Page 19 of Hot Saltwater Kisses

I glanced up from wetting my toothbrush under the weak stream of water. “Does that sentence have a subject and verb?”

She tossed me a grin. “You like him.”

I weighed and dismissed the idea of affecting confusion as to who she meant—no use delaying the inevitable. Instead, I devoted a great deal of attention to applying the perfect amount of toothpaste. “Well, he’s hot. I’ve got eyes.”

The eloquent arch of an eyebrow told me exactly what she thought of my attempt at playing it cool. She nudged me out of the way to grab her own toothbrush, the space so cramped that we were able to share it only due to routine and an easygoing attitude about bumping hips and elbows.

“Sure,” she said, accepting the toothpaste from me. “But you alsolikehim.”

I snorted. “This feels like passing notes in class. ‘Do you like him? Check yes or no.’”

“Stop deflecting.”

Ha, as if.

“Well.” I aimed for a haughty smirk. “You like Tom.”

“I do,” she said easily. Damn, and there went all the wind in my sails. “But you’re the one who’s been living like a monk, minus the fashionable buzz cut.”

“Uh.” I fixed her reflection with a pointed squint. “Conservative island state? Homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of the Lord?Andthe law, up until recently?”

“That hasn’t been enforced in a good long while, and the fact they finally abolished it is proof of that.”

“It’s proof they don’t want to harm the tourism bottom line,” I countered.

“One doesn’t exclude the other.” Nia’s voice turned gentle. “I’m just saying, Milo—have some fun. Get laid. It’d be good for you.”

I entertained the thought for a second—Logan’s dimples and big hands, his fuckingperfectbody. What if I’d dragged him in right after he’d sipped from his rum toddy, chased the spices on his tongue? Or even before that, after he’d apologized for overstepping—what if I’d pulled him towards me right then, one hand fisted in his hair and the other grabbing his ass, fingers digging into the muscle? I exhaled and focused on the minty taste of reality.

“Just so we’re clear,” I told Nia. “Ordering me to get laid when you’re my boss? Wildly inappropriate.”

“Remember last week, when you whined about your neck until I gave you a massage?” She smirked around her toothbrush. “Didn’t hear you complaining about hierarchies then.”

Fine. It had been a weak argument anyway.

“He’s a guest,” I said.

“When has that ever stoppedme?”

“But you’re you.” I jerked my chin at her. “You’re the unofficial queen around here. Meanwhile, me?” I pointed back at myself. “I’m the court jester. Also, I don’t even know if the attraction is mutual.”

“One,” she said, “way to make romance sound like a corporate merger. And two, of course it’s mutual.”

The easy statement shouldn’t have burst in my gut like a firecracker. I forced myself to breathe through it, spit and rinse. “How do you know?”

“Look, Milo.” Nia’s voice softened. “I know you were an awkward teenager and Michael did a real number on you. But you, my friend? You arehot.”

I willed down the heat in my cheeks. “Again—inappropriate.”

She laughed. “Please, you’re like my brother. Doesn’t mean I can’t judge these things or see how people look at you. So—Logan. Think about it, okay?”

“You’re like a tiny devil on my shoulder.”

“Someone has to be.” She set down her toothbrush and leaned her hip against the sink, suddenly serious. “Hey, it’s not every day Isee you show actual interest in someone. In fact, it’s a first. So, come on. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Richard could fire me. Logan could say no, and I might make a fool of myself. Or he’d say yes and I’d lose myself in him.

Except I wasn’t that guy anymore.

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