by Tamie Dearen
He loved watching the color rise on her cheeks when she got riled up.
“To spend time with the people you care about,” she said, lifting her chin.
“You think it’s better to sit inside in a safe, padded room and never have any fun?”
“What about reading?” she countered. “It’s fun, but not dangerous.”
“There’s no adrenaline rush,” he said.
The plane gave a lurch, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “That gave me adrenaline, and I hate it! I get endorphins from reading. Nice, feel-good endorphins. So much better.”
Up close, he was fascinated by the rings in her eyes, which seemed to take on a green hue as her passion grew.
“But adrenaline can give you even more endorphins. Once you feel it, you’ll be hooked.”
“No way.”
“By the end of the week, I can change your mind.”
His challenge had the desired effect, taking her thoughts off the continued turbulence. Her outraged expression didn’t falter as the plane bumped over the rocky air.
“Not in a million years,” she declared.
“Have you ever been sailing?”
Katie gave him an are-you-out-of-your-mind look. “Of course not.”
“I bet I can take you out on a catamaran, and you’ll admit you had fun.”
“Ha! I don’t know how you think you’re going to get me on a sailboat.”
“Just promise to keep an open mind. Maybe we can work up to it.”
“Sure. And maybe I’ll climb Mt. Everest with you.”
Though her reply was heaped with sarcasm, he pretended not to notice.
“That would be incredible! I can help you train. We’ll have to start with some less challenging peaks—”
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm. “I wasn’t serious.”
“You were teasing?” he exclaimed, letting his mouth fall open. “I thought you said you never teased.”
Her plump lips formed an endearing O, as thick lashes blinked over her rounded eyes. “Oh my gosh! I didn’t mean to. I don’t… That was…”
“Fun?” Gary finished for her.
“It was an accident.” Her tone was as insistent as her expression.
“An accident?” he goaded. “A slip of the tongue, huh? You see, you’re more carefree already.”
She sputtered into speechlessness, and he grinned.
This is going to be an awesome week!
4
Katie pulled a pillow over her head, in a vain attempt to drown out the noise. But the insistent banging filtered through, forcing her into consciousness. She flopped over, pushing the pillow away, and blinked against the bright sunlight, filtering through the blinds.
Sunlight! She jolted upright. I overslept! I’ll be late for work!
Working her arms free from the tangle of a fluffy white comforter, she glanced around the alien room, taking in the light blue walls dotted with friendly pastel beach paintings.
Indigo Bay—the pink cottage. The memories snapped into place just as the banging stopped and her cell phone began to ring.
She snatched it from the bedside table. “Hello?” Her voice came out as a croak.
“Good morning! This is Gary.” He sounded entirely too cheery for early in the morning.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t handle happy this early in the morning.” She ran her fingers through her tangled hair.
“It’s 10:45. Did I wake you up?”
“It can’t be 10:45!” She leapt out of bed, her bare feet landing on the smooth wood floor. “I don’t sleep in. I’ve never done that in my entire life. Well, there was that one time… but I had pneumonia…”
Gary chuckled. “You’re on vacation. You’re supposed to sleep in.”
She carried her phone into the bathroom, groaning at her mascara-smeared reflection in the mirror. Since when did she forget to take off her makeup at night?
“What time did Mr. Gherring get up?”
“Five o’clock.” he admitted. “But Steven’s in training. We went for a ten-mile run this morning.”
She spied her bathroom kit spread open on the vanity counter, toothbrush near the sink. Thank goodness she hadn’t forgotten to brush her teeth before bed. She turned her phone on speaker and set it down.
“If he’s been up since five, he’s probably itching to get some work done. Tell him I’m sorry. I’ll be right over.” She spread toothpaste on her toothbrush and scrubbed, talking around the foam. “Except I don’t know how to find your cottage.”
“Relax,” Gary said. “Steven told me he shouldn’t need you until Monday. Right now, he’s gone for a swim, and I’m here to deliver some groceries.”
“You’re here? Waiting outside? I’m not even dressed.” She spit out her toothpaste and splashed water on her face, smoothing her hands over her hair, which had turned frizzy overnight. I hate humidity!
“I’ll wait.”
“You could leave the groceries, if you want.”
“No hurry. You’ve got a nice porch swing out here, and I’m enjoying the ocean breeze.”
Her intention had been to iron all her clothes and hang them in the closet. But whatever had taken place between the terrifying airplane landing and the moment she fell into her bed had not included any unpacking. She hurriedly located the bag of sundresses, selecting one that seemed less wrinkled than the others. Cringing at the tornadic state of her room, she shut the door, leaving her king-sized bed unmade.
Another first. Not sure that’s progress.
She flung the cottage door open, somehow not prepared to see Gary wearing shorts and a tank top, his muscular arms draped across the back of the porch swing like an enticing buffet. Her attempt at “Hi” came out more like an H with a bunch of hot air, followed by a dry cough.
He stood and stretched, flexing his shoulders, a sight which made her already parched mouth feel like it was stuffed with saltine crackers.
“Let me bring these groceries in for you.” He nodded toward two paper sacks on the porch beside the door.
