Six
The only good thing about today’s treasure hunt was that it had kept the both of them too busy for anything but hustling from point A to point B. Together, Chance and Emily had covered the entire island in the space of a few hours and with all of their clues gathered, were now back on the beach at Barefoot Bay ready to swim for the final flag along with several other couples who’d made it back, including Brad and Amberly.
Emily shucked her shorts and tank top, and left them on the beach. Her bikini body might not be Victoria’s Secret worthy, but she’d spent all winter working out so she’d look good in her suit. From the corner of her eye, she caught Chance’s gaze locked on her. Her blood heated from his undivided attention, only adding to the conflicting emotions that swirled within her.
Chance reached out and grabbed her hand. “I can swim for it. You don’t have to.”
Chance hated the water. That he’d even offer coaxed a grin to Emily’s face. Always the hero. “No you can’t,” she said with a laugh. “You’re like a cat near water. I’m surprised you’re even letting it touch your feet.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised the salt water isn’t melting the flesh off my bones,” he teased as he kicked a spray of water her way. “But if I’m a cat, then you’re a mermaid.”
His wide grin and heated gaze stole the starch from Emily’s spine. He knew she loved the water. They were total opposites. He was laid back while she was intense. Chance was analytical while Emily was ruled by her emotions. She was adventurous while Chance was okay with routine. But that’s what made them such great friends. Whatever qualities she lacked, he brought to the table. He appreciated the things that Emily didn’t like about herself. And likewise, when he grumbled about his own shortcomings, Emily saw them as his strengths.
“All I’m missing is a tail.”
Chance closed the gap between them. He was so tall, he blocked out the sun that shone behind him. He reached up and captured a lock of hair that dangled from her ponytail. Time froze. Emily’s heart raced in her chest. The world around them melted away until she couldn’t even remember what had brought her to this beach in the first place.
“Who cares who wins this stupid thing.” The deep rumble of his murmured words vibrated through her. “I want to be alone with you, Em. Let’s get out of here.”
Alone? With her?
“Chance, I—”
A piercing shout interrupted Emily’s words. “Help! We need some help over here!”
Without hesitation, Chance turned and sprinted down the beach toward the sound of the distraught voices. Emily took off after him, her breath sawing in her chest as she pushed herself to a sprint in order to keep up with him. At the far end of the beach, a woman was being dragged from the surf. Emily’s heart leapt up into her throat as her limp body was settled down onto the sand. In a few long strides, Chance pushed his way through the small group of onlookers who’d gathered as he went to his knees in the sand beside her. Emily followed a few seconds behind. Panting, she came to a stop and pushed her way through the crowd.
“I’m a paramedic,” he said, not even winded. “What happened?”
The guy who knelt beside the woman looked up at Chance, his brow pinched, hands shaking. “I don’t know. I think she hit her head. We were snorkeling. She went under the water and didn’t come up—”
“What’s her name?”
“K-Kory,” the guy stammered.
“Kory, can you hear me?” Chance gave her a gentle shake before put his fingers to the pulse point at her throat.
She didn’t respond. He tilted her head back and put his ear to her mouth for a brief moment and then turned to give her a breath. Emily had never seen Chance in action. Hell, she’d never seen anyone unconscious before. He gave her one more breath and then settled the heels of his palms over her sternum to begin chest compressions. Emily watched in horrified awe as he alternated the chest compressions with mouth-to-mouth for what seemed like an eternity. The woman’s body twitched and then seized with an upward jerk. Chance pulled away as she gave a spluttering breath that expelled water from her lungs.
Emily watched in awe. She’d always known that Chance was a hero, but she’d never seen him in action before. He’d saved that woman’s life!
“What’s going on?”
Emily started at the sound of Brad’s voice beside her. She looked around, but didn’t see Amberly anywhere. “I’m not sure. She drowned, I think.”
“Okay everyone, let’s give her some room.” Chance took charge of the situation. He directed his attention to the woman’s companion. “Did anyone call an ambulance?”
“I did!” A voice called from somewhere in the crowd. “It’s on the way!”
