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  “No kidding, first time at the beach? Where are you from?”

  “A small town in Louisiana by the Mississippi border…before that a small town in Tennessee.” I couldn’t look at him anymore and started walking again, slowly, concentrating on the tiny shells imbedded in the sand. I knew my proclivity for blushing when I was embarrassed or overly excited was giving me away right now. And the thought of that made me feel even more embarrassed, and my face flushed hotter.

  “Ah, I thought I heard a southern accent. It’s cute,” he said. My heart thumped deafeningly in my ears.

  “Thanks….well, I gotta go,” I mumbled, torn between wanting to stay there with him forever, and sprinting away as fast as I possibly could.

  “What’s the big rush?” I glanced up and saw his brilliant smile that matched the sparkle in his eyes. “You didn’t even tell me your name.”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “I’m asking now.”

  I braced myself and looked him straight in the eyes. “I’m Calista McCoy.”

  “Calista…” His mouth rolled over my name, and I loved the way it sounded coming from his lips. “It’s very nice to meet you, Calista McCoy. My name is Nicholas Mancini,” the beautiful boy said.

  “Hi.”

  He smiled again, ignoring my less-than-friendly tone. “You moved up there?” he asked, motioning toward the bluff. “I didn’t know anyone was living there but some crazy old recluse. ’Course I’ve not really been around here much myself lately.”

  “Yeah…my dad just started working for the woman who lives there,” I said, slightly miffed at his description of Ana.

  “Cool. I live in the grey one over there.” He pointed four houses over. “Well, actually, my mom lives there. I’m just visiting. I mostly live in New York with my dad.”

  “Oh.”

  He laughed again. “Okay then. Well, I just wanted to say ‘hi’. I’ll let you go if you have somewhere you really need to be…”

  I could’ve kicked myself. Here he was trying to be friendly, and I was coming across like an uptight idiot. I wished I’d been prepared for this moment – thought of something to say. Anything.

  But my mind was blank. I had no natural ability for small talk. I was so used to being ignored by people, and had never had a boy talk to me like this before. Like he was actually interested in anything I might say. Suddenly, I felt like everything I said and did was wrong. And my skin hadn’t stopped prickling since I laid eyes on him. But now that he was closer, the tingling had reached far into my gut and into my chest.

  I wanted it to stop.

  Fortunately, Max chose this moment to interrupt the awkwardness, and he dropped a soggy tennis ball at my feet and barked expectantly.

  “He wants you to throw it,” Nicholas said. Then he turned to the dog as if he were coddling a small child. “No, Max, she can’t play with us right now, she has somewhere very important to be…awww…don’t cry buddy. I’ll play with you…don’t be so sad.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh when Max looked up at me with pleading eyes and whimpered softly – no doubt his ‘begging’ act. Nicholas patted him again.

  “All right, okay…No fair ganging up on me like that,” I conceded. “I’m not a very good thrower, though.”

  “That’s fine; just give it a toss out in the water. And stand back when he returns it to you. I’ll grab it from him so you don’t get wet,” he said, eyeing my silky pink dress.

  The warm blush returned to my cheeks as his eyes lingered over my bodice. I picked up the ball and threw it into the small waves several yards out. Max gamely sprinted away.

  “Sometimes it takes him a while to find the ball, but he always does,” Nicholas said proudly.

  “He’s a beautiful dog. You’re lucky…I’ve never had one.”

  Nicholas squinted slightly. Maybe it was just the sun, but his eyes appeared to glow almost neon green. Contacts. Had to be.

  “Yeah…Max is great.” He let out a low laugh that sent pulses down my neck.

  I stepped away and directed my gaze to where Max was bouncing through the surf. So many strange emotions flooded through me, preventing me from reading any of Nicholas’s feelings. Maybe if I didn’t look at his dark angelic face, or stand too close to his masculine body—maybe then I’d be able to talk to him. He seemed so easy going and friendly. And something about him felt vaguely familiar, like maybe I'd seen him somewhere before.

