“You’ve got a little…” He gestures vaguely toward my face.
“A little what?” I ask, swiping my cheek.
“I don’t know,” he says. “Something.”
“That’s helpful.”
“Here,” he murmurs.
And before I can process whatheremeans, he leans in and swipes his thumb across the corner of my mouth. And then—seemingly without thinking—he gives his thumb the faintest, reflexive taste.
“Herb mayonnaise. Yum.”
It should gross me out. It absolutely should. Instead, my stomach does an undignified little somersault.
“Hey, y’all.”
Cara has wandered up to the bow, cradling a handful of potato chips, her mouth curving into a smirk.
Nate leans back, settling into one side of the V-shaped banquet. Half a second later, I do the same.
“Nate, can you please not flirt when I’mright here?” Cara says sweetly. “Some of us are trying to digest.”
“Fuck off,” he says easily. Then winces, looking toward the back of the boat where Linney and the kids are sitting. Luckily, they don’t seem to have overheard.
“I’m just saying, you gotta be careful,” Cara continues. “You get all charming for five minutes, and girls start thinking you mean it.”
Heat flares in my chest. But not the fun kind—the mortifying kind. I hate that Cara saw right through me. Saw the stupid little spark that should’ve gone out the second Nate said we were better off as friends.
God. What am I doing? Besides sitting here with mayo on my face acting like the world’s thirstiest idiot.
From the captain’s chair, Cooper lifts his empty beer. “Should we head back?”
Everyone murmurs in agreement—everyone except me. Because, apparently, humiliation and unresolved sexual tension make a potent, chaotic cocktail.
“Actually,” I say brightly, my smile too sharp, “we can’t head back yet.”
Six heads turn.
“Cara still has to take her turn on the tube.”
“Oh, really, I’m fi—”
“Uh-uh-uh.” I wag my finger playfully. “You’re not a true Bennet until you’ve gone tubing on the lake. You’re going to be a part of this family, right?” I ask sweetly, blinking at her, all innocence.
Cara just stares at me for a beat, then her eyes narrow, and she matches my grin. “You know it. Okay, I’ll take a quick turn. Cooper…”
“I’ll go super slow, babe,” he assures her.
Cara climbs onto the tube, cautiously settling on her stomach. Cooper drives just slightly above idling speed, pulling her in a perfectly straight line that barely disturbs the water. She looks more like a princess being ferried across a moat than someone being “tubed.”
I make my way over to the steering wheel and tap Cooper on the shoulder, trying to keep my grin casual. “Could I have a turn driving?”
Cooper’s eyes narrow. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Come on, you’ve been hogging the wheel all day.” I pout. “I’ll just bring us back to the dock.”
Cooper relents and steps aside so I can stand at the wheel.
