later!” Rome called, then turned and jogged back to the girl he’d been talking to before Baker had summoned him.
Jody shook her head at the seemingly endless energy the boy had. Then she turned to the man beside her. “Seriously, Baker, that wasn’t cool.”
“Come on, yell at me on the way out of this craziness,” Baker said, steering her toward the parking lot and her VW van. It was her pride and joy…as it had been Kaimana’s. It was in pristine shape and she’d splurged to give it a funky, wild paint job, complete with flowers and peace signs.
All too soon, she found herself behind the wheel and backing out of the parking space she’d been lucky enough to score early that morning, before the sun came up and the tourists started descending on Waimea Bay.
She shook her head and chuckled.
“What?” Baker asked from the seat next to her.
Jody was grateful he hadn’t insisted on driving. No one drove her baby but her. “I have no idea how this happened. Or even what’s happening,” she told him.
“What’s happening is that I’m done fuckin’ around.”
Jody looked over at him in surprise. “What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
Jody frowned and divided her attention between the man lounging in the seat next to her and trying not to hit idiot drivers in front of her. She wanted to press Baker for more info. Wanted him to explain what he was talking about. He was acting so different today, and it was unsettling. Jody couldn’t help but feel a zing of excitement in her veins too. Still, she refused to get too worked up. Baker couldn’t be interested in her. She was too…normal. He needed a woman who was fit, prettier, more outgoing, ready for adventure. Simply more than Jody was.
She’d drop Baker off at his place, then go home to her small house. Things between them would go back to normal, and she’d continue with her somewhat boring and predictable life. Whatever had caused Baker to feel as if he needed to watch over her today would fade in his mind, and that would be that.
A pang of disappointment swept through Jody, but she refused to let it take hold. She’d gotten very good at keeping her real feelings from showing on her face.
She was a shadow of the woman she used to be…and that was fine with her. More than fine. The best thing that had ever happened to her had been snatched away cruelly, and she wasn’t going to risk her heart or soul by caring so much for someone else ever again. It was safer, and more comfortable, to live on the sidelines. To merely be a spectator. Once Baker got whatever this wild hair was out of his system, he’d move on.
Satisfied with her train of thought, Jody glanced over at the man. She swallowed hard when she saw his gaze was glued on her, instead of the road in front of them. Uncomfortable with being the subject of his intense scrutiny, she said, “You’re gonna tell me where to go when we get close, right?”
“Of course.”
Jody nodded, turned her attention back to the road, and refused to read anything into what she’d seen in Baker’s eyes.
Determination.
Stubbornness.
And a tenderness she hadn’t seen turned her way since she was a newlywed.
CHAPTER TWO
Baker held open his front door for Jodelle and couldn’t stop the feeling of satisfaction when she walked past him and the door was firmly shut. The petite woman was the first guest he’d ever invited into his home…and having her there felt right.
From the moment he’d met her, shortly after she’d started coming to the beach to watch over the kids, Baker had felt a connection. He couldn’t explain it, and honestly, it had made him so uncomfortable, he’d gone out of his way to treat her as nothing more than an acquaintance. But over the last year or so, she’d gotten even further under his skin without even trying. Watching his friends find and marry the loves of their lives…and seeing them actually make those relationships work…made him yearn for something more in his life.
He’d only ever had one long-term girlfriend. And that had been enough for him to be turned off of relationships for good. He’d treated Tabitha like gold, and in return, she’d emptied his bank account, taken out twenty-three credit cards in his name, and had actually plotted to kill him. It was like a fucking crime show. She’d played him, and he’d been so desperate for love at the time, to find what everyone else had, that he’d bought into her bullshit.
She hadn’t even done any jail time either, which pissed him off to no end. Her daddy had hired the most expensive and successful lawyer he could find, and she’d gotten off with probation and some fines.
Baker had sworn off women from that point on. Refusing to spend more than a few nights with the same person before ghosting them. He was an asshole, he knew that…but now, for the first time in years, he wanted more.
Wanted it all.
Jodelle. The first time he’d heard her name, Baker had thought it was the most beautiful name he’d ever heard. She’d laughed the first time he’d called her that and told him that everyone used her nickname, Jody. But he refused. He’d always think of her as Jodelle.
He’d fought against her pull for months. For years, actually. And he couldn’t fight it anymore. He’d hoped the connection he felt would fade. Actually, Baker was sure she’d do something to piss him off or annoy him. Something that would prove she was just like most of the other women he knew. But instead, the longer he got to know Jodelle, the more he liked her.
She was sensitive. Introspective at times. Didn’t feel the need to fill a silence with idle chatter. She genuinely cared about the kids she kept her eye on. That had been proven time and time again. She was selfless, not pretentious, and Baker definitely liked how she looked in a bathing suit. She was curvy in all the places a woman should be curvy.