Page 92 of Catch and Release

Willa had tried to put Shawn out of her mind after last night.

Tried being the operative word.

She could barely sleep; her mind was racing and she’d gotten used to having an orgasm or two before bed. She wasn’t sure how she was going to be around him all afternoon without thinking about the fact that she might have feelings for him.

Okay, she definitely had feelings for him.

He’d texted her earlier that he’d be in the back when they arrived, gathering all the supplies they’d need for the day. She stood in his shop, surrounded by all the things that made her think of him, and she was already overwhelmed. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do when she finally saw him today after spending a restless night thinking about him before pulling her vibrator out of her bedside table and succumbing to her need for him.

Even just a fantasy of him.

“Well, well, well,” Charlie’s voice carried to where Willa was. “Look at what I found.”

Willa walked from where she’d been looking at hooks—she needed some new ones—and found Charlie peering over the checkout counter. Willa stopped in her tracks when she saw what Charlie was looking at.

She felt her jaw drop. It was a picture pinned prominently on the wall—a picture that Ida had taken of Willa on one of their walks. Ida had said something that made her laugh, and Willa turned around for a split second and grinned at her. Ida had texted her saying she’d bring it over to her, and Willa had just forgotten about it.

Willa glanced at Charlie, who had crossed her arms and was smirking at Willa with an I told you so smugness on her face.

“Like I said, that man is in lo?—”

The bell at the front door jingled as Amanda and Layla walked in. Layla was wearing a modest swimsuit coverup and toted a colorful beach bag. Her hair was pulled up into a no-nonsense bun, and she had a visor on. Amanda was wearing jean shorts and a bikini with heart-shaped sunglasses. Her black hair was in space buns on top of her head, and she walked in like she owned the place.

“Where’s your sexy fisherman?” Amanda asked.

Willa rolled her eyes. “Shawn is in the back getting some supplies.”

“Hi, I’m Amanda,” she stuck her hand out to Charlie. “You’re Charlie?”

“Yes, it’s so nice to meet Willa’s work friends!” Charlie said. “And you’re Layla?”

Layla nodded and shook Charlie’s hand.

“We were just looking at the picture Shawn hung up of Willa,” Charlie said. “Based on the look on her face, she had no clue it was here.”

Layla bit her lip, trying to hold back a grin as Amanda released a melodramatic gasp.

“No, it’s probably just to keep the tourists from flirting with him,” Willa said, trying to convince herself as much as her friends. “He hates that. I told him he could use me as an excuse—say I was his girlfriend to keep them at bay.”

Amanda laughed. “Girl, that man is head over heels in love with you.”

“That’s what I said!” Charlie said, high-fiving Amanda.

“Introducing you two was a terrible idea,” Willa said, rubbing her temples. “Can we not?—”

The back door swung open and Shawn moseyed out, his hands full with fishing rods, coolers, and life jackets. Willa gaped at him in all his glory. She loved seeing him in a tux last night, but nothing compared to the way he looked on a daily basis. Rugged and natural, like he was built for life on the water.

The shirt he wore clung to his pecs and biceps, his muscles perfectly on display. The muscles she touched, the ones she loved trailing her fingers down as he railed her so hard she saw stars.

And then he beamed at her. His face stretched in a smile so blinding, she couldn’t look away. She felt her lips tug up in response, and she walked slowly toward him, as if drawn in by a magnetic pull.

“Ready to teach your girl gang how to fish, Greene?” he asked with a wink.

“I don’t know if they have what it takes,” she whispered as she grabbed a couple of fishing rods from his hand.

“Rude,” Charlie said.

“Seriously, do you think we can’t hear you?” Amanda said. “We’re right here.”

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