by Gina Wilkins
“Uncle Bryan can’t make it,” Shelby said, appearing from behind him. “He called me and asked me to let you know. There’s a plumbing issue in one of the cabins and he’s dealing with that.”
“I see.” He noted that Shelby looked fresh and clear-eyed despite the early hour. Her blond curls were pulled into a loose ponytail, and she wore a pink-and-white-striped top with denim shorts. Far from his mental image of the typical accountant. And entirely too appealing, considering her father was standing three feet away watching them.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll take Uncle Bryan’s place in the boat,” she said. “I just happen to know how to get to his secret fishing hole, and I guarantee you’ll catch enough for your dinner tonight.”
Though she spoke lightly, she gave him a significant look, proving once again that subtlety was not her strong suit. His lips twitching with a smile, he played his part, though flirting with her didn’t exactly tax his limited acting skills. “No offense to your uncle, but you would definitely be my first choice for a fishing guide.”
Her smile practically sparkled in approval. “Uncle Bryan is the real expert, but I know my way around the lake.”
“Don’t you have to work today?”
“Yes, but my hours are flexible. I can start later this morning.”
“Then, by all means, let’s fish.”
Her father looked from one of them to the other, as if sensing a subtext he didn’t quite understand, but Shelby rushed Aaron into a flat-bottomed fishing boat before her dad could ask any awkward questions. It was just as well Shelby had chosen accounting rather than investigation for a career, Aaron thought, fastening the mandatory life vest he’d been given to wear. Despite her penchant for elaborate schemes, she had little talent for subterfuge. And that was hardly a bad thing. The last woman he’d dated for any length of time had been able to lie without even blinking an eyelash.
“So, what did you do to the plumbing in the cabin?” he asked as Shelby threaded her ponytail through the back of a green ball cap emblazoned with the resort logo.
She frowned at him from beneath the bill, her expression delightfully indignant. “I didn’t sabotage the plumbing! It was just a coincidence that it happened this morning when you had plans with Uncle Bryan.”
He raised his hands in apology. “I was only teasing.”
“Good.” She started the motor with a jerk of the starter rope.
Aaron turned to face the front of the boat as she guided it out into the open water. Sliding his sunglasses onto his nose, he tugged his cap lower on his forehead to keep it from being blown off by the wind whipping past his cheeks. The front of the boat rose slightly out of the water, slapping against the surface as it sliced across the lake. The cushion beneath him softened his jarring against the aluminum seat.
Shelby guided the boat into one of the feeder creeks edging the large lake, the roar of the motor subsiding to a rumble as she circumvented underwater obstacles with the ease of familiarity. She stopped in a cove where the water glittered almost emerald in the morning sun. “You should catch some white bass in here, maybe a largemouth. We can go in a little closer to shore if you want to try for crappie or bream. I’ve caught plenty of pan-sized bluegills closer to that bank, but most guys seem to prefer catching bass.”
Aaron chuckled. “I’ve got nothing against bream. Deep-fried and served with hush puppies and coleslaw, they’re darned tasty.”
She laughed and slipped on a pair of dark-rimmed sunglasses. “Yes, they are. Want to try for a bass first?”
“Sure.” He opened his tackle box and drew out a three-inch crank bait. “This look about right?”
Examining his choice, she nodded. “Worth a try. Let’s see your stuff, city boy.”
They spent the next two hours casting, reeling, retrieving snagged lures, occasionally landing a fish. They kept only a few, releasing the others back into the lake. Aaron admired Shelby’s fishing skills, though he supposed they were only natural considering her background. Fortunately, he was practiced enough not to embarrass himself in front of her.
Shelby had brought two large travel mugs of coffee and Aaron sipped his as he watched her expertly land a lure in just the right spot to tempt a hungry fish. It was no surprise to him when she had an immediate strike. She reeled in a two-pound white bass, admired it for a moment, then thanked it for letting her catch it and released it back into the water.
Aaron grinned. In long-standing fisherman tradition, they hadn’t talked a lot, preferring to savor the sounds of chattering birds and splashing fish, of water slapping against the banks and boat motors passing on the open lake. The silences hadn’t been awkward, but pleasantly companionable. Occasionally, they pointed out things that caught their attention—a water snake gliding near the shore, a doe and her fawn cautiously taking a drink at the far end of the narrow cove, two big turtles sunning on a partially submerged log.
Lounging comfortably on his seat, he studied her through his tinted lenses. She looked relaxed, utterly at ease, completely genuine. If last night’s kiss crossed her mind, she didn’t let it show. She’d probably written it off as an impulsive action on his part for the benefit of Terrence Landon. Maybe she thought he was simply cooperating with the favor she had asked of him, that the kiss wasn’t even worth mentioning today. She couldn’t know how many times he had mentally replayed it after she’d left, brief though the embrace had been.
Once again he found himself remembering the last woman he’d been involved with. Elaina. Stunning, and fully aware of it. Clever, witty, seductive. Highly competent in her sales job, highly skilled in bed. She’d kept him so hot and bothered that it had taken him several months to realize there was almost nothing genuine about her. Everything she said and did had an agenda, every move she made was calculated and choreographed. Breaking up with her had probably been the impetus that had led him to reexamine his life yet again and determine that he hadn’t been any happier in commercial real estate sales than he’d been in his tumultuous affair with Elaina.
