Page 28 of Hot Saltwater Kisses

He hesitated briefly. “Just family expectations, you know? Mycousin’s already got his career firmly launched, and I’m trying to catch up.”

Any reply caught in my throat when he leaned in, adjusting the napkin on my lap before it slipped to the floor. His fingers brushed my thigh with a featherlight touch as he withdrew his hand.

I swallowed. “So, uh. Does that mean you’re not really a guest?”

“No, I am.” He speared some grilled fish. “It’s just that I’m taking the chance to combine pleasure with a bit of business.”

Nia’s eyes narrowed. “Is this some kind of Richard-sanctioned exercise?”

“No.” Logan quirked a smile at her. “He’s very much a subject in my analysis.”

Nia and I exchanged a glance before I asked, “Who’ll be seeing your results?”

“Just a handful of people, I figure.” Logan lifted a shoulder and dropped it again. “My thesis supervisor, for one. A few others.”

So it wouldn’t inspire actual changes. Right—should have expected that. And in a way, it was a relief. If Logan turned out to have even more power over me than I’d thought… Yeah, no thanks.

“All right, so.” Nia executed a flawless eyebrow raise. “What will you be saying about us?”

“That you need a third person,” Logan said. “And that it shouldn’t take—how long’s it been?”

“A couple of months since Enrico left,” I supplied. He’d been a fun guy, even if our tiny apartment wasn’t truly fit to house three people and he’d considered dirty dishes an art installation.

“It shouldn’t take two months to hire a replacement,” Logan picked up where he’d left off. “And you guys need backup in case someone gets sick or wants a vacation, or even just a day off. And with two instructors plus an additional person on the boat, you could run a try dive and a normal dive group in parallel.”

“Preach it, brother,” Nia said. “This is your choir.”

I nodded. “Amen.”

Logan grinned while Tom clasped his hands, bowing his head forwhat seemed less Christian prayer and more yoga salutation. “The light in me honors the light in you,” he said, and yep, bingo.

“Same,” I told him.

“I call brightest bulb in the chandelier,” Nia said.

“Well, babe.” Tom’s tone was deliberately smarmy, lips quirking up. “You’ve certainly electrified my evening.”

A beat of silence followed before laughter rippled around the table.

“Wow,” Logan said. “Why do I suddenly feel transported to a Swiss chalet?”

Oh, oh, I knew how this one went!

“Must be the sudden occurrence of cheese,” I said with a sage nod.

Logan met my eyes, amusement lighting his face, just as Nia told Tom, “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Tom looked intrigued. “I am?”

“If you play your cards right,” Nia said, “you might get laid.”

Okay, I was not ready to think about where this evening could lead us. Like, separately. Nia and Tom, Logan and me. Definitely no foursome,God. I needed to scrub my brain with bleach and get this conversation back onto safer ground. Quick, think.

“Wouldn’t you learn far more if you posed as an employee?” I asked Logan. “For your thesis, I mean. If you did a bit of everything—kitchen, guest service, butler…”

“Actually, that’s how the Germans train their hotel managers,” Nia said. “They make them rotate through various departments so they really get a sense of it all.”

Logan considered it around a mouthful of curry. “That’s a neat concept. I’ll look into it. Not for my thesis, but in general.”

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