Page 21 of A Heart Worth Finding
Zach raised his hands in mock surrender. “Aye, aye, captain.”
“Did someone say captain?” Tyler asked as he raced up to join them.
“No,” Jack and Zach said in unison.
“Okaaaay then,” Tyler said, moving past them and further down the beach, Chad rushing to follow.
“For real, though, man,” Zach said, dropping a hand on Jack’s shoulder and looking him dead in the eye. “If this girl helps you loosen up, then I’m all for it. Just…don’t lose sight of the fact that this is Mexico, and the chances of it becoming more than a vacation fling are slim.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jack said, shoving Zach away and starting down the beach after their friends.
He’d only taken two steps when someone yelled his name.
“Jack!”
He turned toward the sound, a wide grin splitting his face in half when he found Jessica running down the stairs, blonde braids bouncing against her tanned shoulders, her lean arms and legs on full display in a bright pink bikini, which beautifully offset her tan. He barely spared a glance for Bethani coming down behind her.
The second Jessica’s feet hit the sand, her flip flops flew off, and Jack moved toward her.
He’d never been one for PDA—actually, he’d never had someone to participate in PDA with—but all reservations about being open about his feelings went out the door with Jessica. When they reached each other, he scooped her up into his arms and planted a lingering kiss on her mouth.
They pulled apart, and he licked his lips. “Drinking already?” he asked, the taste of orange juice and what he guessed was champagne lingering on his tongue.
“It’s vacation,” she said with a shrug. “And it’s all free. I have to take advantage.”
Jack gave her a small head shake. “Crazy girl,” he said quietly.
“You have no idea,” she grinned.
“Well how about we take advantage of something that won’t get us arrested in the States?”
“What did you have in mind?”
He turned and pointed down the beach, where his friends had reached the small hut set up near the water. “You ever been boogie boarding?”
“No, but I’ll try anything once,” she said, throwing him a flirty wink and taking off down the sand.
This girl, Jack thought.
The beautiful thing about staying at an all-inclusive resort was that, in the same way all food and drinks were free, so were the activities. Only resort guests were granted access to this stretch of beach, so the man working the stand asked no questions as he passed out foam boards to each of them.
“Don’t go out too far,” the guy said. “Once you get out past the sandbar, the current is gnarly. Wouldn’t want anyone to get pulled away never to be seen again.”
A shiver raced down Jack’s spine as he considered that. He’d never expected this to be dangerous, but he liked to think he wasn’t scared of anything. After all, he willingly took pucks to the face and found it enjoyable.
Jessica was already shin-deep in the water, his friends out far enough that the waves broke over their heads. Their shouts latently reached the beach, cheering Chad on as he flopped down on his board and let the wave carry him to shore.
He smiled as he watched them, then waded out to meet Jessica.
“You ready?” she asked.
“Lead the way, sunshine,” he said.
Her nose wrinkled at the nickname. “Sunshine?”
Jack laughed. “Just trying it on for size, but I kind of like it.” He reached out to weave one of her bright blonde braids through his fingers, then trailed them across the smooth, tanned skin of her shoulder. “I think it suits you.”
A slow smile unfurled on her face, revealing those pearly teeth, lighting her bright-blue eyes.
