Page 6 of Hot Saltwater Kisses

There was still a dive to finish before I could question him. I tried to practice what I preached by focusing on our surroundings. This world was my peace of mind. Beautiful and serene, it had been there for me when the rest of my life was falling apart. We came upon a school of young barracuda gathered above an old fishing boat that had been sunk as a tourist gimmick, the light shifting with a mix of sun and clouds.

Logan was beaming when we came up, pulling off his mask to reveal the happy gleam in his eyes. What kind ofgamewas he playing? I didn’t even stop to remove my fins before I faced him, water up to my waist, throat a little tight. “This wasn’t your first dive.”

“Ah.” A sheepish look crossed his features, tanned skin marked by the mask’s panda imprint. “Yeah. I did my advanced course last year.”

Okay, so. What the hell?

“And you still made me go through the whole beginner spiel?” I frowned. “Why?”

Uncertainty clouded his features. “Right, it’s like… See, I study Hospitality Management, and right now, my focus is on resort management and staff interactions.”

“Aren’t you a little old for that?” I cut in. Which... rude. But he’d acted like an ass and used me for comic relief—I was in no mood to roll out the red carpet.

He ducked his head and rubbed a hand through his wet hair, long fingers tangling in the dark strands. “Kinda. I’m almost done, but yeah, I got a late start. Wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a while.”

Meaning he’d sat around with his thumb up his ass, most likely. Rich kid.

I leveled him with a flat stare. “And that explains you lying to me… how?”

“Technically, I didn’tlie.” He tilted his head with a winning smile,and oh, he thought he was cute, didn’t he? “I just let you assume certain things.”

“Let’s skip the debate about how lying by omission is still a lie, shall we?”

“Fair enough.” His brows pulled together. “Well, the thing is that because of my studies, I’m always curious to see how a place is managed. How does the staff deal with problems or challenging guests?” He gestured at himself. “Case in point.”

“You were”—a dick—“difficult on purpose?”

He grinned. “Yeah. For the record, I like how you and Nia handled it—professional but not subservient. And you refused to bend the rules for me. That’s appropriate. If I ever run my own place, I wouldn’t want the staff to twist themselves out of shape, don’t think that’s good for morale.”

Logan in charge? I’d paddleboard my way out of there in record time.

“How very progressive of you,” I said, dripping sarcasm. “Caring about the little people and all.”

For a beat, he watched me. “You still think I’m a jerk, huh?”

I shrugged. “First impressions, you know?”

Shit, I needed to tone down the acid. He was still a guest, and yeah, he’d made me feel… small. Manipulated. But I could admit that I was perhaps a little more sensitive than most.

“Okay, yeah. Valid.” He hesitated, mouth pursing in thought. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to make you mad. Honestly, I thought you might find it kind of funny.”

The fuckingnerveof him. I wrestled off my fins and started wading for the shore. “What’s funny about being made to feel like a gullible fool?”

“Hey, no.” He sounded genuinely baffled, following. “That’s not—that wasn’t the point, I swear. And you already got your revenge, didn’t you? What with my wetsuit being way too big. You’re no fool.”

Like I’d admit to giving him the wrong size on purpose.

My narrow smile was faker than the candid selfie of an influencer. “Oh, was there a problem with your wetsuit?”

Loganlaughed, dimples and all. “Even tropical waters can get chilly if it’s pretty much open house. It was a nice, subtle touch, I’ll give you that.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean,” I told him, dry as the desert.

“Of course.” He nodded quite seriously, an impish twist to his mouth, wet hair sticking up in little tufts. “But just so you know, my balls have shriveled to the size of Tic Tacs.”

Ha.

“Nice imagery,” I said.

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