After three years together, their relationship had gone stale. Duke had been lazy, and aimless, and hadn’t found a job in more than a year, but he also hadn’t looked hard for one. He’d been content to live off Steph and the money she’d generated then from her business.
If she was going to take away his free ride, he was going to bring it down with him, so he’d hit her where it hurt. Her chest pinched with the unpleasant memories, then she reminded herself to live for the moment, to enjoy this peace and calm in the ocean with her favorite creatures.
In a few days, she’d be showing a group of tourists from Texas this very spot, introducing them to the world under the ocean and the array of marine life here.
Maybe these two turtles would return. That prospect of seeing them again made the past slink away and had the halo effect of pushing the odd encounter with Eli to the background. Spending time with him was like living in a fun house, with swaying floors and seesawing ramps. His odd sweetness, mixed with his utter cluelessness, topped with his misplaced generosity, turned her insides topsy-turvy.
After brunch, she’d dropped off the diamond at her hotel, locking it in her safe to keep it out of harm’s way. Then, she headed here for some underwater therapy. Being below the sea reset her mind. As she swam, she let go of the morning encounter and focused on what was ahead. In a few minutes, if fate were on her side, she might see that handsome man again from last night. Anticipation skittered through her veins, along with that crazy thing known as hope. She had no idea if Jake would show. True, Marie had texted her last night letting her know she’d passed along the napkin message. But whether the fisherman would follow it was entirely unknown.
Steph kicked her finned feet and glided closer to shore, pushing up to the surface as she neared the sand.
Adjusting quickly to her land legs, she stood in the shallow waters, pushed her goggles onto her forehead, and took the snorkel out of her mouth. When she reached the sand, she dried off and tucked the snorkel gear in its bag. She grabbed a short cotton sundress and started to tug it over her head, then thought better of it. She’d pull it on once her bikini dried more.
She crossed her fingers and waited, hoping the sexy man would show up at Happy Turtle Cove at 1:23 p.m.
Right on time, he walked across the beach.
No fair. It was no fucking fair for her to be that hot.
He was going to call the Council of Hotness and ask for her membership to be revoked.
Because . . . that bikini.
He stood no chance. It was so damn revealing, what with being a bikini and all, and showcased all her assets. Those legs. That flat stomach. Those gorgeous breasts.
Wave the flag. Call the troops. Surrender was upon him.
“You deciphered my code,” she said with an approving grin as he walked to her, his ankles digging into the white, sugary sand.
“One, I like codes. Two, I like challenges, and three, even without the punctuation between the numbers, I figured out you meant the time,” he said, wishing it wasn’t so damn easy to slide back into banter with her. Her smile was a lasso tossed around his waist that brought him to his knees.
“And you are incredibly punctual, too. Not gonna lie, Jake. Punctuality is super sexy,” she said with a smile.
How on earth could a smile like that live on a liar?
Well, he didn’t technically know if she was a liar.
All he knew was she’d had brunch with his target. Given Rosalinda’s fake plays, that was enough to raise Jake’s hackles. But he didn’t have any hard-and-fast answers because Andrew was in a meeting, and Jake was still waiting to hear from his client on who this lovely woman was.
For now, he’d have to get to the bottom of this on his own, and figure out if he was being played by the woman with the starfish belly ring. He wasn’t going to let last night’s kiss cloud his focus. He wasn’t going to let that blue bikini that hugged her hips, and had the good fortune to snuggle up to her breasts, distract him. Absolutely not.
“I’m glad you made it. I thought you’d get a kick out of Happy Turtle Cove, since you named me Happy Turtle,” she said, then dropped her voice to a faux whisper. “But it’s really a cove for turtles. I was just swimming with them.”
Stop. Just stop.
Swimming with turtles was too adorable. Especially when her nose crinkled. A constellation of freckles was splashed across her nose. He hadn’t noticed them yesterday. Briefly, he wondered where else she might be hiding freckles that he’d uncover on a proper and thorough investigation of her fantastic body. Preferably with his tongue, across every inch of her skin. “You were actually swimming with turtles?”
She tapped the mesh bag on her shoulder. “My snorkel gear is in here.” She gestured to her body. “Sorry, I’m still in my bathing suit. I’ll put on a sundress as soon as this is dry.”
“Or just remove the bikini entirely so it’ll dry faster. It’s not ever necessary to put on a dress on my account. I’m completely OK with the bikini as a sole item of clothing on a woman like you,” he said, then nearly smacked himself. He had to stop thinking with his dick. He had to use that head on his goddamn shoulders.
Cover up that body. Put a paper bag over your face. Stop being so damn sexy and sweet. Stop making me think about taking you back to my hotel room and peeling off that bikini and tasting how sweet your sun-kissed skin is.
“I’m glad to know that both nudity and skimpy bathing suits have your sartorial approval. But I actually hope to look somewhat decent when you take me to the Coconut Iguana. My friend Sandy runs it.”