Page 43 of A Girl and HER Prince
He immediately did his best to reassure her she was in good hands. “We’ve got everything taken care of—you’ll be going down there with an expert.”Himself, but he wasn’t ready to admit that yet. She probably wanted to go with Deedee, but Achilles had her fairly occupied.
Their laughter erupted on the other side of the boat. The more those two teased and flirted, the more Venice could see for himself how much the duke was thoroughly enjoying his “duties.” Those two had definitely kissed! He read it in their every move.
Presently, Achilles had gotten into the plush beach towels and was whipping Deedee’s leg with it, to her great amusement. The thing about Deedee was that she wanted attention and she didn’t care how she got it—positive, negative, annoying… it was all the same to her.
“Achilles!” she warned him with a voice that was far too flirtatious for Venice not to guess that it was hammed up for his benefit. “You do that one more time…”
“And what?” Achilles asked.
“I’ll have my revenge.”
The towel went for her again, almost upending her phone as she recorded. She giggled and turned off the feed to tackle him, which was exactly what Achilles was going for.
Bris scrambled back from the flying towels and glared over at them. “Do you mind? The grownups are trying to talk here.”
She pressed Turner’s hand for his confirmation, and he dutifully gave it with a tight smile. Venice felt sorry for the guy. Turner was steering, but that didn’t stop Bris from trying to mold into his side like she was creeping ivy that had gotten into the house.
And Livvy had probably noticed by now that everyone had somehow been coupled up on the boat, perhaps unwillingly on Turner’s part, but his sister wasn’t about to let his friend get too far—not like last night.
Bris complained bitterly about Deedee all the way home after the party, and she was even more put out when she’d found out her worst enemy would be blessing them with her presence in the morning, along with that “common mouse.”
It was all Venice could do to battle back her every argument—some having to do with him making a fool of himself—but he’d won in the end. Not that his victory was doing him any good now. He watched Livvy. Her alert, blue-eyed gaze had met his and was making him almost breathless as he tried to pick up his train of thought. “You’ll love the waters down there,” he told her. “It’s the clearest, prettiest water you’ll ever see, although not much marine life… that could be a good thing if you’re afraid of sharks.”
She broke into an unsure smile. “You just read my mind. I’m from California, so yeah, sharks aren’t my favorite.”
“The only one you have to worry about down there is me,” he teased.
She laughed and then quickly swallowed that down with a quick glance at Deedee, who was definitelynotpaying them any attention—thanks, Achilles!His best friend was doing his best to undo Deedee’s intention to destroy whatever Livvy and Venice had shared together last night.
Now, it was up to Venice to do the rest. He raised up his hand with his palm out to her like a traffic cop. “You familiar with the diver hand signs?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that means stop.”
“Great.” He pressed his fist against his chest.
“You’re out of air,” she said.
Going over the basics seemed to calm her down. Hopefully, he could do more. He pressed his palm face down and waved it back and forth.
“Something’s wrong,” she said.
“Yeah,” he whispered, his gaze going to hers. “Something is.”
Her eyes turned stormy as they met his, and she lowered her voice, “Last night was a mistake.”
Oh no.Getting through to Livvy would actually take work. He took a deep breath, lost on how to reach her. She had nothing in common with those socialites that liked to hang all over him, like Deedee was doing to Achilles, and at the present, that wasquiteliteral.
Achilles lumbered their direction. Deedee pounded on his back, giggling and watching Venice with calculating, narrowed eyes just as they barreled past them, almost running over Livvy in the process.
“Whoa!” Venice tugged Livvy back from Achilles’s warpath. That alluring swimsuit had turned from eye candy to arm candy, and he could feel for himself exactly how soft and curvaceous she was. His arms tightened over her as he kicked Achilles back. “Watch where you’re going, you big caveman!”
A towel snapped against his shoulder for his pains. Achilles stared down at them with a naughty grin. Deedee’s red hair hung over his tanned shoulders. “You’ve caught yourself a mermaid,” Achilles said.
Livvy made a sound of protest and Venice realized that he was still holding her.
“And I’ve got my Deedeelicious!” Achilles moved on with Deedee clawing at the towel. Their shouts faded into the background. Venice turned back to Livvy. He should let her go… she was so easily spooked. He didn’t want to.
He found her eyes again. “Sorry,” he muttered.
