I tossed surfboard-shaped keychain back into a display. For the last hour, I’d rummaged through every souvenir this store had while Bri tried on at least thirty swimsuits.

“What do you think about this one?” she asked, coming out of the dressing room area in a hot-pink string bikini. Two teenage boys stopped in their tracks and stared as she looked down at herself and gave a little bounce. “It makes my jugs look good.”

Totally embarrassed, I shoved past a rack loaded with beach towels, knocking some to the floor. Swiftly, I twirled her around and gave her a light shove. “You don’t come out here in them. Stay back there. You’re going to drive these boys to go whack it in the restroom.”

“Gross. You think they would do that?”

With a final push, she was securely back in her stall.

“Um, yeah I do. They were eyeing you like spank bank material.”

She focused on her reflection in the mirror, turning to the right to eye her butt. It tensed and then released. Her arm rose, and she waved to herself.

Curiosity finally got the better of me. “What are you doing?”

With a pout, her eyes shifted to me. “I’m reliving what it was like when everything was tight. We’re getting old. Stuff is sagging, and I have the batwing my mom always complained about!”

I shook my head, squinting. “Really? We’re only twenty-seven. That’s not old. Your body still looks practically the same. Now can you just pick one so we can go? I’ve still yet to figure out why you dragged me here when you have a dozen bathing suits at your house already.”

“Those are old ones. I have to get new ones every year.” She licked her lips and tapped her fingers against the hip her hand rested on. “So, which one did you like the best?”

Why was she even asking me? She knew I hated picking out clothes because I was no good at it. Even bathing suits. The pile on the floor she had been through looked like a tangled mess. Among the pastels, fluorescents, and floral, a mint-green stood out. When Bri tried it on, I had to admit I was jealous. Jealous, because I’d never be able to pull something like it off.

Swallowing, I pointed at it. “The green one. It’s super cute.”

She shuffled the pieces around until it managed to get freed and held it up. “This one?”

I nodded.

“Okay. But I think I’m going to get this one, too. I just can’t get over how it makes my boobs look.”

I rolled my eyes, backing out into the hallway. “Just hurry up.” The door lock snapped into place as I walked back out into the store. Trying to kill time, I studied the sunglasses’ rack. A big cheetah-print pair caught my attention. I unhooked them and placed them on my face then tilted my head to the side and puckered my lips in the tiny mirror. And this is why she didn’t need to take all day. Boredom could make anyone digress to doing stupid stuff to make the time go by.

“Those are so you,” a deep voice said. A familiar thrill danced along my spine. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and met Luca’s amused stare.

My jaw dropped, and a small yelp emerged. At first, I was too shaken to move. Then I realized the hideous glasses were still on my face. I grabbed the right arm and snatched them off, scratching my face in the process. Flinching in pain, I fumbled with putting them back up so I wouldn’t have to face him.

“Are you following me?” I asked, trying my best to act cool. Maybe if I pulled it off, he would forget the mental image of me in those things. I cringed. And forget about me puckering at the mirror. The floor needed to open up and swallow me whole.

He moved closer, acting as if a pair interested him. “Maybe I am.”

I froze, my shoulders tensed. Did he really just say that? No way he was serious.

“Kidding.” He grinned.

I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Of course the idea of him following me sounded completely creepy, and I was a moron for wanting him to do it.

“So, what are you doing here then?”

His head motioned to the front of the store. “Me and Finn are going out to the island today. He wanted to stop in here to see if this girl he’s trying to hook up with would blow off work to go with us.”

“The island?”

“Sorry. I forgot you aren’t from here. The island is a few miles away. Just a small place where some of the locals go to hang out. Would you maybe… want to go?”

I stood in silence, waiting on him to say “kidding” again. But he didn’t.

“Where is it that you want her to go?” Bri asked, appearing behind him.

He twirled around, focusing on her and eyeing the stack of bathing suits in hand. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m good at sneaking up on people. You just remember that.”

He frowned and looked at me. “Why would I need to remember that?”

My mouth opened, but before I could answer Bri interrupted by holding up a hand to silence me. “You don’t need to worry about it right now. But keep it in the back of your mind, Romeo. Now answer the question.”

“I was asking her if she wanted to go to the island. I mean, you can go too if you want. There’ll be a lot of people there today since it’s Sunday.”

She met eyes with me. “Sure.”

I could’ve killed her. I wanted to be around him, but this was too sudden, like last night. I wasn’t ready for it. There was no way I could prepare myself for being on the beach with him and a ton of his friends. Nervous tremors devoured my midsection.

