Page 20 of Some Like It Hott

“Who thinks that stuff is fun? Improv? Body painting?”

Her eyes and mouth are both wide with disbelief. “Everyone?”

“We’re going to have to agree to disagree,” I tell her. “There’s nothing fun about risking your life or your pride or getting covered with paint.”

She buries her face in her hands. I can see Hanna coming back our way. Quickly, I say, “Okay. Okay. So what’s the plan?”

Hanna’s right outside the door.

“Meet me at Green Will Lake Campground Monday night at seven thirty,” Natalie says. “We’re going to pay a visit to Brody’s Boats.”

“What’s Brody’s Boats?”

“You’ll see. Just meet me and follow my lead.”

Hanna passes by, out of audio range.

Natalie whispers, “Like an obedient puppy.”

My gaze flashes to hers. She raises her eyebrows and smirks at me, and God help me, I almost—almost—smile.

9

Natalie

“Thank you so much for making time for us,” I tell Rachel Wilder, who, with her husband, Brody, runs Brody’s Boats. It’s the boating-charter division of Wilder Adventures, the business run by Hanna’s husband, Easton, and his four brothers.

“Of course!” Rachel says. “We prepared a sampler for you of what we offer.”

Rachel’s maybe ten years older than I am, with warm medium-brown skin and thick dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wears a pair of mom jeans and a hot-pink T-shirt with purple lettering that says,Sorry if I’m not repressed enough for you. Makes sense, since Hanna told me that Rachel is a certified sex counselor who runs a sex-education nonprofit and still finds time to maintain a small sex therapy practice.

Brody offers me a warm smile and holds his hand out for a shake. He’s wearing motorcycle boots and a ripped T-shirt and jeans, and his arms are elaborately tattooed—rain droplets on glass, fish, waves.

Okay, I get it: water-themed.

“We’re excited about the possibility of a partnership with Hott Springs Eternal,” Brody says. “Did you bring Hanna along?”

“No, I, uh?—”

“She brought me,” Preston says, strolling up. He’d lingered in his car to drop into a “very important phone call with New York”—never mind that New York should have been asleep hours ago—and I teasingly reminded him thaton time is late, before I remembered that he doesn’t have a sense of humor.

Still, the scowl was its own reward.

Why is annoying Preston Hott so much fun for me?

Despite the fact that we’re about to board a boat, Preston isstillwearing office clothes. In this case, a gray-and-white seersucker suit that on anyone else would look ridiculous. On Preston it’s sin walking.

I swallow saliva that otherwise threatens to become drool. “I don’t know if you heard, but Preston and I are working together for a few weeks.”

Magically, my voice is unaffected by lust.

“Is thiswillstuff, dude?” Brody asks as Preston does the manly swat-across-the-back/side-hug thing with him.

“Will bullshit,” Preston confirms.

“Ah. Okay,” Rachel says, eyes roving over the two of us with a new spark of curiosity. “This presentation was optimized for an audience of women, but?—”

“But Rachel can improvise like a boss,” Brody interjects. “So no worries.” He casts an eye at Preston’s outfit. “Come on aboard.”

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