Page 87 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

Your mother is on the warpath. Call me ASAP.

Yep, I was right. And it was way too early in the morning to deal with this.

Deciding that it could wait a couple of hours, I tossed my phone back on the nightstand. I settled back and scooted over to Alec’s side of the bed, sniffing at his familiar scent. Then, because I had no shame nor self-control, I took his fluffy pillow and covered my face with it, closing my eyes and taking in his scent. I wondered if the resort would notice if Istoleborrowed this pillow and took it home with me.

Right then, the patio door slid open. I hurriedly tossed the pillow back, rearranging my position to imitate a tempting, seductive woman, wearing what I hoped to be a sexy smile on my face. Or at the very least, a semi-decent impression of one.

Alec strolled back in, staring at his phone, a worried frown creasing his eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?” I sat up, wiping the sexy smile off my face. “Is everything okay?”

“No, actually. It’s Gemma.”

Something clicked in my brain.

“Your sister, Gemma? So… she’s the one that’s been calling you?”

That caught his attention, and he looked up, tilting his head. “What?”

“You know, all those late-night phone calls you’ve been getting.I always thought it was the girl you said you were interested in… You mean it’s always been your sister?”

“Yeah.” Understanding dawned on his face, and a slow grin lifted his mouth. “Were you jealous, Ellie?”

A whoosh of relief flew through me, and it felt as if two heavy bags of rocks had just been lifted from my shoulders. I had an overwhelming urge to grab him and kiss him into oblivion. “Psssh. Don’t be silly. Of course not.”

His grin widened. “Yes, you were.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. You were jealous, becauseyou like me,” he sing-songed.

Love. I love you.

“Is everything okay with your sister?”

“No, but we can talk about that later.” For a nanosecond, I thought I saw a brief look of sadness passing over his face. Tossing his phone on the bedside table, he crawled back to bed, his eyes fixed on mine, and a sexy grin on his face. “Right now, I’ve got something much more important to do.”

We spent the morning tangled up in each other, before wrapping things up with a steamy shower session. We’d missed the optional dolphin-watching and snorkeling sessions, so it was almost lunchtime when we finally emerged from our room to meet the others.

Rob was nowhere to be seen. When I saw a free table for two by the window overlooking the beach, I made a beeline for it. Alec followed, but he was busy texting, the worried look returning to his face. We sat down, and I reached across the table to cover his hands with mine.

“Is Gemma okay? Anything I can do to help?”

Alec tore his attention away from the phone and gave me a small smile. “Thanks. We’ll be fine.” With an apologetic nod, he went back to the device, his face subdued.

I wanted to say more, but he looked so focused, barely noticing anything apart from the messages on his phone. Deciding to give him some time alone, I got up and went over to the buffet table to find some food.

I was halfway through my breakfast when Jacqui strolled over to our table.

“Morning. Slept well last night?”

“Didn’t get much sleep,” Alec replied, putting his phone aside. “Must be the leftover adrenaline rush from the competition.”

He gave me a meaningful glance, sending heat rushing to my cheeks.

Jacqui’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We need to talk. Privately. Got a minute?”

Alec nodded. “Of course.”

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