I exhale and grin. "Oh. Excellent."
"Though I had hoped we'd talk again. But it's completely cool. I respect that. I'm not the kind of guy to pressure. We can totally be friends."
I'll admit, there's a tiny part of me that's disappointed. That tiny part wants him to grab me like he did the other day and kiss me hard. To pick up where we left off on Kate's deck. But it would be a jerk move to encourage that after ghosting him the way I did.
I smile. "That's really sweet. It's not that I didn't enjoy myself the other day. I did. A lot. But maybe we should just be friends. Especially while we're working together on this contest."
He bites his bottom lip and grins. It's such a sexy, endearing expression that I can't help but giggle. He extends a hand.
"Friends?" he murmurs.
I slip my hand in his. "Friends. For the contest. Let's kick butt and win the ten grand."
We shake for a few seconds. If we're going to just be friends, I sure wish these sparks of desire shooting up my arm and through my body would disappear.
"We're a team. We'll have to spend a lot of time together," he says in that low voice of his.
“No big deal. Friends.” But how am I going to concentrate on opening my business and winning ten thousand dollars with this tempting, caramel-scented man nearby?
EIGHT
Remy
I've had some crappy ideas in my life.
At the end of eighth grade, a buddy and I hacked into the school computer and sent every student, teacher, and staff member a notice of a "mandatory buttock check." Obviously a bad idea. (Fortunately, Ma was already planning on homeschooling me the following year because of my fishing tournaments, but Dad didn't find it as funny as I did).
Signing up for the annual python hunt in the Everglades to eradicate the non-native species and hunting them at night: bad idea. Dangerous as all get-out because of the gators. Didn't even see one invasive snake, but thought I was going to lose an arm to a gator around three in the morning.
Signing up to be Leilani's mentor might top them all.
I knew I'd be attracted to her, but I didn't know how much. Somehow, even though I've seen her in various outfits — mermaid, tight business skirt — her baggy jeans, a T-shirt with a cartoon fox on the front, and her little brown sandals are driving me wild. Like to the point of distraction.
Maybe it's the glasses and ponytail. Or the way she eats her pizza, tearing little bits of the crust off and munching thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry, what were you going to show me?" I keep asking her to repeat herself, so she probably thinks I'm hard of hearing or slow. Really, I'm just captivated by how adorable she is. How I'd like to hug her tight. "Apologies. I'm a bit distracted."
She glances at me, confused.
"It's been a long day," I offer.
She frowns a little. "I was going to show you my business plan. Aren't you supposed to look it over and tell me what you think? Also, tell me about your business plan and how you started? That's what the contest guidelines said we should do. I spent the afternoon going over everything."
I clear my throat. Of course, I haven't read the contest guidelines at all. Guess I'll have to do that later tonight. "Right. Yes. Let me look at it."
She hands me a surprisingly thick folder and I leaf through it. She has everything from a mission statement to something labeled a "SWOT Analysis Worksheet."
"Wow, you're thorough. I'm impressed. I didn't have anything half this organized when I opened my business."
"You didn't? Why not?" She stacks the notebooks together. There's a ton of notebooks, all different sizes and colors, spread out on the bar.
I shrug. "I was pretty lucky. Well, let's be honest. Privileged. My parents were — are — uh, comfortable. And I'd won a lot of fishing tournaments from the time I was a teen. I guess you could say that I was a fishing prodigy."
I glance over. Goodness, her smile is achingly sweet and sexy at the same time. "Oh?"
"I competed on the pro circuit for a while, but when I turned twenty-five, felt like I wanted to stop traveling. I love it here in Cypress Grove. So, my dad co-signed for the boat, plus a smaller pontoon for tour groups. I've paid both off, thankfully. Now people come from all over to fish with me on the Starlight River.My business is a little non-traditional. I guess that's the short answer."
She nods. "Understandable. What kind of fishing?"