Not a moment later the sound of a siren could be heard in the distance. The crowd began to disperse and Emily continued to watch as Chance did some sort of assessment on his patient. Brad remained by her side but she barely noticed. She was dazzled by Chance, held in his orbit as she watched him in his natural environment. Confident. In charge. Capable. Wow.
“It looks like he’s going to be busy for a little bit. Why don’t you let me walk you back to your villa?”
“Huh?” Emily turned toward Brad. “Oh, um…thanks.” He’d moved in closer and his arm brushed hers. She waited for the zing of anticipation. The flutter of nerves low in her belly. Something stirred when Brad touched her. The memory of a feeling. This was what she’d wanted. To have just one moment alone with him so she could tell him that she wasn’t over him. That even though he’d hurt her, she still wanted him. “I should probably wait, though.”
Brad’s expression fell, but he didn’t move. When the ambulance arrived, everything kicked into high gear. Chance met the paramedics on their way out to the beach and spoke animatedly with them as they brought out a backboard and set it on the sand. The Naples paramedics began their own assessment of their patient, consulting with Chance here and there. He turned his head toward her but didn’t make eye contact. “Hey Em, this might take me a few more minutes. I can meet you back at the villa if you want.”
Without waiting for her acknowledgment, he went back to assisting the other paramedics. Was this what it would be like to be in a relationship with a fireman? The job always came first, even when he wasn’t on the job?
“Okay. Sure.” What else was she going to say? Chance was busy and that poor woman needed his attention far more than she did right now.
“Come on.” Brad gave a gentle tug to her elbow. “I’ll walk you back.”
“Where’s Amberly?” The entire wedding party seemed to have dispersed from the beach.
“She went back to our bungalow.” Brad crowded her as they walked and his hand brushed against hers as though by accident. “The scavenger hunt sort of fizzled out after the drama on the beach.”
Someone nearly dying had a tendency to put a damper on things. “I hope she isn’t mad.” Not that Emily was too bothered either way about what Amberly thought.
“She’ll be fine,” Brad replied. “So, you and Chance, huh?”
The fine particles of sand sifted between Emily’s feet as she walked. She veered toward where the surf kissed the beach and the sand was firmer. “Yeah.” The word left her mouth as though reluctant.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Brad followed her, once again walking close enough to touch. “The two of you were always sort of a package deal.”
Ire rose hot in Emily’s chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brad’s tone remained calm, “Just that it was hard to compete with him, that’s all.”
Emily stopped dead in her tracks. She turned and looked up into Brad’s face. “So you’re saying you left me for one friend because you felt like you had to compete with the other for my attention?”
“Maybe.” His brow furrowed. “I don’t know. It was hard. He was always around, you two were always texting, talking… I felt like the consolation prize.”
A twinge of guilt tugged at her. She’d never really thought about it, but maybe Brad was right. Chance was a part of her life and she’d never taken into consideration how it might have made Brad feel. Had he really thought he’d had to compete with Chance for her attention?
Brad reached out and dragged the tips of his fingers along the underside of Emily’s palm. A pleasant chill danced over her skin. She searched his deep brown eyes for some truth in his words.
“I miss you, Emily.”
Oh boy.
#
Chance hustled down the beach to catch up with Emily. The Naples paramedics had the situation under control. There wasn’t anything he could do for Kory that they weren’t doing. She’d been damn lucky. At the worst, she’d suffered a concussion and might need a few stitches.
Adrenaline still coursed through his veins and Chance’s thighs shook with unspent energy. The rush never went away no matter how many times he helped someone in their time of need. Did that mean he had a hero complex? Maybe. It’s not like he’d thrown anyone out of the way to help Kory, though. No one else had stepped in. He had a moral obligation to help, not to mention a professional one.
So much for finishing the scavenger hunt.
The sound of Emily’s voice drew his attention. Chance looked up to find Emily and Brad standing in the surf engaged in what appeared to be an intense conversation. Brad reached out and brushed his fingertips along Emily’s palm. A red hot poker through Chance’s heart wouldn’t have felt any better than the stab of jealousy that shot through him as he realized Emily wasn’t going to pull away from the contact.
