Page 41 of A Shore Fling
“Neither are you,” he replies, his voice deep and gravelly. The dishes are still in his hands as we stare at each other.Inhale. Exhale.Neither of us moves.Inhale. Exhale.Just as I’m summoning the courage to do something I shouldn’t, his phone buzzes.
We both break free of whatever spell’s holding us captive. He sets the dishes in the sink, then reaches into his pocket, muttering, “Sorry,” as he pulls out his phone.
I try to cut the lemon bars into perfect squares, but the heightened awareness I feel from being in such close proximity to my handsome guest makes my fingers clumsy. When I’m done, the bars look like a kindergartner cut them.
Travis comes over beside me, his phone still gripped in his hand.
“Everything okay?” I ask, setting the knife down on the edge of the pan. I gesture for him to help himself to dessert.
“Yeah. One of my brothers always needs something, and I seem to be their go-to for whatever it is.” He uses the knife to remove a square and then takes a bite.
“That’s the oldest-sibling curse,” I say. “My brother is lucky to have sisters. Neither of us contacts him when we need something.”
He licks a crumb from the corner of his mouth. “Then who do you turn to?”
“Irene and I are always there for each other. She’s my best friend, and the only person who knows where I am right now.”
“For real? You didn’t tell anyone else? Not even a… boyfriend?” He takes another bite of lemon square.
“Is that your way of asking if I’m single?”
His lips curve slightly as he finishes chewing. “Maybe.”
“Well, I am. And I’m serious about no one else knowing I’m here. Working for my family’s company is great, but my vacation time always gets put on hold. So I decided to take the remainder of the summer off and not tell them how to reach me.”
“Damn. I can’t imagine what would happen if I took an unexpected vacation. My brothers wouldn’t know what to do without me.” He shakes his head. “Has your phone been blowing up with calls and texts?”
“At first it was, but my brother’s smart. He realized I’m not giving in this time.”
He takes another bite, pausing mid-chew.
“What? Are they too tart?”
He chews slowly, then lifts his hand to touch his mouth. “No, it’s delicious, but my mouth feels weird.”
I frown. “Weird how?”
He sets the half-eaten bar down. “Tingly.”
My eyes widen. “Tingly like it’s too sour, or tingly like?—”
“My lips are going numb.”
“Oh no!” I move closer to get a better look. His lips are visibly fuller. “No. No. No. Are you allergic to something?”
“I don’t know.” He licks his swollen lips and then frowns. “What’s in those bars?”
“Sugar, lemon zest, almond flour.”
He groans. “I’m allergic to almonds.”
“Oh my God! I was trying to make them healthier.” I grab my bag by the door. “Do we need to go to the hospital? I can drive you in your vehicle.”
“No,” he says calmly. “It’s a mild allergy, but I should probably take something before I look like I got lip injections in some back alley.”
“Now he’s got jokes?” I mumble, rummaging through my bag for the Benadryl I purchased when I first got here. I planned to take a couple at night if I couldn’t sleep, but the salt air has been knocking me out as soon as my head hits the pillow. I hand him two tablets and then fill a glass of water for him. He swallows them, then extends his hand toward me.
“Better give me one more.”
