I stare at myself in the full-length mirror and debate my choice of swimsuit. I brought two with me. The first is a simple one-piece black swimsuit. I’ve owned it for a few years, but it’s comfortable. The second one is a white two-piece that I’d picked up before coming here. A last-minute grab to remind myself why I’m taking this trip.

I’m here to find myself. Try something new and have an adventure. Not be the normal me who just goes through the day-to-day motions doing what I thought I should be doing, because that was what I had been doing. Never wanting to be too much trouble for anyone. I am thankful for my brothers and all they have done for me. I am always trying to make sure I don’t do anything to upset them or further interfere in their lives. Heck, I still ask myself if they would’ve opened a security firm back in New York if it wasn’t for my parents passing. Someone had to come home and take care of me. I hated thinking that I might have made them leave something behind to do something that they hadn’t wanted to. That’s why I picked a college I knew they would feel safe and happy with. I knew it was where Mark, my eldest brother, wanted me to go. It was close to home, and it was an all-girls school, so I went.

But now we we’re all old enough. I don’t want to be anyone’s burden anymore. I also want to step out of the little box I’ve let myself be put in. It’s a pretty box, one I’ll always be thankful for, but I want out. I want a life of my own choosing.

I turn a little, eyeing the mirror. The lady at the swimsuit shop promised me that the white wouldn’t go all see-through when water hit it, but I’m a little more worried about the strap around my neck giving way and my boobs popping out. I look sexy, I think to myself. More like a woman than an innocent girl.

Maybe I’ll get to lose some of the innocence before this trip is over. Kenton’s face pops in my head again, making me groan. I head back to my luggage and dig out things I might need today for the outing I planned at the front desk, putting the items into a small waterproof bag.

That man just can’t seem to stay out of my head. After I’d come back to my room last night and eaten, I’d tossed and turned for a few hours before sleep finally took me, only for him to find me in my dreams. The man is maddening. And yet a thought kept popping into my head.

If Kenton is just trying to get in my pants because I’d rebuffed him and he sees me as a challenge, maybe I could do the same. Maybe I could find a way to emotionally detach myself so I could use him back. He could be my fling. The thought pushes strong on me. Before Kenton, I couldn’t even bring one person to mind in whom I’d shown even a slight interest. Even the bartender last night when I thought he was flirting with me, it was flattering, but still that spark wasn’t there.

Maybe I’m one of the girls who likes jerks. Just my luck. Grabbing my bag off the bed, I pick up my cell and power it on. The screen lights up, showing twenty voice mail messages and sixty texts. All from my brothers. Might as well do it all at once, so I call the leader of the pack.

Mark picks up before the phone can even ring fully.

“Where are you?” he shouts into the phone in a tone I’ve never heard him use with me before. I freeze for a second and hear him take a depth breath. “Maddie, I mean, are you okay?” His voice softens just a little, but I can tell it’s forced.

“I’m fine. Just like the note said,” I reassure him.

“You can’t just take off like that.”

“Why, Mark? I’m 22 years old.”

He’s silent for a long second, and I can picture him grabbing the bridge of his nose as he usually does when he’s stressed. He’s done it for as long as I can remember, and he does it when any of my brothers are driving him crazy.

“I know,” he finally says on a long breath. “I just worry, Maddie.”

“There is nothing to worry about. I’m fine,” I try to reassure him again, and it’s probably not doing any good.

“I don’t like not knowing where you are.”

“I’d tell you, but I’m calling your bluff. I think you know right where I am,” I reply. Working in the military, my brothers have friends in high places. Sometimes I think they even do freelance jobs for the military. That’s just a guess. I don’t ask, and they don’t share. If only they could stay out of my business like I stay out of theirs.

He’s silent again.

“Don’t send anyone down.” I make my voice firm, something I never do. Maybe this bikini has special powers, or maybe it’s being out on my own for once. Really out on my own. “I need to do this, Mark. I’ll be back in a week.”

“Fine,” he finally says. “Keep in touch, Maddie.”

I expect him to say something about Kenton, but he doesn’t, and neither do I. Or maybe he thinks he can use Kenton to spy on me. He’s probably already talked to him, or maybe he doesn’t know Kenton owns the place. He might think it’s just some resort, but that’s unlikely. What is likely is he already has a blueprint of the place.

“Okay.”

“I know I’m overbearing. We all are,” he corrects. “But we can’t help it. You might not think it Maddie, but you are the heart of this family, and we can’t lose you like we lost…” His words trail off. He doesn’t have to say it. I know he was going to say, “Mom and Dad.”

“I’ll call you tonight.”

“Have fun, and I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say, smiling, before I end the call feeling a little bit better. A weight I didn’t know was on my shoulders has been lifted.

I’d never thought of myself as the heart of the family, but maybe I do hold us all together. I’m always the one setting everything up for holidays, making us have family dinners once a week, and so on. I did it to show them how much I appreciated them, but maybe I was doing more than I even knew.

