Mac took a whiff of the fresh-brewed coffee.The man was smart to make coffee before waking her.She could be a bit of a gremlin before she got her morning dose of caffeine.
Mac rolled back over to face him to see him holding up the steaming mug.Mac sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before finger combing her hair.She was sure she looked a mess but wasn’t going to blatantly point it out.
“Thank you.”She took the mug in both hands and took a sip.“I can’t believe I slept in so late.”
“You must have been tired.”
“Somebody exhausted me,” she said in an accusatory tone, but there was no heat in it.
“Should I apologize?”he asked, not looking unrepentant in the least.
“No, and I don’t think you would even mean it if you said it.”
Barry shrugged with a look that said she was right.“What can I say, I can’t resist you.”He leaned forward and kissed her, uncaring about her morning breath.It wasn’t a deep kiss, just a sweet peck.
If she were being honest with herself, she had the same addiction to him.It was the last thing she wanted.It was just supposed to be a bit of fun, without getting emotions involved.She was failing on that.Already she was dreading when he’d have to leave, and it had only been two nights.What was she going to do when he was here longer?“I need to go shower, but I’m late.”
Mac set down her mug on the nightstand and scooted out of the bed.Barry stood up to let her out, and she hurried into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
She used that time to get her emotions back under control.When she made it back to her bedroom, Barry was already gone.She quickly dressed in her swimsuit and put her shorts and red short-sleeved shirt over them.
Barry was waiting for her in the kitchen with what looked like a sandwich in a napkin.“What is that?”she asked when he held it out for her.
“Breakfast.”
Mac looked at it harder.There was egg and bacon inside the bread.“Thanks.”She took it and bit into it.The bacon was nice and crispy, but the egg was still hot and threatened to burn the roof of her mouth.She sucked in a breath and moved it around before she was able to swallow it.
“You’re welcome.I wasn’t sure if you needed lunch or if your crew handles that.”
Normally she packed her own lunch, but since she wasn’t supposed to go out today, she didn’t last night.She didn’t dare risk taking longer to make one and raise Barry’s suspicions.“We rotate on the boat who brings lunch.”She didn’t plan on spending all day on the water either.A few hours and she would be back with no one the wiser.Mac checked her watch again.If she was really going to work today, she would already be out the door.“I should get going.”
“I’ll walk you down to the dock.”
“No,” she said more forcefully than she meant.It threw Barry off too by the wide-eyed look he was giving her, but she couldn’t risk him going down to the dock and not seeing anyone waiting for her.“Sorry, there’s no need to do that.I’m sure you have things to do today.”
“Not for a while.”
“I’m sure you want to go back to your hotel and shower.”She was grasping at straws for any reason for him not to walk her to the dock and catch her in a lie.
“It’s along the way.”
Mac wasn’t getting rid of him as she’d hoped.Instead of continuing to push him and start to raise his suspicions, she grabbed her stuff and headed for the door.Barry quickly followed in step.
“Will you back around the regular time?”
“I’ll be back earlier, I think.”She just wanted to scope out that area where the sharks had been disappearing.It wouldn’t take her all day to do it.“Why?”
“I was going to see if you want to have dinner with me?”
“Are you planning on spending a majority of your vacation with me?”She enjoyed spending time with Barry, but shouldn’t he be doing other things on his vacation than hanging out with her so much?
“Is that a problem?”
It just meant more time for him to set his claws inside her heart, only to rip them out when he left.“No.”As much as it was going to hurt when he left, she enjoyed spending time with him.“But instead of going out to dinner, I have a better plan.”There was a perfect place to go for a little picnic.
“What’s that?”Barry asked, stepping closer to her, looking intrigued.
“It’s a surprise.”
