With Ian leaving in an hour?
Fat chance.
Chapter Fifteen
Ian placed three white candies on a strip of tape, then paused. He glanced up at Scott and put one more candy down on the strip. Scott laughed. “Ok, daredevil. I see your three and raise you another one.”
“You’re using four?” Ian connected the tape to the inside of his two-liter bottle of cola and screwed on the cap. “Good luck catching it.”
“I don’t need luck. I’ve got skill.” Scott taped the strip with four candies inside his bottle. “Need I remind you the score is still two-to-one with this meteorologist in the lead? Since these are the last two bottles, there’s no way you can win.”
“So much smack talk. I don’t have all day you know.” An hour was more like it. Then he’d be homeward bound. Pushing the thought aside, he refocused on Scott and lifted an eyebrow in challenge. “Ready?”
They shook the bottles aggressively. Foam roiled in the hardening bottle. Scott nodded. “Set.”
“Go!”
Ian tossed the bottle in the air, then backpedaled to watch it hit the ground. It shot a few hundred feet into the air, spewing cola. Scott let out a whoop as his bottle kept going upward while Ian’s began its arch downward. Ian tracked his bottle across the clearing as it fell.
Ignoring the cola raining down on him, he caught the bottle. He lifted the dripping trophy in the air. “Score!”
Scott stood in the clearing looking around in confusion. “I lost mine.”
“You lost it? How could you lose it?” Ian scanned the trees near the outskirts of the small clearing, the only reasonable place for it to have gone.
“Well, Ian, when your rocket goes stratospheric—”
“It’s in the tree.” He pointed to a tree a few yards away. “See the brown stuff dripping down?”
“Yeah.” Scott jogged over to it. “Hey, give me your bottle. I’ll use it to knock mine loose.”
Ian laughed. “No way. I’m not helping the competition.”
“Then how am I supposed to get it?”
“Climb.” He shrugged when Scott sent him a dirty look. Ian walked over to the tree to watch Scott climb it. “It’s farther to the right. Not that far. Careful. The branch doesn’t look strong.”
Scott’s reached over, fingers brushing the oozing bottle. “I think I’ve got it. Nope. Don’t got it.”
The bottle dropped from the tree branch right into Ian’s arms. Ian grinned up at Scott. “And Ian takes the lead with a come from behind win. Final score? Three-two. The crowd goes wild.”
“What? Oh, come on. That was out of bounds! It doesn’t count.”
“Sure, it does.” He checked his watch. He had fifty minutes to shower and finish packing. “Got to go, bro.”
Scott sent him an exasperated look. “Seriously? You’re just going to leave me up a tree?”
“Sorry! I still have to finish packing.” Ian waved, then jogged to the bungalow. He rinsed the cola bottles in the sink, then stashed them in the recycling bin before jumping into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he was dressed, packed, and ready to sign out.
Ian headed to the trailer that housed Miriam’s office and living quarters. Stepping inside, he found Miriam sitting at her desk, looking rather harried as she spoke to someone on the phone. Scott surveyed the goings-on in obvious amusement from his perch on the corner of her desk. And…
Ava.
His breath caught in his throat. Still dressed in her pirate regalia, she tilted her head and watched Miriam closely as if that somehow enabled her to hear the other half of the woman’s conversation. He swallowed hard. Man, he’d missed her.
He slid his fingers through his still-damp hair. The movement drew her attention. She straightened and met his gaze. Did her face light up at the sight of him or was it only his imagination?
She gave him a quick, soft smile. “Hi, there.”
“Hey.” He held her gaze until she tore it away to refocus on Miriam who ended the call
Ava lifted an eyebrow. “We have a deal?”
Miriam sighed. “Yes, we have a deal.”
“Wonderful!”
Miriam seemed to think it was anything but. She took her clipboard and swatted Scott with it. “I need my desk. Ian, come sign for your belongings. We’ll go through it together. Initial this row. Sign at the bottom.”