“Y’all about to head out in a few?”

He looked around the store. “Yeah. As soon as Finn comes back, we’re heading down to the marina. Do you want to just meet us down there? I know I kinda just sprung this on you last minute.”

“Perfect,” she said, grabbing my hand. “Let me pay for these, and we’ll swing by my house to change.”

“Sounds good,” he said, smiling at me.

My heart dropped. Damn, why does he look so good? He disappeared behind a display of skim boards.

Bri dropped her stack of bathing suits on the counter. “That was lucky.” She dug through her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Didn’t expect to see him here.”

“Why did you tell him we’d go?” My mouth was almost too dry to get the words out. I crossed my arms to keep my shaking hands out of her sight.

“I thought you wanted to hang out with him. You like him, don’t you?”

I shot her a look. “I’m not sure. I don’t even know him. I’m not going to do good in this type of situation.” I put a hand to my forehead wracking my brain for a way out of this.

Her fingers wrapped around my arm, pulling it down. I looked up at her. “You’ll do fine. He likes you. I can tell.”

That made my nerves worse.

She took the bag from the cashier, and we went out to her car. She chatted about something on the way back to her house. I wasn’t sure what. I was too distracted to pay attention. Somehow, I found myself back in my room. I wasn’t sure how I got there. I didn’t remember walking inside.

Get it together.

The door burst open, making me jump. “Here,” Bri said, tossing something in my direction. I caught the mint green bathing suit right before it hit me in the face. “Put it on. I bought it for you.”

“There’s no way I can wear this. I don’t have the body for it.”

“Please. That thing was made for you. Now don’t argue. Put it on,” she hissed.

After changing, I walked into the living room to find a bag packed and waiting by the front door. She appeared from around the corner of the kitchen. “Ready to do this?”

“I guess,” I said, although I wasn’t ready at all. I wanted to tell her I couldn’t go. I’d just hide in my room and hope that I never ran into him again while I was here. It was stupid, I knew, but that was how nervous I was.

We got in the car and started driving. The longer we went the more I sank into my seat. When the marina came into view, I had the undeniable feeling that I was going to be sick. My fingers were slick with sweat as I pulled the handle. My shaking legs could barely support my weight when I stood. I reached for the top of the door to hold myself up.

“Calm down,” Bri said rounding the front of the car. “Breathe. You got this. Don’t let any man make you feel like this. He asked you to go. Remember that. You didn’t ask to hang out with him. You’ve got the upper hand with this.”

I took a deep breath. It made things better. I followed her down the pier. We searched through the large boats docked there until we saw Finn.

Luca appeared from the inside. “Glad to see y’all made it. I was beginning to worry there for a minute.”

Finn glanced back to him and laughed.

Luca jumped down, grabbed a rope, and pulled. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Ready to see what this island is all about,” I said.

Bri caught my gaze and gave a little nod of approval.

“Well, climb on. Make yourselves comfortable.”

Finn jumped off, waving to us as he helped Luca. We boarded and found a nice spot toward the front of the boat. Luca and Finn joined us, and a few minutes later the motor roared to life. Slowly, we moved through the water until we were out in the open water.

I lay back on the deck, the sun feeling wonderful as it heated my skin. The distant hum of the engine and the whisper of wind were the only sounds as I blocked everything else out. The boat moved up and down as it crossed the waves in a hypnotic pattern. I could spend the entire day doing just this and be perfectly content.

“You ever go out to the island?” Finn asked Bri as he walked up beside her.

“Haven’t been out there in a few years.”

“Oh, no one probably invited you, huh?”

She sat up like a bolt of lightening, making him laugh.

“Excuse me?”

He pushed her shoulder. “I was just kidding. Got to have someone to mess with since the girl who was supposed to come with me bailed.”

She pulled her sunglasses down so they rested on the tip of her nose. “Sorry. I’m no one’s backup girl. Don’t come over here thinking you’re going to be getting some ass from me.” She waved him off and lay back down.

He stomped off in Luca’s direction.

“Thought you said he was hot,” I baited.

“Yeah, but he needs to be brought down to earth before I have anything to do with him.”

A little while later, the boat began to slow, the sound of the motor becoming overpowered by deep bass from an upbeat song. I leaned up. The island was a piece of perfection in the middle of the water. It completely looked like the place I would have imagined the movie, The Blue Lagoon, was filmed. People covered its white sands. Boats packed the area around the land. We stopped in the middle of them.

