Page 49 of The Hang Up
But instead of saying anything, he reached into the boat and grabbed a bright blue life vest. “This one’s for you. Want help putting it on?”
“Please,” she said, not sure if she really did want the help, or just wanted him in close proximity.
He stepped closer, near enough now that she could feel his breath ruffling her hair. He put his arms around her, and she started to fall into the embrace as if by instinct, but she realized at the last second he was just securing the life jacket behind her.
“Arms out through the holes,” he said. “That’s it.”
“Ooof,” she said as he began to tighten the straps around her chest.
He laughed and fiddled with the strap, grazing the underside of her breast. Was that intentional, or not? Miriam couldn’t tell, but it turned her on just the same.
“A little snug here,” he said.
“Does it have to be so tight around my?—”
“Boobies!” Henry shouted from the boat.
“Right,” Miriam said, nodding at Henry. “Thank you for that.”
“Girls have boobies and boys have boobies, too,” Henry offered. “But they’re not the same kind of boobies.”
“True enough, kiddo.” Jason cinched the strap the rest of the way. He let go of it and looked at Miriam. “Sorry, but it does kinda have to be tight. You okay?”
“I think so.”
“You’re not going to get hiccups again, are you?”
“If I do, we’ll have to come up with a family-friendly cure.”
“Pickle juice!” Henry hooted. “That’s what mommy gives me when I have the hiccups.”
“That’s one way to do it,” Jason said as he fiddled with one of the buckles on the front of her life jacket, then flashed her a sexy look. He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “I might be intimately acquainted with a few other options.”
“So I hear,” she breathed, gripping her paddle a little tighter.
“Shall we get going?” he murmured. “Before I ravish you right here in the mud and corrupt my poor nephew?”
“That might be the least sexy idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Then why are you squirming?”
She grinned and turned toward the water. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Still clutching her paddle, she waded carefully out into the water, sucking in a breath as the cold wetness closed around her ankles. She was grateful she’d worn sandals that could handle the water and the muck, though her pedicure was probably a goner.
“It’s freezing,” she said.
“I promise you a foot massage later to make up for it.”
“Deal.” She grinned. “You sure you want me in front? I’ve never done this before.”
“That’s why I want you in front. The person in back steers the boat. And ogles the person in front.”
“Ogles!” Henry shouted from his seat in the middle of the boat.“I wear ogles when I go swimming so my eyes don’t burn.”
Miriam stifled a giggle and shot a glance at Jason, who was staring pointedly at the back of her shorts. “Yep,” he said. “That’s a big risk sometimes.”
She snorted and touched the edge of the boat, steadying herself. The water was up to her knees, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to get in gracefully.
“I’ll hold it steady,” Jason said, reading her thoughts. “You’re safe. Just hop in.”
