"A clarification." He glanced at the bag. "One of thoseisdefinitely for you, so don't stop digging after you find the first."
"Okay…" With a mixture of confusion and caution, I dug through the tissue paper and discovered – holy hell – Maisie's bubble bath. My heart gave a happy little jolt. "Oh, my God! You found it! How'd you know?"
He grinned. "You told me. Remember?"
"I did?"
He nodded. "And I saw how hard you were looking for it."
In a flash, I recalled the day we'd run into each other at that gift shop. I'd been holding the empty bottle and searching desperately for a replacement.
I hadn't found it on the island – not that dayorany time afterward. That particular blend of bubble bath had beendiscontinued, and the only place I'd found it was online for an outrageous amount – an amount I still would've paid if I weren't too afraid to use a credit card.
But now, here it was, in my hot little hands, thanks to Ryder.
It was so incredibly thoughtful, I hardly knew what to say. In the end, I dove toward him and threw my arms around his waist, with one hand clutching the bag, and the other still holding the bottle. "This is the best gift ever!" Before he could even respond, I pulled back to say, "Do you know, I haven't even told her it's missing?"
He gave me a funny look. "The bubble bath? Why not?"
The question surprised me. "I dunno…I guess…mostly because I didn't want her to be mad at me…or think I can't be trusted."
He laughed. "So she's that scary, huh?"
And now I felt guilty. "No. Of course not. Actually, she's pretty nice."
"But if she's so nice, why hide it? Why not just say, 'Hey, I spilled your bubble bath, but I'm gonna replace it?' That's whatI'ddo."
Of course Ryder would.He was entirely unrepentant. Plus, he was rich, hot, and incredibly charming. People would forgivehimanything.
But me? I wasn't so sure.
And besides, things with Maisie were complicated in ways he would never understand. So all I said was, "Well, you're a lot braver thanIam."
"Or more honest."
The statement stung just a little. "So, what are you saying? It's dishonest to not tell her?"
He shrugged. "You tell me."
I gave it some thought. "WellmaybeI figured that if I replaced it, she'd be better off not knowing."
He gave me a dubious look. "So, you were doing it for her? That's what you're saying?"
I hesitated. Italmostfelt like Ryder was trying to start an argument, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine why. I was still holding the bubble bath in one hand and the gift bag in the other. And now I felt awkward.
With a shaky laugh, I said, "Wait…are we still talking about bubble bath?"
"Ask me in five minutes."
I didn't get it. "Why five minutes?"
"Because you haven't finished digging through the bag."
Suddenly, I wasn't sure I wanted to. The bubble bath had totally made my day. But obviously something else was unfolding here, something I wasn't quite ready to unwrap.And I didn't mean the gift.
Still, it felt a little dramatic to balk now, so I dug deeper and felt my fingers close around a second item. I pulled it out and discovered –What the heck?– a nametag.
As soon as I read it, I burst out laughing. "O. Fudge. Seriously?"
