Lucy’s hair smelled like coconut sunscreen and saltwater.It was delicious and intoxicating. Which was why Skye pulled away quickly.
Weird. That was too weird,she told herself. Her face was politely neutral even as her ears burned red and hot. Hugging was fine. Hugging was normal. But smelling her hair? Smelling definitely crossed a line.
“Lucy is the winner!” Marla exclaimed. “Nova, you’re headed back to the house, sweetheart. You too, Charlotte. But don’t worry, you both get to go back to the villa on the jet skis.”
Charlotte didn’t look too pleased. In fact, she looked quite panicked. Not that Marla noticed; she was already moving. “Congratulations, Lucy. You get to stay and enjoy the date.”
Lucy’s grin widened, almost becoming too big for her face. She looked at Skye with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and suddenly something Skye refused to acknowledge bloomed bright and hot in her chest.The cameras panned in exactly like Skye knew they would, and she gave a quick, tight smile as if she had this under control.
She did not.
And now she found herself alone with Lucy on a beach, trying very hard not to look at her mouth and her very kissable lips.
Chapter Eight
Lucy wasn’t sure what she had expected after jet-skiing her way into a date, but it definitely wasn’t paddleboarding.
Still, she wasn’t complaining. The sun was warm on her skin, the ocean ridiculously pretty, and Skye, who was stoic, confusing, and deeply attractive in a strange way, was standing a few feet away in a sleeveless rash guard, taking off her shorts to reveal pale but magnificent legs.
Lucy had to tear her eyes away before she became too obvious on national television. What would her parents say if they saw her ogling another woman while hundreds of thousands watched?What would her friends say?
“I’m impressed,” Skye said, fiddling with the ankle leash of one of the paddleboards lying face up on the sand. She was looking down as she spoke. A few strands of red hair had escaped her bun and were hanging in tendrils across her cheeks. “That was quite the entrance.”
“I’m glad I made an impression. Isn’t that what this show is all about? Making an impression on you,”Lucy said in a breathy voice.
Skye glanced toward her and smiled. The smile was barely noticeable, but nonetheless, it counted. Lucy tried not to look too proud of herself. Getting a smile out of the bachelorette felt like a win.
“So how did the whole thing work?” Skye asked. “How did you and Charlotte end up jet-ski jousting for my attention?”
Lucy laughed. She was already warm from both the sun and having Skye standing so close. “Well, after beach volleyball,when we all got back to the villa, there was an envelope on the patio table. Alexis spotted it first, of course.”
“Oh,” Skye said as her eyebrows scrunched slightly behind her sunglasses. “What did it say?”
Lucy could still remember the exact words since she had read them over and over again. “Want a chance at the one-on-one? Two of you will win the opportunity to scoop it up. Prove how badly you want it. It was very ominous.”
Skye choked on a chuckle and straightened. “Seriously?”
“Yup,” Lucy said, nodding. “We all thought it was going to be some athletic death match, but nope. We had to playNever Have I Ever.”
Lucy had only ever played that game once, and it was in college with her roommate Cassandra and four of her friends. Someone had saidNever have I ever questioned my sexualityand everyone had laughed, including her, but Lucy hadn’t taken a sip.
She’d vowed never to play it again. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have gotten out of it even if she had wanted to. And she didn’t, because all she could think about then was seeing Skye again by winning that one-on-one.
“It started out normal… never have I ever gone skinny dipping.”
She hadn’t. Although there was that one time in Lake Tahoe, when she and her ex-girlfriend, Kat, had come dangerously close after too many ciders. But they’d chickened out when a group of teenagers had shown up with Bluetooth speakers.
“By round three, it was getting a little raunchier. It was things like never have I ever kissed my friend’s ex-girlfriend. Or, never have I ever done it in a swimming pool.”
Skye made a sound that was halfway between a groan and a chuckle. “And you won?”
“Ashamedly, yes,” Lucy replied, bowing her head dramatically. “Well, Charlotte and I did. We were the last two standing,” Lucy replied. “Turns out most of the girls had kissed their friend’s exes, dated someone in a band, and hooked up in a public restroom. I guess I’m either boring or deeply repressed.”
“I doubt that,” Skye said.
Three simple, innocent words, but somehow Lucy was suddenly aware of how hot it was, how warm her cheeks felt, and how close they were standing.
Without looking at Skye, she crouched down to unzip the tote bag that moments earlier had sat in the cabana and moments before had been carefully deposited on the sofa by one of the PAs. Inside was a beach towel, a bottle of sparkling water, and a tube of sunscreen.
