“Personally, I’m curious to see what you’d come up with,” Nate says. “And I’d be there for moral support, of course.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’d actually help me sabotage your own sister’s wedding?”
He tilts his head back and forth, as if weighing the options. “More like, I’m going to sit back and enjoy the chaos. But you can consider me on your team.”
“Really? I’d think you’d be more protective of your sister.”
He sighs and leans forward. “Iamprotective of her. That’s exactly why I don’t want her making any bad decisions that she’ll have to live with for the rest of her life.”
I snort, tempted to say it’s a little late for that, but then again,I’vebeen the one to live with Cara’s mistakes, not her.
“I mean,” he goes on, “you can think you know a person, even think you love them, but still, it’s so easy to get, you know…”
“What?”
“Blindsided,” he says, his voice low, a little gravelly. And once again, I can’t help but wonder if he’s not thinking of his sister at all right now, but of something—or someone—from his own past.
I sigh. “Trust me. I know the feeling.”
He tilts his head to the side and locks eyes with me. He opens his mouth, as if he’s about to say something, but closes it. Shakes his head. I can see his Adam’s apple bobbing in the dark as he swallows, hard. “Yeah. Getting blindsided is pretty much the shittiest feeling in the world.”
I can feel the pain of whatever he’s gone through in the past, as if it’s radiating out of him. It makes me want to put a hand on his back, offer comfort. Maybe even something more.
Instead, I lean forward and nudge his shoulder with my own. “Alright, well, I’m happy to have someone on my team anyway.”
He turns to me slightly, this time with a grin. “Same.”
We stare at each other for a moment, both of us breathing quietly. Something is passing between us—something more than just the flirtatious banter from before. A different kind of chemistry. The only way I can explain it is the chemistry of two people who’ve been hurt, and don’t want to experience that again.
His fingers move along the edge of the dock until they’re touching mine. Even in that tiny point of contact, I feel something sizzle and come alive inside of me.
I suck in a breath, not knowing what to do next. This sweet, funny, handsome stranger isCara Lancolm’s brother.
I start to pull my hand away, but suddenly, he clasps onto it with his own, startling me. “Nikki, wait.”
“I—”
“We’ve got to do the handshake.” He grins, a little sheepish, letting go of my hand. “To make it official.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, blinking. “Handshake?”
“FromThe Parent Trap?” he says, faux serious, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Ah, right,” I stutter. “Sadly, I, um, don’t remember it.”
“I do.” Nate stands up, then reaches down to help me up.
“Okay…” Once I’m standing, I can feel just how much tequila I’ve consumed. My legs are wobbly, and not just from the gentle motion of the dock beneath our feet.
“It goes a little something like…” Nate does a full body roll thatis absolutelynotpart of the handshake fromThe Parent Trap, and I start cracking up so hard, I stumble backward and almost step off the edge of the dock. “Careful there,” Nate says, steadying me.
“Okay, let me try it,” I say, still laughing a bit as I try to mimic the body roll thing, but the tequila and wake from a passing pontoon boat throw off my balance, and I wobble again. I start to wave my arms, and my laughter takes on a hysterical pitch as Nate starts laughing too. He tries to grab for me, but somehow, I pull us both toward the ladder where I left the remote lighter…
And that’s when my heel comes down…onthe remote lighter.
“Oh shit,” I say, swiveling in a panic as the line of fuses fizz into life.
“‘Oh shit,’ what?” Nate asks. “‘Oh shit,’what, Nikki!?” His voice rises. The hiss of the fuses grows louder as more are lit.
