by Evie Jordan
Yeah, she had. But he had to know she’d never admit it. The easy smiles that passed between the two men had felt more brotherly than friendly. Both her and Regan had watched for far longer than was necessary.
“Something you should know about me,” she said, her heart already racing. “Since you still seem interested.”
They walked in silence.
“I make snap judgments about people, and I’m stubborn.” Their bare feet stirred the soft sand as they walked down the gentle slope. “Those traits don’t go well together because it means I don’t like changing my mind.”
Again, his arm bumped hers—this time it felt more purposeful, teasing. “Does that mean you’re changing your mind about me?”
Finally, she allowed herself to peer up at him. Sweat dripped from his brow. Brown eyes reflected laughter—still full of mischief, but also kind. “To be honest,” she started, “you seemed like a different version of the guys I’d been on a boat with, and while they think they’re rebelling against their parents, they used their trust fund money to buy a sailboat and they don’t have to work to eat, so…”
“So, it’s a bit of a tame rebellion,” he finished.
“I’ve just spent most of my life around monied people and they don’t often surprise me, but you keep surprising me.”
“In a good way?” Again, his arm brushed against hers.
The side of her hand bumped against his, and for a moment she pictured their palms together, fingers interlaced. “I like being surprised. I like that I chose to do something different. Or, maybe it’s the choice to do almost nothing instead of everything. My tame act of rebellion.”
“Rebellion, huh?” he asked.
“I quit college. Twice. I’ve been traveling for a while, as cheaply as I can, and when my brother finished school, he and his friends had this brilliant idea to take a year and sail the Caribbean.”
“So, you dragged them down your path, eh?” he teased.
Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, Katy wasn’t quite sure. Maybe she’d been a motivating factor—someone from their parents’ group of friends who wasn’t checking off the “successful life boxes” as quickly as she could. “And your story?”
“Colby and I developed an app for college students, and not quite a couple years ago, we got a payout.”
“Oh.” Katy peered up at Trace again. “You’re the COLLEGE LIFE guys.” Of course. Trace didn’t just look familiar because he seemed to be a copy of too many men that she’d met, he looked familiar because of the press surrounding the deal.
He nodded once. “I’m almost bummed you know.”
“Why?”
“Since people with money seem to be such a turnoff for you.”
This time, she let her shoulder bump his, sparking another round of heart-flipping. What was it with her body reacting to this guy? “It’s that I grew up around people who’ve had money for generations. No matter how much you or Colby make, you’d never end up in that club—at least not fully.”
A half-hearted shrug. “I’ve never been one for clubs.”
“Then ditch the designer T-shirts.” She poked his stomach, only he still hadn’t replaced his shirt, so she ended up skin on skin. Heat raced through her body. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she found her words again. “They make you look like a prick.”
His dimples deepened. “After growing up in a three-bedroom apartment with two siblings, and parents who worked long hours, I…” His words faltered.
“You went a little crazy at first.” She finished the sentence for him this time.
His head wobbled from side to side, as if he was considering how to answer. “A bit.”
They walked the last turn that deposited them on the far side of Crescent Beach—probably the reason the island had earned the name of Paradise Island. Protected enough from the great wide Atlantic because of the shape, but the crescent was large enough to offer a lot of space.
Her feet hit the warm water and she released a long breath, letting her eyes fall closed. Trace stood close enough that her shoulder rested against his bicep.
This was very dangerous territory. She was starting to like him.
She waited for the inevitable tease or almost-kiss, or even a different move from him, but instead she heard splashing and opened her eyes just in time to see him dive into the water.
Katy followed.
After her swim and departing fast enough that Colby couldn’t walk back with her, Katy stood in her small room. There were times when hiding was okay, but she really owed her parents and friends back home a message or something.
Moving toward her bag, she hesitantly pulled out her phone. After plugging it in, she headed for the small office in the Harbor House to go over drone footage and start to build a PDF map of the trails on the laptop.
Instead of following the lines of the paths, Katy found herself zooming in on the two men working. They had more money right now than most people would see in their lifetime, and they were doing manual labor. Now, Trace probably wouldn’t have worked without Colby shaming him into it, but still he was out there and smiling and installing trusses and insulation.
Stop, Katy. She had no idea where she even wanted to be a month from that moment.
She forced herself to look at the distance footage she’d gotten of the trails and start a simple outline in the computer program. As she worked, she could zoom in for certain areas and add more detail. But one thing was certain—building this map was an excellent distraction from her jumbled thoughts.
Chapter Seven
The messages from Trace’s parents were almost exactly what he expected.
Hope you’re having fun. When will we see you again? We can’t thank you enough…
And there was a pang of missing them. But so much had changed between Trace and his parents. Trace’s money had allowed his mom to retire and even though his dad insisted he keep working, he’d taken a part-time job at a library, rather than continue supervising a large janitorial staff.
