“I don’t think so, but I don’t have a choice. I know I’m doing the right thing. I just wish he’d never called.” She straightened. “Okay, I’m done whining. Show me where we are so I can text Coop the location. Jeremy’s going to walk him to the beach after lunch and point him in the right direction.”

“Too bad he’s not walking him the whole way. I’d like to meet him.” And crush him like a bug, he thought, unexpectedly feeling territorial. “How did you feel, seeing him after all these years?”

“Strange. He looks different. I guess we all do. He’s like a grown person. There was no chemistry, if that’s what you’re asking.” She shuddered. “Thank you, no.”

She stopped and looked out at the ocean. “That’s beautiful. I’m going to pay attention to the view and forget everything else.”

She pulled a large towel out of her tote bag and spread it on the sand, then looked around. “Why is everyone so perfect?”

He followed her gaze. All he saw was a bunch of people lying in the sun. There were teens, young families and a few people pushing retirement age.

“Who’s perfect?”

She pointed to a couple of women in maybe their early twenties. “They are. My boobs were never that perky. Do you think they’re real? I’ve always wondered what implants must feel like. Is it different to have them or different for the guy when he touches them? I wish I knew someone who had implants so I could ask.”

Boobs? They were talking about boobs? A couple of days ago it had been whether or not he wanted to see her naked. What was going on with Ellen?

She unfastened the tie at her waist, then looked at him. “Don’t laugh, okay? I just couldn’t do a two-piece bathing suit. I felt too exposed. So I went with the old lady version. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t say it.”

Before he could figure out what she was talking about, she shrugged out of her dress, folded it and tucked it into her tote bag. She fished a straw hat out of her tote, plopped it on her head, then stood there, staring at the ocean.

“This is nice,” she murmured.

This is nice? This is nice!

He took a step back. Ellen was in a one-piece bathing suit. And nothing else. He could see everything. The outline of her breasts, her hips, her butt, her long legs. Yes, she was pale, especially compared to the average LA beachgoer, but her skin was soft-looking and smooth.

He’d always known Ellen had a body, but she’d kept it hidden for all the time he’d known her so he’d never thought about it, or her, that way. Worse, now when he thought about her slightly scornful “Of course I’ve had orgasms” comment, he could picture things a lot more clearly. At this moment he knew exactly how her legs looked and could imagine them spread wide, her body arched as her fingers rubbed faster and faster and—