Page 27 of Chasing Paradise

I was usually lucky if I remembered a toothbrush and paste.

And in this case, I had neither.

But as I sat down to have another couple of oranges to try to replenish any sweat I’d lost when I’d been moving around, I realized it hadn’t just been a power bar and water Wick had left me. There, slightly rolled up in the shirt, was a mini toothpaste and brush. With a cap.

Praying he had his own brush and just gave me a backup, I used both to brush. Then used the smallest bit of water I could to rinse my mouth and the brush.

“Sup, Hank?” I said, hearing a shuffling beside me. “What else is there to do around here?”

As if answering, the water crashed against the shore.

“Well, I could use to wash off,” I said, standing.

I did a quick scan around me, checking to make sure Wick was nowhere to be seen.

Then I stripped down to my bra and undies and made my way into the water.

And for a blissful hour or so, all there was in the world was the delightfully warm water, the sun overhead, the weightlessness of floating, and a sole prehistoric-looking marine iguana sunning itself on the shore.

My eyes drifted closed, just getting lost in the moment, in the vacation feels, forgetting all about it being a forced vacation. Without any actual vacation-like luxuries.

Electricity.

Showers.

Toilet paper.

None of it mattered.

But just when I was ready to climb out of the water, I spotted something on the shore that hadn’t been there before.

Wick.

Intense eyes watching me.

He’d even put his shades on top of his head so he could see me without their darkening effects.

For a moment, I just froze.

It wasn’t until the water tickled my nose that I remembered to kick my feet.

How long had he been watching me?

How far had my damn boobs been poking out of the water as I floated on my back?

Why, for the love of God, had I worn my one and only lacy purple bra?

Because it was the only one clean, I reminded myself.

And because I hadn’t exactly thought I’d be stuck in it for days. Let alone have a ridiculously good-looking man see me in it.

“You coming out or what, duchess?”

Ugh.

Now I had to get out.

I couldn’t let him think I was going to be all chickenshit just because I was in my underwear.

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