Page 10 of Protecting Kelli
CHAPTER THREE
Flash resisted the urge to pace. It took a while for him to fall asleep the night before. He’d been thinking about Kelli. There was something about the woman that made him feel as if he’d known her forever. She was comfortable. Funny. Sweet. And he liked all of that. A lot.
There was a moment when he could tell she was seconds away from leaving, but he’d managed to put her at ease. He was more than grateful she’d gone outside her comfort zone and stayed for dinner.
He was also pleased she’d been so down-to-earth. He hadn’t lied when he’d admitted that he had no idea which fork to use. And he knew next to nothing about wine, about choosing it, just that he enjoyed drinking a glass or two with a meal sometimes. As it turned out, Kelli was the same.
And he absolutely loved her sweatshirt.
Or really, what he actually loved was the fact that she put her comfort above fashion. Because fashion wassomething else he knew nothing about and had no desire to learn.
She was also smart, and the fact she didn’t have a career didn’t concern him in the least. She’d figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, of that he had no doubt.
He’d had a great time with her last night. And the only reason he’d agreed to go on this tubing trip today was because Kelli would be there.
Hedidtry to talk Chuck out of going, explaining that it really wasn’t safe to go off the resort grounds. He figured if he was successful, he’d have a similar discussion with Kelli during breakfast. But Chuck had blown him off, insisting it would be fine.
A niggling doubt remained in the back of Flash’s mind. He thought of talking to Kelli anyway, suggesting the two of them spend another day on the beach. But he knew he wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to his sister’s fiancé. In the end, he justified going today by telling himself he was probably the only person in their group who might be able to recognize danger if he saw it. Hell, his job was to ferret out shit going sideways before it actually happened.
So now he was standing in the lobby waiting for Kelli, anxiously looking forward to seeing her again—and suddenly she was there, walking toward him. She had on a loose bathing suit cover-up that swished above her knees. It was black, made out of a thin, lightweight cotton.
For a split second, an image of her peeling the thing over her head as she stood next to his hotel bed—revealing nothing underneath—flew through his mind.
Flash ruthlessly pushed the vision away. Nothing wasgoing to happen between him and Kelli. Yes, she was gorgeous, and he felt more than the usual spark with her, but they were on vacation. And he wasn’t the kind of man who took a woman to bed for a one-night stand…especially while on leave far from home.
“Hey,” she said nervously, smoothing an errant piece of hair behind her ear. Last night, when he’d first seen her in the lobby, Kelli’s hair had been smooth and silky. But as the evening continued it got curlier and curlier. She claimed it was frizzy, but he disagreed.
This morning, she’d pulled it back with a barrette, but it was still curly, seemed to have a mind of its own, and that made Flash smile.
“Hey,” he echoed as she approached. “Sleep okay?”
She shrugged. “Sure. You?”
“Yup.” Flash turned sideways and held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”
With a smile, Kelli wrapped her hand around his elbow. “Lead on, kind sir.”
Flash had already been up for a few hours. He’d worked out in the resort’s gym then ran a couple of miles up and down the deserted beach. Kevlar, his team leader back home, wouldn’t be happy if he came home from leave out of shape. Not that a few days off would matter very much, but Flash always felt better after a good workout.
They entered the dining room and headed toward the buffet that was laid out in the middle of the room. As they got close, Kelli dropped her hand upon seeing all their traveling companions already gathered around the food.
“Hey, about time you got up, lazy bones,” Charlotte told her.
This morning, she wore a white cover-up that hadartfully placed holes, allowing everyone to see the bright red bikini she was wearing underneath. Objectively, Flash could admit that the woman had a nice body, but for him, he much preferred Kelli’s curves to her cousin’s thin frame.
“You’re up early,” Kelli noted, as she reached for a plate.
Charlotte giggled, and yet again, the sound grated on Flash’s nerves. He stepped up behind Kelli and grabbed his own plate.
“Yeah, well, I had an early night, unlikesomepeople,” Charlotte tittered, as she looked over at one of the other women going through the line ahead of her.
“What happens on vaca stays on vaca,” the woman said with a huge smile as she nudged Ben, who was standing next to her.
“Oh yeah,” Chuck’s friend agreed, staring at the woman’s breasts.
Flash wanted to roll his eyes. He immediately searched out Chuck. Since yesterday afternoon, he hadn’t done a very good job of keeping his eye on the groom-to-be.
He was already sitting at a table, his phone in hand, scrolling down the screen. Just because he wasn’t currently fawning all over one of the women didn’t mean he hadn’t slept with any of them, but all the same, Flash was relieved to find him sitting alone.
