Page 65 of The Exception

“Ready?” Adam asked, once she was all locked in.

She nodded and swallowed the anxiety that had crept up into her throat. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

The boat wasn’t going as fast as before, but Sonya was out there doing her thing and Trav couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Part of him was watching her so he could jump in if there was even a hint of something going wrong, but he was also enjoying watching her more than he’d admit. She’d been tense at first, her muscles tight and her face hard with concentration, but after a few minutes, it all melted away and that megawatt smile she had was clear on her face.

“I knew she’d be good at it,” Adam said.

Trav nodded. “What isn’t she good at?”

Before Adam could answer, Sonya raised her hand in the stop gesture they’d taught her and everyone started working to bring her in. She was on the boat a few minutes later, laughing and high-fiving her friends.

Trav loved seeing her this way. She looked free, like the weight of everything she carried around with her had been lifted. It didn’t hurt that she was wearing a swimsuit that made her look like a fifties pin-up model with those curves. He had to jump in the lake to recalibrate himself when he’d seen her step out of the cabin.

Clearly, his military discipline was down to its last thread.

Finally, her eyes found his and she walked over to him, her excitement lighting her up like a Fourth of July sparkler.

“Proof enough for you?”

Damn, she was cute.

He grinned right back at her, wrapping her up in a hug and bringing his lips close to her ear. “You killed it.”

When Sonya’s arms found their way around him to return the hug, Trav took a deep breath of the sweet scent that always seemed to follow her around, letting himself enjoy the way her bare skin felt against his.

“Thanks for pushing me,” she said.

“Figured it was about time I returned the favor.”

He squeezed her tighter, lifting her slightly off the deck and drawing one of her rare giggles out of her. Even though the hug had gone way past a normal hug, he had no intention of letting her go.

That is, until the clearing of throats brought him back to reality. If that wasn’t enough, the shit-eating smirks on the faces of the other guys meant Trav had just revealed all of his cards, and Sonya’s awkward smile as she stepped away from him was more proof that he’d gotten carried away.

He took a step back and cleared his throat. “I should’ve known you’d be a badass even at something you’re doing for the first time.”

“First and last.” She offered him one of her half smiles before grabbing a towel and taking the seat next to a grinning Dani.

“We’ll see about that.”

Trav joined the other guys who were busy getting Dylan strapped in for his second run. Adam gave him an amused side-eye. “That hug was… something.”

Trav’s face heated, but he figured playing dumb was the way to go. “What are you talking about?”

The guys all chuckled and shook their heads.

“Damn, you’ve got it bad,” Dylan snickered.

Am I that damn obvious?

Mike had always told him his poker face sucked and apparently, it was true. He did have it bad and if the guys all saw it, he was pretty sure the women had been on to him from the minute he’d walked through the cabin door.

Trav glanced back over to the seats where Dani giggled uncontrollably while Sonya wore that slightly exasperated expression she’d perfected as she squeezed water from her wet braids. Was Dani giving her shit about the hug too?

Sonya swatted Dani with her towel which made the blonde laugh even harder and Sonya covered her face with her hands.

Maybe…

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