“Ready to go?” he asks.
“Definitely. Where are we headed?”
“It’s a reef between two islands, but he says we should see some turtles if we’re lucky. Are you a strong swimmer?”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Thank you for taking me with you.”
There’s an unhappy curve to his mouth for a moment before he shakes his head, putting an arm around my shoulders.
“This is a trip for both of us.”
The warmth that erupts inside me at those words is far too pleasant. It feels like home.
By the time we arrive back from the trip, I’m exhausted but in the best way. Lucas paid for a guide to take us on a private tour where we saw baby stingrays and reef sharks amidst the coral. A turtle swam right underneath me. I felt like a mermaid.
The islands were breathtakingly beautiful, but my favorite part of the whole day was the journey to and from the reef. That was when Lucas started telling stories about his family. They sounded like an outrageous and crazy bunch, but he clearly cared deeply about all of them, particularly his little brother, Charlie.
He even told me some stories from his early days in business, leaving me in tears of laughter by the end. I learned that he sold his first company at nineteen, made his first million by twenty-one, and supported Charlie through college when his parents struggled financially.
He’s so much more than I ever expected him to be.
We reach the beach at sunset, streaks of pink and gold wash over the sky as the sun lowers on the far horizon.
I step off the boat, my muscles sore from all the swimming, shoes held in my hand as Lucas follows me.
There are a couple of guys on the beach as I walk through. They’re sitting together, propped up on the sands, their eyes following me as I walk by, probably no more than eighteen or nineteen.
They’re both tall and tanned, grinning at me with very white teeth. The look that we exchange lasts for seconds only, but an automatic smile spreads over my face as a possessive hand moves around my waist, and Lucas comes up beside me, blocking my view of them.
When I redirect my smile his way, he doesn’t notice, too busy glowering at the boys as he all but drags me over the uneven sand.
I stumble, but he doesn’t let up until we’re nearing our hotel. This island must be for the super-rich, as there are barely any people here. The beach is deserted, with a solitary palm tree bent over in front of us, the leaves almost touching the waves.
Once we’re on the other side of it, Lucas spins me around and pushes me up against the trunk.
“Is that what you’re into?” he asks, his voice an angry growl. “Young men with tanned skin and white teeth?”
I laugh because I think he’s joking, but then he’s crowding me, his white linen shirt coming loose to show me a glorious triangle of his golden skin.
“You’re just as tanned as they are, Lucas. What are you talking about?” I ask with a laugh.
“But I have twenty years on them.”
I can see the jealousy in his eyes. I feel a strange rush of happiness that he thinks I would ever look twice at another man.
“Well, theywerepretty good looking,” I say with a smirk as he presses his body up against me, but he’s smiling at my tone.
“Is that right?”
“Mmm, I should go and say hi—” I grunt as he crushes his mouth over mine and grips my body tightly against his.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he growls at me, and pulls me away from the trunk and away over the sand.
I think we’re heading back to our hut, but as we turn the corner, I come to a halt, staring at the picture ahead of us. There’s a solitary table on the sand, and tiki torches leading down to the ocean in a long, flickering line.
I’m suddenly nervous.
Isn’t this what someone would do for a girlfriend? Why is he wasting so much time on me when I’m a sure thing?
