by Elena Aitken
Mitch had a great day planned. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather spend it with than Jade. The second she’d gotten into the boat, she was at home. It was hard to believe that it was only her second time on a boat ever. She was a natural.
Mitch steered the boat away from the dock and out into the lake. Ian hadn’t been happy when he heard that not only was Mitch taking the whole day off, he planned on tying up some of the rentals as well. Not that Ian had much room to complain—Mitch was practically working for free and he more than deserved a day off. That being said, it was still probably a good idea to get as far away from the Dockside as possible, as quickly as possible.
The second they were a safe distance away from the marina, Mitch pressed down on the throttle and urged the boat forward. Next to him, Jade let out a small squeal as the boat sped up.
He looked over to see her smile wide, her hair flying wildly behind her in the wind. Nothing but joy on her face.
Sitting next to him, he could hardly believe it was the same woman he’d met at the summer solstice festival. Sure, she was still every bit as gorgeous—no, she was more gorgeous with the slight bit of sun kiss on her nose and the freckles that had appeared, softening her somehow. But she had also clearly taken his suggestion, and gone out and gotten some lake clothes.
“I like your new look.”
She turned toward him with a smile. “I’m glad you noticed. I am trying to fit in here. And I guess you are right, the dress pants and silk blouses weren’t exactly lake wear.” She reached over her head and tussled her hair in the wind. “I went to visit your girlfriend’s new store. She’s lovely.”
Girlfriend? It took a minute to realize who Jade was talking about. Evelyn. He had said something about going on a date with her, not that that would make her his girlfriend. Was Jade jealous?
He scanned her, looking for signs that she might be upset. But there were none. After all, they had decided to be just friends. Maybe it was possible for a man and a woman to be just friends. Even when they clearly had such an amazing chemistry together.
At any rate, Jade seemed to be okay with it. Maybe it made her more comfortable thinking that he was seeing someone? It couldn’t hurt.
“Yes. Evelyn is great. I haven’t been in the shop yet, but I know she’s been pretty busy with it.”
“You should go. It’s great. And I think I personally paid her bills for the month with all my purchases.” Her laugh rang out on the air, and Mitch had to look away.
She didn’t even know how sexy she was.
He didn’t want to talk about Evie anymore, but it was safer not saying anything. So Mitch pressed down farther on the accelerator, and the boat sped forward across the lake, skimming across the water.
“Where are we going?” Jade yelled over the roar of the engine. “And are we just going to drive around all day?”
“Oh no. I promised you a day of summer fun on the lake, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get.” Mitch pointed to the beach they were headed straight for. “We are almost at our first destination. Are you ready for this?”
She nodded. “You have no idea.”
He paused, unsure what she meant. But maybe the demands of getting a new show off the ground were proving to be more than she bargained for? It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that he’d promised her a great day, and he was more than ready to deliver. Mitch slowed the boat as they approached the shore. When he was a kid, he wouldn’t have hesitated on driving right up to pull the boat up onto the beach. But he was older and wiser now. And the boat wasn’t his. It was his brother’s, and Mitch was pretty sure Ian would not hesitate to kick his ass if he dragged his new investment up on the sand and rocks.
Instead, Mitch brought the boat to a stop, close enough to shore so that they could anchor, but deep enough that there would be no damage. He cut the engine, moved to the bow and tossed out the small anchor that would hold them in place.
“What are we doing?” Jade hopped out of her seat. “I thought we were going to have lake fun today.”
Mitch swung his arms out around him. “This is the lake,” he said. “And I promise we are going to have fun.”
“But we’re not moving.” Gingerly, Jade walked through the boat toward him. “And it’s fun when we’re moving.” She smiled and stopped walking; the boat rocked a little so she held onto the windshield.
Damn, she looked so at ease on the boat. So natural. How could he have ever thought she was a city girl? She’d only been in town a month or so, but clearly it agreed with her.
“I promise this will be fun too.”
She stuck her bottom lip out in a pretend pout. Mitch had to hold himself back from closing the distance between them, pulling her into his arms, and kissing that pout right off her face.
Instead, he fiddled with the rope. He wrapped it around the cleat on the side of the boat to secure the anchor.
“Okay,” she said, but he could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced. “I trust you. So what are we doing here?”
Mitch straightened up and pointed to the beach where he had stashed some supplies earlier in the morning. “We’re going to shore.”
“That doesn’t seem like the lake.”
“I thought you said you trusted me? We just need to go to shore to pick up a new boat.” He pointed at the paddleboards lying on the sand and pulled his T-shirt over his head before he tossed it onto the seat beside him. “Are you ready?”
“Paddleboards?” He could see she was trying not to look, but Mitch caught the way Jade’s eyes tracked over his bare chest. Her gaze made his cock twitch. “I’ve never tried a paddleboard. And besides that, how exactly are we getting to shore?”
“First,” he grinned, “if you’ve never tried paddleboarding, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s the very definition of lake fun. And second…please tell me you know how to swim. Because this day will be very different if you can’t.” Mitch hadn’t even considered the fact that she might not know how to swim. He just took it for granted that if you were at the lake, you knew how to swim.