  I quickly dismissed that last thought—it was ludicrous. It would’ve been utterly impossible to forget that face if I’d ever seen it before anywhere…the kind of face you could see for only a brief moment, but remember the rest of your life.

  “So you don’t really live here… you’re just visiting?” I asked, staring at the water.

  “Yeah. My parents are divorced. My mom’s an actress and has to travel a lot for shoots. She’s leaving for Canada for three months, so I came out here to visit her for a bit before she left.”

  “Oh,” I said, trying not to sound as disappointed as I felt. “How long are you here for?”

  “I’m leaving tonight, actually. She’s dragging me to some nightmare dinner party in Beverly Hills, and then I’m catching the red-eye back to New York afterward.”

  He stopped talking and ran over to intercept Max, who was bounding toward me at lightning speed, the ball in his mouth dripping with seawater. Max sat and wagged his tail, waiting for me to throw it again. Which I did, after Nicholas shook it off.

  “Does Max live with you in New York, too?” I asked.

  He sighed. “No, I wish, but the place we live in doesn’t allow dogs. Besides, he’s a beach pup—I couldn’t take him away from his favorite place.”

  “That’s too bad. You must miss him when you’re away. Who looks after him?” They seemed like best friends.

  “Mom’s gardener Frank and his son Joey are pretty much his surrogate dads. They love him almost as much as I do, which helps to know…” He paused to run interference again, but this time Max seemed tired. After shaking his coat and spraying us both, he spun around in a circle and flopped down on the moist sand.

  “Lazy bones,” Nicholas scolded lightly. “This is supposed to be our exercise time and he’s already pooped out on me. We’re supposed to jog down to the pier, and look at him! He thinks it’s already naptime!” His scolding was tempered by a loving smile.

  My heart gave a strange flutter as I imagined it was me he was looking upon with so much affection.

  “You’re jogging all the way to the pier and back?” Suddenly, I wished I could trade places with the lucky dog, even if it meant running five miles in a dress.

  “Yeah…I try to every day when I’m out here. It’s such a great stretch of beach. And since this part is private, I hardly see anyone, usually.” He looked at me through lowered lashes and smiled sexily. “Today was a most pleasant surprise.”

  His flirtatious words caught me off guard, and any ease I had begun to feel in his presence quickly disappeared.

  “Well, I really shouldn’t keep you then…I need to get going anyways. It was nice to meet you,” I said, facing his direction, but refusing to look directly into his hypnotizing eyes.

  I hitched up my dress and kneeled to give Max a pat on his back. “Bye, Max. It was nice meeting you.” He rewarded me with a sloppy lick on my forearm.

  “He really enjoyed meeting you too, Calista. Maybe he’ll get to play with you again sometime.”

  I made the mistake of looking up. His eyes met mine, and flooded me with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. “Do I know you from somewhere?” I blurted.

  Stupid stupid stupid! Did I really just say that out loud?

  He arched a dark eyebrow and looked at me intently. “I don’t know… Do you?” he asked.

  I stood up quickly and smoothed out my dress. “No, sorry…you just reminded me of someone for a moment. Anyways, I really have to go.” Now I felt like I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. Why, oh why, am I such a dork?<
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  “Okay, I understand. And welcome to Crystal Cove. I hope you like it here,” he said, running his gaze up and down the full length of my body.

  My heart throbbed dully. I knew I’d like it a lot more if he was going to be around. My first ‘almost friend’—a majorly foxy one at that— and already he was leaving me.

  Reluctantly, I turned and headed for the grassy entrance of Ana’s estate. Nicholas loped off in the direction of the pier, giving Max a sharp whistle that immediately sprang him back to life.

  After several steps, I peeked over my shoulder and watched them running side-by-side. As they moved further away, a strange tugging in my gut made me regret my hasty departure. By the time they were nothing more than tiny specks in the distance, an unfamiliar sadness consumed me. The feeling of emptiness spread throughout my body, and I hoped and prayed that by some miracle I’d see Nicholas again, someday.

  Someday very soon.

