Page 33 of My Brother's Forbidden Friend

I’m in my bikini and my bright-orange fishing overalls, cleaning my boat and getting ready for my first charter of the day. I might not have had a charter this morning, but I waved goodbye to Cam as I lay in my boat wearing my bikini.

He had to bite his tongue when he usually would’ve yelled at me to put on some clothes.

I’m wiping down the seats when Cam’s boat pulls into the marina. Everyone on the boat is green and sitting on the benches. The smell may have dissipated if they threw the fish overboard, but I’m sure it’s burned into their nostrils. The fishing poles don’t look like they got much use.

“Chevelle, you better stay right there,” he squawks over the radio.

I look up with a confused expression.

“Don’t play coy. We all know what you did.”

He docks the boat and I hate how good he is at maneuvering such a big boat. It’s kind of a turn-on. And then I have to watch his muscles bulge as he throws out the lines to someone on the dock. The man is way too sexy for his own good.

I leave my boat, still in my overalls, hoping the small glimpse of skin will make him tongue-tied. Or at least it should.

“I’m very sorry about this. I’ll refund your money and do a complimentary booking,” he tells the group, but they all ignore him, walking down the dock.

“Didn’t catch anything?” I ask with a saccharine sweet voice.

He comes down off the boat. “You put that fish in there, didn’t you?”

I shake my head, crossing my fingers behind my back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He grabs my arm and pulls it out as I quickly undo my fingers. “You’re still lying. Crossing your fingers doesn’t work.”

I shrug again at my last failed attempt to feign innocence.

“I’ll give you props though. I didn’t even realize it until we stopped to fish and they mentioned the smell. Bravo.” He leans forward. “Payback will be a bitch though.”

I laugh. “Try it. But right now, my charter is coming, so I better change. I don’t want them getting the wrong idea.”

I unclip my overalls and allow them to drop to the ground. Cam watches me with a heated glare as I step out of the overalls and turn around to walk back to my boat.

Right before I turn down my own pier, I glance over my shoulder. “You did say payback was a bitch, right?”

He opens his mouth but shuts it.

“Thought so.”

Then I catch sight of some familiar people over his shoulder, and I don’t like it. It’s a group of elderly people, and my grandma leads the pack.

“Cameron!” Ethel raises her arm.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I turn back around and stomp over to them, which loses some of its effectiveness since I’m in a bikini.

“Grandma!” I shout, and she touches her ear.

“Don’t yell, dear. How are you, sweetheart?” She inspects my face, and I’m instantly reminded of the fact everyone knows about Derek. Luckily, the bruise is mostly gone now.

I lower her arm. “I’m fine. Why are you looking for Cam?”

She signals to the group she’s with. “We booked him for a charter. New business.”

“Yes, but your granddaughter already does fishing charters.” I keep my voice low.

“And I booked a charter with you when you first started, remember?” She pats my cheek.

How can I forget? She and Dori asked me to take them to party island because they’d heard rumors of it and wanted to see what it was about. I did, and they actually partied with the kids who were about forty years younger than them. Never underestimate my grandma.

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