Page 14 of All I Desire

Hmm. He’s answering in all the right ways. “If you could push a button and everyone on earth would be seven percent happier, but we all had to give up deodorant, would you push it?”

“Whoa. This is a tough one.” He gazes to the horizon and frowns. “I’m going to have to say yes. I think a stinky world is a good tradeoff for a happier world.”

“Reasonable. Anything to keep people from being assholes, I’m on board with. Is there any water in that basket?” I toss back my millionth glass of champagne while he looks in the basket.

“We’re in luck,” he says, cracking open the bottle. I clap excitedly as he pours.

“Okay. Another question. I get six. Would you rather be face to face with a baby rhino or a giant cockroach? Both are having rotten days.”

He twists his mouth and tilts his head to his ear. “How giant of a roach?”

“Like bigger than anything in Florida. Like dog-sized. And he’s got a pen and is about to shank you.”

Matthew’s cracking up now. “Eww. Where do you get these things? Baby rhino, without a doubt. They’re kind of cute.”

“Okay, one more. How many people are in your family, and do you like them?”

He smiles. “That’s two questions, but I’ll let it slide. Well, there’s my daughter. I definitely like her. Then there’s my sister, our mom, my stepdad, and my half-brother. I mostly like them, in that order. Sometimes a couple of them can be difficult. Ah, my dad died when I was young, so five immediate family members. A bunch of cousins, too. They’re in Wisconsin. They’re quite likeable.”

I nod thoughtfully. I have another question — do you believe in love at first sight — but I’m pretty sure that’s not the thing to ask right now.

“You look like you’re going to ask something else,” he says.

How perceptive he is. “Yeah. Can I have another kiss?” I grin and bite my bottom lip.

“Absolutely, cutie.” He takes my chin in his hand and pulls my lip out of my teeth. Then he leans in and puts his mouth to mine. His clean soap smell washes over me and I swoon.

This time, there’s tongue. “Ohh, wow, you are a good kisser,” I whisper. “Did you win kissing competitions or something?”

“Fort Lauderdale kissing champ, five years in a row.”

“Really?” My eyes widen.

“No,” he laughs. “But maybe that’s another promo opportunity for the Paradise Beach Tourism board. A kissing contest.”

“That seems like it could open up a huge can of consent worms. But if you entered, I’d be first in line.”

“You have an interesting way of phrasing things.”

“Maybe. Back to us, though. It’s odd, I don’t even care that Nina’s taking pictures.” I put my hand on his knee. Better than mauling his bare chest. “And I think the sunset is about to happen.”

“Who’s Nina and what’s a sun?” he murmurs against my mouth, then devours me some more.

We kiss like this for a solid few minutes, my insides growing molten and creamy. What’s the etiquette here? Ask him back to my place? Jump him in the car?

The sound of someone insistently clearing a throat jars me out of my erotic kiss bubble. I break away and snap open my eyes —only to see four people in giant hats and sunglasses standing about twenty feet away, staring at us.

“Oh shit. My friends are here.” I make a shoo, shoo motion at them with my hand. “Lord, did they think they’d be undercover in those getups?”

Lauren’s in a hot pink beach dress and wheat-colored hat. Kate’s in the exact same outfit, which is weird. Leilani, who is wearing some sort of aqua sarong and a matching hat, points to Matthew, then gives me a grin and two thumbs up. Shameless, that girl.

“Where? Oh. There. Is that a dog with them? In sunglasses?”

For the first time, I notice that Isabella, who is wearing a white straw hat, huge black sunglasses, and a white beach cover up, is holding Chunky, who is, indeed, wearing black sunglasses. I wince.

“Yeah, that’s my brother’s dog. Notice how everyone on the beach is staring at them and not us? Freaks.”

Matthew chuckles. “That’s kind of sweet, they’ve come to check up on you.”

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