Page 36 of Now or Never

Whatever the hell it was, it was impressive.

But it still didn’t hold a candle to the sight of Adam. He was wearing blue swim trunks with an open Hawaiian shirt revealing an unbelievably ripped torso. She had glimpsed his stomach two days before when he’d wiped mud out of her eyes, but this was different. She tracked her eyes up from his waistband over his chest to his neck, then caught on his mouth.

When she realized he was facing her and probably watching her mentally devouring him, she blinked up at his eyes. And found him looking at her the same way.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.”

Sensing another eye fuck coming, she added, almost absentmindedly, “Your boat has an upstairs.”

Adam blinked and looked up, then back at her. “Yup. There’s a downstairs, too.” He stepped to the dock and held out a hand, ushering her aboard.

“Thanks. What’s downstairs?”

Adam smirked and wagged his eyebrows. “Bed.”

Chelsea felt her mouth drop open and a laugh bubble up. “What—”

“Sorry,” he said, cutting her off with a shake of his head. “That wasn’t . . . I shouldn’t say things like that to you. I’m just having a hard time not—” He snapped his mouth shut and reached a hand up and rubbed his scratchy jaw. “Want a beer?” he asked, turning toward a kitchenette area in the back corner of the boat.

“Sure,” she said, trying to pretend she didn’t know exactly what he was thinking. Of course she knew. It was the same thingshewas thinking.

And it involved that bed and no swimsuits.

“Chelsea!”

Chelsea spun around to see Ethan and Natalie stepping on the boat, followed closely by Max and Antonio.

“Hey,” she said, trying to wipe the image out of her mind.

Adam walked over and handed her a can of beer, then introduced her to Max, a giant, tattooed, broody type, and Antonio, a suave-looking Italian doctor. The four guys got to work untying the boat from the dock as she and Natalie watched on in silence.

She glanced at Natalie and discreetly fanned her face with her hand while pretending to pant. Natalie burst into laughter and nodded.

Those four men were fucking hot.

“Help yourself to the fridge, Natalie,” Adam called.

“’Kay, thanks!” she called, then looked at Chelsea. “A cold drink is just what I need.”

They got the boat untied, then Adam smoothly backed out of the marina. He headed to the middle of the calm blue sparkling lake toward a barge surrounded by a giant circle of boats tied to one another. There was a large space between the boats andthe barge for people to swim, and it was already filling up with floating swans, flamingos, and lamas.

“Is that a band setting up on the barge?” Chelsea asked.

“Yup,” Adam said, moving past her to toss a rope to the guy on the boat next to them. “Shania Twain cover band.”

Adam stepped over the edge onto the boat next to them, shaking hands with them and saying hi to the entire group of people on it as if they were best friends.

“Is there anyone he doesn’t know?” Chelsea wondered aloud.

Ethan laughed. “Not in Mapleton. He put an addition on that guy’s house.”

Chelsea watched him laughing and joking with the family in the boat and wanted that bed even more than before. There was something about him that she hadn’t been able to put her finger on until right then. She finally realized that the reason he was so attractive wasn’t his solid chest or his wide, easy smile that made her panties flame.

It was how altruistic he was.

He was the type to do anything for anyone, no questions asked. No paybacks necessary. It’s why he’d offered to plan Natalie and Ethan’s wedding, and why he put on a festival. He just seemed to live his life to the absolute fullest. And it was fun to watch.

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