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“Hey,” his soft voice catches me as surely as his big, warm hand curls around my elbow. “Are you alright?”
I nod my head but can’t say anything past the bowling ball in my throat. I pull my arm away though and he nods his head. But then he smiles and it’s like the freaking sun coming up over the water, warming my cold insides up.
“Have you ever tried paddle-boarding?”
“N-no! I couldn’t possibly.”
He grabs my arm back and tugs me along the beach. “Come on. I can show you. I bet you’d love it.”
I stick my bare feet in the warm sand, enjoying that little bit of warmth in my cold body. “I don’t even know your name,” I protest.
He turns back to me and he grins. “That’s true. I’m Leon Marsden.” He nods towards the young girl who’s suiting up to run into the water with the other girl. “That’s my daughter, Penny.”
“Where’s your wife?” I ask roughly, jerking at my arm again.
His smile fades. “I’m not married,” he says and leaves it hanging out there, awkwardly in the air between us.
Sucking in a breath, I nod my head. “My name’s Sarah Watkins.” He shakes my hand and that’s when he notices the ring on my finger. He backs away. “I could ask you the same thing. Where’s your husband?”
“I’m not married either,” and I leave it at that. It’s true. It’s the bare bones of the mess my life is but it’s true.
He studies me, his crisp blue eyes sharp and unyielding. “You look like a woman who needs to live a little, Sarah.”
Truer words have probably never been spoken.
CHAPTER 4
Leon
“Oh my god!” She screams and pitches right off the paddle board again when she tries to stand up and immediately rocks right off.
A belly laugh rips out of me and I suck in a startled breath when she glares at me and I feel that tug in my lower belly again. Her icy silver eyes shoot sparks at me and I can’t look away. Her hair is plastered to her head and she looks like a drowned rat but for some damn reason, I just can’t look away.
“Do you think that maybe you could give me a hand here?” She growls and I wade out to get her. Again.
We’ve played this same scenario out over and over again for the last hour or so and the blaze of orange is creeping closer to the horizon, letting me know that we’re almost out of time for today.
I reach her and tug her floating body over to me, feeling her soft curves in the ancient black suit she’s wearing skim along my thigh and waist. I suck in a shallow breath and try to will my fucking dick to go down. It’s a lost cause though and I see her eyes widen and whip around to stare at me.
I clear my throat and look away. “We should pack it in pretty soon and go watch the cliff diver.”
Her pale brows scrunch together and I don’t know why but I think it’s the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
“What is that?”
“Every day when the sun goes down, a cliff diver reenacts King Kahekili’s feat, lighting the torches along the cliff and then diving into the ocean at sunset.”
Her eyes dart over to the cliff and widen. “Why would he do that?”
“It’s a tradition. It helps the people who live here feel closer to their past, closer to their island home, showing love for this home in a way that honors their ancestors.”
Her head nods and she smiles. “I bet Dave would love this,” she whispers. But then she pales. “Yeah. It’s really getting late.” She nods at me and smiles gently. “You’ve been pretty patient but I think I’m a lost cause.”
“You know you can paddle board with your butt sitting down right?” I ask her, smirking when she glares at me.
“Could you just let me say thank you without making me want to slug you?”
Chuckling, I help her when she stumbles as she hits the sand and we lose our buoyancy. She’s warm and slick and immediately my head swims when her soft skin slides along mine, her spicy floral scent wrapping around me and tugging at the trailing fire in my belly.