Instead of giving his parents the quick quips he normally did, he sat down and wrote a long letter. He outlined his fears in becoming so well-known in his world so fast, and then he talked about needing to be grounded somewhere but he was afraid to commit as to where that might be. And finally, he talked about Katy—the woman who pushed back, had an infectious smile, and who he knew…he knew if he could just convince her to give him a chance, they could be amazing together. There was something spectacular about her that he wanted to know more about.
He reached the end of his letter and paused, wondering if he’d said too much, but hit send anyway. If he were home, these would have been things talked about over cards or meals or elaborate desserts. Trace stretched out on the large bed. Sometime soon, he had to talk to Colby about the benefits of hiring out more work on the island. More skilled workers would mean better quality work and more rooms available for rent on a faster timeline.
Before falling asleep, he stared at the wall of his cabin. Katy was two cabins over. No one else had rented space. Only a few boats sat in the harbor, but all were scheduled to leave in the morning…He guessed that as soon as Katy had done the challenging work on Paradise Island, that she’d take off. He wasn’t at all ready for that to happen.
Trace sat on the edge of the dock—the ones the sharks used as a resting place, only low tide had the dock out of the water. His mask was on, his diving vest was on. His tank was in place. Katy sat next to him—her gear worn from doing actual diving.
She tested out her mask by placing it on her face and not using the strap. The mask stuck.
Once her breath released, the mask fell into her waiting hands. “Your turn.”
Just as she’d instructed, he placed the mask over his nose and eyes and took a quick suck of air in through his nose. The mask stuck.
“If you never breathed through your nose, you could dive without the strap,” she said. “But we all do, even when we don’t really mean to.”
“Human nature,” he said as he pushed a little air out his nose, dropping the mask into his lap.
She rolled her delicate neck, shown off by the braid Regan had done in her hair. Katy put her mask back on and rolled the strap over the back of her head. Trace did the same.
Holy. Crap. He was about to slip into the water. Underwater. Yeah, it was shallow, but…his eyes floated below them again to the fish below.
He held his regulator in his hand. “I’d just like to point out that there are sharks down there.”
“These sharks are like Irish Wolfhounds.” She rolled her eyes. “They look terrifying but are really just lazy beasts.”
Trace peered over at her before staring back down at the water. “I just don’t like that my manhood is being tested in front a woman who is more badass than me, when my life is on the line, that’s all.”
Her mouth twitched, and he held in his smile, glad she was finally paying him some attention. “Your life is not on the line.”
“Just my manhood, then,” he said as he patted his vest. “Good to know.”
“Would it really affect your feeling of manliness if I drop myself to the ocean floor, and you stayed on the dock?”
“Well…” With Katy, he figured honesty was always going to work in his favor. “I’m aware that the PC answer is definitely not. That I’m very comfortable with strong women. And while your strength was the very first thing that attracted me to you, I’m now seeing the downsides, because I do believe that my petty self would feel like less of a man if you slide off this dock, and I don’t.”
Her grin said it was the exact wrong thing to say, and a second later, she dropped into the water. Her head bobbed just above the surface. “I’m going to put in my regulator now. Then, I’m going to release the air in my vest. I’m going to wait on the sandy bottom until you sort out yourself and your manhood so you can join me.”
Oh, hell…
“And know that I won’t judge you…much…if you don’t join me.” She blew him a kiss, set her regulator in her mouth, and bubbles emanated from her vest as she slowly sank to the bottom.
Colby stepped out of the sundries shop and peered down. “You’re not letting her stay down there alone, are you?” He pointed to two of the larger sharks, slowly swimming her way.
Trace’s pulse thundered in his ears. “Do something!”
“They’re just curious, Trace.” Colby took the few steps down to the dock before nudging his friend with a foot. “Get in.”
No more thinking. He slipped off the dock, his head light with fear. He shoved the regulator in his mouth and released the small bit of air in his vest, slowly sinking to the bottom.
His rear lightly touched the sandy bottom.
Katy held up a small whiteboard with the words BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT printed in big letters.
He nearly gave her a thumbs up before remembering that was the sign for going up. Instead he flashed her an okay, just as a shark tail touched his shoulder.
He skittered sideways, until his other shoulder bumped something. Trace jerked back, only to see Katy staring at him—the laughter evident in her eyes despite the layers of both diving mask and ocean water between them.
Swiping the board clean with a wrist, she put her pen against the white board again.
LOOK AROUND RELAX
He’d honestly rather close his eyes and pretend he wasn’t sitting in shark-infested waters. Their ruined bodies and torn-up gear could be the highlight of next year’s shark week.
Why had he agreed to this?
Trace blinked and froze when a giant shark nose, followed by a giant shark, lazily swam toward him. Well, the movements appeared lazy, but the shark moved through the wooden supports for the dock above as if it weren’t even trying to be fast. But it was…fast.
Katy grasped Trace’s hand and have him a squeeze. She dropped the board and gave him the “ok” sign.
Yeah, easy for her to say. She was probably a faster swimmer than him. He’d be shark bait, and she’d be alive and on shore.
