Listed: Volume I by Noelle Adams Page B

breathlessly, “No crisis. Just a fish or
something swam by me and scared me. Now turn around. I’m getting out.”
    Paul
obediently turned his back to her, and she waded out of the water and onto the
sand.
    “That
was fantastic!” she burst out, dripping with water as she leaned over to pick
up her towel. “Oh, my God, I’m so glad we did that!” Her teeth chattered helplessly,
but she didn’t care.
    “I’m
glad you enjoyed it, but hurry up and get dressed so we can get you back in the
car. You’re shivering.”
    She
darted him a surprised look, but his back was still toward her, so he must have
heard her shivering in her voice. “Okay. Just a second.”
    She
dried off as well as she could and pulled back on the bottom of her suit. She
decided to forgo the tankini top since it would feel binding and restrictive
now, and they had a drive back to the city. She just pulled her knit dress over
her head.
    “Okay,”
she said, trying to towel dry some of the wetness out of her hair and step into
her sandals at the same time. “All done.”
    Paul
turned around, and he was smiling at her. For once, his smile looked real.
    Spontaneously,
just responding to an irresistible instinct, she reached over and gave him a
hug. “Thank you,” she said, her mouth muffled by his shirt, “For taking me.”
    Paul
felt a little stiff, like he had the last time she’d hugged him. He put both of
his arms around her this time, however, and actually hugged her back. “You’re
welcome.”
    She
was pulling away, still shivering from being so wet in the brisk air, when he
frowned and studied her face. “You’re freezing.”
    “Not
freezing, but I wouldn’t say no to getting back in the car.”
    As
they walked, his eyes scanned her in close assessment. She knew he was just looking
for signs of her having gotten sick from the cold—since he seemed to be hung up
on that idea—but something about the way his gaze came back to her chest a
couple of times made her look down at herself.
    The
cotton of her dress had gotten damp from her hair, and it was clinging
resiliently. The thin fabric clearly revealed the unsupported curves of her
breasts and the outline of her tight nipples.
    She
blushed a little—unable to suppress the self-consciousness—but Paul didn’t seem
affected by the sight, other than his initial distraction.
    He
could have the most beautiful women in the city without even making an effort.
He wasn’t likely to get excited by a stray glimpse of her quite unexceptional
body.
    He
opened the passenger door for her calmly and shut it behind her before he went
to get in the driver’s seat.
    After
he turned the car on and adjusted the heat, he smiled at her gently. “Do you
want to get something hot to drink on the way home?”
    She
smiled back at him, fighting the instinct to be annoyed with him just because
he was giving her that gentle look she hated. “Yeah, that would be great.
Thanks.”
    By
the time Paul stopped at a nearby quick shop and came back with two cups of hot
chocolate, Emily was feeling good again. She was tired and still kind of wet,
but she felt like she’d accomplished something, and Paul wasn’t bad company at
all.
    They
didn’t talk much on the drive home. Emily turned the music up again, and Paul
drove fast. She didn’t sing this time, just listened and let herself get swept
up in the heady rhythm of the music and the motion of the car. There was a kind
of rich momentum to the combination of speed and sound on the dark road that
was hypnotizing, compelling.
    Whenever
Paul glanced over at her, she made sure to smile at him—so he knew she was
enjoying the drive.
    She
thought maybe he was too.
    When
they pulled back into the private parking deck under their building, Emily
grinned and pulled her list out of her pocket.
    She
unfolded it and laid it on her knee. Without prompting, Paul reached down to a
little compartment of his door and groped until he’d found a pen.
    He
handed it to her with