© 2004

Samantha O'Ryan had been eyeing half-naked, wet, glistening men for hours under the guise of teaching them to surf. They'd offered to pay her but, truthfully, she'd gotten the most out of the deal. She just loved being in the water, on her board. After she finished giving the group of college kids pointers, she walked down the beach and up the stairs to let herself into her outdoor café, where she went to work on her second love-creating fun, exotic sandwiches.

As she served her customers, she realized she had no plans after work, her favorite kind of evening. She could bodysurf by moonlight if she chose, or drive up Pacific Coast Highway as far as a tank of gas would take her… anything.

That was the beauty of being unencumbered.

Although she wouldn't mind being temporarily encumbered-for a night, that is. It had been a long dry spell without a guy around.

Her own fault.

"You sold everything." Lorissa Barrett, her best friend and part-time server at the Wild Cherries café,looked surprised as she surveyed the empty display cases at the cash register. "Well, except the brownies. You make terrible brownies."

"Hey, thanks."

But Lorissa was right. Everything but the brownies were gone, including the new turkey-with-mango-spread special. Sam could drum up inventive stuff like that with ease, bake the most mouthwatering cookies on the planet, but she failed at brownies every single time. She knew why; she just didn't like to think about it.

"Sorry." Looking anything but, Lorissa leaned against the counter, her amusement slowly fading.

"Uh-oh," Sam said. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

They had a long history and knew each other better than anyone else did. "If it's nothing, then stop staring at me like you're trying to get your nerve up for something."