Page 6 of Big Catch
“You two are a natural at this. Holler if you need me.”
The four girls follow us out, chattering endlessly as they strip down to their bikinis, and take up residence on the bank to sun themselves.
“Guess they didn’t enjoy it,” Alyssa says.
“Guess not.”
“Too bad. I mean, how many times in your life do you get to dig clams with your feet?”
“I have to say, I wasn’t too sure you’d like it.”
“I’m more adventurous than I look, and I’m willing to try anything once. I’m glad I tried this.” She waves her hands around her. “It was kind of neat, really, and relaxing.” She pulls sludge from her hair. “Until I ate mud.”
I laugh, and when she grins up at me, I entertain the idea of kissing her again. But right now, she needs to get cleaned up, and I’m afraid once I start kissing her I won’t be able to stop.
“Aly?”
“Yeah.
I open the back of the truck and pull out a jug of clean water. “Why are you really here?
“I told you. I’m here on vacation.” She eyes me. “Why are you here, Braydon?”
Ah, the question I’d been waiting for. “I inherited the villa and business. Gave up my job before I had a damn heart attack, and moved here.” I open the jug as my gaze moves over her pretty face. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Yes.”
I resist the urge to do a fist pump.
“Why here? Why now? My villa?”
“That’s a lot of questions.”
“I know.”
“Okay, well, my friend sent me here for my twenty-fifth birthday. And as for why your villa, I have no idea.”
“Wow. Nice friend.”
She blinks rapidly, and I read her body language, a skill I learned in my former life as a stockbroker. “It was a pact.”
“A pact?” I ask, curious about that.
She gives a quick shake of her head, which intrigues me all the more. What is she hiding? What is it about this pact that she doesn’t want me to know?
“Nothing. Never mind, it’s complicated,” she says.
“Nothing is complicated here in Antigua.”
“I know, which makes this the perfect place to de-stress. I think that’s why she sent me here.” She crinkles her nose, and once again I can almost hear the wheels in her brain spinning. Damn, what I wouldn’t do to shut it down for a while. “Then again, maybe she knew you…” Her voice trails off as she gazes up at me, but from the widening of her eyes, it’s easy to see her mind is still racing.
“What did she know?”
She gives a quick shake of her head. “Nothing. Never mind.”
I grin and blatantly let my gaze slide down her body, registering every detail of the beautiful woman before me. Lucky for her, I know just how to help when it comes to de-stressing, and tonight after dark, it’s going to start with a little mouth-to-mouth, followed by a whole lot of un-dressing.
Chapter Two
