“Now my chair is complete. What took you so long?”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, my blue-eyed beauty. I had to get my exercise in so I can maintain my stamina for you.” He leans around and kisses my cheek. “Daisy, this persistent guy is my friend, Hunter. The one beside him is Jace. These are the guys I’ve warned you about.”
“The guys in the adjoining suite? The ones who passed out waiting for the boat to the cabana? The one who was drunk and sound asleep in your bed?”
“The same.”
“So that’s why you locked and barred the door. He obviously doesn’t remember seeing me in the room with you.”
Rod throws his head back in laughter. “You are a smart, delicious cookie. Two minutes after meeting them and you already get it.”
“Very funny, fucker. What gives, Rod? When did you start letting a woman stay in your room overnight?”
“Since I met Daisy. She and I have spent several days together now, and I have no intentions of letting her go. Move on down the line, boys. She’s one of a kind, and she’s all mine.”
Hunter and Jace openly gawk at Rod, but he doesn’t flinch a muscle behind me. In fact, his words make me question if he wants our vacationship to last past our getaway. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but my feelings for him deepen every day. As hard as I’ve tried to keep them contained and maintain my “love isn’t real” mantra, he makes it almost impossible to resist falling when he shows his thoughtful side.
Tracy wakes from her nap and looks between our visitors and Rod and me. “All four of you are very noisy early in the morning. You need to keep it down and let a girl get her beauty sleep. My man will be back from the gym soon.”
“Sounds like you’re shit out of luck with her too. By the way, she’s been with Kevin the entire time, and you know how he is about other men hitting on his girlfriend. You can pull up a seat and join us if you promise to behave.” Rod motions to two vacated chairs beside us.
“We’ll catch you later. This party is a little too tame for our taste.” Jace grins and walks away, Hunter falling in line beside him.
Rod leans down to my ear and whispers, “I hope I didn’t spook you with what I said.”
“Did you mean it?” I hold my breath and wait for him to say he only meant to get rid of Hunter and Jace.
“Every word.” His lips brush against my ear as he speaks. I’m almost stunned speechless. Can this be real?
“You didn’t spook me. But if we’re being completely honest, I’m scaring myself.”
“Let’s take a walk and find somewhere we can talk in private.”
After I wake Tracy to tell her we’re leaving, Rod takes my hand in his and we walk off together.
“I have an idea. Let’s rent a Jet Ski and have a little fun. We’ll be far enough away from everyone out there, and we can float on the waves while we talk.”
“Perfect. I’ve always wanted to ride one.”
“Your wish is my command.” He kisses the back of my hand and my heart flutters. It really is the little things.
With the half-day rental secured, we climb aboard our water motorcycle and head offshore, away from the crowds. When we’re far enough out to float on the deep, clear water without being in the way of the other riders, he kills the engine and maneuvers his body until he’s facing me.
“This may seem like it’s coming out of left field after the other talks we’ve had, but it’s something that’s been building since the day I met you. Kevin called me out on my bullshit attitude this morning, and that made me take a long, hard look at my life. I even called my sister and asked her opinion, asked her if Kevin was right about how people perceive me. When the two people who know you best have nearly identical views, it makes you stop and think.”
“What did they say?” I’m not holding my breath. But I’m fairly certain I’m hyperventilating instead.
“In a nutshell, that I’ll end up miserable and alone because I won’t let anyone get close to me. But I’m different with you, and I shouldn’t limit what we have to just a vacation fling. In fact, my sister doesn’t want me to come back to the Atlanta area if I don’t leave my old personality here.” He chuckles, but the humor doesn’t reach his eyes. He looks off toward the horizon. “Since the day we met, I’ve felt a strange connection to you. One I’ve never experienced with another human being before now, so I’m not even sure how to handle it. I quit believing in love a long time ago. For years, I’ve said it was nothing more than a fairy tale that’ll inevitably end in disaster.
“But you make me want the fairy tale, Daisy. So much so I can’t imagine going back to how my life was before I met you. I need you to be honest with me about how you feel.”
A small gust of wind could blow me over right now. My mouth is dry, my heart is pounding, and my entire body is trembling. Vulnerability isn’t in my repertoire of emotions under normal conditions, but the time I’ve spent with Rod has been anything but ordinary. Contrary to my preferred response of deflecting, I decide to go with complete honesty…after I confirm one thing.
“What if your feelings are because of the setting? Vacation brain is an actual thing, and you may make wrong decisions based on the euphoric feeling it gives you. But those feelings aren’t real, and you’ll realize that after you return home and put distance between you and paradise.”
“I’ve given it a lot of thought, even before today, and my
