“I’ve had enough privacy today to drive a person mad,” he insisted, and I glanced back over my shoulder. “And obviously you’re looking for something to do, no?”
I chewed my cheek.
“Go change and come back up,” Theo said.
“I… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“And sitting alone in your stateroom is?”
I couldn’t see his eyes clearly from that distance, but I felt them like warm rays of sunshine on my skin. I’d declined going out with Joel and the rest of the crew, but there was something enticing about the offer to be with Theo.
All the more reason to decline.
A moment of pause passed between us, and then Theo stood, the steaming water cascading down his chest and abdomen, the rivulets illuminated by the moonlight.
“Go get changed and get in this hot tub, or I’ll come over there and drag you in.”
His voice barreled like a wave crashing over me, sending chills down my spine. And as if I had no other choice, I nodded, skipping down the stairs and back to my room. I changed more quickly than I ever had in my life, and then I was back, a towel wrapped around my swimsuit-clad body.
Theo smiled when I joined him again, gesturing with a wet hand for me to sit opposite him in the tub. He grabbed his tumbler of what looked like scotch next, sipping it, his eyes never leaving me as I tiptoed to the water’s edge.
God, how I wished he would look away.
But he was unashamed, a slight smirk on his lips, an arch in his brow, hand still wrapped around the glass.
I looked left and right, as if it was the possibility of someone else coming up that made it hard to drop that towel. The truth was, I had to look away to find the confidence to do it.
With a deep breath I tried desperately to make seem casual, I pulled the towel away, draping it over the back of one of the nearby chairs before making my way into the tub. I kept my eyes on the water the entire time, not brave enough to look up and see if Theo was watching me. The water was perfectly warm, and when I was submerged up to my chest, I sighed, melting into it.
When I finally lifted my gaze, I was met with Theo’s.
His expression was different now — smirk gone, brows furrowed instead of arched. I thought I saw the bob of his Adam’s apple before he cleared his throat, setting his drink on the edge of the tub and letting his hand rest around it. “There,” he said, lips curling up just a bit before they fell again. “Not so bad, is it?”
I rolled my eyes, sinking deeper into the water with a groan. “I didn’t realize I was sore until this very moment.”
“Too much walking on shore?”
I smiled, closing my eyes as I let my head fall back against the lip of the tub. “Definitely more than I’m used to.”
“I could arrange a car for you next time,” Theo offered. “If you’d like.”
I shook my head, eyes fluttering open to find him across the steamy water. “It’s okay. I prefer to walk — I capture more that way. I just can’t help but get caught up in it, when I’m in the zone like I have been. I end up walking more miles than I’ve trained my body to handle.”
Theo relaxed, sipping his scotch before setting it aside again. He reached behind it for his phone. “I think I should have your number.”
My head rolled up in a snap from where I’d been resting, eyes wide. “What?”
“In case you get lost while you’re on shore, or need a ride back to the boat,” he clarified, and then he stood, the water dripping down his bare chest like it had before. Only this time, I wasn’t across the deck by the stairs. This time, I was just a few feet away from him — distance that he closed slowly as he moved toward me, extending his phone in my direction. “It would make me feel better to know you had a way to contact me if you needed to, and I to contact you.”
Theo paused where he towered above me, the moonlight behind him making his face nothing but a shadow. I couldn’t decipher his eyes, only the valleys and ridges of his abdomen, the deep cut of the V that pointed down to the hem of his swim trunks.
I swallowed, taking the phone from his hand. I thought about pointing out that Joel had my number, and I had his, so if I really needed something, I could just call or text my boyfriend.
But I already knew that Theo didn’t like to ask twice.
Besides, what if Joel was working and didn’t have his phone on him when I needed something?
Maybe it was a good idea for him to have my number.
Just in case.
I tapped the screen until I got to the contacts app, putting my name and number in quickly and handing the phone back to him. Theo smiled, but instead of crossing back to where he’d been sitting before, he lowered into the water next to me.
“There,” he said, tapping out something on the screen. “I texted you so you’ll have my number, too.”
Theo set his phone aside then, and he got up long enough to retrieve his glass before he was beside me once more, one arm draped over the back of the tub as he watched me.
“How’s it been on shore? Have you been getting the kind of photographs you envisioned?”
“It’s been…” I smiled, shaking my head as the memories of the last couple of weeks floated through my mind. “Absolutely incredible. Life changing. More than I could have imagined.”
“Yeah? What’s been your favorite place so far?”
“I loved Portofino,” I said. “The people there were so friendly, and the bright houses, the little hidden alleyways and streets. It was like being in a movie.” I paused.
