They found their way back to that shady, cool spot on the beach and took a breather. “You know, half of the fun of this is getting to show it off to someone I care about.”
Zane sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees and looking down at the sand, and nodded. “That’s a nice thing to say.” His voice was so burdened it made her heart heavy. Why did he have to be so deeply conflicted about every nice thing she chose to say? “I care about you, too.”
She had too many words on the tip of her tongue—things about her brother or other women or why in the hell he couldn’t just give in to the attraction that she had to believe he felt. There was no way that the electricity between them only went one way. But she didn’t want their conversation to get too serious, so she kept these nagging, negative thoughts to herself. Instead, she fished the bottles of water out of the small pouch attached to the swim buoy and handed one to Zane. “Here. Drink. I need to keep you safe out here. Scott will never forgive me if you die of dehydration.”
Zane laughed. It was deep and throaty and sexy as ever. “Same for you. I think we’re equally responsible for each other at this point.” He took a long drink of his water, then replaced the cap and reclined back in the sand, resting on his elbows. “It’s so amazing to think about, isn’t it?”
“What? How my brother has an ironclad hold on both of us?”
“Well, that, sure, but that’s a long conversation. I was talking more about the here and now. When we met, did you ever think that you and I would end up together on this tiny uninhabited island in the Caribbean?”
Allison hugged her knees to her chest and ran her hands through the sand, too embarrassed to tell Zane that she’d spent more than a decade crafting fantasies about him. Of the many times she’d felt like a naive schoolgirl around him, this moment might have been the most striking. It felt as though there was an invisible force between them, keeping them apart, and she didn’t know how to get rid of it. “Hard to believe, huh?”
“We’re so far away from it all. From everyone. From responsibility and expectations. From family and our jobs. I had no idea it would be so freeing.”
Freeing. This scenario they’d found themselves in should’ve felt freeing, but they didn’t have true freedom, and they wouldn’t unless she finally shook loose the words buzzing in her head and forced the conversation. “We could do whatever we want, you know. Nobody can say a thing.”
Zane was quiet for a few heartbeats, and Allison braced for a reprimand about being suggestive. “So true. We are the extent of the society on this island.” Just then, an iguana jumped up onto a rock a few dozen feet away. “Well, us and that guy.”
“He won’t care what we do. We could scream at the top of our lungs if we wanted to and nobody could say a thing.”
“Or you could sing too loud. It might drive out the wildlife, but you could do it.”
She smacked him on the arm. “Hey. I’m not that bad a singer.”
“Let’s just say that fifty percent of the people on this island disagree with that statement.”
Allison swiped at him again, but this time, Zane ducked away before her hand could connect with his arm. He popped up onto his feet. Allison did the same. He ran into the water up to his knees and she followed in close pursuit. Before she knew what was happening, he turned and, with both hands, delivered a tidal wave of a splash, dousing her.
“Hey!” Allison protested, but she loved the playful turn Zane was taking. “That’s not fair.” She ran into the surf up to her waist, furiously broadcasting water back at him. He joined in and they splashed each other like crazy for a good minute, laughing and trying to outdo each other. “Okay. Okay. Truce.” Allison sucked in frantic, deep breaths.
Zane relented and straightened to his full height. He was like a god standing there in the crystal clear sea, tanned and glistening with water. “I’m officially soaked.” He walked several steps into the shade of a palm tree over the water, still standing in it up to his knees.
“Me, too.” Allison was determined to not make the first move, even when ideas of what do with wet bathing suits were whizzing around in her head. Still, she wasn’t going to avoid him. She inched closer, stepping out of the sunlight. Their gazes connected, and she reckoned with how apparent his inner conflict was. It was all over his face. It hurt to see it—he had good and valid reasons for not wanting anything physical with her. She admired those reasons. She also wished they didn’t exist, or at the very least, that they could set them aside for a while.
“You’re pretty when you’re wet.”
Something in her chest fluttered—the physical manifestation of years of wanting to hear words like the ones he’d just uttered. “Thank you. You don’t look bad yourself.”
He cleared his throat, and a blush crossed his face. He looked down at the water. “Your brother would kill me for what I’m thinking right now.”
Her heart galloped to a full sprint. “And he’s not here.”
Zane returned his sights to her and tapped his finger against his temple. “Unfortunately, he’s here.” He then
