Page 2 of Body Shot

“I didn’t think to bring a water bottle to keep it cold,” I admit, looking at the tumbler enviously. Any bottled water I drink over the course of the day will start getting warm as soon as I pull it from the cooler.

“I never leave home without it,” she says.

“Smart lady.” I pause. “I’m Anders.”

“Claudia.”

Okay, that tells me nothing.

Suddenly a frisbee comes flying out of nowhere, heading straight for Claudia’s face. Before she can react, I lift a hand, catching it in mid-air, inches before it smacks her.

“Oh!” She sits up straighter, startled.

“Sorry!” Coach’s oldest son, Alex, comes running over to us.

“Be careful, buddy,” I gently admonish him.

“Alex!” Toli yells to his son. “Over there! Away from people.” He points toward the shore.

“Sorry!” Alex repeats as he runs in that direction.

“Thank you,” Claudia says, lifting her sunglasses and giving me the first full look at her face.

Jesus, she’s gorgeous.

Big, blue eyes.

High cheekbones.

Full, beautiful lips that are perfect for kissing.

Who the hell is she?

“You’re welcome,” I say instead of asking the question on my mind.

“Anders!” Wolf calls to me. “Come help me with this, will you?”

“On my way!” I lumber to my feet. “See you later?”

“I’ll be right here.”

We exchange a look I can’t quite decipher but Wolf needs me, so I head over to where he’s unloading some kind of portable grill. “What the hell is this?” I demand.

“It’s a grill,” he says, arching one dark brow. “Don’t they have grills in Sweden?”

“Fuck off,” I say, laughing. “I’ve just never seen such a big one that’s portable.”

“Yeah, with as much time as we spend on the beach, we decided having something like this is worthwhile.”

We carry the clunky apparatus over to where a few other grills have been set up, and then walk back to get the accompanying pieces and propane cannisters.

“Hey,” I say quietly. “Don’t look now, but do you know who the woman in the hat is, under the tree?”

He picks up both propane cannisters and then surreptitiously glances in the direction I indicated. He frowns and then shakes his head.

“No idea. I didn’t see her arrive and I don’t see anyone here that’s single.”

“That’s what I thought. Her name’s Claudia, but I didn’t get any further than that before Alex tried to take us both out with his frisbee.”

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