Page 4 of Protecting Kelli
“I know.”
“No wonder you like the beach. They have some wonderful ones.”
She smiled. “True. Wow. Small world.”
It was.
“You going on the thing tomorrow?” Kelli asked him.
“Thing? What thing?”
It was her turn to frown. “The tubing thing.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
For the first time, she looked uneasy. “Oh, um…sorry. Forget I mentioned it.”
“No, what tubing thing?”
Kelli sighed. “I guess Charlotte and the Three A’s are bored. There’s not much going on at the resort, and they want to do something more exciting. They contacted a private tour place and decided they justhadto go tubing on the White River. I guess they asked your friends, and they agreed to go too.”
Flash frowned. He hadn’t heard anything about going off the resort’s property. If he had, he would’ve tried to talk the guys out of it. While all the people they’d met so far had been kind and courteous, he was well aware of the dangers that lurked outside the fancy resort’s gates.
“I haven’t been hanging around them much. I’m sure they’ll tell me as soon as they get a chance,” he said.
She nodded. “I really am sorry. I know what it’s like to be left out.”
Flash couldn’t help it, he laughed. Then, at seeing the look of hurt that flashed over her face before she could mask it, he hurried to say, “I’m not laughing atyou. It’s just that I have no real desire to sit my ass on a tube for who the hell knows how long it’ll take to get down whatever overcrowded piece of river.”
He was relieved to see the smile return to her face. “Right? I’m so short, my legs usually end up sticking straight up, and it’s all I can do to hold onto the stupid tube.”
“Are you going?”
Kelli shrugged. “Yeah. I really don’t want to because I’m not sure it’s safe to leave the resort. But I kind of feel obligated.”
Flash didn’t want to either, because he knew as well as Kelli apparently did that it wasn’t safe. But the last thing he was going to do was leave his future-brother-in-law to get hurt or robbed. His sister would have his head on a platter if he did that. And then there was Kelli...
“So…you think you might want to go?” she asked.
It wasn’t hard to see the interest in Kelli’s eyes. Normally, that in itself would urge him to say no. He didn’t do one-night stands any longer, and he definitely wasn’t looking for some kind of vacation fling. But he found himself in a whole new headspace at the moment. Helikedknowing this woman wanted him to come along. He wanted to spend more time with her. Get to know her better.
“Yeah,” Flash told her.
“Cool,” she said with a shy smile.
“Cool,” he agreed.
A sound behind them had them both turning to see who was approaching. It was Charlotte and the Three A’s. Flash chuckled to himself; nowhewas calling the bridesmaids by the nickname.
“Hey, Kelli, we’re going to hang out with Seb, Ben, Rowan, and Charles in that little grotto on the other side of the property.”
“Um…okay?” Kelli said, obviously confused about why her cousin was informing her of their plans.
“I just didn’t want you worrying about where we were or coming to look for us. We’ll see you tomorrow after breakfast. The minibus will pick us up in front of the resort at ten. Don’t be late.” And with that, Charlotte turned, and she and the Three A’s strutted back to the bar where the guys were waiting for them, exaggerating the swing of their hips.
Kelli was staring back out at the water, refusing to meet Flash’s gaze.
“That was weird,” he blurted.