I place my phone back on the charger and pick up the paper that gives me the details of my island kayaking adventures. I double-check the time and location I’m supposed to meet at, slip on my water shoes, and grab a T-shirt. I pull on the long shirt over my swimsuit before heading down to the lobby. Making my way out to the pier, I look for a boat called It Takes Two.

It’s easy to spot as only two boats are docked at the pier. A man who looks to be in his early twenties is standing next to it in swim trunks and no shirt. He spots me and gives me a big smile that lights up his whole face.

“Señorita Madeline?”

I nod, and he holds his hand out to help me get onto the boat and follows behind me.

He grabs the little bridge we just used to get on the boat and starts unstrapping us from the dock. I look around the boat and only see one other person, a young woman who looks a lot like the man who helped me onto the boat.

“I’m Selena.” She gives a little wave, but makes no move to come towards me. She’s more focused on reading a tablet in her hand. “We are going to take you to the south islands. The water there should be perfect for kayaking today,” she tells me, looking up from the tablet before placing it down on the small table.

“I’m going to go below and check a few things, then we’ll be on our way.” She turns, walking down into the cabin of the big boat as the man comes to stand next to me.

“Just us?” I ask, looking around the boat again, which is ridiculous because it’s not like it’s huge or anything. I guess I just thought there would be more people going, like a group excursion.

“Just your kayaking partner, and he’s below.” He nods to where Selena just disappeared. “I’m José, by the way.” He holds his hand out, and I take it. I look up into his dark brown eyes as his handsome face smiles down at me. I wait, hoping for some kind of attraction, and I sigh. Still nothing. Not even a freaking spark. I’m hopeless.

Feminine laughter fills my ears, and I turn to see Selena coming back up the stairs with a giant smile on her face. Then my body freezes when I see who she’s laughing with. It’s Kenton. He has an equally bright smile on his face, until his eyes come to mine. Then that hardness he seems to get when he looks at me forms, and it washes that smile away. Selena continues to talk to him in Spanish, so I can’t understand a word. I’m not sure I’d get any of what they’re saying right now even if I knew Spanish. I’m too busy feeling things. Anger, jealousy, and a touch of excitement. I squash that last one fast and go back to anger.

What happened to staying out of each other’s way? It’s clear Kenton has no plans to do that. Being at his hotel might have been a coincidence, but this I can't chalk up to just running into one another.

“Let her go,” I hear him snap. I look down and realize José’s and my hands are still clasped in our introductory handshake. He drops my hand like I’m on fire, taking a few steps back in the process. I glare at Kenton. I have four brothers, and I sure as heck don’t need a fifth. Or maybe Kenton just doesn't share well.

Women can fall over him, but it isn’t okay the other way around? Kenton’s not the settling-down type or even the trying-to-settle-down-type. I’d done my shameless Google search and found nothing about other women, leading me to believe he hops from one bed to another before anyone even knew what happened.

“We’re ready,” Selena says in English, this time placing her hand on Kenton’s bare bicep. Just like José, he doesn't have a shirt on. But unlike José, I can’t look away from his chest. He’s built like a tank. His abs aren't defined. He’s just solid and hard. Everywhere. Like he could wrestle a shark if we come across one. And he’d most likely win.

Kenton says something to Selena, this time in Spanish, and she drops her hand from him. She goes over to the boat’s controls and starts talking to José. She’s speaks to him in Spanish, and I can’t understand either of them.

Looking over, I just stare at Kenton. “Can’t you put a shirt on or something?” I blurt out. The words are out of my mouth before I can think, and I wish I could grab them back. He doesn't need a shirt, but I can’t freaking look away.

“No,” he says lazily, the hardness on his face dropping away, and a smile forms.

How does he do that? Two can play that game.

“I guess you’re right,” I say as I pull off my own shirt, tossing it on one the benches as the boat starts to pull away from the dock.

Kenton glances over to José, who’s next to Selena at the boat's controls. I’m pretty sure they’re brother and sister when I look at them next to each other.

“Put it back on,” he growls, making his way over to me.

I just ignore him.

“Are we really kayaking partners?”

“Yes,” he says flatly, picking up my discarded shirt and handing it to me. I take it and put it in my bag with a smirk.

“Can’t I go with José?”

Kenton growls again, interrupting me. The sounds he’s making make me think he’s maybe part canine or something.

“You can go with your girlfriend,” I dig at him, nodding over to Selena. Damn it. I did it again. Said something I didn't want to.

“Jealous?” He raises his dark eyebrows like he can’t believe it.

“You should know what it looks like,” I snap back.

His hand comes to my chin, making me tilt my head up more to look at him. His touch is soft, and I hate how I melt into him. “You have no reason to be jealous, whereas I have every right.”

With that, he drops his hand from my chin, grabs my bag, and pulls my shirt back out. I’m still in a fog from his touch when I realize he’s pulling it down over my head.