Page 16 of Passions & Peonies

I grab Lacey’s hand and the now-familiar surge of heat pulses through my veins, practically drying my shorts in an instant. “Will you come back? When can I see you again?”

“Will, Sawyer’s waiting,” Josh interrupts.

I’d make Josh talk to Sawyer, but he’s not good at giving a sympathetic shoulder. He’d just hand the phone back to me.

Lacey gently tugs her hand away. “I don’t know.” She motions to Skylar. “Come on, Sky. Let’s go.”

“We’re here all week,” Skylar blurts out. Lacey’s elbow jabs her side.

Buzz.Both our walkie-talkies go off. I clench my jaw.

“Will or Josh, can one of you come give me a hand at slip twelve?” Mike says on the other end.Welcome back to work.

Josh pats me on the shoulder, then answers Mike and walks off.

I glance at Lacey one more time before she disappears. If she won’t come back, I’m going to have to track her down somehow.

Chapter 8

Lacey

“Why are we leaving? It was obviously a stupid misunderstanding,” Sky says once we’re out of sight. “And we didn’t even book a cruise.”

“Do you know how embarrassing it was to fall in the water? Why does this shit always happen to me? And then finding out it was his twin brother yesterday. Then I stared at Will’s bare chest like he’s a Greek god. He’s hot as hell, dry and soaking wet. Oh, and I don’t even want to mention his happy trail. It’s all too tempting and too much.”

“Would you stop for a minute and look at me?” Sky blocks me like a football player.

I look over my shoulder to make sure we’re far enough from the marina. “What do you want from me? I need to go back to the hotel and change my shorts.”

“I can understand why you’re upset, but didn’t you see the way he lit up when he first saw you? If the sun fell into the ocean, the smile on his face would light up the entire planet instead. His jaw clenched so tightly when you traced your finger down his neck. It wasn’t from anger. Even I could see your chemistry is off the charts.”

We continue to walk again and follow the path to the beach. Screw my shorts. They’ll dry in the sun. I forgot my sunscreen, though. Not good.

“I told you—–we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other. When he grabbed me in the water, I wrapped my legs around his waist without even thinking about it. It’s like we’re two magnets or something. I guess it scares me a little bit. I hardly know anything about him.”

We kick off our flip-flops and step on the soft sand. Walking with any type of shoes on sand is a pain in the ass. I follow her toward the water.

She turns around to face me and walks backward. “So what? Have some fun. I’m jealous. I wish I was that attracted to someone. My heart’s been broken way too many times. Men only want one thing from me, and that’s sex. I’ve had my fun too, but I need a break from the dating scene. If a guy seems interested here, then maybe I’ll hang out with him, but I’m not going out of my way. Always hopeful, but always let down.”

“Well, that’s all this might be too. This is new territory for me. I’m usually the one watching others get together or fall in lust. Now it’s happening to me, and I don’t have a clue what to do.”

She turns around and says, “You’re making it more complicated than it is.”

We plop down on the sand, not too far from the water. Knowing me, I’ll get plowed over by a huge wave. I bury my feet in the damp sand and toss my flip-flops behind me so they don’t get sucked up by the water. Sky’s land next to mine.

“Do you still want to go water-skiing with the guys from last night? We’re supposed to meet them in an hour. We don’t have to go. I couldn’t care less either way.”

“Of course I want to go, with or without them. Water-skiing is a blast. My pride won’t ruin our vacation. I promise… and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Good.” She rubs sand off her hands.

I drop my head back and let the ocean breeze dry my hair. It’s a tangled mess at this point. How can some people hate the beach? I can relax and breathe here. The city is overpopulated, hectic, and the air quality is horrible. I could wear a bathing suit all year round. My job would be irrelevant here, though. I’m not sure Jocelyn would let me telecommute. Why am I even thinking about this? Probably because I’m on vacation. Maybe I’d get sick of it after a while.

“So, I have some news,” Sky says, her eyes dancing. “I’m trying not to get too excited about it, in case it falls through.”

“What’s up?”My skin’s burning.

“The art gallery I work for in Boston wants to open a small one in New York City. My boss asked if I’d be interested in relocating to manage it.” She squeals. Then I squeal and get a chunk of still-wet hair in my mouth.Yuck!I sit up and pull it all into a braid to control it.

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