“Of course I know how to swim.” She crossed her arms over her chest, not in any way looking like even if she could, that she actually did want to swim.
“Then what’s the holdup? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of getting wet. I mean, we wouldn’t want to ruin your hair,” he teased.
His teasing had the desired effect, just as he knew it would. Jade straightened her shoulders. And narrowed her eyes in challenge. “Do I look like that kind of girl?”
A few weeks ago, Mitch would’ve said yes. But now, there was something different about Jade. It was just slight. Fundamentally she was the same person. But her edge had softened a little, and he liked it.
Jade didn’t wait for an answer. Her fingers moved to her blouse and started undoing the buttons there. Mitch had to look away, or risk what could be an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation in his shorts. Instead of watching her, he stood on the seat at the bow of the boat and looked down into the water. It was deep enough to dive.
“What are you waiting for?” Jade moved until she stood next to him. The boat dipped with their combined weight on the bench. She smelled of coconut sun lotion, mixed with her familiar spicy scent.
“I was just making sure you wouldn’t chicken out.”
“I don’t chicken out.” She stretched her arms over her head, and Mitch got an eyeful of her creamy white skin and an impossibly small bikini. He’d seen her naked, but somehow seeing her with the red scraps of fabric just barely covering her breasts, the string tied in a knot on her back—not to mention the triangle that stretched over her perfect ass—it was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. He sucked in a breath, hoping she hadn’t noticed the effect she had on him.
“I can see that.”
Jade tipped her head with a wicked smile in his direction. “Last one to the beach is a rotten egg.” Before Mitch could even respond, Jade had pointed her arms over her head,
and with a smooth dive, arced gracefully into the water.
Oh no, she didn’t. There was no way he was going to let her beat him. Not like that. With a much less graceful dive, Mitch followed Jade into the water and gave chase.
Chapter Eight
Not only could she swim, she’d been on her school swim team growing up. Mitch might have size and strength on his side, but he was no match for her speed. Despite the fact that it had been years since she’d been in the water, Jade beat him easily and stood on the shore with her hands on her hips when Mitch finally joined her. “Took you long enough.”
He stood bent over, hands on his knees, sucking in air. When he finally caught his breath, he looked up and shook his head with a laugh. “I should’ve known. Let me guess, swim club?”
“Captain.” She turned, and with a wiggle in her hips, walked toward the paddleboards. She hadn’t been lying when she said she had never been on a paddleboard, and she was a little nervous, but she was excited too. Spending time with Mitch was easy and fun, and if he suggested it, she knew it would be good.
Recovered from his swim, Mitch joined her walking along the sand toward the paddleboards. “Don’t tell me,” he said. “You really are a pro paddleboarder too.”
He reached down and grabbed two paddles, handing her one.
“No,” she said. “I really have never tried it. I assume you’ll teach me.”
Mitch straightened up and puffed his chest out with pride. “Baby, I’ll show you everything you need to know. Let me get the boards ready.”
Jade waited while Mitch dragged the boards down to the water, flipped them over and made them ready. He waved her over and gave her basic instructions on how to kneel on the board before standing up. He made it look easy. Of course, he’d been doing it for years. But how hard could it be?
Doing as instructed, Jade laid the paddle across the board and climbed up. It wiggled underneath her and she paused to regain her balance. As soon as she felt stable, she put her right foot up, followed by her left, and stood. Jade felt the board move to the left, as her body moved to the right, and the next thing she knew, she was surfacing in the lake while her board floated away.
She wiped the hair from her eyes and smoothed it back over her head, processing what had just happened. It had seemed so simple. How could that have gone wrong?
Mitch’s laughter registered in her brain, and she spun around in the water to look for him.
Spotting him, Jade narrowed her eyes in a glare. He stood proud on his board, not even bothering to hide his amusement.
She had to admit, it was pretty funny. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make him pay. Before he could spot her, Jade dove under the water and kicked hard in his direction. She surfaced next to his board, startling him.
“Hey,” he said, barely able to speak through his laughter. “What are you doing in there?”
“Pretty funny, huh?”
Mitch nodded.
With a hard kick, Jade propelled herself upward and reached for the opposite side of Mitch’s board. She grabbed hold and yanked it toward her, flipping his paddleboard out from under him.
With a satisfying splash, Mitch landed somewhere behind her. He surfaced, sputtering and still laughing. “That’s it,” he said. “I’m going to get you.”
A thrill raced through her. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
“Baby, I only let you win before.” He wiped the water from his face and grinned. “But now, you’re mine.”
It might have been the fact that Mitch was giving chase or it could have been his choice of words, but Jade’s heart raced and she let out a squeal, before she dove under the water to put the board between them. When she resurfaced, he was gone.
She scanned the water’s surface, but it was perfectly calm. Not even a ripple. Jade’s heart beat faster with anticipation. She kicked hard and spun herself around and then he was there. Inches from her.
“Gotcha.”
