Page 14 of No More Bad Boys
He shrugs, looking abashed. “Nah—not brave, just—”
“Stupid.” I finish the sentence for him, standing with my arms crossed.
My heart is still slamming from my mad dash, and my fury at his daredevil behavior is only increased by seeing the little watersideamourbetween him and the curvaceous aquarium employee.
Blake spins around to face me. He holds his arms out to the side and glances down at himself to demonstrate the lack of teethmarks.
“See? I told you. Nothing to worry about. I was fine.”
Too angry to respond, I glare at him for a second longer then turn without a word and disconnect the cable from Luce’s camera. I start wrapping it around my palm and elbow, jerkily gathering it in a loop as I descend the stairs and make my way to the exit door.
Behind me, I hear Luce folding the heavy tripod and Blake continuing his chat with the diver girl.
Cable rolled, I stomp out to the truck and stow it in the back. Then I climb into the front seat and start the truck’s engine, eager to get back to the station and away from Blake’s presence.Faraway.
I’d love to start driving and strand him here without his clothes, but Luce left some of her stuff in the truck, too.
Also, it would be terribly unprofessional. Besides, he wouldn’t stay stranded for long. I’m sure hisdive escortwould be eager to offer him a ride back to the station—or anywhere else he wanted to go.
Hmmph. I drop my chin to my chest then lean my head to one side and the other, stretching neck and shoulder muscles that have become tense and bunched in the past ten minutes.
Starting a bit at the sound of the truck’s back door opening, I hear Blake and Luce laughing and chattering excitedly.
“You were almost the catch of the day,” she teases as she steps up into the truck.
“Nah. She would’ve taken one bite and spit me out—I’m not that sweet.”
I glance back at them. Luce raises a brow playfully as she watches him step up into the truck. “I don’t know about that—you look pretty tasty to me—what do you think, Cadence?” She shoots me a big come-play-along grin.
I don’t feel playful. “I think the shark showed she has excellent culinary taste—I wouldn’t bite him either,” I growl.
Blake’s grin is instant and wide. “You sure about that Spock? You look like you want to tear intosomething.”
“I have a name you know.”
He nods. “That’s right—you know what—you justtriedto save my ass, and I don’t even know your real name.”
Luce slaps his arm. “You on-air people are so self-absorbed. Her name’s Cadence, you jerk.”
“No. I mean I knewthat. What’s your whole name?”
Why does he want to know? Is he planning to google me or something? Look up my number? The thought makes me nervous, so I say something stupid, which is becoming a habit around him.
“Cadence Carpenter—or theotherCarpenter Girl, as I’m known.”
Blake blinks. He looks startled, and then his brows come together and he shakes his head.
“What does that mean?”
Luce jumps in before I can say, “Never mind.”
“She’s got a beauty-queen big sister all the guys were hot for. She even stole Cadence’s high school sweetheart—every girl’s nightmare—that bitch.”
“No,” I correct. “She’s not a bitch, and she didn’t steal him. He justwantedher to—like every single guy we ever knew.”
Good Lord, Cadence. Shut up.Why am I squirting lighter fluid on a conversational forest fire?
Luce saves me by changing the subject. “Hey, a bunch of us are going to go out after work tonight. Want to join?”