Realizing conversation would be impossible in her current condition, Katie dashed ahead. The kitchen looked like something out of a magazine, the glass doors of its white cabinets revealing brightly colored stoneware and matching cups, one of which she grabbed and filled with water from the refrigerator door, hoping it was filtered. Gulping it down her parched throat, she was relieved at the fresh taste.
Gary sauntered inside just as she downed a few swallows. “Where do you want them?”
“Next to the refrigerator, I guess.”
She began to unpack the bags, noting all her favorite staples—Greek yogurt, berries, granola, leafy greens, eggs, cheese. “Thanks for the groceries. How’d you know what to get?”
His eyebrows shot up. “You gave me a list last night when we dropped you off. Don’t you remember?”
“Not really.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering what else she’d forgotten. Hopefully nothing too embarrassing. “The whole trip here is kind of a blur.”
“As long as you remember your promise, that’s all that matters.” He grabbed a chair, spun it around and straddled it backwards.
“What promise?” She fanned her face, which suddenly felt hotter than a summer sidewalk.
“That you’d let me take you sailing.”
“Sailing!” Her stomach knotted. “I’m sorry. But if I said that, I must’ve been out of my mind. You see, I don’t swim with sharks.”
“Please…” His face drooped like a sad puppy. “We’re going sailing, not swimming.”
“If the boat flips over, we’d be swimming.”
“Ah, but I won’t flip the boat over. It’s a catamaran, so it has a wide base. It’s much harder to flip than a conventional sailboat.”
“Are you saying it’s impossible to flip over on a catamaran?”
“No, but—”
“You admit it could flip over.”
“But you’ll have on a lifejacket.”
; “So I can float out in the ocean and get bit by a shark? I don’t think so.” The knot in her stomach tightened.
He threw his head back and laughed, and she was tempted to dump the rest of her water in his face.
“Okay, I won’t argue with you about sharks, even though that’s not going to happen.” He winked, as if the subject was a joke. Katie didn’t think having body parts eaten was amusing in the least. “I won’t make you go sailing if you’re that set against it. But there’s no reason you can’t go kayaking on the river with us tomorrow.”
“Kayaking?” Her gut tightened even more. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“It’s easy to learn, no sharks on the river, and the water’s not deep.” He ticked off his points on his fingers.
“I don’t think so…”
“It’s safe. It’s fun. The river is beautiful. I think you’ll like it.”
His earnest eyes coaxed her lips into a grin. She felt tingly all over, even without his touch. At that moment she decided she’d like anything she did with Gary Lassiter, even if she died doing it.
Then she heard her father’s voice in her mind. Don’t ever take a foolish risk for a moment of pleasure.
Nicole’s voice competed with his. Promise you won’t say no to everything, like you usually do.
Katie pressed her palms to the sides of her head. Be quiet.
Gary’s voice edged its way into her over-stressed brain. “Do you have a headache? Can I get you anything?”
She snapped her head toward him, prepared to turn him down, outright. She would never step foot in a kayak, no matter how tempting his offer. But the tender concern on his face was like a caress to her raw soul. She couldn’t bring herself to disappoint him.
“I’ll go.” She said the words aloud, before she could change her mind. “I’ll go kayaking with you, tomorrow.”
His smile was all the reward she needed. Now, if she could only keep her nerve.
Having met many a client for training sessions early in the day, Gary knew most people didn’t look their best the moment they rolled out of bed. Katie, however, looked delightful, with her slightly mussed hair in soft waves around naturally rosy cheeks. Her hazel eyes sparkled in the morning light, open and revealing, as if she hadn’t had time to put on her usual defenses.
Sitting at the table while she organized her groceries, Gary stole a glance at her shapely calves and couldn’t help asking, “Do you work out?” Having already seen the definition in her arms, he knew what her answer must be.
“Three days a week,” she said, scrunching her shoulders. “I read one time you should get cardio exercise three days a week to keep your heart healthy.”
“That’s good,” he answered, sincerely.
“Should I be exercising every day?”
She stashed her refrigerator items away, but left the yogurt and raspberries on the counter. As she searched the cupboards and retrieved a bowl, he took a more leisurely appraisal of her exposed muscles.
“From the look of things, I’d say you’re doing just fine.”
He caught a glimpse of flushed cheeks when she turned to open a drawer and grab a spoon.
Her eyes darted his direction. “That was a sincere question about my health, not an invitation to ogle.”
“I’m a professional—I don’t ogle,” he said, careful to make eye contact as she took a seat on the opposite side of the table. “I make assessments, based on visual changes in the outer body.”
One doubtful eyebrow arched. “Is that so?”
With a grin battling at the corners of his mouth, he cleared his throat. “So… how do you like your cottage?”
“It’s cute, what I’ve seen of it so far.” She dipped her spoon in the bowl of yogurt, carefully including a raspberry in her bite.
“Steven and I are in the yellow cottage down the beach. It only has two bedrooms, or you could’ve stayed with us. This pink one is supposed to be the honeymoon cottage.”
“I can see where this would be a romantic place to spend a honeymoon. It’s private, and the view of the beach is gorgeous.”