“How did you—”
Her words were lost as he grabbed her bare arms and pulled her close, pressing his chest against hers. The water was cold but with his skin on hers, there was nothing but heat between them. “I have my ways.” His words were punctuated by puffs of air on her lips, he was so close.
She could’ve kissed him. Maybe she should have kissed him. But it would only do more harm than good. Besides, friends didn’t kiss. But she needed to get away from him because his proximity was testing her. And it didn’t feel like a test she could pass.
She held her breath and slipped out of his hands under the water. With a strong kick, she propelled herself toward the board that was only a few feet away.
She grabbed onto the board, and with a big kick, hopped on top. “Okay, now that I know what I’m dealing with, let’s do this.”
“You might need a paddle.” Mitch laughed and swam easily toward the paddles floating a short distance away.
Jade waited until he handed her one before she repeated the steps to stand up. This time she knew what to expect; she rose to her feet with only a little bit of wobbling.
“See? I can do it.”
Next to her, Mitch was already standing on his board, looking as if he’d spent all his days standing on the wobbly surface. It would’ve been annoying how good he was at things, if he didn’t look so damn sexy doing them.
“Maybe if my teacher had given me the proper instruction in the first place,” she grinned, “I’d already be paddling circles around you. I know your game—just trying to keep me down.”
With strong, sure strokes, Mitch paddled toward her. “Oh baby, if I was trying to keep you down, there’d only be one reason for it.”
“That how you talk to a friend these days?” Jade dipped her paddle in the water and with a heave, splashed water over him. “Maybe that’ll cool you off.”
Mitch laughed. Jade was no fool. She knew what she’d started and she wasn’t about to stick around to see what he would do in retaliation. Bracing her legs, Jade dug the paddle into the lake and pulled back, propelling her forward. It was so smooth, so much easier than she thought it would be. She’d seen paddleboarding on TV before and always thought it looked so calm and smooth. Maybe it would be, if Mitch wasn’t giving chase. A laugh bubbled from her throat, as she forced herself to paddle faster and not fall over.
“You know, I could tip you if I wanted to.”
Jade looked to her left. There was Mitch, traveling on his board right next to her, only an arm’s length away.
“But you don’t want to?”
“I want to do a lot of things, Jade.”
Water droplets dripped off his hard, muscular chest. Jade tried not to stare. No, she tried not to lick her lips. Because she had never been drawn to a man the way she was with Mitch. Why did things have to be so complicated? It didn’t matter. She shook her head and refocused. He was with Evie now.
“But what I want most of all,” he continued, “is to have a great day with you. And there’s something I want to show you. Are you up for it?”
Jade nodded. There was nothing she’d rather be doing than spending the day with Mitch.
“Great. Have you ever seen an eagle’s nest before?” She shook her head, not that she needed to. Mitch would’ve known the answer to that question. “It’s the coolest thing,” he said. “And you can only get to it by water. I wanted to take you by paddleboard because it’s quieter, and maybe we’ll actually get to see one of the babies. The engine from the boat scares the mother.”
Together they paddled side by side, the conversation easy and light as they made their way along the water’s edge. Mitch was right. The eagle’s nest was the coolest thing she had ever seen. Living in the city, Jade never realized how much she missed out on. It was remarkable.
They weren’t able to see the babies from where they were floating on their boards, but just to see an eagle so close up, the mother keeping watch on the edge of the nest, was incredible.
They didn’t speak much as
they made their way back to the beach. But it was an easy silence. Jade had never experienced such an ease with a man before. Maybe it was because they decided just to be friends. Maybe it was because they had taken sex out of the equation.
Whatever it was, Jade didn’t want to lose it. Her thoughts drifted momentarily to the secret she still kept. Once he knew, everything would change. And she needed to be ready for that.
The flickers and flames of the campfire mesmerized Mitch. He stared into the coals momentarily before he tossed another log on to the fire. It had been a great day. Probably one of the best in recent memory. Hell, he couldn’t remember having so much fun with Bethany. For a while, he’d even considered marrying her. That seemed like a million years ago now.
“What are you thinking about?”
They’d been sitting in silence for a few minutes. It had been an easy silence. With no pressure to talk about mundane things. Things that just didn’t matter. But he liked talking to Jade, and he welcomed the question.
“Honestly?” Normally he would never think of telling a woman what he was about to. But she just seemed different. She nodded, so he continued. “I was just thinking about how glad I am, that I met you.” In the dancing firelight, he saw something flicker across her face. But it may have just been the flames, so he continued. “And how glad I am that I knew when to get out and come back to the lake.”
Jade sat up and wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Get out of where?”
“Out of the future that would’ve been bad for me.” There was no point going into details, especially because the more he lived in the now, the more he realized he was in the right place. Maybe even with the right person.
It wasn’t a new thought, and it wasn’t one that surprised him. Ironically, it was probably the date with Evie that concreted things for him. He had been so busy focusing on what he thought he should want, he hadn’t even seen what he needed. He was more and more sure that what he needed was Jade.
Maybe he just needed to convince her.
“I think finally, after so many years of trying something else, I’m finally back where I should be. At the lake. Something about this place fills your soul. Do you agree? Or do you think I’m crazy?”