“Don’t be ridiculous,” Skye interrupted, her voice sounding far more shrill than she would’ve liked. “I needed fresh air. That’s all.”
But Marla didn’t look convinced.
“I just needed air,” Skye said again. She gave Marla another look and then stepped inside of the bungalow before she slid the door shut behind her. The soft click sounded way too loud in the quiet of the night.
Chapter Sixteen
Lucy’s lungs screamed first. Not because she was out of air, because technically, the snorkel did its job. She screamed because her brain had never once trusted the idea that breathing through a plastic tube while floating face down in the ocean was safe. There were just too many variables. Too much saltwater was waiting to rush in and drown her.
It wasn’t that she hated the ocean, or water for that matter. It was just that she preferred solid ground beneath her feet. Growing up in Westchester County hadn’t exactly prepared her for ocean sports. Chlorinated suburban pools, no problem. An occasional swim in the sea was fine. In fact, skinny dipping might even be her new favorite activity. But snorkeling thirty feet from a boat in the actual sea was a rather horrific thought.
“Don’t you just love this?” Amy spluttered beside her.
Lucy jerked the snorkel out of her mouth. “Love is a strong word.”
“Oh, come on, Lucy, you need to relax.” She gestured toward the endless turquoise horizon. “You’re too high-strung. Snorkeling is all about letting go, succumbing to Big Blue. Let the ocean direct you. Let the fish see your inner self.”
“My inner self?” Lucy asked, frowning.
Amy laughed. “Ask Nova,” she said, tilting her head toward Nova, who was floating on her stomach with her bottom exposed in a sexy thong. “I overheard her lecturing Alexis about the ocean’s energy earlier.”
“I can’t imagine Alexis took that very well.”
“She told Nova the only energy she was interested in was from a fully charged blender making her a margarita. Her words, not mine.”
“I could do with a margarita right about now,” Lucy muttered and imagined herself on a lounger somewhere with a cold drink in her hand. Anywhere with dry land. Anywhere but here. She directed her gaze to the ocean beneath her, to the blue shifting from turquoise to an impossible indigo. It was deep. Lucy had no idea how deep and that should’ve been terrifying. Itwasterrifying. But also—
There was Skye, interrupting Lucy’s thoughts.The bachelorette suddenly came into view, slicing beneath Lucy. Her hair was a ribbon of fire cutting through the blue. It was impossible to miss her from above, even with the gentle waves bobbing Lucy up and down. Skye moved smoothly and easily through the water. Her long legs kicked steadily, and her arms glided in a way that Lucy hadn’t expected. She had never expected Skye to look so natural in the water. But that just showed how little Lucy actually knew about Skye. It highlighted how all the time that they had spent together, with and without the cameras, was all on the surface kind of stuff.
There had been nothing deep and nothing overly personal.
Lucy’s chest squeezed tighter, and this time it had nothing to do with the snorkel and everything to do with their conversation on the beach last night. Skye had shut down so fast that Lucy had felt the temperature of the night drop. Now, watching her glide below, looking so damn hot, Lucy’s regret was a knot in her stomach. She wished she could rewind. She wished she could turn back time and not bring up the whole Skye-kissed-Alexis thing. She wished she had acted like a normal human being and not someone who was jealous. Because that was what she was… jealous.
“I’m heading back in,” Amy said, nudging her head toward the water gleaming beneath her. She didn’t wait for Lucy to reply before she dove in with her flippers kicking off toward the deep, leaving Lucy bobbing alone.
Lucy blew out a long, slow stream of air and was just about to dive back in herself when Skye surfaced directly beside her. Not that she wanted to, but the cameras were watching, and she didn’t want everyone watching the show to think she was totally incompetent.
“Hi. We need to talk,”she said. Her voice was muffled over the water.
Lucy swallowed hard and glanced around at the other contestants. Alexis was watching them with a slight frown on her forehead while she clamped the snorkel between her teeth. Cleo had her mask tipped up and a curious expression on her face. Nova was squinting in their direction against the sunlight. Not to mention the camera crew positioned on paddleboards all around them. Too many eyes.
“Not now,” Lucy whispered under her breath. “The other girls are—”
But a touch interrupted whatever she was about to say. Skye’s hand brushed lightly against her hip beneath the water. Her touch was soft. Tender. She stroked her thumb along the bony prominence and then moved lower… and lower…
Lucy shuddered. She forced her gaze upward, away from the waterline, where she could not only feel Skye’s thumb press a little harder against her skin but also see it.
“I don’t like how we left things last night,” Skye said.
“It’s fine.”
“It isn’t,” Skye replied. Her voice was quiet enough that even if the cameras were any closer, all they could hear was the sound of waves crashing against the hull of the boat. “I should’ve explained myself better.” She paused, glanced around at thecamera crew, and toward the boat where Marla stood watching. She hesitated for a second longer before she finally said, “I enjoy what we’re doing. I like you. But this is a show, and I’ve got a role to play. Just like you do.”
Lucy held her breath. Not because of the explanation, or the fact that she had just said I like you, but because Skye’s hand was now on her thigh. Herinnerthigh.
“And what role is that?” she asked, her voice all shuddery and breathy.
“You’re supposed to try to swoon me,” Skye said.
