Page 77 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

Alec sighed. “Ellie, we can’t do one-word answers. I know you’re mad, but we need to present a united front for Jacqui. Two days, and you’re off the hook.”

I ignored the hollow feeling inside. “Not mad.”

“You sound like it. You surelooklike it.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Because that murderous glare on your face tells me I’m right.”

I folded my arms, exhibiting top-level mastery in denial and ignorance of my own feelings. “Let’s move on. What does Jacqui have planned for the day?”

Another sigh, but he didn’t press the issue further. “Carmel emailed me the schedule.” He whipped his phone back out, and five seconds later, my phone pinged with an email notification.

My eyes grew larger as I scanned the contents, detailing all the things Jacqui expected us to do today: company lunch, then a series of team-building games (sandcastle competition, beach relay races, and beach dodgeball), followed by a casual company dinner. Tomorrow was a free day, but we were invited to participate in (optional) dolphin-watching, snorkeling, and hiking, before checking out and heading back to the airport.

Whoa. Even reading the schedule exhausted me. Whatever happened to sunbathing and piña coladas by the beach?

“We have a couple of free hours after breakfast. Any ideas what we could do?”

“We?” Raising my eyebrows, I snagged my backpack and marched toward the door. “There’s no ‘we.’I’mhaving breakfast, then a relaxing swim before lunch.”

“Great idea.” He followed closely behind, making me hyper-aware of his presence. “We should stick together. Jacqui will be suspicious if we do separate things.”

“Whatever.” I shrugged. We got to the breakfast room, and Rob waved at us from a table by the window. I schooled my features to portray the adoring girlfriend I was supposed to be and made my way toward Rob’s table.

Then I felt Alec linking his warm hands through mine. He pulled me closer and planted a quick kiss on my temple. “Put on a smile, Ellie. Get ready for a weekend of fun.”

CHAPTER 22The Heroic Seagulls Saved the Day

Rob went to check out the waves after breakfast, so I—followed by Alec—wandered over to the pool and found two vacant chairs near the deep end. Draping my towel on one, I slipped out of my T-shirt, trying not to feel self-conscious in my bright-red bikini, aware that his eyes were tracking my every movement.

“I’m going for a swim,” I announced. “See you later.”

“I’ll join you.” Alec peeled off his own T-shirt and shorts, tossing them on the lounge chair next to mine. His navy swimming trunks hugged his lower body, sending my treacherous eyes to his mouthwatering abs, and the tantalizing V pointing toward body parts that Iprobablydefinitelyshould NOT be thinking about.

Nope, not going toogle admirelook at him.Eyes straight ahead.

Steeled with determination, I removed my pump, then strolled to the edge of the pool and went in, pretending not to notice that he slipped in next to me. He was blissfully unaware that several pairs of eyes were watching him with keen interest. On the other hand, I wasveryaware of how close he was, andhow there was nothing separating us but water gently lapping between our bodies.

I mentally roundhouse-kicked myself and concentrated on doing a few laps across the pool. After ten laps, I took a break, resting my head on the edge. The water was nice, and the sun shone bright, warming my face.

Alec came up next to me a few minutes later, mirroring my position. Ignoring him, I closed my eyes, enjoying the cool water, and the chatter and laughter of people around us.

“Ellie?”

Too bad I couldn’t pretend to be asleep. “What.”

There was a long pause before he replied, “I’m sorry.”

I didn’t reply.

“For the other night,” he continued. I could sense him drifting closer. “I was being inappropriate, and I promise it will never happen again.”

I’d be lying if I said a huge part of me wasn’t disappointed in hearing that.

“Come on, Ellie. Tell me how I can make it up to you. Please?”

“There’s nothing you can do,” I said, turning to face him. He stared at me, his eyes gentle and pleading. I had to escape himright now, because if he kept looking at me like that, I’d lose that last ounce of my pathetic, nonexistent willpower. “I’ve moved on, and we’re never going to talk about what happened that night. Ever. Is that clear?”

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