Page 10 of Escape to the Sun

“Sorry.”

Ash chuckled. “Never apologize for laughing. I’m just glad you didn’t go in.” That was a lie. The image of a wet T-shirt was still very much in his head. “Besides, it’s a beautiful sound.”

She blushed at the compliment, the flush trailing down the deep vee of her shirt.

“Are you settled now?”

She looked much more stable situated on the rice in front of him. It would make navigating a little more difficult, but Ash had no complaints staring at the beautiful woman in front of him.

She nodded. “I’m good. Are you sure you can see?”

“I can see everything I need to.”

She blushed again, but this time smiled before any conversation was swallowed by the roar of the engine. He navigated the boat past Bocas Town, which literally hovered on the edge of the sea. In places, it looked as if the pieced-together buildings were falling into the water.

Leaving from the main dock, there was a much larger, nicer boat painted bright blue with Turquoise Cove painted on the side. It was filled with the resort tourists. Those were the people who’d signed up to spend a week or two at one of the exclusive resorts tucked far enough away from Bocas Town that the guests would be able to forget about the poverty and sense of desperation they’d caught a glimpse of when their plane landed. They had no clue that there was more to the world than their carefully constructed bubbles.

Ash saw Heather watching the bright-blue boat, and could tell she had the same opinion of those people that he did. Not that they were bad, just that they were missing out. He turned the boat away from town and aimed it toward the maze of mangrove forest on the other side of the bay. He used to be one of those people. He’d lived his own carefully constructed life, working twelve hours a day for the promise of a better future. When he did take a vacation, it was exactly what those people were going to: a tropical version of what he had back home. Complete with Internet access and a full office so he didn’t have to leave the office behind.

That was a different world. A world he didn’t like to think about.

Ash revved the engine, pushing the little boat hard through the waves.

Heather had spun on her perch and was turned away from him, looking out at the water and the thick mangrove forests. No. She wasn’t looking at all. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted up into the wind. Some hair had escaped from its tie and whipped around her face and neck but it didn’t seem to bother her. Ash felt almost as if he were intruding on a private moment, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

There was something about her. Beautiful, wild, and sexy as hell.

For the next few minutes, they drove in silence. The boat sliced through the calm waters as they raced toward Casa del Sol. He loved it when the seas were quiet; they often weren’t, even sheltered in the mangroves the way they were. But so late in the day the way they were now, it was particularly special to see the shadows dance with their reflections, everything cast in a glow of orange, pink, and yellow as the sun started its slow descent.

He would have happily taken his time to get back to the B&B, and it was easy to see Heather would enjoy the ride. But they were losing daylight quickly and it was never a great idea to drive around in the dark, especially not with a full load. Besides, Sherri would start to worry, and she hadn’t seemed like herself the last few days. It was probably better to spare her any type of stress or concern.

Heather turned around and smiled at him in a way that he could tell she hadn’t done in a long time. Probably too long.

Screw it.

He turned the boat to the left. Away from Casa del Sol and directly toward a tangle of mangroves.

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