Brad said something to her, but Chance was still too far away and the sound of the waves as they lapped the shore drowned out the sound of his words. Emily flinched as though stung before she tipped her face up toward his. Chance swore if the son of a bitch tried to kiss her, he’d take him down in a full body tackle.
“Emily!” Chance wasn’t about to give the two of them another second alone. Not when he’d spent the past couple of days trying to make his own headway with Emily. This trip was supposed to be about her getting over Brad, not finding a way to get back under him. The thought of them together caused Chance’s jaw to clench so tightly that the enamel of his teeth ground.
Emily jumped and took a stumbling step backward into the deeper water just as another wave rolled into shore. Her arms spun wildly as she tried to keep her balance and Brad, ever the knight in shining armor, simply stood there, mouth agape, as she fell backward into the surf.
Shit. Brad took off at sprint and closed the distance between them before a second wave had the opportunity to crash over her. He reached down and snatched her up from the water and pulled her tight against his chest. “I already had to give mouth-to-mouth to one drowned woman today,” he chided. “Don’t make me do it again.”
He shot an accusing glare Brad’s way but the dude didn’t even have the decency to look him in the eye. “Good work back there, man.”
Chance could die completely fulfilled knowing that he’d won Brad Harri’s approval. Give me a break. “Yeah, thanks.” He turned his attention to Emily, completely uninterested in anything Brad had to say. “You okay?”
Emily’s cheeks were painted with a deep blush. “I’m fine. Only my pride’s hurt. I’m such a klutz.”
Those traits that she found so embarrassing, Chance found adorable. “Nah. That wave had it out for you. It would have knocked me onto my ass too.”
She scoffed. “Nice try.”
He’d do anything to make her feel more comfortable. Less embarrassed. Whatever she needed. That’s what it meant to love someone. Damn. He was in love with her, wasn’t he? In fact, Chance couldn’t remember a time that he hadn’t loved Emily. He held her gaze for a long moment. Even looking like a drowned rat, strands of wet hair stuck to her face, she was beautiful.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night at the rehearsal dinner, Emily.”
Chance didn’t even bother to look Brad’s way. He dared Emily to break his gaze. To look at the man who’d passed her up for another woman when Chance was standing right here, right now, ready to give her anything she wanted.
Her head turned but her eyes remained on Chance’s. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Brad. Thanks for walking with me.”
“Anytime.”
“What did he say to you?” Chance hadn’t meant for the words to come out with such a harsh edge, but jealousy still burned a path up his throat.
“Nothing.” Emily looked away.
Chance steadied her on her feet and released his grip on her upper arms. “Whatever.”
He turned and waded out of the surf toward the beach. He shouldn’t have been angry. He was the “pretend” fiancé, after all. Here for one reason and not the one Emily had claimed when she wrangled him into this. She’d brought him along to get under Brad’s skin. To make him jealous.
What a joke.
“Chance, wait!”
The sound of Emily splashing through the water nearly convinced him to turn around but his pride refused to let him give in. He never could refuse her anything and now it was turning around to bite him in the ass.
“Chance!”
No way was he going to have it out with her on the beach where everyone could hear. He wasn’t into airing his dirty laundry for a crowd so the rest of Brad and Amberly’s wedding party could gossip about them later. The sound of Emily’s footsteps caught up to him but Chance still didn’t so much as glance backward.
“I’m not talking to you about this right now,” he said, eyes front. “At least, not out here on the damned beach. I think there’s been enough drama for one day.”
“Drama?” Did she have to sound so innocent? “What are you talking about?”
She could try to get him to engage all she wanted. It wasn’t going to happen.
“Chance.”
His name was an angry bark this time. He’d take her anger over sweet innocence any day of the week.
“Chance.”
He hit the path and made a bee-line for their bungalow. If he didn’t think it would cause her any humiliation, he would have marched straight to the front desk and demanded his own room. He’d thought he could do this. Could play this game and pretend to be hers. But seeing Emily with Brad on the beach had only convinced Chance that he couldn’t pretend any longer. It was all or nothing from here on out. He couldn’t simply be Emily’s friend anymore. If that’s not what she wanted, then it was time for him to walk away. Completely.
No matter how much it would hurt.