Page 34 of The Billionaire's Teacher

I sighed and moved to the kitchen area to pour myself coffee. “I don’t think he’ll bother your female clients, if that’s what you’re asking. Not unless they seem amenable. He’s always backed off, fast, when I’ve told him no.”

“But he keeps asking?”

I frowned. In reality, yes, Danny was persistent. He claimed—and I’d seen it for myself—that some women liked that. Preferred it, even.

“I’ll take the silence as a yes.” Wes scowled into his mug. “He’s really the best option?”

According to Beverly, with the storm brewing in the east, right now he was our only option. I would have tried one or two other people before resorting to Danny if everything was usual, but I probably would have gotten around to him eventually. “Yeah. He is.”

“All right. We’ll give him a shot. If I don’t like the vibe, I can always just avoid this as a destination. I have plenty of other options thanks to you.” His voice warmed and the smile he shot me sent liquid heat through my veins.

It ought to be illegal to smolder like that.

I cleared my throat and took a big gulp of scalding coffee. I set down my mug. “When you’re ready, we’ll walk over to Danny’s usual hangout and see what we see. Did you eat?”

“I was waiting for you.”

I glanced up and his gaze locked onto mine. I could get lost in his eyes if I wasn’t careful. Boy, oh boy, did I need to be careful. “I’m not hungry.”

A tiny frown tipped his lips down and lines formed on his forehead.

Before he could say anything, I skirted around the far side of the boat toward the stairs leading below. “I’ll be in my cabin. Knock when you’re ready.”

I hurried down the stairs and into my room. I pressed the lock on the handle as quietly as I could before leaning against the door and closing my eyes.

What was wrong with me?

I wasn’t a schoolgirl. I’d been around good-looking men before. Tons of times. Wes wasn’t even the most handsome man I’d ever met. So why? Why did he do this to me? I was tongue-tied and all fluttery inside. And I was old enough to be…well, not his mother. Thank goodness. But not really his sister, either. Not unless we’d had a lot of siblings in between.

I pounded my fist into my forehead.

We had a little over two weeks together still. Then he’d get on a plane and head back to the States and I’d go back to my cottage on the beach and wait for another job to pop up. The payment from this one would mean I could say no for a while, too. If I wanted.

The knock on my door startled me.

Wes’s voice was muffled. “Ready when you are.”

I cleared my throat. “Okay. One sec and I’ll meet you up top.”

I listened, praying for calm and clarity. Finally, his footsteps clumped up the stairs. I pressed a hand to my stomach and took a deep breath. I was stronger than this. I was not some ditzy teenager who lost her brain when someone hot looked at her.

I shot a glance over at Luca’s photo and pressed my lips together.

I’d had my lifetime love. My soulmate.

Love like that didn’t happen twice in a lifetime.

I gathered my wits and opened my door, then headed up.

Wes stood in the sunshine, hands in the pockets of his baggy shorts. His tight T-shirt hugged his shoulders in ways I knew better than to notice.

I snagged my sunglasses off the boat controls and fixed them in place. At least they would hide how much I ended up staring at him. It would be mortifying if he caught me. And I didn’t need to make things awkward between us. We still had two weeks together and I was supposed to be a professional. A guide. A teacher.

None of those things left room for drooling infatuation.

“Let’s go.” My voice was gruffer than I intended.

If Wes noticed, he didn’t say anything, just fell into step beside me. “How are the storms?”

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