Page 35 of The Love Trick

She rolls her eyes. “You don’t have to keep that up. No one can hear you.”

Shaking my head, I grab her hand. “Come on.”

She pulls her hand away from mine. “No one can see us. You don’t have to hold my hand.”

I raise my brows and then motion to the resort. “Anyone could see us, Addy. I’m just trying to stick to the story. Once I get you away from here, I won’t touch you. I promise.”

She nods slowly, taking my hand again. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

“I messed up last night,” I admit readily. “I drank a little too much, and I just… I thought… I don’t know.”

“You thought you were being funny,” she fills in. That’s not even remotely the truth.

“No, but it’s fine,” I say quickly, tugging her toward the car waiting for us. “I just pushed the rules. That’s it.”

She gives me a weird look but doesn’t say anything. I almost want to blame it on the fact that I’m just a guy, and she’s freaking beautiful—but that sounds horrible, and I don’t even know if it’s the truth. I’ve just never felt such a rush with someone, and I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

The driver greets us with a smile and opens the back door. “Good morning.”

Addy eyes him. “Morning…”

I chuckle, gesturing for her to hurry. “Come on.”

She slides into the backseat, and I join her, relaxing against the headrest. I breathe a sigh of relief. We can finally be the normal Addy and Blaze now. No more weird touching or rules. But as I glance over to her, sitting there in her T-shirt and shorts, I can’t help but stare.

Why did I have to pick a best friend who’s so perfect?

“What?” Addy asks. “Do I look bad? Is my hair crazy?”

I blink to clear my vision. “No, uh, I don’t know.” I rip my gaze away and look out the window, feeling overwhelmed.

Get it together.

“Welcome to Surfing 101.” Aaron, a guy with tan skin and blond hair, claps his hands together. I stand beside Addy on the beach, both of us now wearing surf shirts and board shorts. “We’re going to get you two surfing before the day is over.”

Addy looks over at me with a wild expression on her face. “What?!”

“Yeah.” I burst into laughter. “It’ll be fun.”

She turns back to Aaron, a funny look on her face. “Aren’t you Cam’s old friend from high school?”

He nods. “Yeah, he called me this morning and told me y’all were here.”

Addy looks at me. “Look at you, pulling all these strings. Very smooth.”

I shrug. “What can I say, I can have some game.”

She giggles as Aaron heads over to grab a couple of surfboards from a shop that’s located right on the beach. “I’ve never surfed before, so this is probably gonna be a mess.”

“Well, I have. But I already know I’ll be wiping out more than I’ll be hanging ten—or whatever the surfer guys say.” I laugh.

Aaron returns with our boards and starts giving Addy a quick lesson. She listens and laughs, practicing her stance on the board. He helps her position her feet, showing her how to lean.

I watch Addy in admiration, just happy to see her spark back.

Maybe I haven’t messed everything up.

I mean, it’s only our first full day here in Hawaii. We have several more to go before we’re on a plane back home. If I can fill the days with things like this, we’ll be so busy just being us that maybe the rules and pressure won’t be so bothersome.

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