Page 72 of Lowdown Dirty (Down and Dirty)

“I don’t think you’re boring, but if you keep talking like that and I might just plan out some adventure to invite you on. Old San Juan has gorgeous architecture, by the way. I love exploring those tight streets and looking at the way normal people live.”

“You mean the ones who aren’t trying to sell you cheap stuff down by the docks, huh?”

“Exactly.”

“Don’t tempt me. I’d want to say yes. I never wanted to go alone because I’m a coward that way, I guess.”

“Let’s go. Maybe we can make it a four-day weekend next week.”

“Just like that, huh?”

“You make it sound like it’s hard for me. It’s not. If you want it, just ask.”

Her soft smile fell away and she looked down. “No strings attached, right?”

He wasn’t going to tell her a lie, so he kept his mouth shut. If she went, he’d want to do it again and then again. He was already starting to crave more of her company and she still was standing right in front of him.

“I’m tempted, Tim. Don’t think I’m not. I just…have way too much work to do.”

Right. Work.

She slipped onto the bench beside him and picked up a half of her bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. “I wonder if Carine met up with Leah last night.”

Although annoyed, he wasn’t going to call her out on the abrupt subject change. He wanted her comfortable, and at the moment that apparently meant she had to change the subject.

“When was she supposed to arrive?” he asked.

“Leah was halfway to Shora around the time you picked me up.”

“I’ve got a satellite dish on this thing. If you want to get online and send an email to assuage your curiosity, I’ll certainly condone it.”

Valerie giggled and took a big bite of her sandwich. “You don’t strike me as the nosy type.”

He loved that about her—her appetite. She wasn’t the sort of eater who worried about appearances when she ate. Heidi had been the same way, but obviously, Heidi rarely gave a shit about other people’s perceptions of her. Well, except for that long stretch of her life when she tried so hard to be straight when she simply…wasn’t.

“Are you kidding?” he asked teasingly. “Of course I’m nosy and I have good reason to be. Between folks like Leah, Clay, and some of the regulars that show up to his events, I get all the entertainment I need for a couple of weeks in a few hours’ time.”

“Let’s do it, then. Let’s find out if my sister made her grand arrival.”

“Let me finish this sandwich and we’ll be nosy together.” He hoped by the time he did, he could push the pillow away from his lap.

“Sounds like a plan. What do you usually do when you’re floating like this? How often do you come out alone?”

“Often enough to make boat ownership worth it, I guess. I spend a lot of weekends on my boats, either fishing or just getting away from things.”

“So that’s why you have this boat, huh?”

“Why else would I have it?”

She shrugged. “Just seems like one of those things a person with a lot of money would collect. You know, because it seems like the thing to do.”

“I wouldn’t know what rich people do. I’m not sure at what point I earned that designation. Maybe when I got invited into the country club?”

“I’m sure Uncle Sam could tell you if you don’t remember when,” she said dryly.

“Does that put you off? The money, I mean.”

It seemed he’d been worried about the wrong thing. He shouldn’t have been worried about her being a gold digger, but instead of her thinking he was something she wasn’t—an asshole made oblivious by his wealth.

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