But the shark simply circled over them and then slowly drifted to the ocean floor about ten feet away.
Wow.
Katy pointed out each shark, stopping at eight. Three larger ones, the largest of which had apparently settled down for a nap next to them, and many smaller ones.
Trace was underwater with sharks. And then Katy pushed off the ocean floor and started swimming away from him. Trace scrambled forward and kicked to catch up. He coughed, but the regulator held. Breathe in. Breathe out.
They weaved around the pilings under the dock; bright coral passed underneath him, and quick, bright fish swarmed. His attention went from her legs, to the fish, to her legs, to the coral, to her legs…
The longer they stayed underwater, the more he understood why people loved diving so much. He was suddenly part of a world he’d only ever seen on TV. Yellow fish, blue fish, striped fish…Coral every color of the rainbow. Trace followed Katy under the docks, along the rocky shore edge, in awe of how much life was just a few feet under the surface.
When Katy turned back toward him and tapped her dive watch, he looked down at his own. Five minutes of air left? That’s all? Time had flown.
She pointed back the direction they’d come, and Trace nodded. This time he led, searching the ocean floor beneath him. Another shark swam under him, its lazy movements making it move three times faster than him. If that thing wanted him, he’d never get away. A shark’s lazy swim was so much quicker than him pushing to get back to the dock.
His breaths had come quicker, which he didn’t realize until the shark was far ahead and his breathing slowed. He checked his watch again. One minute.
He’d never make it back in time!
Trace stopped and pointed again and again at his watch.
Katy stopped next to him, looked at his watch, and then pointed up.
He slapped his hand on his mask. Of course. He could just go to the surface. She was never going to let him live this down. In response, she took the regulator from her mouth and kissed his cheek. Katy pushed the button on his vest that sucked up a bit of air from his tank, and he floated to the surface.
Swimming above the water wasn’t nearly as fun as swimming below, and now that he knew how much life was down there, not seeing it as he kicked his way back to the low dock, made him a wee bit nervous. Were sharks near? One of those brownish pointy fish that killed everything? Were they under him now? Or now? Or now? His breaths came out short and fast.
Katy emerged from the water ahead of him and he stared as she climbed the ladder and sat on the dock.
“How was it scaredy-cat?” she called.
He grasped the ladder, still trying to catch a full breath. What a rush. “Pretty sure I’m hooked for life.”
Her face held a circle of a red mark around her eyes, and her lips were slightly swollen from the regulator, but as soon as he was next to her, all he could think about was planting a kiss on the corner of her mouth. He held still. “Thank you.”
“Always fun to drag someone else into my obsession,” she said.
Her obsession. Cool sport for a cool woman. What else was he going to learn about Katy…Katy…Crap. Did he seriously not know her last name? There was going to be no good way to bring that up. And just when they were making something like progress.
Chapter Eight
Katy stared at the ceiling, wondering about her friends back home, her parents, her old life…Although, she still hadn’t found the courage to check her phone. She shifted to her left side, and then to her right, and then on her back again.
Sleep wasn’t going to happen, at least not for a while. She pushed off her sheets and opened her door, letting the warm evening air pour into the room.
“Hey,” Trace said softly from the end of the boardwalk. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
She blinked in the darkness. “Scare me?”
“If you came out and saw the shadow of some random guy out her
e.”
She’d spent most of her life around guys, and it wasn’t like there were a whole lot of strangers on the island.
“I was headed out for a walk,” he said. “Would you like to join me?”
Would she? That was a very good question.
“I missed you at dinner,” Trace said, snapping her attention back to the moment. “And I think you’re about to tell me you’d rather be alone.”
Another simple question she didn’t have the answer for. He was just a guy.
“Yeah.” Katy cleared her throat. “Sorry. I couldn’t sleep and...”
“I know how that is.” He shrugged. “Obviously.”
Right. Where was her brain?
He swung toward the trail. “So? Yay or nay?”
Laughter spilled from her lips. “Yay or nay? Is that a common expression for you?”
He shrugged. “I think you’re making my offer to walk with you a tricky one, when it’s an easy one.”
She was doing exactly that. “Let’s walk.”
He held out a hand, and Katy stared.
But again, this was a simple thing. Did she want to feel their hands together? Yes, yes she did. Katy joined him, letting her fingers slip through his.
Trace tightened his hand, pressing their palms together. Some softness in his palms and some coarseness, probably from helping Colby.
The wide, sandy pathways on the island already felt familiar—even in the dark. The gentle slope of the island rose, making her legs strain a little with the effort.
He didn’t speak. She didn’t speak. They crested the hill before Trace whispered, “I’m wondering if I disturbed what would have been a peaceful walk for you.”
“No.” Her quietness didn’t stem from expectations or nerves or even from the fact that she had company. “I was thinking about home and family and friends I haven’t seen in a while, but I can’t find the energy to check my phone.”
Their palms pressed together again as he tightened their fingers, and her heart squeezed with the newness of him.