  Chapter 4. The Room

  I took my time returning, wandering up the backside of the estate and slowly strolling through the gardens. I told myself it was because I wanted to see more of the magnificent grounds in the daylight, and gather my thoughts before facing Ana. This was only half-true.

  Mostly, I wanted to think about Nicholas.

  I'd never had a real conversation with a guy like him before. The boys at my old school were so immature and standoffish, and they'd never shown the slightest interest in me. That was fine, though. The feeling was more than mutual.

  But I had wondered if maybe there was something decidedly unattractive or wrong about me. Here I was, sixteen years old, and had never so much as had a crush on a boy, let alone actually kissed one. To most other girls my age, sex and boys were like air and water. But for some reason, I didn’t seem to even exist to members of the male species. And to be perfectly honest, the girls had always ignored me just as much as the boys had.

  Nicholas was different. He actually saw me. And he seemed so sure of himself. Not stuck-up or arrogant. More like…aware. And he didn’t put on any sort of macho act like so many guys my age felt they had to do in order to be cool.

  No, he wasn't like them at all. And even though my experience with the opposite sex was pitifully non-existent, this was someone I wanted to know. Someone I needed to know. Someone I needed to have know me.

  As I rounded a corner, lost in my thoughts, I suddenly jumped back—startled by the two horrific beasts that appeared right in front of me from out of nowhere. A scream started in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it once I realized they were only statues.

  Atop large pillars, the two hideous gargoyles glowered at me, their marble faces twisted in grotesque expressions. I shivered and quickly looked away. Why would anyone want those foul-looking creatures marring their property? I was especially surprised to see them here, in a place so perfectly tranquil and beautiful.

  I veered away from the disturbing sight, and came upon a bird sanctuary. As I watched the brightly colored birds chirp happily in the trees, my thoughts returned to Nicholas. Try as I might, I couldn’t ignore the nagging self-doubt that crept into my mind.

  He doesn’t even live here…and he’s gorgeous…and rich…and his mother is probably someone really famous and important—even though I didn’t think to ask him about that. Maybe that’s why he seemed so familiar. And how old is he, anyway? A guy like him is sure to have plenty of experience with girls…and much prettier and more sophisticated girls than me!

  Thoroughly deflated, I pushed away the memory of Nicholas and headed in to see Ana.

  *****

  I tapped lightly on the kitchen door, calling out a “hello” as I entered, and was met with the delicious smell of frying bacon. A fat, black-haired woman wearing a white apron stood in the middle of the kitchen, stirring something in a bowl.

  She didn’t seem surprised to see me; she just glanced up and gave a quick nod. “You must be Calista…name’s Delilah, but you can call me Dee. Ana’s meeting with some guests right now. Go on and have a seat in the sunroom, she’ll be right along. You hungry?”

  “Nice to meet you, Dee. I already ate, thank you.”

  She nodded and turned back to her cooking. I walked to the back of the house to wait for Ana. The sunroom was a large glass-enclosed area filled with abundant greenery and white wicker furniture. It also had a one hundred eighty degree view of the ocean. I gazed through the clear panes to the coastline and beyond, pleasantly surprised that from this vantage point I could see part of the pier off in the distance.

  I sat up a little straighter. Would I be able to catch a glimpse of Nicholas and Max when they made their trek back up the shore? But a few seconds later I slunk back down in my seat, annoyed with myself. How could someone I just met—and for only a few minutes— affect me like this? Do I have a crush on him? Ugh, am I really one of those girls who crushes on a boy because of his pretty face?

  I rolled my eyes in disgust.

  But deep down I knew it wasn’t just his good looks that had left me in such a state. It was something else. But what? I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was almost like getting something I hadn’t even realized I desperately needed. Why hadn’t I stayed and talked with him longer? Why was I such a chicken?

  I was craning my neck again to see the pier when Ana breezed into the room. Any thoughts of Nicholas were crammed to a corner of my mind as she flooded the spacious sunroom with her fear and nervousness.

