Page 22 of Hot Saltwater Kisses

“You don’t mean that.” The asshole sounded amused. I would have told him just where to stick it if he hadn’t chosen that moment to raise the most beautiful thing I had seen all day, nay, all year—an iced coffee, cubes clinking against the glass. Therewasa God.

“Gimme.”

He did.

The first cold gulp was like a brain reboot, like being kissed by an angel while reality sucker-punched me in the kindest way possible. Nothing to be done about my resemblance to a raccoon that had lost the fight, but hey, at least my taste buds were throwing a parade. I took another mouthful and closed my eyes. Rich and bitter.Oh.

“Do you and that coffee need a room?” Laughter colored Logan’s voice, and I blinked at him. Sunlight tangled in his shaggy hair and caught in the tips of its gentle waves. Eyes that blended green and blue, a slightly pointed nose, and dappled brightness that danced across his shoulders. I wanted totouch—my walls still down, thoughts a little sluggish.

“No.” I clutched the coffee with both hands, condensation cool and damp against my palms. “It’s fine. You can stay.”

“Your generosity knows no bounds.” He straddled the bench and watched me with a small, quirked smile. “Rough night, huh?”

“That obvious?” I mumbled.

“Just a little.” He held his thumb and index finger apart by half an inch. “I also ran into Nia earlier, down at the beach. She looked pretty bad too.”

Ah, yeah. It was her turn to refuel theBlueberry Seasbefore she’d spend the morning with a group of snorkelers while I’d do an intro photography dive with Logan. Right now, I felt pretty good about my lot in life. At least compared to five minutes ago.

I clenched my jaw against a hearty yawn and dropped onto the other bench. “Frankie turned fifty. There was a party.”

“Bartender Frankie?” Logan asked.

“Yeah.”

Logan gave a sympathetic wince. “I see how that could turn painful.”

I savored another sip of coffee. So good. So,sogood. “Speaking from personal experience, party boy?”

“Hey,” Logan drawled. “I’ve done some growing up since my Art degree.”

I kept all inflection out of my voice. “Have you.”

“Why the disbelief?” It came with a wink and a slightly pouty bottom lip that held my attention for just a moment.

“You’re hot and rich. You’ve no reason to grow up.”

He snorted. “I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted.”

“Why choose one when you can be both?”

“Fair point.” He considered me. “So you think the only way to grow up is for something bad to happen?”

“It doesn’t have to be a massive trauma or anything. But, yeah.” I could have left it at that if not for Logan’s inquisitive head tilt, his eyes turning thoughtful. Sunlight flowed along his cheekbones. “It’s like...” I glanced away. “I think, as kids, if we’re lucky enough to have a goodchildhood... Well, we believe we’re invincible. And until something strips that away, we’re sort of stuck in la-la land.”

He made a low noise of acknowledgment, studying me in a way that made heat itch along the back of my neck. I sipped my coffee.

“Look,” I said after a second. “I obviously don’t know the first thing about your life. Just because it looks easy doesn’t mean it is.”

“Well.” Logan gave a self-effacing shrug, subtle tension tucked into the corners of his eyes. “No massive trauma, I guess. Nothing that’d hold up in a court of my-drama-is-bigger-than-yours.”

Now that the caffeine had kicked in, so had my ability to observe details—like the unhappy curve of his mouth or the undercurrent of hurt in his tone, how his gaze slid away from mine. Was this about… How had Tom put it? Something about Logan’s parents reading him the riot act. If that had triggered Logan’s response just now, it must have been quite the clash.

“Sorry,” I said gently. “It’s none of my business. Just casually overstepping, don’t mind me.”

“No, it’s fine.” Logan’s reassurance came quickly. It didn’t sound like a line, but then, some people didn’t mind others traipsing all over their private lawns. He tipped his face into the sun and shot me a look from underneath his lashes. “What did it for you?”

“What forced me to grow up?” I asked when of course that’s what he meant. Look at me—playing dumb to buy a couple of seconds.

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