20
Vinnie
“This is nuts.”Bianca drops her purse on the sand near the wraparound porch.“The water is so blue.”
She spent the entire flight typing away furiously on her laptop, trying to work on the problems her editor and agent had told her needed to be fixed.
I studied game film and the team’s playbook, hoping like hell I was ready for our first preseason game.
We each have a lot on the line.I am fighting for the starting quarterback position, and she is chasing her dreams, wanting each book to be more successful than the last.
“There’s no place like the Caribbean and absolutely nothing like a private island.”
The island’s small but more than enough for the two of us.With no one around to bother us, we can spend a few days soaking up the sun, relaxing to the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore, and clothes are entirely optional.
Bianca stares in my direction with a smile.“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“You needed to get away, and to be honest, I wanted you all to myself.”I lift my T-shirt over my head, exposing my chest and arms, knowing full well Bianca likes the way I look without my shirt on.
She’s no longer looking at the ocean as her eyes rake over my bare chest.“We could’ve gone to Mackinaw or somewhere less exotic.”
I grab her around the waist and haul her against my bare chest.“You can’t walk around naked in Mackinaw.”
I have big plans this weekend.I’m going to sweep her off her feet and make sure she knows we are meant to be together.We work.We’re both workaholics, with big families, and we’re just plain right together.
She swallows hard.“I can’t walk around naked.”
I brush the backs of my fingers against her cheek.“You wear what makes you feel comfortable, but I plan to soak up the sunshine.”
“I have a swimsuit.”She rests her palm against my chest and smiles up at me.
“A bikini?”I lift an eyebrow.
The thought of her in a bikini, the sun glistening off her skin dotted with water droplets has my cock hardening.
“Something like that.”
I grab our bags and haul them up the stairs because the ocean is calling my name.“Come on, babe.Let’s go for a swim.”
Her footsteps are heavy on the steps behind me.“I don’t really love going in the ocean.Just looking at it.”
I drop the bags to fish the key out of my pocket.“Just a few feet,” I tell her, trying to find a happy medium.
“Sharks can get you in a foot of water.”
I laugh as I put the key in the lock, opening the door.“Seriously?You think a shark is going to eat you?”
“The Bahamas have a fuckton of sharks.”She grabs her suitcase from my hand and steps inside, leaving me on the patio.
“Who says?”I ask as I follow her inside.
“Google.”She glances around the empty house with big eyes.“Holy shit.This place is…” Her voice trails off as her mouth hangs open.
“Ridiculous.”I finish her sentence.
From the outside, it looks like a normal Caribbean home with a beautiful wraparound porch.The inside is more decadent, with oversized furniture, shiny polished-wood floors, and lush draperies.
“It’s absolutely beautiful.”She looks up toward the high, wood-beam ceiling.“This makes our places look boring.”