  “Good morning, my darling.” She smelled like fresh jasmine as she greeted me with a kiss. “Don’t you look especially lovely this morning? Radiant.” She smiled wide.

  “Hi, Ana. Thanks.” I gave her a tepid hug, unnerved by her emotions. They didn’t make sense, and the fact that she was acting like everything was hunky dory made me uncomfortable and suspicious. Then I noticed she wasn’t alone.

  “Calista, I want you to meet some dear friends of mine.” Ana placed her hand on the arm of one of the women and said, “This is Cleopatra Amador.” I smiled at the jolly looking woman, who surprised me by rushing forward and giving me a warm embrace.

  “Welcome, my child,” she said with a happy grin, and stepped back.

  “This is Arianna Van Arken.” Ana motioned to the slender, stern-faced woman, who gave a courteous nod.

  “Fascinating,” Arianna muttered before giving me a brief hug.

  “And this is Jackson Davenport,” Ana said, indicating the tall, distinguished gentleman. He bowed slightly. “They wanted to meet you before they left.”

  I was taken aback by their overt interest in me. But I plastered a polite smile on my face. “Nice to meet y’all.”

  “Thank you, Ana. I believe we have what we need. We’ll be on our way now,” Cleopatra said. The three of them kissed Ana on the cheek and left us alone in the parlor.

  Ana and I sat down. “There are a lot of people who are very anxious to meet you…your arrival has caused quite the stir, I must say.”

  “Really?” Now I was definitely puzzled. “Why?”

  She looked away. “I see the dress fits nicely. That’s good,” she said, avoiding my question. I glanced down at the sundress. It did fit perfectly, and I wondered how she’d known my exact sizes down to a fraction of an inch. But before I had a chance to ask her, she stood up.

  “Come now, I want to show you around.” Ana directed me into a large room with two fireplaces and several couches nestled among large white pillars. “As I said last night, I want you to feel comfortable here. I know it may seem a bit…well, a bit much at first, but I hope someday you’ll feel as at home here as I do.”

  Staring at the enormous expanse of the room, I didn’t think that was very likely anytime soon. All this space for just one person must get terribly lonely. Maybe that’s why she was so eager for some company.

  Ana was smiling again, and her warm energy slowly edged away some of her nervousness. Although I could tell she was still worried about something, she was much more optimistic than she had been. I imagined it had som
ething to do with her guests.

  “Is my dad already here?” I asked as we wandered through one of the many hallways.

  “He was, but I sent him on a little errand for me. I've decided to restore the north wing of the house, and we need a few more handymen. Your father will be in charge of them, of course, so he and Henri went to the ranch of a friend of mine to hire a few of their spare workers.”

  “Wow, restoring the north wing? That’s kind of a big deal isn’t it? Won’t it be real noisy?” The thought of grinding saws and hammering seemed like an affront to this peaceful paradise.

  “No, not at all. It’s not major work – just some superficial repairs and a few redesigns. The north wing is the furthest from the main house so the noise shouldn’t be a problem. We probably won’t even know they're here.”

  I was happy Dad had steady work again. For all the strain it put on his body, he genuinely enjoyed doing construction. He’d always said how using his hands, creating and fixing things, gave him a feeling of satisfaction. It was something real – something you could see and touch. And it helped other people, and that made him proud.

  We wandered around the first floor a bit longer, and then headed up one of the two sweeping staircases leading to the second floor.

  “Up here are the bedrooms.” Ana pointed. “Mine is down that end of the hall. The rest are guest rooms, as I frequently have friends who visit. Around the corner is where the house staff live. You’ve met Henri and Delilah, but there is also Medela, who does the housekeeping.”

  Even though I still wasn’t sure if I could trust her, it made me feel a little better knowing that Ana didn’t live here all alone. She was amazingly spry for her age, but I didn’t like thinking that something could happen, and no one would be here to help her. She’d been so nice to Dad and me so far.

  Suddenly, she turned to me. “Such a kind girl,” she said, touching my shoulder lightly. “You have such a good heart.”