Page 8 of The Catch

He was out of breath from his exercise but still managed a blinding smile. “I guess it was meant to be.”

“You mean you weren’t out here combing the beach for me?”

“It’s still early,” he said. “I wanted to give myself a chance to win without having to cheat … but I would have.”

And just like that, her insides were mush again. What the hell was wrong with her? She tried her mental switch again—on and off, on and off, like testing a burnt out bulb—but it was no use. Her body kept reacting to him. She could actually feel her cheeks stretching from smiling so hard.

She dropped her sunglasses back on her nose, hiding behind the mirrored lenses. “This is pretty impressive,” she said, waving a hand between Josh and Dylan. “As you can see, we aren’t faring as well this morning.”

“Shawn is still passed out on the floor beside the couch,” Josh said. “So you’re doing better than him.”

Dylan was pretty quiet at the moment, and Cat had to guess they were probably doing better than him too.

“Do you have any big plans for the day?” Josh asked. He eyed Emma and Dani, still prone and motionless.

“This is pretty much it.”

“We’re renting some jet skis after lunch.” He pointed to a row of brightly-colored tents at the end of the pier where all kinds of water sports equipment were on display. “You guys should come with us.”

Dani’s head popped up from the sand. “That sounds like a great idea.”

The sweat that had been gathering on Cat’s brow started to turn cold. Running into Josh again was beyond her control, but setting up a date was out of the question. She’d made the decision to put him out of her mind, and she meant it. Though, she sure was having a hard time getting her mouth to say the words.

She turned to Sonya, figuring she could consult the clipboard and explain their strict schedule, but her wonderfully conspicuous friend just stared back with a tight-lipped grin and wide eyes, looking as eager as Josh was to hear her answer.

“Um,” Cat stuttered. “This is sort of a bridesmaid thing, so… Sonya planned it.”

Her ambiguous reply flickered across Josh’s face, and Cat felt an elbow hit her ribs. “You know what?” Sonya said, her eyes dancing with amusement. “I think we have plenty of time to fit that in.”

Josh’s mouth shot up into a delighted grin that sent Cat’s tummy into a series of flips and handsprings she remembered from the night before. She gave Sonya her most murderous look. “All right,” she said, still stabbing Sonya with her gaze. “That sounds fun.”

“Great. Our reservation is at one.” He pointed again, and the muscles in his forearm flexed deliciously. “Red tent. We’ll see you there.”

“See you there.” She swallowed hard. This was a terrible idea.

Once Josh and Dylan had taken off for their hotel, Sonya drove her fist into Cat’s arm and cackled annoyingly. “Look at you!”

Cat grabbed a book from her bag and attempted to slide down next to Emma, but Sonya wasn’t about to let her off the hook. She yanked the paperback out of her hands, tossing it behind her.

“Hey!”

“Start talking,” Dani said, as Sonya blocked Cat’s attempts to retrieve her book. Now Emma was up too. They were all staring at her.

“Talking about what?” Cat leaned back onto her towel and adjusted her bathing suit top, telling herself her stomach gymnastics were the result of her determined hangover, not seeing Josh again.

“About you and Hottie From The Bar,” Sonya said.

Dani peered at her over the sunglasses perched on her button nose. “You were flirting with him. You two hit it off with that slow dance last night, Kit Cat?”

Traitor.Dani was supposed to take her side. It was the roommate rule: in a group, whomever you’ve lived with previously gets shotgun in your car, gets dibs on any of your clothing or accessories, and automatically has your back in these types of gang-ups. Cat and Dani shared a dorm for three years and an apartment for two more, but her memory of the rules seemed to be failing her.

“It was fine,” Cat answered coolly. She threw an arm over her eyes, content to doze in the sun if she couldn’t have her book.

Sonya was less content. “You’re very smiley for just fine.”

“We’re on vacation, lounging on the beach with a beautiful view. What’s not to smile about?”

Sonya crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “And it has nothing to do with your new friend?”

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