“And there’s so much to do here,” he added. “Not that you’d need a lot of outdoor activities if you were here on your honeymoon.”
Her face pinked up again, an entertaining event which was fast becoming his goal. With her eyes fixed on her bowl, she said, “What are you and Steven planning for the rest of the day?”
“We’re planning to hit the beach after lunch. We’ll spend the afternoon surfing.” He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a cluster of grapes from the fruit drawer. “We rented a board for you, too.”
She choked, eyes tearing up as she coughed. He hurried to grab her water glass from the counter and hand it to her. After a few swallows, she set the glass down with enough force to make some of the water splash out.
“I’m not getting on a surfboard,” she said, “so you can just return that thing and get your money back.”
He grinned, sitting back down to rest his elbows on the table, while congratulating himself for keeping her face flushed. “Tell Steven. He’s the one who insisted you needed your own surfboard.”
“You can tell Mr. Gherring he’ll never get me in the ocean.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Under any circumstances.” She pursed her lips, studying his face, as if she was trying to figure out his angle.
“Under any circumstances,” he repeated.
“Not to swim, not to sail, not to surf.”
“Not for any reason.” He punctuated with a sharp nod.
“Because there are sharks in the ocean and other things that bite.”
“Ravenous ocean creatures.”
He winked at Katie, and she stood up, leaning forward with both hands on the table. If she weren’t so cute, he would’ve called it looming.
“I mean it.”
“Of course you do.” He held up his palms in surrender. “I understand. You’re not getting in the ocean.”
She stared him down, suspicion dripping from her narrowed eyes.
A teasing grin tugged its way onto his lips, and he waggled his eyebrows. “Not until after I convince you the sharks aren’t dangerous.”
He didn’t see the water glass in her hand until its contents had drenched his face. Without thinking of the consequences, he was out of his chair and chasing her with his own water glass. Squealing, she scurried for the screen door, but he caught her before she escaped, dumping his water on top of her head. With a shocked scream, she froze.
What have I done? She’s going to be furious.
When she swirled to face him, he braced for anger. But instead, she laughed, folding in half and collapsing on the splattered floor, as if her bones had melted. Relieved, he joined in her laughter, sliding his back down the wall to sit beside her. Noting the radiance on her face from the merriment, he determined to make it happen as often as possible.
As she caught her breath, she peered through locks of wavy wet hair and gave him a fond smile—way too brotherly for his taste.
“I haven’t played like that since I was a kid.” Her smile faded at the corners. “In fact, I never played like that. I think you bring out the worst in me.”
He brushed a wet strand off her face, wondering what kind of sad childhood didn’t include play. When her pupils dilated at the brush of his fingers, his heart responded with hopeful palpitations.
“I disagree.” His fingers lingered at the pulsing vessel in her neck. “I think I bring out the best in you.”
5
Katie had one important task to accomplish before she joined the guys on the beach. A short walk up the road brought her to the Indigo Bay Resort complex, where she met Zoe, the woman in charge of guest services, who had to be the nicest person on the planet. She didn’t even blink when Katie queried about the possibility of seeing a spider inside her cottage.
“Thanks for doing this, Zoe.”
“No problem,” she said, fingers flying across
the keyboard. “Let’s see here… It says your cottage had the regular extermination service less than thirty days ago. And… yes, spiders are included on the list.”
“Oh, good. I’m sorry, but I have kind of a phobia about spiders.”
“That’s okay. I don’t like spiders, either.” She looked up from the computer screen with a warm smile. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“As a matter of fact… you could tell me if I should back out of my kayak trip tomorrow. Gary told me there weren’t any sharks in the river, but I forgot to ask about alligators. I did a little research, and the internet says alligators aren’t aggressive, like crocodiles. I couldn’t find any reports of injuries, but it still makes me nervous.”
Zoe’s eyes crinkled in the corners. “You’ll be happy to know I’ve never heard of a single person getting bitten by an alligator on a kayak tour. When I’ve gone, I’ve seen a few hanging out on the river banks, but they pretty much ignored us.”
“Okay, I’m going to trust you on this one. For some reason they don’t scare me as much as sharks.”
“I’m sure you’ll have a great trip. Gary said he wanted the best, so I arranged for some really nice kayaks.”
“Did they rent the surfboards from you, too? Because they got one for me, and I’m definitely not using it.”
Her head shook slowly from side to side. “I’m positive Gary only rented two surfboards.”
“But Gary told me…” Her voice trailed off as the truth sunk in. “Oh my gosh! He must’ve made up that whole story just to upset me.”
“Surely not,” said Zoe. “He seems like a super nice guy. In fact, he called about an hour ago and changed the kayak reservation. He paid extra so you could be in a tandem.”
“What’s a tandem?”
“It’s a two-person kayak.” Zoe rifled through a drawer and found a flyer with images of people in kayaks. “See, it’s like this one. He mentioned you’d never kayaked before, so he wanted you to be able to relax in the front and not have to paddle if you got tired.”
Since Zoe was sporting an isn’t-that-nice-of-him expression, Katie didn’t tell her it felt like a challenge. Obviously, Gary didn’t believe she was in very good shape from her regular swimming exercise.
