Page 43 of The Problem with Princes
I nod and he comes toward me, taking my hand. He glances at me from the corner of his eyes, almost as if he is uncertain that it is okay, after the kiss.
I give his hand a squeeze, and he tugs me a little closer.
We come out of the water, and I practically collapse onto the towel I have spread out on the sand. I lay on my back and close my eyes, stretching my arms up above my head and pointing my toes, enjoying a full body stretch.
Ty takes in a sharp breath, and I realize too late that my rash guard top has slid up, exposing a portion of my belly. I put my hand above my eyes, shielding them from the sunlight.
“What happened to your stomach?” He stares down at me.
I bite my lip.
After he’d spilled his coffee down the front of me, I’d had all kinds of imaginings about what I would say to him if he ever found out what his coffee had done to me. At the time, it had seemed completely impossible that I would see him again. Let alone show him my stomach. But now, sitting here with him, liking him a lot, I can’t bring myself to say all the snappy, cutting lines I came up with in my head.
I run the sand through my fingers and avert my eyes. “I had an accident. But it’s getting better.”
He kneels beside me, and I feel his finger gently shift the rash guard up a little more. His face blanches, and he looks from my stomach to my face. “This isn’t from—” He stops and swears in Greek.
I push his hand away and pull the rash guard down as I sit up. “It’s not a big deal,” I lie. The stricken look on his face makes it impossible to accuse him as I had planned out in my head.
“I did that, didn’t I? That’s my fault.” He sits back on his heels and looks down at my thighs, as if remembering every spot the coffee had dropped, but my board shorts keep those burns covered.
I put a hand on his arm. “You didn’t spill your coffee on me on purpose. It was an accident that was every bit as much my fault as it was yours.”
He gives a mirthless laugh. “Yeah, and I was so concerned about you following the accident.” He runs his hand through his hair and drops back onto his behind, pulling one knee up. “No wonder you thought I was such a jerk. You’ll have those scars to remember me by for the rest of your life.”
He hits his forehead with his palm. “And then I wanted to call you coffee as a pet name? How have you not slapped me yet?”
I grin. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve thought about it.” But then I soften and put a hand on the arm he has resting on his knee. “Come on, Ty. “I think we both realize that the person either of us saw that day isn’t a reflection of our true characters.” I pat the sand next to me. “Please, can we just forget about it and continue with our beach day?”
He stares at me, and I can see the pain in his eyes. It takes my breath away to see the intensity of his feelings. “I’m quite certain I will not be forgetting about it anytime soon. But after all I’ve done to you, I can’t deny you the chance for a pleasant day at the beach.”
This man isn’t the player I’ve assumed he is. I don’t think that kind of guy would feel such remorse for something that had been an accident.
Well, he may havebeena player, but I don’t think he’s playing with me. It unsettles me to think that I’d misjudged him so completely.
Making good on his word, he hops up and moves over to the cooler bag. He pulls out an insulated thermos and dumps both of our glasses of lemonade.
“Hey,” I reach for my glass. “I wasn’t done with that.”
He scrunches up his nose. “I’m quite confident those are past their prime after sitting in the heat for so long.”
He pours fresh lemonade into each glass and hands mine to me. Then he pulls out two over-stuffed pita sandwiches filled with meat, cheese, and veggies. He hands me one and my eyes widen. “This is huge. I’m never going to be able to eat even half of this.”
He shrugs but his voice is tight. “Just eat what you want. I won’t force you to eat it all.”
I miss the easy conversation we’d had just moments ago.
He pulls out a bag of potato chips and dumps some onto a napkin, then hands them to me. They are flecked with green, like the sour cream and chive chips I eat at home. I take a bite and the taste of oregano fills my mouth. “Mmm. Ty, these are so good.”
“Have you never had them before?”
I shake my head.
He turns to me. “Hey, you called me Ty. Does that mean I can call you Gee?”
“If it’s that important to you,” I give him an exaggerated eye roll, but then grin at him. “Yes. You can call me Gee.”
He takes a bite of his sandwich, a satisfied look on his face.
