Page 13 of The Bet
“Who the hell was that?” he asked.
“Izzy,” Kay replied, in a flat voice.
Izzy?What the fuck kind of a name was that? Where had he seen her, because she seemed familiar, too.
“Someone Savannah hired to look after Jacob.”
He sat back, dragging the bottle to his lips again. “Jeez.” She was smokin’ hot. Kay threw him a hard stare, and he pulled out the pack of cards he had in his pocket as a way of changing the topic. “Want to see some tricks?” Card tricks always came in handy and helped break the ice.
His island vacation was suddenly starting to look interesting.
~ ~ ~
Nice rack?
She hated assholes like him. Xavier Stone, Tobias’s asshole brother. What did he think she was? A piece of meat? The only reason she hadn’t answered back was because Jacob had been by her side, otherwise she never let sexist putdowns go by without a sharp rebuke.
“Can we play tag?” Jacob asked.
“Your mom said only half an hour, Jacob.”
“Aww.”
“Half an hour, then a shower, then bed.”
“Can’t I stay up longer?”
She would have let him, but she understood Savannah’s wish for Jacob to be fully rested for tomorrow. It was her big day after all.
“Maybe tomorrow night, I’ll do my best to persuade your mom to let you stay up as late as you want.”
He gave her a big grin, then jumped into the pool. She was thankful that most of the guests were milling around further along the beach and away from this area.
Tables, chairs and Chinese lanterns were laid out on one side of the tropical gardens, overlooking the beach, and effectively separating the pool area from the beach front.
Apparently the wedding would be held here, Savannah had preferred it as it would be easier to walk on grass, than sand. And having the aquamarine ocean as a backdrop was pretty enough.
Most of the guests hung around on the grassy area, and some spilled out onto the soft sand. She liked the privacy this afforded her. She wasn’t comfortable walking around, even in her shorts and a bikini, or being ogled by guests, some of whom had had a bit too much to drink.
And while she knew Jacob needed to go to bed soon, it didn’t seem fair to have him go to bed now, when so much was going on outside.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Jacob asked.
She peeled off her shorts and padded into the water, watching Jacob as he scooted around with a boogie board. Poor kid. He was bored, being the only child around here. No wonder Savannah had wanted her to come along and keep an eye on him. Keep himcompany, more like.
She hated that they had only had the island to themselves for only two days. It wasn’t nice and peaceful anymore. The place was beginning to fill up, and the majority of guests had arrived today.
Jacob’s fingers skimmed her hand. “You’re it,” he squealed, then swam away, splashing water everywhere.
“You’re a good swimmer!” she shouted. “But I’m bigger and faster.” She launched after him. It was too easy, almost one-sided. Jacob giggled and squealed as she approached, and he tried desperately to wade away, his movements slow and labored as if he was like wading through a vat of treacle.
“I think we should make it fair, Jacob.” She was within touching distance.
He giggled, his expression vigilant, as if he couldn’t work out why she wasn’t tagging him.
“I think I should only be allowed towalkand tag you.”
“Okay!” He raced away, the water splashing madly around him. She walked towards him, deliberately taking her time, letting him rush this way and that way, trying to tire him out on purpose in the hope that he would want to go to bed soon.