He stepped up to the desk as she unlocked a drawer and set a clear, gallon-sized plastic bag on the counter next to the clipboard. It contained his cell phone, charger, wallet, and keys. She pulled out a second bag and set it in front of Ava before locking the drawer. “Ava, you do the same. I’ll grab your suitcase from storage.”
“I’ll help,” Scott volunteered, already following Miriam out the door.
Heart pounding in his chest for no good reason, Ian sent Ava a surprised look. “Are you leaving too?”
“Yep. My contract didn’t have the sequestration clause that the others did. They were too busy trying to hide the whole ‘pirate reality show’ deal. I’m free to go.” She eyed his duffle bag. “Are you due back at work pretty soon?”
He’d lost his ability to count, apparently. With no idea how much cash he was stuffing back into his wallet, he signed off that it was the correct amount. “I’m not due in for another couple weeks, actually. I’m on a leave of absence.”
“My folks won’t be expecting me either.”
That almost sounded like an invitation. His pen stopped. He glanced up to find her gaze already on him. Intense. Turquoise.
Breathing became a problem. Before he could finish telling himself he was misinterpreting things, she slid herself and her clipboard closer to him. “Ian, I don’t want to go home yet. Do you?”
“No. Not really.”
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Then let’s don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have our passports. We can go anywhere in the world… outside of the continental United States—at least for the next week. I promised Living History that much. Other than that, the world is our playground.”
It would be great if he could think. He glanced down at the clipboard to gather his thoughts, then searched her gaze again. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? “You want to travel together?”
For the first time, she seemed to hesitate. “Well, that was the general idea, but I guess we wouldn’t necessarily… I could travel on my own, maybe. Or, I could stay here and—”
Looking in her eyes, there was only one answer. “Ok. I’ll go with you.”
She stilled. Her gaze searched his, then filled with cautious hope. “Really?”
“Sure.” It wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to face the Holdens. A trip was a great idea. There was no reason not to go together. Besides, it didn’t necessarily mean anything. It was only a vacation.
Wow. That was a whole lot of rationalizing to say he’d already decided. “Where do you want to go?”
“Wherever you want, and it’s on me. Don’t argue. It’s the least I can do. You would have gone so much farther in the competition if you hadn’t had to go all Alexander Hamilton for me.”
“Alexander—” Ian held back a laugh. “Oh, you mean because he died in a duel.”
She made a sad face. “Yeah, he did. Poor Betsy.”
“Betsy?”
“His wife. He called her Betsy.”
He leaned into the desk. “Ok. Well, I’m not dead. Your name isn’t Betsy. I can pay my own way.”
Her eyes turned flinty. “I’m paying, but we don’t have time to discuss this. Our boat will be here soon. I still need to shower and change into modern clothes. I also have to provide Miriam my flight and hotel confirmations, which means I need to reserve a flight and a hotel. Now, is there somewhere you’ve always wanted to go?”
He shrugged. “The Caribbean, but—”
“Me, too! We haven’t actua
lly been yet. Were you interest in any island in particular?”
“St. John is supposed to have amazing snorkeling. There are also some cool historic sights.”
“Perfect! I need a computer,” Ava said as the front door open.
“You can use mine.” Miriam slid behind the desk. “Let me bring up the guest account.”
“Are you sure?” Ian asked. “We can use my laptop.”
“Mine is already connected to a printer.” Miriam handed the mouse over to Ava. “You’re all set. Ava, Scott is carrying your stuff to Ian’s old room. I assumed you’d want to change and freshen up before the boat gets here.”
“I sure do. Thanks, Miriam.”
“No problem. You guys work on this. I’m going to take inventory of the food left in the bungalow before the boat gets here.”
Ian pulled up a chair beside Ava’s. “We’re decidedly out of cola.”
Miriam paused halfway out the door. “Do I want to know?”
“Probably not.” He grinned when she shook her head in exasperation, then let the door shut behind her. Refocusing on the computer screen, he asked, “What have you got so far?”
