Page 92 of Wild Catch
“Machado.” I tip my head at him and then at his daughter. “Machado.”
The girl narrows her eyes. “Isn’t Kim a girl’s name?”
Rose chokes.
Machado’s light brown eyes grow dangerously wide. “Marty, that’s ru?—”
I interrupt him and say to the kid, “My name is Logan Kim, and that’s a common Korean last name.”
“Oh.” Her expression changes, not because she’s realizing her mistake but because something has clicked with her. “I ate at a Korean restaurant once. It was yummy.”
I can clearly see Rose trying to suppress a laugh behind Machado’s kid.
Meanwhile, her dad cringes. “I’m sorry, Kim. Marty never means ill, she’s just very direct. Like,very.”
Rose loses the battle to her giggles, but somehow manages to speak at the same time. “Just so you know, so is Logan.”
My lips twitch.
“Good to know.” The man slides a slight look of concern at me, before focusing on his child again. “Let’s go, Marty. I’m sure Miss Rosalina and Mr. Logan have other things to do.”
The girl accepts her dad’s hand, yet doesn’t wipe the grumpy expression from her small face. “When you say let’s go it means to go swim and not to keep talking, right?”
“Yes, yes.” Machado sighs and pulls to his full height. He’s a pretty tall dude and has to bend slightly so not to stretch his daughter’s arm too wide. I don’t know why but that’s the thing that makes me stop being wary about him. He seems like a pretty decent person.
“You’re good with kids.”
I turn to Rose. “I wasn’t exceptionally nice.”
“No, but you knew exactly how to deal with her.” A corner of her lips stretches into a lopsided smirk. “How about you teachmethat cannonball?”
I contemplate it all of one second. The busier we are, the less time I’ll spend in the dangerous quarters of my head. So I nod and pull myself up to my feet, offering my hand to her. “Let’s go, I’ll teach you how to make a big splash.” And that makes Rose laugh.
CHAPTER31
ROSE
“Whew, close your mouth, girl.”
I snap it shut and tear my eyes away from Logan. “Erm, is it obvious that I’m drooling over the man?”
“So obvious.” Hope grins before taking a massive bite out of her burger.
“Oh, no,” I whisper.
“What’s wrong with that?” she asks with her mouth full. “He’s your boyfriend.”
I’m jealous of her sensible swimsuit, a navy two piece with thick straps over her shoulders that don’t have her constantly checking herself. I try as discreetly as possible to pull my top up by pinched fingers.
I’m also viscerally jealous of how Hope can say that, because she can stare at her hunky boyfriend to her heart’s content without fearing consequences.
If Logan catches me eating him up, he’ll know that I have a thing for him. Or more than a thing.
Yes, I’m really attracted to him physically. Who wouldn’t be? The guy is a masterpiece of chiseled muscles, a ridiculously perfect bubble butt, legs that never skip the gym, luscious hair that reaches his shoulders, and a five o’clock shadow that deserves awards. And then there’s all the tattoos, most of which I had seen one way or another before, except that now I discovered one that peeks from under his swimming trunks at his thighs.
And the swimming trunks. The criminal piece of fabric that clings to his body under the weight of the water.
I had to latch myself onto Hope after we decided to get out of the pool because looking at him got too painful. Has anyone told him that his lips alone are enough to make a girl fantasize? And that’s before peeping at anything under his neck.