The sound of someone approaching from behind made me jump.

“It’s really shallow here. Like maybe up to your knees, so you won’t get soaked walking up to the shore,” Luca said, staring over my head at the crowd. Was it just my imagination? He didn’t look too thrilled to be here. His eyes dropped to mine. “You’ll have fun.” Before I could answer he hopped off the side and waded through the water.

“That wasn’t weird,” Bri said sarcastically, watching him reach the sandbar. She looked at me. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

She grabbed our bag, and we jumped from the boat. The water was nice and warm. Perfect. Once we reached the beach, we found an empty spot and spread our towels. Bri tossed her clothes off, but I remained still. I had found something more important to stare at.

Luca.

About to take his shirt off.

His hands dropped to the bottom of his shirt, and he pulled up. My lips parted as he peeled it off. Luscious dips ran over his midsection, creating a six-pack that most guys would kill for. As it slid over his shoulders, he bent forward. Each muscle flexed, hardening in a delicious way. It was so beautiful it actually almost brought a tear to my eye.

“Holy shit. I think I can die now that I’ve seen the epitome of eye candy,” Bri breathed next to me.

I jerked my attention to her, my cheeks burning. “What are you talking about?” I lied, acting as if I had no idea what she was referring to.

“Don’t even. I know you saw what I’m still seeing. I don’t know if I’ll be able to look away. He’s like Medusa. Only instead of making people turn to stone, he just makes girls dampen their undercarriage.”

I barked out a laugh, unable to deny the truth in her vulgar statement. “You’re so gross sometimes.”

“Maybe.” She turned to me and reached for the bottom of my shirt.

I yanked back, slapping her hands away.

“It comes off!” she demanded. “He showed you his goods. Now it’s time to show him yours.” She pulled at it again.

I jerked to the right, dipping low, and ran a few feet away. “I don’t think so.” I waved a hand in his general area. “I can’t compete with all that. You saw his body.”

Her eyes narrowed as an impatient foot tapped against the sand. “Yeah, I did. And I know you can compete. Leigh, you’ve had abs since we were teenagers. You’re one of the lucky ones that don’t have to work at having a great body. Show it off.”

I sighed, blowing a loose strand of hair away from eyes, and cast a wary glance in his direction. Good. He wasn’t looking. Maybe I could unlayer and hide, then put my clothes back on before he had a chance to notice. My pants dropped to my ankles as I pushed them off my hips. Using my foot, I kicked them in Bri’s direction.

She caught them in midair and waved them around over her head.

The shirt was a little harder to remove. I glanced around to make sure no one was looking. When I found the coast was clear, I quickly yanked it over my head.

“There. Are you happy now?” I asked her, making sure to cover what I could with my arms. It did little good. At any moment, I was expecting a nipple to pop free and say “hey” to everyone. The top was way too revealing for my taste. Normally, I liked my bathing suits to be full coverage. Call me a prude, I guess, but I am not all about having my milkshake bring all the boys to the yard.

“I would be, but you won’t move your arms and flaunt what God gave you.” She leaped forward and snatched my arms down. “There. That’s better. Now let’s mingle and see what we can get into here.”

That didn’t make me feel good. Normally, when she said something like that, it wasn’t too long after that she had a stranger doing body shots off her.

I fell into step beside my friend, my eyes roaming the crowded beach. Where was he? Sand sprayed up in front of me as a football hit the ground. My arms rose in a sad attempt to shield it from my face. My eyes burned as grains grated across them. Tears sprung up, blinding me.

“Sorry about that,” a husky voice said. “I thought Skeet had it, but it went way over his head.”

“It’s okay,” Bri answered.

That tone. I knew it anywhere. This guy had to be hot. She always used that sweeter-than-normal voice when she was interested. I wasn’t sure of the point of it. Maybe she found it to be like a siren type call that men couldn’t resist. Her track record would prove that theory.

When I was able to see again, the two of them were a few feet ahead of me. Great. She was about to bail.

“I’m going to play some touch football with these guys. Do you want to play?” She already knew the answer. Me and sports didn’t go well together. Someone always ended up hurt. Either me or me causing pain to someone else by accident.

“I’ll just sit and watch.”

One of the guy’s friends came running up, his gaze roaming over my expanse of bare skin. “You sure you don’t want to play? I wouldn’t mind touching you.”

I laughed. Was he serious? That had to be the worst pickup line in history, although I didn’t have many to compare.

