Page 31 of Deadly Waves

Mandy stilled. “James didn’t say anything.”

Grady had the grace to look abashed. “Oh, then where did the question come from?”

“It came from an afternoon conversation we had with Sophie,” Mandy replied. “She admitted she’s ready for you to propose and that her feelings were hurt when Jake proposed to Ally before you popped the question to her.”

“How is that my fault?” Grady protested. “She told me she wasn’t ready. I’ve been walking around on pins and needles for months wondering if I was going to get a sign from her when she was finally ready for me to bare my soul and beg for eternity.”

Mandy flicked the spot between his eyebrows, causing him to rear back. “There’s your sign. Propose.”

“You have a vicious streak,” Grady groused, rubbing his forehead. “That was mean.”

“So is making her wait when she knows you have a ring,” Mandy pointed out. “Grady, I know you love her, but she’s starting to question your feelings. She actually said she’s been wondering if you took the ring back and changed your mind. How bad do you think her insecurity has gotten if she actually said that out loud?”

Grady’s heart sank as the truth behind Mandy’s words washed over him. “Bad,” he conceded. “I didn’t mean to do that, though. You have to know that.”

“I do know that,” Mandy said. “You need to get your head out of your butt and do the right thing, though. Sophie is ready and if you wait much longer she’s going to cry … or freak out. Trust me. That’s not what you want.”

“No, that’s not what I want,” Grady agreed, sighing. “I’m going to do it. I want to plan a special night where it’s just the two of us. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

“Do I look worried?”

Grady took the opportunity to flick her back, causing her to scorch him with a dangerous look. “Don’t open your big mouth about me bringing the ring,” he warned. “I’ll be ticked off if you do.”

“I would never do that because I don’t want to ruin the surprise for Sophie,” Mandy said, rubbing her index finger over the spot Grady flicked. “I’m going to help Ally shave your head while you sleep for doing that. You know that, right?”

“I’m not afraid of you either,” Grady said, smirking as James returned to join them. “Remember, I know your dirty little secret.”

“And if you open your mouth I’m going to fire you,” James warned, handing Mandy back her phone. “All of the dirty photos are gone. I have them. You can show everyone your shark photos without worrying.”

“I’m thrilled,” Mandy said, shoving the phone in her pocket. “Now, we have something to discuss.”

“Oh, man! What did you do?” James asked, focusing on Grady.

“It’s not about him,” Mandy said. “It’s about you.”

“What did I do?”

“How come you didn’t tell me Grady brought the ring and is planning on proposing?” Mandy asked. “As your wife, you promised to give me all the gossip as soon as you got it when we got married.”

“I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in the vows, wife,” James said. “I would remember.”

“Yes, well, you’re going to have to pay for keeping me in the dark later,” Mandy said, turning back toward the line. “It’s going to be a heavy tariff, too.”

Instead of being upset by her words, James grinned widely. “Oh, is the sea wench going to make me worship the coral goddess again tonight?”

“You have no idea.”

Grady was absolutely disgusted when James risked a glance at him. “You guys need professional help. You know that, right?”

“Life is short,” James said. “We’ve decided to love hard. You’ll live with it.”

“HURRY up and finish your cake,” James whispered an hour later, brushing his lips against the ridge of Mandy’s ear as she licked frosting from her fingers. “I want to take you back to the room and show you something.”

Mandy giggled at the growly way he talked. In truth, their lovemaking this afternoon had been hot. No, it had been hotter than hot. While James never fell down on the job, the last few weeks had felt … different. That didn’t mean it was bad. It was more that James was so gentle, so worried about hurting her, that he held back. It wasn’t as if she wanted him to throw her across the room or anything, but she missed the urgency he had during the times he ripped off her panties because he was so excited he couldn’t wait two seconds for her to strip them off.

“Hold your horses,” Mandy teased. “You’re the one who said we had to get out of the room more often.”

“I was clearly confused.”