CHAPTER ONE
“Val, it’s about time you got your life together. I mean, looking for the perfect wave and waxing your surfboard at age twenty-six is kind of pathetic,” Raul Gonzalez, her brother, said, as he watched her get ready to head out for her morning of surfing.
“You still killing it at the south side of the pier?” he asked.
“Yep. I’ve got a bunch of fans who like to watch me, and even a couple of my sponsors pop by from time to time. They don’t think surfing at my age is pathetic,” Valeria said, looking angrily at him.
“Well, I think it is. Matter-of-fact I had to treat some wealthy old dude for a slight shoulder injury yesterday. The dude was wayyy too old to be surfing, but that’s how he injured his shoulder. He told me he surfed every morning on the north side of the pier, then he went across the street and down a few blocks to a resort hotel he owns.
“He wasn’t wearing a wedding band. Heck, maybe you could hook up with an old surfer bum like him and the two of you could follow the waves together. I can just see it now. You could even get married on your surfboards and have one of those old Hawaiian kahuna surfer gods on his surfboard marry you.”
Raul was getting carried away as he continued, “Maybe even have the members of the wedding party fanning out on surfboards in a vee, you know, kind of like geese do, and the guests would all be standing on the beach. Yep. I can see it now. Then you could ride a wave into the shore as the sun set and have someone cater a big luau party right there on the beach. Actually, since the guy owns the hotel, he could probably get the hotel to cater it. What do you think?”
“I think it’s time for you to go rub bodies at your physical therapy office. Your imagination is beginning to run your tongue, and I don’t see myself hooking up with some old surfer dude, much less marrying him, just an FYI.”
“Val, what have you got to lose? Just try it once for me and surf the north side of the pier. If you don’t see him or like him, no big deal. I’d kind of like to see you expand out of that south of the pier bubble you’ve gotten yourself into. I don’t think any of the guys there is marriage material, or for that fact, probably even has a job. No, I sense your destiny is with the old hotel surfer guy. Anyway, let me know tonight what you think of him,” he said with a wink as he walked out the door.
Valeria anchored her surfboard to the top of her old van and headed down Main Street towards the Huntington Beach pier. When she got to Pacific Coast Highway, instead of making her usual left to park in the lot in front of the beach, she turned right and pulled into the parking lot about a quarter of a mile north of the pier, all the while thinking this may be the stupidest thing she’d ever done.
She pulled her long black hair into a ponytail and secured it on the top of her head. She knew from experience if she didn’t, there was a good chance she’d be blinded by it when it whipped in front of her eyes as she was riding in on a wave.
When Valeria had finished with her hair, she took the keys out of the ignition and secured them to the string in the pocket of the cargo shorts she was wearing over her bikini, having decided when she left her house that she didn’t need a wetsuit this morning. She did her daily mental surfing checklist and satisfied she was ready, got out of her van, pressed the lock, and unstrapped her surfboard from the roof rack attached to the top of the van.
She walked down the steps to the beach and saw a number of surfers in the water. Her experienced eye told her today was going to be a good day for surfing. An older man, a few feet ahead of her, waved to people as he walked down to the water. She looked around and didn’t see any other older men, but the resort owner could already be in the water, so this man in front of her wasn’t necessarily him. But she did have to admit that if it was him, Raul was right, he was attractive.
Valeria got on her surfboard and began to paddle out, acknowledging several people who called out to her. The man she’d seen earlier had slowed down and was paddling next to her.
“Hey,” he said, “I recognize you. Aren’t you Valeria Gonzalez?”
“Yes, guilty as charged,” she said with a laugh.
“I saw that recent article in Surf’s Up magazine about you. Thought you always surfed at the south side of the pier.”
“I do, but since I haven’t surfed here for a while, I decided to try it. From the number of people here, I can see it’s still pretty popular,” she replied in a friendly voice.
“It is. I surf here every morning when I’m in town. By the way, I’m Jackson Kelly.”
Raul hadn’t told her the name of the old surfer who owned the hotel, so Valeria said, “And what type of work do you do that allows you to surf every morning?”
“I’m one of the lucky ones. See that big hotel further down the coast, the Oceana Resort Hotel?”
“Yes. It’s the largest one in Huntington Beach. I’ve been to a couple of my sponsor’s dinners there after I’ve won surfing contests. Why?” she asked, even though she was pretty certain she knew the answer.
“I’m one of the owners. Actually, I’m the vice-president. I’m living the good life. I surf in the morning, then go down the street to my office which is in the penthouse of the hotel overlooking the beach. I watch the waves all day. When they’re spectacular, I’ve even been known to tell my secretary I have an appointment away from my office and I’m leaving for the day.
“Truth be told, I’m just across the street, surfing, but even though she never says anything, I have a feeling she knows,” he said with a grin.
Both of them were sitting in an upright position with their legs straddling their boards while they were checking over their shoulders, looking for a wave that would give them a good ride. When a big roller came in breaking just in front of them, they rode it to shore. They spent another hour riding the waves and then Jackson said, “Well, it’s time for me to get back to reality. I have an appointment in a little while, and I need to change and get ready for it.”
In her naivete, Valeria said, “It must be a pain in the neck to have to go home and get ready and then go to your hotel. Too bad you can’t just walk across the street and go to it.”
“Actually, Valeria, I do. My office has a shower in it as well as a walk-in closet with a full set of my clothes. In an hour, no one will know I spent time here surfing, that is,” he said with a smile, “unless they know me well.”
“I agree. Sounds like you really are living the good life. I know a lot of people would give anything to be able to do that.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” he said as they walked up the steps to the parking lot. She stopped by her van, and Jackson said, “Valeria, I really enjoyed this morning. Will you be here tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” she said, as she looked up at the very attractive man and thought that Raul might just be right. This man might be very interesting, and if nothing else, someone to surf with.
From then on, they met every morning and surfed together. Within a few weeks, Valeria had fallen deeply in love with Jackson, and from what he told her, he felt the same way about her. She visited the Oceana Resort Hotel several afternoons a week and had her own keycard to the executive floor. Jackson had told her early on that he was married, but that it was a marriage of convenience only.
When he’d told her that, she’d assumed it meant that someday, since he had more or less told her the marriage was over, he’d get divorced. And she assumed that someday he would marry her. Unfortunately, Valeria had never heard the modern proverb: “When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.”
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