Page 55 of Deadly Waves

“I have a wife,” James corrected. “She happens to love sharks. If you have anything cool with sharks on it, I would love to surprise her.”

“Actually, we did just get in a new line of shark merchandise,” Jill said. “I haven’t even put tags on it yet.”

“Let me see it.”

“Well … .” Jill broke off, biting her lip.

“What’s wrong?”

“Some of it is kind of risqué.”

James brightened at the words. “Then definitely bring it on.”

“You’re so sick,” Grady muttered, shaking his head.

Jill disappeared into the storage room and returned a few moments later with a big box. She put it on the floor behind the counter as she dug through it. “Well, for starters, we have these cute shark panties. I’m not sure your wife would like something like this, though.”

James’ eyes lit up. “Let me see.”

Jill held up the rhinestone shark panties and James couldn’t stop smiling when he saw the pair that read “Jawesome.”

“Oh, geez,” Grady whined, his eyes latching onto the pair in question. “You’re going to buy those, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to buy them all,” James answered. “I want a pair of every design. What else have you got?”

“We have a shark pajama set, a sleep mask, a special water bottle, and a pair of earrings,” Jill replied.

“I’ll take them all.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you sure? They’re expensive.”

“Price means nothing,” James said. “A happy wife means everything.”

Jill huffed out a wistful sigh. “You’re like the best man ever, aren’t you?”

James’ expression was triumphant when he fixed Grady with a challenging gaze. “See.”

“Sadly, I do see,” Grady said. “I’ll take the turtle necklace right up front here, the one with the sea turtle pendant. Sophie loves sterling silver.”

“You’ve got it,” Jill said. “I’ll get you some boxes.”

James leaned against the counter and stared out into the busy hallway as he waited for Jill to return. His gaze fell on two figures – one more familiar than the other – outside of one of the popular pubs.

“It’s Jon Peterson,” he said, inclining his chin.

Grady scowled as he followed James’ gaze. “I don’t want to make Mandy’s head any bigger than it already is, but I agree with her about that guy. I don’t like him either.”

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that because he’s been hitting on Sophie?”

“I’m sure that I hate him regardless.”

“Yeah, I don’t like him either,” James said after a beat. “Isn’t that the captain next to him? What’s his name again?”

“Richard Archibald.”

“Davenport said we would see him because he’s sleeping in our part of the ship, and yet I haven’t laid eyes on him since we got here,” James said. “Maybe we should talk to him before heading back to the room.”

Grady shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt.”