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Smiling to herself as though she’d just unlocked a secret of the world, Abby strolled into the lobby not feeling the least bit self-conscious about her casual attire. The resort was for the rich, young and up and coming, which meant there was lots of khaki and linen worn by men and women alike. But before she’d left she repacked her bags with denim shorts, nerdy girl t-shirts and tank tops. She’d given Shelly the receipts and handed it all over to her with instructions to return it all for store credit or cash. Thank goodness I left the tags on. She was herself and by the end of the summer, she would know exactly who that was.
“You look like someone just told you the best joke,” a deep voice yanked Abby from her thoughts.
She turned to see Sadiq with a gorgeous smirk on his face. “Someone did. Me.” Giving his big body and long, slow perusal her smile curved up. “You don’t look like a guy who’d ever have an identity crisis.”
He smiled but it didn’t reach those sparkling brown eyes. “You’re right about that. I’ve known who I am and what I will be since the day I was born.”
Abby frowned, not quite understanding his meaning. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. Is your identity crisis good or bad?”
She smiled, huffing out a laugh that managed to be bitter and amused at the same time. “I’m not sure but I’m leaning towards good. Of course it’s also unsettling as hell to think you’ve been a stranger to yourself all these years. But I am a biologist and the nature of the world is to change so, I guess you’re the odd one.”
That pulled a laugh from deep within Sadiq. “Thank you Abby. I think you might good for my ego.”
“Ah, so you’re one of those guys?”
He frowned. “Who?”
“Those guys who like it when a girl is mean to them.” At his confused look she bit back a smile. “You know how men always accuse women of wanting the bad boy, you’re the male version of that?”
This time his laughter drew the attention of several clusters of people inside the lobby and a few employees. “Not at all. This will sound insanely arrogant to you, but it’s rare that people in general but women specifically say anything that’s less than complimentary to me.”
She could certainly see that being the case, but when he said it in that fancy accent it just sounded snobbish. The man was big and strong, handsome and he looked wealthy, like one percent wealthy. And his accent alone made her shiver even when he said crappy things. “I can see why, but then how do you know when you’re wrong?”
He laughed. “Nisha. My sister has no problem pointing out my flaws, mistakes and shortcomings. She says its her responsibility as my kid sister.”
Abby smiled and tossed her head back with a laugh. “That’s so cool. Are you close?” He nodded and she caught a glimpse of the clock behind the desk. “We need to get going or we’ll be late.”
Sadiq’s dark brows pulled down into a v. “Where exactly are we going?”
Without thinking Abby swiped her thumbs across his brows, effectively wiping away his scowl. “No scowling remember?”
His scowled disappeared instantly, forcing Abby to take a step back. “So?”
“Right,” she shook her head to clear it of thoughts she absolutely should not be having about this man. She felt more confident than ever lately but even that confident version of herself knew Sadiq was out of her league. And she had no business having sexy thoughts about a guy like him. “We’re going scuba diving.”
He stopped, forcing her to do the same. “I don’t have a reservation.”
It took Abby a second to consider how much to reveal of her situation but in the end she told him just enough to make sense of her offer. “I was supposed to come with someone else and I couldn’t cancel this so consider it your good luck. Unless you’re deathly afraid of sea creatures and scuba gear?”
His smile nearly knocked her on her backside but she quickly recovered by locking her knees. “You’ll be happy to know I have no such aversion to the sea.”
“Good. Let’s go before the boat leaves without us.”
***
“I can’t believe you brought an underwater camera,” Sadiq shook his head with a bemused look at the smiling woman sitting beside him scrolling through her photos.
“Well who knows if I’ll ever get this chance again? Besides I’m a biology teacher and this is great stuff for class.”
Just when he thought she couldn’t possibly be more appealing than she already was. The woman had a sharp wit and an odd sense of humor that kept him laughing throughout the day. Her eagerness to explore was contagious and her constant touches were testing the limits of his self control. Not that Abby was trying to tease him, the opposite was true he’d guess based on her reaction whenever the air crackled between them, but she would touch his shoulder to get his attention or grab his hand and pull him closer to look at something. She was a very touchy-feely woman. Now they were on the boat for a late lunch, her brown hair stuck to her in a way that begged him to peel each strand from her sun kissed flesh. “Then you might want to consider using this trip as a tax write off,” he suggested.
Green eyes went wide and her mouth fell open and Sadiq knew he’d made another misstep. Nisha constantly told him people didn’t appreciate unsolicited advice, especially from a know it all. “I hadn’t even thought of that! You’re a useful guy to have around, you know that?”
He laughed, both relieved and amused by her response. “Thanks?”
“Oh, don’t be bashful now because I won’t believe it.” She shook her head and unzipped her wetsuit. “That’s so perfect, thank you Sadiq. Hey what kind of name is Sadiq anyway?”