“Still trying to figure out how to use this strange, glowing magic panel.” She traced the edge of the screen. “Oh, internet, you beautiful thing, it’s been so long.”
He bumped her shoulder with his. “Stop flirting with technology. We need tickets and a place to stay.”
“Look! An itinerary with tips on how to find a place to stay. How convenient. I know what I’m doing, bub.”
He frowned. “It says the island is low on hotels.”
“We can rent a private house. Wow. This one is gorgeous.”
He watched as she clicked through photos of the rental property. He could see them lounging on the porch swing together, watching the sunset, cooking together in the kitchen. A photo of one of the two bedrooms popped up. Nope. Not happening. “Two private houses located near each other.”
She stilled. She glanced at him, then back at the screen. “Oh. Right. Good thinking. Let me go back a page. Here. These are in walking distance of each other. Oh, this one’s nice. Good reviews. Let’s check the other one. Cute! I’ll take it.”
“Wait. Compare the check-in times with the flight arrival times.”
“Smarty.” She searched for flights. “This might be more complicated.”
“We can always spend the night in… whatever city they take us to first. For kicks, will you GPS us and see where we are?” A moment later, he watched her zoom out on the map. “Looks like we’re closest to Miami.”
She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but they could take us to one of these smaller towns for the night. Would you mind checking with Miriam?”
It took a couple of minutes to confirm they’d be taken to a smaller town, then driven to Miami immediately. Living History already had a room reserved for Ian. Miriam called the hotel to set up another one for Ava while Ian went back to the office. He found her already printing something.
She met his suspicious look with a smile. “I realized that we’d have to fly out of Miami no matter where we stayed tonight, so I booked our flights. That allowed me to book the villas in St. John.”
He crossed his arms. Tilting his head, he lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t.”
“Yep. We’re good to go.” She grabbed the plastic bag with her stuff and edged past him. “Finish printing that out for us, will you? I’ve got to let my credit card company know my identity hasn’t been stolen, then head to the shower.”
“Ava,” he protested.
“Ok, bye.” She blew him a kiss and rushed out the door.
He watched the computer spitting out their tickets and confirmation numbers. Steamrolled. Completely steamrolled.
He sank into the chair with a sigh. “Frustrating woman.”
He clicked through the tabs she’d left open, going over the choices she’d made. He printed out a copy for himself, so he’d know how much to reimburse her. They had a midmorning flight out of Miami to St. Thomas where they would take a ferry to St. John. They’d arrive at their villas in the afternoon. The rest of their itinerary seemed to give them time to both relax and explore.
Honestly, it seemed like the perfect honeymoon spot—which was weird because they weren’t even dating. Right? That had been the agreement. After the show… Well, they hadn’t exactly specified what would happen. He’d assumed nothing. This certainly felt like it was turning into something.
He couldn’t get ahead of himself—especially since he didn’t know what she was thinking. Besides, they may not be on the show anymore, but that didn’t mean it would be a good idea to jump into a relationship. He still had Emily issues. Ava’s parents probably wouldn’t approve, and their approval still meant a lot to Ava.
However, there was a little wiggle room now. No more cameras watching their every move and filming it for the entire world to see. Privacy was a wonderful thing, but it didn’t change the facts.
They were simply friends. A man and woman who cared about each other. Going on a vacation together—to one of the most romantic places on earth.
Nothing wrong with that.
R
A knock on the bathroom door preceded Scott’s voice. “Ava, the boat is here.”
“I’ll be out in a second.” Ava finished combing her wet hair, added a little product, then scrunched and pinned it into a messy bun. Finally, she dared look in the mirror. “Oh, my freckles!”
She leaned closer to get a better look at her cheekbones. “Hello, Orphan Annie.”
