I watch with interest as Chase wrestles his tall, muscular frame into the cheap plastic lounge chair. He finally makes it on, but then the chair wiggles perilously under his weight for a moment. It’s touch and go, but then it stabilizes. “Okay, I’m in the chair, as requested, and I think I’ve got the hang of this. Just don’t ask me to get up again.”
I laugh. Then I put my sun hat on. “Now, we get a lay of the land. The official meeting’s not for a few minutes. I want you to do some practice surveillance. Take a few minutes and notice the things around you. Call them out.”
“Ugh,” he says as he attempts to get more comfortable in his chair. “Tourists in tacky bathing suits.”
“Like us, Chase,” I chastise him. “That’s literally us right now, or have you not noticed the looks we’re getting. Now try to notice what’s going on around us without the judgement, please.”
“Easy for you to say, nobody in their right mind is going to call your bathing suit tacky. I have gigantic yellow flowers on mine.”
I look over and see him looking down at his bathing suit. Honestly, all I can see are washboard abs, a chiseled jawline with just the right amount of stubble, and messy brown hair that I want to tousle. Who cares about flowers? He’d be hot in any bathing suit. Or none at all. Stop getting distracted, Kaylee.
Still, it’s really cute to see him so self-conscious. “You look perfect, stop getting distracted. Surveillance, please.”
“Okay, my family is off to the right, looking around suspiciously at literally everybody except us. Nicely done, Kaylee.”
I do a slight bow with my head. “Thank you very much, keep going.”
“Ahead of us in the water, off in the distance there are a few surfers in the water. Some swimmers. And a never-ending bloody stream of those annoying paddle boarders.”
“Bingo.”
He turns to me, his brow furrowed. “Does bingo mean you think they’re annoying too or are you making fun of me again?”
“Bingo means hey, Chase, are your family members paying a damn bit of attention to what the paddleboarders are doing?” I watch as the meaning dawns on him and his eyes get wide.
“Oh, I know you’re smart and all, but even I underestimated you this time, Kaylee. You’re going to go out there and paddleboard right by and my brother won’t even care. It’s sheer genius.”
“Ha!” I yell almost loud enough to attract attention. “Are you crazy? In this bathing suit? They’d notice me ten seconds in. Like you said earlier. But a guy in a cheap, garish, yellow bathing suit with a football cap on? They won’t give you a second look.”
“You’re kidding,” he says without laughing. “Besides, it’s almost time. We don’t have time to set something like that up.”
I lean forward and point to the right where a guy in a resort uniform is standing awkwardly next to a paddleboard and looking around. It’s almost time.
“There,” I say, pointing. “Do you see that guy in the uniform? He’s got everything ready for you. His name’s Tim. Go on, wave at him.”
I wave across the beach at Tim.
Chase sits up and waves, looking sheepish. “You’re kidding right?”
“You don’t have much time; you’d better get going. Just get close enough to hear what the board is saying to Liam, and then when you get too far past the conversation, turn around and make another run at it. Keep your hat pulled down and you should be fine.”
It’s my turn to watch his fine ass walk down the beach. In an incredibly bold move, he chooses to walk in front of instead of behind his relatives. I’m impressed.
Still, he walks right on past without so much as raising an eyebrow from them. He even manages to receive a few dirty looks for getting too close to the upper class. I smile and grab my book out of the cooler. Hey, I have to keep a few secrets to myself.
Then I pick up my lounge chair and and move it closer to the beach and even further to the right. Close enough so that the waves are lapping at the front of the chair. Then I re-fix the towel placement on the chair and get back in.
There’s nothing left to do now but pretend to read my romance novel while keeping an eye on Chase and the other Covingtons. It’s showtime.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kaylee
When the board meeting starts, I almost miss it, having gotten sucked into the book I’m reading.
You know the one, boy meets girl. The two of them end up being absolutely perfect for each other but fight it every step of the way. Then hilarity ensues until they defy all odds to fall hopelessly in love. It’s my favorite kind of book. If only real life was like that.
Chase is on the move on the paddleboard. He’s a little wobbly at first, but then he finds his footing and looks more comfortable. Atta boy.
I watch him paddle right to left and right now he’s keeping a good distance from the shore. Smart, he’s getting his feet under him and not attracting attention too early.
Liam wades out into the water. I watch as he fake laughs and rolls his eyes when the meeting starts, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else on earth except here in this meeting. I don’t blame him.
Then a thought strikes me. I forgot about the paparazzi. Turning around, I scan the area toward the Beaky Tiki looking for them. I know that the Covington family has bodyguards doing their best to keep the photographers at a distance, but those jackals are getting more and more desperate. And they have zoom lenses.
Sure enough, I find some. It’s not hard, they stick out likes sore thumbs. But then again, Liam is a Covington too, and he isn’t exactly being subtle.
I sit back into my lounge
