Just This Once Read Online Free PDF Page A

mirror, thankful that she had had her fair brows and lashes tinted before
leaving on vacation, so she didn’t look completely washed out. It was
ridiculous to primp for him. This wasn’t a date. He was making sure she was all
right, that was all. But she still pulled on her favorite new sundress, a deep
primrose yellow printed with tiny purple and blue flowers, in a halter style
that made her feel like Marilyn Monroe, if slightly less curvaceous.
    Shrugging mentally at her own vanity, she muttered, “Might
as well look my best, since he’s already seen me looking my worst. Even things
out a little.” She combed conditioner into her hair and pulled it back into a
loose braid to dry, then teased tendrils out around her face and slicked on her
favorite pink lip gloss. Slipped on her new narrow sandals, with the beads on
their thin leather straps and the low French heels.
    “OK,” she told herself as she looked in the mirror. “That’s
as good as it’s going to get. Let’s go.”
    He was leaning against the truck with his arms folded across
his chest, staring out to sea, as she approached. Hearing the tap of her heels
in the sandals, he turned, looking momentarily startled. Score one for the yellow
sundress, she told herself with a flush of satisfaction.
    “Here I am,” she announced. “A bit less of the drowned rat,
I hope. Thanks for waiting.”
    “Not any kind of a rat at all, I’d say,” he decided as he
opened the truck door for her.
    Two points, she thought, realizing at the same time that she
shouldn’t get into his truck again. She’d really had no choice before, and
nobody could fault his manners, but she didn’t know him, after all. She asked,
as casually as she could manage, “Would you mind if we walked? It’s only a few
blocks, after all. And I think it would be good for me to walk off the shakes a
bit more.”
    She had surprised him again, she saw. But after a moment, he
answered, “I can see I’ll have to get a mate to vouch for me. I’m pretty well
known around here, actually. But of course we can walk.”
    “I haven’t thanked you properly for saving me,” she told him
as they made their way down the steep hill. “I was lucky you were out there so
early, and that you saw me and came to my rescue. I do realize what a debt I
owe you.”
    “No worries. I was there, and we were lucky. There’s a bad
rip on that beach. Loads of drownings over the years, though you wouldn’t know
it to look at it. Best to swim between the flags where the lifesavers are, or
on a beach you know is safe, in En Zed. I’m guessing you haven’t been here
long. Are you Canadian?”
    “No, American. I haven’t introduced myself, I realize. I’m
Hannah Montgomery. And yes, you can bet I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll be a lot
more careful in the future, believe me. The sea looked so calm and beautiful, I
couldn’t resist. It never occurred to me that I could have a problem. I’ve swum
in the Bay, back home. But not in the ocean.”
    “Drew Callahan.” He glanced down at her as he spoke, then
added after a beat, “American. I would’ve guessed Canadian. You have a soft
accent. Where are you from, in the States? Someplace near water, I’ve sussed
that out.”
    “The San Francisco area now, but I grew up in a more rural
part of California. I suppose I don’t have a big-city accent. And you’re right,
I’m here on vacation, and this is only my fourth day. Obviously, I have a lot
to learn.”
    “Not so much,” he shrugged. “You’ve had one of those
experiences you’ll remember, I reckon. And it gave me the chance to meet you, so
there’s the upside.”
    Startled, she looked across at him. He quirked an eyebrow at
her, and she burst out laughing. “Maybe it was all a desperate ploy on my part,
have you thought of that? Women are probably flinging themselves in your path
all the time to get rescued.”
    He smiled at that. “Well, never so dramatically. But we’re
here now.” He guided her into