Kat looked over, making him realize how very close he was to her right then. He caught hints of that tropical scent of her as she gave him a playful nudge with her arm.
Her skin was warm and silky against his. He liked it. Without a second thought, Zander cradled her hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to the back of her fingers.
Kat kept trained on the action before her gaze drifted back to his face.
Heat. Longing. Desire. Every magnetic thing that happened when chemistry struck—all of it flared in the space between them. Igniting a passion he didn’t want to deny.
An electronic buzz sounded from nearby, reminding Zander of their company. The cameras. The crew. Duke—who’d be watching it all unfold.
He pulled back and cleared his throat. “Guess we better move on to the next subject.” He’d said it playfully, but he’d meant it; thoughts of kissing that pretty mouth again were wreaking havoc on his mind.
A small tap came to Zander’s arm, drawing his attention toward the other side of the table. A little boy stood there, holding the same tray and dome the girl held moments ago.
“Oh, my turn for the question,” he guessed, prying the shiny dome from the tray. “Thanks, man,” he said to the kid. He snatched the card there, held it so that Kat couldn’t see the question, and grinned as he read.
“This doesn’t apply to you. At all,” he warned. “But I’ll read it anyway. If you had to choose, would you trade good looks for intelligence or intelligence for good looks?”
She grinned. “How does this not apply to me?”
“It’s obvious,” he said. “You already have both.”
“I could say the same thing about you,” she countered. “But let’s apply this to…a less confident season in my life, like when I was a gawky teenager. I might have been willing to trade intelligence for good looks.”
Zander lifted a brow. “I have a hard time imagining you going through an awkward phase,” he challenged.
“Trust me,” she assured. “I did. I was the classic geek with her nose in a book. And even my popular older sister couldn’t save me, though she tried.”
“Did you wear glasses?” he asked.
“Of course. I still wear them when I wake up,” she said. “I don’t usually put my contacts in until I’m getting ready for the day.”
“Huh,” he said. “I have a feeling you’d look pretty sexy in a pair of glasses.” The comment sounded a whole lot like Duke, which was a good thing, he guessed.
Kat shook her head as her cheeks went pink. “What about you? Have you ever felt…lacking in either department?”
He thought back on his own adolescence. “Intelligence never felt like an issue for me either,” he admitted. “But I do remember wishing I’d hurry up and bulk out already. I got tall first, really tall—and I was pretty skinny there for a while. But the truth is, I valued intellect more than most kids. To me, it’s always been one of the most attractive features in a woman.” He hoped she’d catch his insinuative brow lift as he gave her a nod.
“Well, you’re the minority in that camp,” she said.
But Zander disagreed. “I don’t think so. Most of my friends felt the same way.”
“Well, just ask sixteen-year-old me,” Kat said. “The girl who watched her friends get asked out while she sat home most nights.”
As much as Zander didn’t like hearing that, he knew the reason behind it. “That’s because you were intimidating. Trust sixteen-year-old me. The guy who only dared ask out girls who flirted with him shamelessly.” He shrugged. “Guys are lame like that. Until they grow into men,” he added.
Kat’s cheeks went pink once more. “Huh. Good to know.”
And there went that heat again, the alluring draw that had him wanting to pull her close, wrap his arms around her slender waist, and kiss those pouty lips of hers.
Hurry and get here, Duke. Before I do something we’ll all regret.
Zander hated how torn he felt. How quickly he justified giving in to the pull. Well, they’re the ones who put me in this predicament. What did they expect?
No, it was better that Duke came and took his rightful place.
A reflection of the sun on the water’s surface caught his eye, reminding Zander of something they’d heard on the way to their bungalow. The water surrounding most of the nearby islands was shallow for miles to come.
He sighed, set his gaze back on the woman at his side, and wished he could say the same for the waters he found himself in right then. As shallow as the immediate ocean might be, Zander knew that—with a woman like Kat by his side—he was already in over his head.
