Page 175 of Driftwood Daffodil 2

“You sure you want to go down that road?”

I mean…“Yeah.”

Gio sounded oddly calm when he said, “alright,” and hung up. I probably should’ve been worried, but there were a lot of things I should’ve been worried about. It never stopped me before.

“You do know he’s tracking you, right?”

“Jesus Christ!”

I threw my phone at the unfamiliar voice, which caused the elbow I used to prop myself up with to slip, jarring my body to the left and banging my hip on the dock before I plunked over the edge. All I saw was a pair of sunglasses and a flash of denim before water engulfed me.

While floating down in the murky depths of Quackwater lake, I couldn’t help but glare at the blurry image the person on the dock who was clearly hunched over in laughter. I could even slightly hear the bellowed out sounds of his amusement.

Needless to say, it wasn’t my finest moment. Not sure I had a finest moment. I was, however, cooler, so there was that.

I swam back up, flopped my arms on the dock, and prepared to pull myself out. That’s when I stopped and cocked a brow. I’d seen this guy before.

“Booth number two?”

Was he following me? How did I not see him? And if he was following me, could he give Gio lessons. He really needed help in that department.

“That was great.”

I’m glad someone thought so.

Strands of wet hair stuck to my face while mascara probably ran down my skin. It wasn’t what I would call great, but it wasn’t the worst look I’d had either.

I scooped a lock of hair out of my mouth and smacked my lips together. “Are you stalking me?”

“More like checking up on you.” He snickered out between chuckles.

Checking up on me?Okay creep.“Listen buddy, I don’t know you, or what you’re into but I’m only seventeen.”

His laughter instantly died. “I know how old you are Novalee. I’m not here for that. I prefer my women to be women.”

Well, that was rude. “I’ll have you know I’m as capable as any woman you may know.”

His brow rose. “You tripped over your own feet three times this morning… before you got out the door.”

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t as graceful as the women he knew, but… “I’m not the one stalking a teenager.”

“I told you, I’m checking up on you.”

“Says the guy who knows how many times I tripped the morning.”

He huffed out a sigh. “Maybe we should have this conversation on dry land.”

I eyed the patch on the vest over his jacket. Anyone who walked around wearing a scythe and crossbones was probably someone I should stay away from. It might be safer to stay in the water.

“Here, let me help you.”

“I don’t need…”

That was as far as I got before he reached out and lifted me up with one hand, like I was no bigger than a kitten. I was really getting tired of being manhandled. Thankfully, he set me down on the dock and took a step back. He seemed to be giving me space, not that it made me feel any better. But I suppose if he wanted to hurt me, he would’ve already.

“What do you want?” I growled while bunching up the end of my shirt to ring the water out.

“What are you doing with Gio Mancini?”

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