Studying Shelby as she snapped a photo of a heron with her cell phone, he couldn’t help but smile. There was no way Elaina would sit in a flat-bottomed fishing boat in denim shorts that revealed scratched knees, her hair escaping in damp tendrils from a battered ball cap, the smell of fish on her unpolished fingertips. Was Shelby really so unaware of her own appeal? She’d remarked so casually that her cousins and sister were the “pretty ones” in the family, as if she considered herself less attractive. He’d sensed that she hadn’t been fishing for compliments, simply stating facts as she believed them.
In his opinion, she couldn’t be more wrong. Maggie was certainly pretty, and he assumed Hannah was, too, though he hadn’t seen her. Lori, though young, was definitely eye-catching, with her offbeat style and willowy figure. Yet Shelby was the one who brought a grin to his face, who could talk him into going along with her impulsive schemes and somehow make him think it was entirely rational, who had kept him awake for a good part of the night with the memory of a kiss she had yet to even acknowledge this morning. And he’d known her less than twenty-four hours. Which could be a sign that he needed to start being a lot more careful around her.
Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she gave him a quizzical look. “What?”
“Nothing. Just admiring the view.”
Her smile pushed shallow dimples into her cheeks beneath the rims of her big sunglasses. “You don’t have to flirt with me now. No one’s watching.”
“Maybe I just need the practice.”
She huffed out a skeptical laugh. “You? Yeah, right.”
“Besides,” he added, ignoring her implication that flirting came a bit too easily to him, “someone is watching us. Don’t look around, but I think Terrence Landon is sitting in a boat just across the lake—I said don’t turn around,” he added quickly when she instinctive
ly started to swivel on her seat.
She resisted but it was with an obvious effort. “Is he looking at us?” she asked in a loud whisper, though the other boater was too far away to hear a normal tone of voice.
“Occasionally. He’s fishing, but you’re right. He’s not particularly good at it.”
“Is he alone?”
“Yes.”
“How long has he been there?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“And you’re just now telling me?”
He chuckled quietly. “I was curious to see how long he would sit there. He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave.”
“What should we do?”
He set his rod in the bottom of the boat. “What we’d have done even if he wasn’t there. It’s about time for you to get back to work, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “Have you fished enough?”
“I have. Want to join me for a fish fry this evening?”
“Oh, very clever,” she said approvingly. “Yes, I’d like that.”
She thought he was giving her an excuse to hang around his cabin again. Maybe he was—but it had little to do with spying on his neighbor. He just wanted to spend more time with her.
He reached out to tug at the brim of her cap, a gesture that was both teasing and flirtatious. Not nearly as satisfying as a kiss, but he would be seeing her later. “Then let’s go. Give your guest a friendly wave when we pass him.”
She did so—maybe a bit too energetically, but Aaron figured if the guy had spent any time at all around Shelby he’d have to know she did everything with enthusiasm. Following that line of thinking could lead him into trouble, he thought ruefully, lifting his chin in a casual greeting to the other fisherman.
Aaron was definitely attracted to Shelby, but that didn’t necessarily mean he planned to do anything about it, other than to enjoy her company. Being surrounded by her extended family didn’t exactly make a hot summer fling a likely possibility and he wasn’t on the market for anything more. Even if this wasn’t the worst time in his life to start a new relationship, Shelby had made it clear that she was happily ensconced here at the resort, and that she wasn’t looking for anyone, either.
Which didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the time he spent with her, he thought, holding on to his cap as he sent her a grin over his shoulder. She beamed back at him, and he swallowed. Maybe another few kisses wouldn’t be out of line...just for the sake of the favor she’d asked, of course.
* * *
Maggie set a stack of time sheets on the corner of Shelby’s desk, then propped a hip on the desktop. “Warning—Lori’s in a mood this morning.”
Shelby groaned. Her sister’s bad moods were notorious. Lori would speak pleasantly and professionally to any guests who crossed her path, but a hapless family member could end up with metaphorical bite marks. “Thanks. I’ll keep a wide berth.”
“We’ve talked her into taking some time off this afternoon. Mimi’s going to run the front desk for a couple hours. So,” Maggie added with an arch smile, “you took Aaron fishing this morning?”
A little startled by the abrupt change of subject, Shelby looked up from her computer keyboard and pushed back a curl that had escaped her ponytail to tickle her cheek. “Your dad invited him, but then Uncle Bryan had to deal with that plumbing problem in Cabin Four.”
Maggie chuckled. “Yeah, the kid in there flushed a handful of rubber bath toys. They were shaped like sea creatures, so he thought they could swim through the pipes.”
Laughing, Shelby shook her head. “I didn’t hear that part.”
“Dad said the kid’s a terror. So about that fishing trip...”
Shelby lifted a shoulder. “After Uncle Bryan had to cancel, I volunteered to fill in. It’s not like I’ve never taken a guest fishing before.”
“Ah. So you were just being a good resort hostess.”
