“That whole one, two, three thing.”
“You count?” He pretended to sound shocked. He slapped a palm against the bar. “Then we absolutely, positively must meet up later for another drink,” he said, and though the offer was made playfully, he fully meant it.
She shoved his shoulder. Oh, she was feisty. He liked that. “Listing numbers and answers—that’s what I meant by the counting thing. And why do you ask if my best friend is a starfish?”
“One, you can do that again,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “I really enjoy getting smacked in the shoulder.” She pretended to pout. “No, honestly. I do. It’s this weird thing of mine. I completely crave shoulder punches,” he said, in an intensely serious tone that made her curve up the corner of her lips and nudge his shoulder again, lightly this time. “Two, I knew what you meant by the counting thing. Three, I asked because I saw you have a starfish on your belly button, and it’s ridiculously sexy.”
CHAPTER FIVE
She’d had the piercing for years. So long she didn’t even think about it anymore. She was barely aware of the sky-blue starfish belly ring that dangled along her stomach.
She ran her thumb across the sparkly surface. “I practically forgot I had this. Got it when I was sixteen.”
“So a few years ago?”
“Ha ha ha,” she said drily. “More than a few years.”
“Well, you might have forgotten about it, but I could barely take my eyes off it,” he said, his deep voice going low and sexy. Then he feigned seriousness. “I meant, while I was being a perfect gentleman and not checking out your smoking-hot body when you bent down to pick up the dart—that’s when I noticed the starfish.”
She tingled all over from the compliment. There was something so enticing about this kind of praise from this kind of man. He was tall, built, strong, and with the kind of jawline that made a woman want to reach out and touch that face. That made this woman want to run her thumb along his sandpaper stubble, feel it brush against her chin, and mouth, and lips.
His brown hair boasted golden streaks, and his green eyes crinkled at the corners. Something about the whole package, sans the Tommy Bahama shirt, said strong and rugged. Which was an utterly delicious combination, one that made her skin warm up all over and her mind wander just a little further into let’s-picture-him-undressed land. Yup, she could see him clearly in her mind’s eye: hard planes across his chest, grooves in firm abs, arms so strong she couldn’t even wrap a hand around them.
She blinked, like she was a computer rebooting, as she tried to chase away the dirty thoughts landing in her head. But that body. Oh Lord, that body could cause some kind of sin.
His body should come with a warning. Gaze upon said hotness and arousal will be yours.
She needed to focus on why she was here on this island. Recon. Information. Getting the lay of the land before she connected with her stepdad. The thought that she’d find out he’d screwed over her mom in an even worse way made her shoulders tighten. Only the hope that she’d uncover something else, that it wasn’t what it seemed, could help them ease. She’d stopped in the Pink Pelican on a hunt for a sweet but flighty gal named Penny, who had tended bar last time Steph was here. Penny preferred to spend her days kiteboarding and rock climbing. Penny’s sister Marie was manning the taps now, and Steph hadn’t even had a chance to say a proper hello.
“Well, thank you for saying that.”
“My pleasure. And it is also a pleasure to meet you, Ariel,” he said, extending a hand to shake.
Don’t think about pulling him against you. Stop imagining what his body would feel like above you. No more staring at those full lips and wondering how they taste, and feel, and . . .
Fuck it.
This man was hot and fun, and that was a mixture she liked a lot. After the extreme focus she’d placed on rehabbing her business in the last few years, a little bit of sexy flirting was a welcome relief. Maybe her mom was right. Maybe Steph did need to have a little fun.
“Is it really Jake?” she said, not letting go of his hand, enjoying the way his name sounded. “Or did you pick a fake name, too? Because Jake is the perfect name for a totally hot guy a woman meets in a bar.”
He smiled widely, and she loved that it seemed to light up his whole face, all the way to his green eyes. He was handsome and then some, but the reaction, so genuine, was lovely to see. So rare to compliment a man and to witness the evidence of his enjoyment of it. “Yes, the name is really Jake, and thank you. Seems we have a mutual admiration society at work here.”
“Yes,” she said with a small grin. “There is much admiration, and I’m glad it’s mutual.” As she let go of his grip, her eyes drifted to a white, raised mark on his forearm. “By the way, cool scar. Is it a new acquisition?”
He tapped his forearm. “Yes it is. Wish I could say the acquisition was intentional.”
“It wasn’t?”
He shook his head.
“What happened?” She flung her hand to her forehead, like a fortune-teller reading the cards. “Wait. Don’t tell me. You got in a knife fight in an alley, Jason Bourne style? You’ve gone rogue and the CIA is after you? Or better yet, you slipped while gutting a fish after one too many beers?”
He pointed at her. “That one.”
She mimed tossing a basketball. “She shoots. She scores.” She tilted her head. “But seriously?”