The guy’s face remained unamused. I looked at Bri, who was giving me a bewildered expression. Oh. He’d been serious with that.

My smile faded. “It’s better for everyone if I don’t play. Trust me. Walking disaster zone.”

He grabbed the football from his friend and wrapped his large fingers around it. “Well, I could teach you to play like a pro, but cheering from the sideline is just as good.”

“A cheerleader I’ll be then.” I waved my hands above me as if I had fake pompoms.

The guys turned, but Bri stayed behind.

“A cheerleader. Really?” She raised her brow while shaking her head.

“Shut up and go play. I’ll be over here.”

She trotted off, and I walked a few feet toward the water to take a seat. The game was boring since I wasn’t into watching stuff like that. The people playing it seemed to be having fun, though. Bri and her newfound guy were barely much help to their teams since they were too busy touching each other.

“Luca!” a girl screamed from behind me.

Without making it noticeable, I glanced over my shoulder at the busty blonde wading through the water toward Luca. A small smile hinted at the corners of his mouth as he waved in her direction. That increased her speed toward him, now coming to a full jog, which made her boobs bounce like a Baywatch episode. I turned away, wishing I could make a shark suddenly appear and carry her out to sea. That was the kind of girl who could wear bathing suits like this. I looked down at my suit, feeling like an idiot for trying to compete with someone who looked like her out here.

“Victoria. It’s been a while,” I heard him say. I knew I would hate myself later for it, but I looked back at them once again. She was directly in front of him now with a hand on his arm.

“I know, right? Like since senior year of high school.” She flipped her long tresses over one shoulder, making sure to stick her chest out even farther. “It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. I didn’t even know you were living in Destin. Funny running into you here.”

“You live here now?” he asked. It didn’t sound as if he was happy with that concept, but more disgusted.

“No. I’m visiting some family that have a house here.” She blinked up at him. “I guess you had to move here though, huh? With all that nonsense that happened with your mom and dad.”

His body tensed, and he took a step back. “I would hardly call what happened nonsense.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She glanced around, her cheeks slightly pink. “I was just saying—”

He held up a hand. “I know what you were just saying. You’re still the same insensitive bitch you were years ago when I went through all that. Have fun today.” He turned away and left her staring after him.

Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. I focused on the football game again. Most of them were now taking a break by a dozen or so coolers, each with a beer in hand.

Bri waved at me. “Come over here!”

Inwardly, I groaned. She knew I hated crowds, especially people I didn’t know.

I faked a smile and waved back as I stood up and brushed the sand off my legs. “I think I’m going to take a walk.”

The guy from earlier took a few steps in my direction but stopped when I shot him a disgusted glare. He held up his hands and backed away as if not seeing anything. A second later, he was engaged in a conversation with several other guys already yielding oblivious laughter.

I stayed clear of the group and pushed through the sand. By the end of this trip, I was going to have calf muscles the size of my head. Beads of sweat formed at my temples as the sun’s heat beat down on me. It hadn’t been so bad when I was sitting still. I stopped when I went under some trees, grateful for a moment of shade. Leaning over, I rested my hands on my knees, taking deep breaths through my nose. I looked up, taking in the tall woods around me. The island reminded me of the show Gilligan’s Island, but with lots of alcohol, and nearly naked twenty-something-year-olds. But here, in the woods, it was nicer than out there. There was sweet silence. I stood up and closed my eyes. It had never sounded so good.

I pushed through the trees, shifting low-lying branches out of the way until I came to a mound of rocks. On the other side, I could hear waves crashing. With a cautious step, I stepped on the first rock. When it didn’t move, I ventured to the next one and then the one after it, until I was at the top. I put my hands on my hips, seeing nothing but the ocean in front of me. Beautiful. Out of the corner of my eye, movement caught my attention. Brown hair blew against the wind as the person picked at something on the ground and tossed it out in front of him.

Luca.

I wasn’t sure if I needed to go back or say something to let him know I was there. He obviously had abandoned the crowd for a reason, and that reason might be because he didn’t want to be around anyone. My eyes stayed trained on his back as I retreated a step. As long as he didn’t hear me, he would never know I was here.

Watching him.

Like a creepy stalker.

Something sharp dug into the heel of my foot. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. When I took another hasty step back, I caught the corner of a rotten piece of wood. I tumbled back then hit the ground.

His head snapped in my direction before I could jump to my feet and run. He stood, his brows pulled together. For a moment I thought I was done for. This was it. He was going to cuss me out, and it would crush me.