“I didn’t mind. You know I like to fish occasionally.”
“Especially with a good-looking guy in the boat?”
“That does make a nice bonus,” she admitted. “We had a pleasant outing. Aaron caught some fish and he invited me to join him for dinner this evening.”
“Yeah? So...?”
“I said yes. But it’s no big deal, Mags. I just met the guy yesterday.”
“I know. But he did seem sort of taken with you,” her cousin replied speculatively. “The way he looked at you yesterday—I don’t remember his brother looking at you quite that way.”
That comment pleased Shelby on several levels. It demonstrated the cover story she’d concocted was credible, so maybe Terrence Landon wouldn’t question her spending extra time at the cabin next door. And she had to admit her ego was stroked by the prospect that her family would believe a man like Aaron would be interested in her. Ever since Pete had broken up with her, they’d been prone to reassuring her that there was someone out there who would appreciate her “unique qualities.” Her pride had taken a beating from those well-intentioned encouragements. She wasn’t even quite twenty-six yet, for heaven’s sake!
Of course, considering that both she and Hannah had struck out big-time when it came to romance—Hannah almost taking the rest of the family down with her—and that neither of her siblings nor Maggie had thus far found a compatible match, maybe her generation just didn’t have the same luck with love their parents and grandparents had experienced.
“Aaron’s a nice guy,” she said lightly. “I find it interesting how different he is from his brother, even though they’re identical in appearance. If he wants a little company while he’s here, I certainly don’t mind spending time with him.”
Maggie frowned and searched her face. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Shelby widened her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Right. This is about the guy in Cabin Seven, isn’t it? You’ve roped Aaron into investigating him.”
Shelby sighed. She’d been trying to convince her family for more than a week that something strange was going on in Cabin Seven and no one had taken her concerns seriously. But everyone sure seemed interested in what was going on with her and the occupant of Cabin Eight. “I haven’t roped Aaron into anything.”
“But you asked him to look into it?”
“Maybe,” she muttered. “He still invited me to have dinner with him. His idea, not mine.”
“Right. “ Maggie nodded as though a question had just been answered for her. She straightened away from the desk. “Now I understand. Okay, have fun playing detective with the hot twin. Just try to stay out of trouble, okay? Hannah’s got enough issues for the lot of us.”
Thinking of her other cousin’s current situation, Shelby nodded grimly. “I’ll see you later, Maggie.”
So maybe her cover story wasn’t quite so foolproof, after all, she thought when Maggie left her office. So far both her mother and her cousin had almost instantly guessed that she’d asked Aaron to spy on Terrence Landon. And Maggie hadn’t seemed to think it likely that Aaron had met Shelby yesterday and been instantly attracted to her. Which wasn’t particularly flattering, but not really a surprise, either, she thought pragmatically.
“You’re a great girl,” Pete had told her the night they’d had their breakup talk. “One of the best pals I’ve ever had, you know? But the thing is—well, I guess I’m not looking for a pal as a girlfriend.”
She hadn’t even gotten mad at him for saying it—other than wishing she’d been the one to say it first—because she’d felt much the same way. Pete was a nice guy, fun to be with, nice-looking in an average way—but she’d been aware that something was missing in their relationship. She’d been considering breaking it off herself, but he’d beaten her to it. Which meant no one had believed she wasn’t really heartbroken. They simply assumed that when she said she’d
planned to break up with Pete, she was bravely saving face.
She sighed and reached for the computer mouse. The thing was, she’d learned how to cast before she could write, could clean a fish blindfolded, could back up a boat trailer into a space barely wide enough to clear the tires, could jump a ramp on water skis and spin around in midair before landing on the water again, could keep the books balanced and taxes in order...but she had never mastered the simple art of flirtation. She was just as likely to get the giggles if she tried being vampy, was more prone to sprint than slink, and tended to rattle off whatever thoughts crossed her mind rather than carefully choosing words designed to appeal to a man’s ego.
She knew Aaron was entertained by her. He seemed to like her. But as for anything more, she had asked him to play a part and he was going along with her, either as a favor to his brother’s friend or because it amused him to do so. Maybe a little of both. He’d kissed her, but only because Landon was watching them. Not that he’d seemed to mind. He had probably even enjoyed the experience. Whereas she’d been so stunned she’d had to concentrate fiercely on driving the half mile to her home without running into trees.
Shaking her head in self-recrimination, she focused on her computer monitor, reminding herself that she had work to do.
* * *
Aaron cleaned his catch, stashed the filets in the fridge, put away his gear and then checked his watch. Not even quite noon on his second day of vacation.
With a wry smile, he glanced at the resort brochure on the kitchen bar, the flyer he’d found on Andrew’s office floor. The colorful photos weren’t misleading. So far this morning, he’d seen people fishing, swimming, boating, biking—all the activities shown in the ad. Maybe he’d had vague ideas of throwing himself into that action when he’d impulsively headed this way, but he wasn’t really in the mood for any of it at the moment. If Shelby had been free to play with him, he was sure he’d have enjoyed any of those pursuits, but she had to work. Unlike her obviously boneheaded ex, Aaron admired rather than resented that she took her responsibilities to the family business seriously.