Page 41 of The Problem with Princes
I look around. Sander and two other men, dressed down today in what looks like cabana shirts and slacks, are spaced equally across the beach to the side and behind us. I have no idea where the other men have gone off to. “Where are all of Sander’s guys?”
Tyrone glances around. “Probably patrolling the perimeter.” He hands me a chilled glass filled with a bright pink liquid. I lift it to my nose and smell it. “Lemonade?”
He nods, but his face is a mixture of curiosity and laughter. “Do you smell everything? I noticed you did it yesterday at the monastery and also at the restaurant.”
I wince. “Yeah, I do. It makes my dad crazy when I go home to visit.” My face warms all the way to the tips of my ears. Tanner had commented on it excessively. He’d even brought it up when he’d broken up with me. I’ve tried stopping it, but most of the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it.
Ty stares at me with his brows raised.
I blow the air out of my lungs through mostly closed lips, making them puff out slightly. “So Texie and I had this roommate in college. And she made the weirdest food. Half the time, the ingredients she used were expired. We never knew what we would find in the fridge. We both got used to smelling all the food we ate to make sure it was edible.” I shrug. “I’ve tried to stop doing it. Tex still does it too, so I can’t really rely on her to tell me to stop.” I clear my throat and the memory of Tanner comes to my mind. “It made my last boyfriend crazy. He would slap my hand whenever he saw me doing it.”
Tyrone’s brows shoot up and he leans slightly forward in his chair, his features hard. “Are you serious?”
I nod. “You would think that would make me stop, but it didn’t. I just became more discreet. I think it may have been one of the reasons he broke up with me.” Thinking back on it, I don’t know why I’d been so heartbroken about the break-up. Tanner had been a pretty big jerk.
“I think it’s cute. You look like a little rabbit.”
I want to change the subject. Thinking about Tanner or rabbits is not making me feel confident in myself. I look out at the water. “You never told me why I’ve never seen pictures of this little cove.”
“This is a private beach. It belongs to one of the estates that my family owns.”
“One of?” I arch a brow. “Because you need more than one?”
He looks away from me. “We have many holdings. There are a lot of reasons for it. Most of them are financial.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the defensive. I meant it as a joke, but my humor doesn’t always hit its mark.” I want to pick up my chair and move it to the far side of the cove. But at least I’m making it so he won’t be asking me to stay here longer.
He pushes himself out of his chair and I think maybe I’ve really offended him this time. But then he puts his hand out to me. I won’t even admit to Texie how hard my heart pounds with relief that he doesn’t seem angry.
He helps me up and pulls off his shirt.
Like an idiot, I just stare. A wave crashes hard in front of us and I feel moisture run from the side of my mouth. Am I actually drooling? His physique warrants such a reaction, but I want to be more discreet about it.It tastes salty, so maybe I haven’t just humiliated myself. Again.
If he notices my cartoonish jaw drop at seeing him without his shirt, he doesn’t indicate it.
I try to pull myself together as Tyrone recaptures my hand in his. “What do you say to testing out the water?” He pauses, as if waiting for me to take off the board shorts and rash guard. But when I don’t make a move, he just turns toward his heap of stuff.
“That’s why we came, right?” I try to cover up my embarrassment.
He bends forward and grabs a football out of his bag. “I brought a rugby ball. You want to toss it around a bit?”
I snatch the ball away. “I feel I must warn you. I grew up with five brothers.”
“Oh?”
I nod matter-of-factly. “I can take it easy on you for the first little bit, but then you’ll have to up your game if you want to keep up.”
“Oh, really?” He laughs. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
We step into the waves that crash on the sand. The water isn’t cold by any means, but against my sun warmed skin it feels cool. The goosebumps that erupt remind me of the burns still healing on my stomach and legs. Several scabs crack as my skin tightens. I bite the inside of my cheek and close my eyes until the pain ebbs.
“Is the water too cold?” Ty squeezes my hand.
“Nope. I just need to get used to it. My skin is warmer than I thought.”
He grins and uses the football to splash water up onto me.
I totally pull a girl move and squeal. I squelch it quickly, glaring at him. “You’ll pay for that one.”
