“I don’t want to wreck things by overstepping lines,” he said. “I like you too much to do that.”

I felt the gentle thud of his heart against my cheek and it was comforting. His thumb caressed the bare skin of my shoulder. Being in his arms felt right. I just had to work out how Heath fit into my life.

After a while, he disentangled himself from our embrace, gently laying me onto my back and shifting onto his side so he was looking down at me. He gave me a half-smile. The back of his fingers found my cheek and drifted down to my neck, setting tiny fires beneath my skin.

We were close, enough for me to feel the strong thump of his heart and the gentle whisper of his breath on my face. His eyes dropped to my mouth and seemed to glaze over as he scraped his white teeth across his bottom lip. Soft fingertips followed his line of vision, tracing invisible lines across my lips. His brow furrowed and I shivered, waiting for him to lean forward and kiss me. Willing him to lean forward and kiss me.

I closed my eyes. California Harlow was yelling at me to say to hell with it and begged me to go for it.

To reach out. And. Just. Kiss. Him!

Up here in this magical place my reckless inner voice was far louder than it was in the cold reality of daylight.

But I was at the edge, done with resisting him, ready to dive in.

Drunk on the starlit atmosphere I about to step off the edge when he said, “Don’t worry H-bomb. I’m not going to kiss you. I know we can’t be anything more than friends. And I don’t want to fuck up what we have by trying.” His fingers were tender across my cheek. “It’s better this way. I’ve never had a girl who was just a friend. Other than my friends’ girlfriends.” He smiled and it was the most incredible smile I had ever seen. “I think I’m going to like it.”

I took a giant step back from the edge and California Harlow threw herself on the floor with a cry. She had missed her chance.

Georgia Harlow breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Somehow Georgia Harlow was able to keep dodging the bullets California Harlow shot her way.

Chapter Five

My friendship with Heath seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Almost immediately we slipped into a comfortable and often comical routine, which usually consisted of Heath flirting rapaciously with me and me reproaching him. It was easy with him. Relaxed. We talked easily, about everything, and we laughed, sometimes until our stomachs ached. Heath seemed to like me close. I didn’t know why. I just knew I liked it.

We both knew it couldn’t be anything more. I would be gone in the Fall and Heath seemed happy with whatever we were. In fact, he seemed more interested in spending time with me than the string of women who offered themselves up to him every time he stepped out his front door.

It confused me sometimes and I often wondered what he wanted from me. But there was no point in trying to make sense of it. I couldn’t compare what we were to anything because I didn’t know what we compared to. Other than best friends. He was protective like a brother, flirty like a lover, attentive like a boyfriend, and as fun as a best friend.

Yes it confused me. But it also made me smile whenever I thought about it.

If he wasn’t performing somewhere, he would be waiting for me at the end of my shift at The Palace to take me home. On my days off he would turn up on his bike and we would spend the day together. Sometimes we’d just spend the day riding up or down the coast, and other days were spent at the beach or exploring local sights.

I hadn’t seen him with a girl since Anastasia at the coffee shop. I told myself it wouldn’t bother me when I did. But as the days passed I began to wonder. The lines were beginning to blur, no matter how much I insisted they weren’t.

When Fat Tony gave me a weekend off so I could do some sightseeing, Piper and I drove up to San Diego to visit the colorful Bazaar Del Mundo for some shopping and pre-lunch margaritas.

After more shopping at the Horton Plaza, we drove to the Coronado Ferry Landing to explore the stores. Then we visited the legendary Hotel Del Coronado where we sat out in the sun at the Sun Deck Bar and Grill and had lunch, enjoying the sea breeze blowing in off the Pacific Ocean.

Vengeance had left town during the week to attend a two day festival just out of Tuscan and were due back sometime over the weekend. Because they didn’t have the cost for flights, they were taking the Greyhound and Bandit and Devo were driving a beat-up tour van full of gear. It meant they didn’t know when they would roll back into town.

Piper and I decided to have a girl’s night in on the Saturday night, complete with face masks, cucumber eye packs and a few pitchers of homemade sangrias.

“So what’s happening with you and Heath?” Piper asked over a third glass of pretty potent sangria.

“We’re friends,” I replied, applying a second coat of polish to my toes.

“Friends? That’s all?”

“Yeah. That’s all.”

“Does he know?”

I shook the bottle of nail polish. “He understands I’m not looking for anything more than that.”

“He might understand that … but …”

“But…?”

She paused, looking at me. “It’s just … I’ve never seen Heath like this.”

“Like what?”

“When he looks at you, it’s like you’re the only person in the room.”

I shrugged and wiggled my toes to help dry the polish.

“We’re just friends. And he understands that. He’s probably with some hottie right now, as we speak.”

Secretly I hoped I was wrong.

Piper picked a shade of nail polish from the basket and shook it. “Probably.”

It was an offhanded reply. But one I felt in the pit of my stomach. To distract me from the idea I focused on painting my toenails again. If I were honest, I hated the idea of Heath touching, kissing and loving another girl while I sat there missing him. Which was just ridiculous. Because he wasn’t mine.

“Want me to call Jesse and find out?” she asked.

When I looked up she was looking at me. It was a gentle, kind look. As if she somehow knew what I was thinking and wanted to put my fears at ease.

I shrugged and then shook my head.

“If Heath wants to play with other girls then he can. Like I said, we are just friends.”

She reluctantly nodded.

“Okay.” She went back to painting her toes. “But what happens at the end of summer?”

“At the end of summer I go home.”

“And Heath?”

“Heath?” I looked up. “Heath keeps being Heath. He’ll be fine.”

She scoffed. “Are you kidding me? If you leave at the end of summer, he’ll shatter like a porcelain doll.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She sighed and shook her hair. “When are you going to face the facts? That boy is crazy about you.”

“Crazy is right,” I joked. Then added, “As a friend maybe. Nothing more.”

She shook her head. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he is in love with you.”

“What?” I waved her off. “No way. Apparently he doesn’t do love.”

She shrugged. “Well he does now. He just hasn’t worked it out yet.”

I should have wanted her to be wrong. But part of me hoped she was right. I had to push the thought away before I over analyzed it. What Heath and I had was a friendship. We would never have a love affair. It would ruin what we had when I upped and left.

After two pitchers of Sangria and a whole lot of laughter, we fell asleep sometime after midnight.

I woke up on the couch to the smell of bacon and a shirtless Jesse standing over the hob stirring scrambled eggs. I vaguely remembered hearing him arrive home in the early hours of the morning.

The freshly percolated coffee he handed me was a welcomed sight after the night of alcohol.

“You’re not leading my girl astray are you, Harlow? Up drinking all night and such. I think Heath is starting to rub off on you.”