Page 23 of Lights, Camera, Love

“One, two, three!” I called out and leaped.

We jumped together, flinging ourselves off the boat and into the cool water below. The flippers slowed our plunge, and we kicked back to the surface.

Sophie immediately pulled the mouthpiece out instead of blowing the water through the tube, coughing and laughing as I grinned at her.

“Okay, that was pretty fun. We should do that part again.”

“We’re supposed to go exploring now,” I said, pointing out the obvious. It was hard to raise a brow with the mask, but I tried anyway.

I grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the way so Oliver and Gia could jump in next. Oliver had been looking at us for most of the boat ride, but I kept Sophie focused on me and the scenery as much as possible. I was relatively sure I’d pointed out the same island three times.

Logically, we were all dating everyone, and I didn’t have any kind of exclusivity, but dammit, I wanted it, and logic had stopped working the moment my lips met hers.

We were attracted to each other, that much was blatantly clear, but I wanted to get to know her more, to prove to both of us this wasn’t merely a skin-deep attraction.

My gut roared that it was more, but that bastard had been wrong in the past.

Hell, it’s the whole reason I applied to this show. I wanted to find someone with enough adventurous spirit and confidence to go on a live dating show and, hopefully, someone willing to put in the work off the island.

CHAPTEREIGHT

Sophie

Diego puthis snorkel in and directed us away from the boat toward a buoy. I kicked my legs, and we swam side by side, cooling off after baking in the sun on the boat deck.

When we reached the dive site marker, I re-secured my mask, ran my hands along the snorkel I was supposed to trust with my air supply, and took a deep breath—well, as deeply as I could using the damned thing. This really wasn’t my bag, but I was here to have a good time and enjoy a vacation. Snorkeling was part of that, right?

Once we got our bearings, we took off. Looking down into the clear water, I gasped, marveling at the beauty just under the surface—and, of course, almost choked—when hundreds of colorful fish passed by, decorating the corals like a kaleidoscope of color.

The bottom was at least ten feet away, but it looked like I could reach out and touch it if I tried.

I hated to admit it, but Diego might have been right. The longer we circled the dive site, the more I wanted to continue. Meaning I’d just lost the bet. Not that it mattered in the slightest, because we were both winners either way.

Diego caught my eye as we swam and pointed upward. I took his cue and popped my head out of the water, pulling the snorkel from my mouth.

“So, what do you think?” he asked excitedly. He’d been next to me for most of the big loop we were doing, occasionally diving below and blowing bubbles that tickled me when they floated along my arms and stomach.

If nothing else, it gave me an excellent excuse to watch his toned and sexy back as he worked those muscles to propel himself deeper, twisting around to grin up at me around his snorkel.

“It’s beautiful.”

“And how’s the fear?” His smile was cocksure as he studied my face.

“Gone,” I admitted. “You win this one.”

He swam closer, smiling widely and pulling me into his embrace while he treaded water. “So you’re in my bed tonight,” he rumbled, his voice deep and full of desire. Diego pulled me into his alluring orbit with a few simple words and a hand on my hip. My legs wrapped around his hips, and he ran his hands down my sides, planting them on my waist. He was confident and self-assured, bolstering my confidence with every word.

His hips brushed mine, and his length pressed against my lower belly. The contrast between his warmth and the cool sea set my nerves alight.

“Looks like I am,” I said. “Who’s going to break it to Oliver and Cheryl?” There was a minor twinge of guilt that I was hopping from one bed to another, but it was still early days, and while I would miss waking up next to Oliver after only having done it once before, I wanted to experience Diego first thing in the morning, too.

We looked over, finding Oliver’s orange snorkel bobbing a few feet away, obviously getting a front-row seat and watching as our bodies pressed together. His partner for the day was Cheryl, and she was floating along beside him, fiddling with something on her mask.

Instead of making me feel like I was doing something wrong, Oliver watching us stirred something in me. I moved closer to Diego, the sway of the sea making me grind against him.

His breath caught. “If you don’t stop that, Sophie, we’ll have a problem on our hands.”

“It’s not a problem, Diego. It’s a preview,” I whispered. I pushed off of him, untwining my legs and using my arms to propel me away. Always leave them wanting, right? “And it’s definitely something I want us to explore later.”

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