Page 8 of The Billionaire's Teacher

“Love you more.” Mom blew a kiss and the call ended.

I shook my head and set my phone aside. I reached for my soda and leaned back against the cushions, letting the breeze and the motion of the boat relax me.

“Wes?”

I hadn’t intended to sleep, but apparently I had. I blinked open my eyes. “Hi. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Thought I’d check that you have sunscreen on. I’d hate for you to start off the adventure with a burn.” Sunshine smirked.

Sunburn probably wasn’t something she had to worry about. Not if the golden bronze tan of her skin was any indication. If the sun did anything to her, it was relegated to bleaching streaks of blonde into her hair.

I, on the other hand, could and did burn. If I was careful, I could tan, but it wasn’t my skin’s default. “Yeah. I slathered it on before getting in the taxi. Appreciate the thought, but I’m not careless.”

She nodded. “Good to know.”

I winced at her clipped tone. “Sorry. I don’t wake up well. I really do appreciate you looking out for me.”

After a moment, Sunshine shrugged. “All part of the service. Are you enjoying things so far?”

Now she was all chatty? Shouldn’t she be driving? There was probably some kind of autopilot now that we were on a plotted course and away from the traffic near port. If I didn’t want her questioning me, I probably ought not to question her. Especially since I had no idea about driving a boat. “Yeah. I sent some photos to my mom. Then she wanted to chat, so we did a quick call. It’s nice that there’s internet.”

“It can be, for sure. But sometimes the best part of being out on the ocean is taking the opportunity to disconnect.” She smiled as she said it.

I decided she wasn’t trying to make a jab. “Disconnecting is good. I’ve made some strides in that direction in the last year.”

Sunshine tipped her head to the side.

Was it an invitation? Why not. I cleared my throat. “I used to work in software. Government contracting, actually, which is about as boring as it sounds. But ever since I learned to dive—actually, even before I learned but when I was itching to give it a try—I’ve thought running a dive shop, taking people on trips, all of that would be the best ever. Now I get to.”

“That’s a big change from software.”

I chuckled. “You have no idea.”

Her gaze shifted toward the front of the boat, and then back to me. “I picked up some red snapper this morning. And some conch salad. I’ve got the makings for a nice, fresh fruit salsa. Hungry?”

As if the words triggered something, my stomach rumbled.

She laughed.

My gaze shot to her face at the sound. It was…wow. I cleared my throat and pushed away the errant thought that she was beautiful with the sun glinting off her hair and that wide smile. “I could eat.”

Sunshine jerked her head toward the ladder. “Come on down and help me prep some lunch, then.”

I scooted out from behind the little table. Sunshine had already gone down the ladder in an effortless manner that left me a little awed. Of course, this was her living. It made sense that she was comfortable on the boat. But still.

I did what I could to avoid looking like an uncoordinated land lubber as I followed her.

She was already in the kitchenette. She pulled containers out of the fridge and set them on the table. “You want to grill the fish?”

I shook my head and raised my hands, palm out. “Oh, no. I’m not going to be responsible for that.”

“You don’t grill? I thought all men had a thing about manning the flames.”

“Not this one.” Did it diminish my masculinity? Cody loved to grill, and because of that, the rest of us rarely got a chance. Scott had a grill that I suspected he used more frequently now that he was married. Or maybe he let Whitney use the thing. It wasn’t as if he grilled for the rest of us. But the other guys in our little gang? To my knowledge, none of the rest of us even owned something that could pass for a grill.

“Huh. I’ll make a note.” She set the fish aside and pushed some fruit toward me. “You can chop?”

“Sure. Is there a knife?” I glanced into the small kitchen space. I hadn’t seen cooking tools anywhere, but everything was probably put away so it didn’t slide around as the ship rocked.

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