Wild Child. Cindi Myers

thing away.”

      “I did put it away,” Sara said, shutting the lid to the laptop and turning to her friend. “I even went for a walk on the beach.”

      “That’s more like it.” Ellie dropped onto the sofa. “So…did you meet any hot guys?”

      Sara felt her face warm. “There was this one surfer….”

      “I knew it!” Ellie leaned forward, hands between her knees. “What happened? Did you talk to him? Did he think you were hot? Did you tell him you needed someone to help you relax? Did you suggest going somewhere and having wild monkey sex?”

      Sara laughed at the onslaught of questions. Leave it to Ellie to put her in a better mood. “I talked to him,” she said. “His name is Drew, and he runs a local surf shop.”

      “Drew.” Ellie tried the name on her tongue. “Mmm. And is Drew dreamy? Or delicious?” She smiled wickedly.

      Heat curled through Sara at the memory of Drew’s bronzed muscles and killer smile. “Both. And he was really nice, too.”

      “Then what are you doing sitting around here by yourself?”

      Gloom engulfed Sara once more. “Everything was going great, then Uncle Spence called.”

      “Sara!” Ellie clenched her hands. “Why did you answer the phone?”

      “I wasn’t going to,” Sara said. “But Drew told me I should.” She winced at the memory. He had been so considerate. So understanding.

      “What did Spence want?” Ellie asked.

      “He wanted some information for a client he’s having dinner with tonight.”

      “Then he should have gotten it himself,” Ellie said. “You should have told him so.”

      Sara nodded. “I know. I tell myself I’m going to stand up to him, but whenever I balk at what he wants, he plays the guilt card.” She shrugged. “It’s easier just to do the work and not have to deal with the guilt.”

      Ellie patted Sara’s hand. “I know, hon. Spence depends on you for so much. Too much. And you have a soft heart.”

      And a soft head, Sara thought.

      “So you came back here to get the information for Uncle Spence,” Ellie said. “You should’ve invited surfer boy back with you.”

      Sara raised her head. “I never even thought of that. After Uncle Spence’s call it seemed like the mood had been destroyed.”

      “Do you think Drew was angry about what happened?” Ellie asked.

      “No. He was really nice about it. I just felt bad.” She’d wanted a hole in the sand to open up and swallow her. What woman in her right mind would forsake a gorgeous guy in favor of more work?

      Ellie sat back, her expression thoughtful. “You say he runs a surf shop?”

      Sara nodded. “It’s called the Surf Shack. His grandfather owns it.”

      Ellie grinned. “That’s perfect.” She snatched the Sin on the Beach flyer from the coffee table. “There’s a surfing competition as part of the festival. You used to surf, right?”

      “I hung out with surfers, but I never learned myself.” Back then her focus had been more on the hot guys and the beach-bunny lifestyle than on surfing itself. Now she wished she had taken advantage of the opportunity to learn. “That was a long time ago.”

      “Then it’s time you learned how.” Ellie handed her the flyer. “Tomorrow morning, you’ll go down to the Surf Shack and sign up for the tournament. And you’ll tell Drew you want a private lesson from him.”

      Ellie made things sound so simple. “What if he says no?” Sara asked.

      “You wear that orange bikini and a big smile and I guarantee he won’t say no.” She patted Sara’s hand again. “Come on. A woman who can handle million-dollar real estate transactions ought to be able to persuade a guy she likes to spend time with her.”

      Sara nodded, still unsure, but she was determined to overcome her doubts. She was tired of being a bystander in life, and never a participant. If she didn’t do something, she was going to waste the best years of her life working all the time and end up alone. “Okay,” she said. “Tomorrow I’ll do it. But let’s not talk about it anymore.” She didn’t want to risk talking herself right out of this crazy idea. “I want to hear what you did today. How did it go with Matt and Candy?”

      “When I left the two of them Candy was playing nose-to-the-grindstone—going on about work and some computer presentation and needing his input. Matt was looking as if he didn’t know what hit him.” Ellie grinned. “If Candy would only open her eyes and really look at my brother, she’d realize how crazy he is about her. I mean, come on—she’s every red-blooded man’s dream babe. But she’s so convinced he sees her as an airhead. She can’t believe he might be interested.”

      And Ellie obviously couldn’t see that she might be a little prejudiced in her brother’s favor. “Matt is a great guy,” Sara said. “And of course you love him. But maybe he’s too serious for a woman like Candy. The girl does like to party.”

      Ellie shook her head. “I have a sense for these kinds of things. I have a feeling this vacation is going to be very good for Matt and Candy.”

      It was just like Ellie to always be worrying about others’ problems. She’d turned her coffee shop, Dark Gothic Roast, into therapy central for their office complex. But what did Ellie want? “What did you do after you left Candy and Matt?” Sara asked.

      “I walked along the beach and checked out all the stuff set up for the festival. There’s a huge carnival, all kinds of games and attractions and the film set where they’re going to be taping a special episode of the show.” She squirmed and glanced at Sara out of the corner of her eye. “They’re even going to be auditioning for extras tomorrow morning.”

      “That’s awesome,” Sara said. “You should try out.” She didn’t know anyone who was a bigger fan of Sin on the Beach than Ellie, and though she probably would never have admitted it, Sara sensed an inner diva in her friend dying to get out.

      “Oh, I could never do that,” Ellie protested. She glanced down at her black shorts and shirt. “I don’t exactly have the Sin on the Beach style they’re looking for.”

      “So we give you the style,” Sara said. “You’ve got a gorgeous figure. You’re young and hip. All you need is to lighten your hair a little, add a little color to your wardrobe and voila! Instant beach babe.”

      Ellie looked doubtful. “I don’t know….”

      “You know you want to do this,” Sara said.

      “Yes, but… There is one other problem.”

      “What is it?”

      “I know the director.”

      “That’s great!” She studied Ellie’s pained expression. “Isn’t it?”

      Ellie shrugged. “His name’s Bill. We were next-door neighbors when I was a kid. I doubt if he even remembers me.”

      Something in Ellie’s expression helped Sara read between the lines. “But you remember him,” she said.

      Ellie nodded. “I had a huge crush on him back then.” She paused, then added, “When I saw him today, it was as if nothing had changed.” She smiled. “He is so hot, and he has this awesome tattoo.”

      Sara laughed. Ellie had a thing for guys with tattoos. “This gets better and better,” she said.

      “What do you mean better?” Ellie said. “I can’t think of anything worse than blowing it in front of my old crush.”

      “Who