Ok. It wasn’t that bad. Beneath the freckles, her cheeks had a nice, healthy blush. It was amazing what a ton of fresh air and hard work could do for a complexion. Unfortunately, exhaustion and lack of sleep hadn’t done the shadows under her eyes any favors. She unzipped her makeup bag and searched for her concealer. “I can’t believe I wore this much makeup.”
She had bronzer, liquid foundation, matte foundation. Powder… Actually, she could use some of that. She pulled it out, then went back to digging. She found blush, primer, liquid eyeliner, pencil eyeliner. Why did she have so much eyeshadow? Highlighter. Brow filler. Five different lipsticks. Makeup setter. Good grief. Where was the concealer? Tinted moisturizer with sunblock. That could come out to play. Finally, concealer!
On it went with the moisturizer and a quick brush of powder. Mascara never hurt anyone. Tinted lip balm.
“Ava!” Scott called.
“Ok.” She didn’t have time for anything else. She wasn’t entirely sure what she would have added, anyway. She threw everything back into her makeup bag, tossed the bag into her purse, and gave herself one last glance over. For her first modern outfit in weeks, she’d chosen comfortable green romper edged with white lace. Brown sandals and dangly gold earrings completed the look.
As far as she could tell Ian never gave a second look at what she was wearing, so she was definitely dressing for herself. She lifted her shoulders to feel the bra straps, then smiled wide enough to show her freshly brushed teeth. Her mouth tasted like mint. It was wonderful.
Knowing Scott would knock on the door again at any second; she grabbed her purse and headed out to the living room. Scott stepped out of the kitchen with a white rectangle in hand. “Ice cream sandwich for the road?”
“Ice cream?” Her mouth watered. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll grab your luggage for you.”
“Thank you.” She ripped open the package and followed him out the front door.
Scott wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You and Ian are going on a romantic vacation together, huh?”
A mouthful of ice cream saved her from having to answer him right away but almost choked her. She swallowed with some difficulty, then coughed to make sure her throat was clear. “It’s just a vacation.”
Her words brought him to a stop. She took another bite even as she stopped with him. Noticing the storm brewing in his gray e
yes, she covered her mouth to mumble, “What? What did I say?”
He frowned at her. “Ian really likes you, Ava. You should have seen his face when I was telling him about how you stood up for yourself. He was so proud of you and desperate to hear how you were. He’s a good guy. He gave up his spot to defend you. He deserves way more than just a vacation.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means if you don’t care about him…” He shook his head, then tried again. “I’m saying I hope you’re taking him seriously.”
“Ok.” But, she wasn’t supposed to be taking him seriously. Or was she? They’d both been eliminated from Pirate’s Plunder, so what did that mean for their real-for-the-show romance? She probably should have figured that out before she invited the man to travel with her on a somewhat-secluded island getaway for a week. She hadn’t been thinking. At least not beyond missing Ian and not wanting to go home— especially if it meant not being with Ian.
Oh. Well, shoot. She liked Ian. That wasn’t anything new, though, right? She’d had a crush on him from the get-go. But, what if it was more than that? Who was she kidding? Of course, it was more than that. And if he was interested in her too…
No. She wasn’t going to assume anything. That’s what had gotten Emily into trouble and had led Ian to pretend something he wasn’t feeling. Ava knew exactly why Ian had expressed interest in her. It had nothing to do with being attracted to her and everything to do with trying to protect her from Dash. It’s why he’d dueled to the death for her. Though why he’d felt such a need to look out for her, she still couldn’t fathom.
Curiosity got the best of her. Or maybe it was hope that made her ask, “What makes you think he’s taking our relationship seriously?”
“What more proof do you need after everything he’s done?”
A word on the subject from Ian would help. At the very least, some hint that he was attracted to her. She’d asked him to keep the public displays of affection to a minimum on camera, but there had been several opportunities where he could have been more romantic. In fact, now that she thought about it, even the small amount handholding and hugs they had shared on camera had mostly been initiated by her. She shrugged. “I just don’t think he’s that into me.”
Beyond the Tide Page 18