Page 38 of Break Out

I smirk at him. “Who said this was a vacation?”

He barks out a laugh. “Fine. Fine. But if we’re supposed to be dating, don’t you think this is something your hot, rich, hockey boyfriend would do for you? Charter a boat so we can go snorkeling and boating in peace. On our schedule. Not pay a hundred dollars to be on someone else’s timetable.”

“Yeah, okay,” I concede. “Call the charter company.” I step back from him and turn toward the bedroom.

“So, you agree I’m hot?”

“Don’t push your luck, sir.” I peek over my shoulder and wink at him.

“Aubrey,” he growls, scanning me up and down.

“I’m going to change into my bathing suit and pack my beach bag,” I say, needing to get away from him and cool down before I do or say anything that I’ll regret. Because that kiss. That kiss was something else.

I head to the bedroom and make quick work of changing and pulling on a cover up.

“It’s all booked.” Brody’s voice comes from behind me. “They’ll pick us up at the marina in an hour. They’ll provide a meal too. Nothing fancy, but at least we won’t be hungry.”

“Perfect. I packed some stuff in my bag. If there’s anything else you need, just add it.”

“Okay. Let me get changed and we can go,” he says, dropping a kiss on my neck before walking away.

Twenty minutes later, we’re heading toward the elevators. I’m giddy with excitement. This is something I’ve wanted to do since I discovered that Florida has a reef. The weather is perfect too—warm and slightly breezy with not a cloud in the sky. Hopefully that means the visibility in the water is good too.

“I arranged a driver to pick us up, and we can call him when we’re ready to come back to the hotel,” Brody says, glancing down at his phone. “He’s waiting for us out front.”

“You think of everything,” I say, reaching over to take his hand as the elevator doors slide open and we step out into the lobby.

“I don’t know about this,” Brody says from his spot by the side of the boat where he’s staring down at the water.

The captain dropped anchor, and we’re waiting for the first mate to bring us the snorkeling gear so we can go out.

“What do you mean, you don’t know about this?”

“I mean I didn’t think this through when you suggested it. We’re out in open water.” He gestures to the ocean in front of him.

“Yeah . . .”

“Like, deep open water,” he mumbles, clearing his throat.

“That’s correct.” Is my big bad hockey-playing best friend nervous? Shit. Did not see that coming. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can stay on the boat.”

Brody finally tears his gaze from the ocean and looks at me, swallowing before saying, “No, I’ll go. The guys will never let me live it down if they find out I chickened out.”

“I won’t tell them.” I walk closer to him and go up on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I know.”

“Here you go, folks,” the first mate says, walking up to us. He hands us snorkel masks, fins, and two life vests. “I also brought pool noodles. If you put one between yourself and your vest, it’ll act as a floatation device.”

“Thanks,” I say as we take the gear from him.

“I’m going to go set up the ladder”—he hooks a thumb over his shoulder—“and grab my gear, and we can go down.” He turns and walks away. Leaving us to get ready.

“You good?” I reach for Brody’s hand as we make our way to the stern of the boat where the first mate is waiting for us.

“Yeah. Fine,” Brody says, entwining our fingers before giving me a small smile. I’m not entirely convinced he’s not putting on a brave face for me, but I take him at his word and get ready to snorkel.

“That was so much fun,” I gush an hour later, wrapping my towel around me and taking a seat across from Brody in the bow of the boat.