Read Online Heat of the Moment by Lauren Barnholdt - Free Book Online

He ticks the reasons off on his fingers. “Oh! And you packed an inappropriate bathing suit.”
    â€œThose things don’t make me shady,” I say. “They make me cool.”
    He grins. “Touché.”
    But before I can reply, I see something down the street that makes me stop.
    Juliana. She’s holding a plastic grocery bag and talking loudly into her cell phone. I freeze. Oh, god. The last thing I need is for Juliana to see me with Beckett. She’s definitely not going to keep it a secret from Derrick. She has a big mouth.
    I watch as she stops on the sidewalk and sort of shades her eyes from the glare of the sun. I can’t tell if she sees me, or if she’s looking at something else.
    â€œShit,” I swear. I grab Beckett’s arm and pull him into a souvenir shop.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing?” he yells as I drag him to the back of the store.
    â€œShh!” I hiss. “She might see us.”
    â€œWho might see us?”
    â€œJust . . . this girl.”
    I crouch down behind a rack of sundresses and give him an expectant look.
    â€œYou have got to be kidding me.”
    I yank at his arm until he finally sighs and crouches down next to me. “Why are we doing this again?” he asks.
    â€œMy friend Juliana,” I say. “She was out there on the street. And if she sees me with you, there’s going to be trouble.”
    â€œWhat kind of trouble?” he asks. He looks doubtful, like the kind of thing I’d think is trouble is really going to be nothing.
    â€œShe’s friends with Derrick.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo she’ll tell him we were hanging out.”
    He shakes his head. “It’s really sad that you and Derrick have such a non-trusting relationship.”
    â€œWell, when you sent me that note on the plane, it kind of made it sound like something was going on between us.”
    He rolls his eyes, like the idea is preposterous, and I try not to feel offended. “Look, is this really necessary?” he asks.“I mean, look at yourself. You’re hiding in the back of a store behind some nightgowns.”
    â€œThey aren’t nightgowns,” I correct. “They’re sundresses.” I reach out and finger one. The material is soft and slides through my fingers. They’re so pretty. I wonder if Beckett would mind if we stopped to buy one on the way out. “And if you knew Juliana, you would understand.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œShe’s always in his business.”
    â€œOh,” he says knowingly. “She’s in love with him.”
    â€œNo, she’s not in love with him,” I say, shaking my head at how wrong he has it.
    â€œA girl who’s so worried about what you’re doing? Who’s friends with Derrick? She’s definitely in love with him.”
    I ignore him and pop my head up over the sundresses and glance around the store: a family with a few kids, a middle-aged couple sifting through a bin of seashells, and a shirtless man with a huge belly looking at the beach chairs.
    â€œThere’s no one here,” I say, relieved. “She probably just—”
    Juliana steps into my line of sight. She’s off the phone now and looking around the store suspiciously, her eyes flitting over the rows of beachwear.
    Beckett pops his head up next to me and starts looking around.
    â€œGet down!” I screech. “Get down right now!”
    For once, he listens. I watch as Juliana starts wanderingup and down the aisles, looking around. Crap. She obviously saw me come in here. She keeps walking, getting closer and closer to where we are. No way can I have her catch me crouched down here with Beckett. It makes me look way too guilty. I stand up quickly and pretend to be looking through the sundresses.
    â€œJesus,” Beckett hisses. “What the hell are you doing? She’s definitely going to see you now.”
    â€œYes,