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JoBeth nodded. “I’m sure Mrs. Buttons appreciates the help. We don’t get many young visitors on the island who stay more than a weekend. Are you having fun so far?”
Her enthusiastic friend continued before Blair could toss out a sarcastic remark. “Oh, we love it. It’s beautiful, but we haven’t gotten to meet many people yet, so it’s nice to be here tonight.”
“Yes, it is nice to have a little social activity for once this summer.” Blair eyed her friend.
JoBeth laughed. “Now that you know Shirley Lane, your social life will never be dull again.?
?? She took a sip of beer. “Shirley, don’t you think there are a few more people we could introduce them to?”
Blair thought she caught a conspiratorial wink exchanged between the island women.
“Yep. Yep. I’m headed to get them some drinks right now.” She turned toward the pair and led them away from JoBeth and to the boats pulled ashore.
Three skiffs dotted the ebbing beach beyond the fire pit. The sterns were lapped by incoming waves, and the bows were pulled high onto the shore.
“Girls, I’m right behind you. I forgot to tell Henry where to stash the ice cream. Help yourself to whatever you like.” She pointed to the boat lineup. “I’ll be right back.” Turning on her heels, their party guide scampered off to find her cohost.
“Why are all of the drinks on the boat? This is ridiculous,” Blair complained, continuing the search for drinks. She turned toward Maggie. “Do you think they have anything other than beer in these mystery coolers?”
“Justyn, catch!” A deep voice called out from the farthest boat just as Blair was knocked to the ground by a figure running backward. All she could make out were outstretched arms and an airborne can of Bud Light.
“Score!” the receiver yelled, holding his beer can in the air and flashing a smile after his twenty-yard reception.
“Hey! Not so fast with your victory dance, quarterback.” Blair fumed from her position on the beach.
A sandy-haired islander spun around, casting a shadow across Blair’s face.
“Let me help you up. I’m really sorry.” He extended a hand.
Brushing the sand from her legs and assessing the damage, Blair huffed. “Sorry?” Who in the hell knocks a girl down like that?
She realized that, other than a little wet sand stuck to her favorite shorts, she was fine. However, Blair wasn’t about to let her cocky assailant know that. Ready to launch into a verbal tirade on why he should have been paying more attention, she looked up and lost her words as she took in a muscular six two-frame topped with sandy hair. Had she ever seen eyes that color before? Were they green or gray-blue—it didn’t really matter, they were sexy bedroom eyes that threw every good comeback she had out the window.
He grabbed Blair’s hands and pulled her from the sand. “Really. I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t watching. How about I make it up to you with a non-airborne drink?”
She instinctively felt a little disappointed when he dropped her hands. She had to stop herself from reaching out for this mystery guy who just used her as a tackling dummy.
Maggie interjected, “That would be great, thanks. We’ve been looking for this supposed cooler of drinks. By the way, I’m Maggie. And this is my friend, Blair.”
The sexy want-to-be football star shook Maggie’s hand, and then chuckled as he looked toward Blair again. “Yeah, I guess we’ve kind of met. I’m Justyn.”
“Hi,” was the only word Blair could form.
“Nice to meet you. What about those drinks?” Maggie prodded, looking ahead to the boat and then shooting Blair a wide-eyed look. Blair wondered what was going on in her brunette friend’s head, and if she had noticed the way the T-shirt clung to this guy’s chest in a most flattering way. Maybe soon, she’d have a minute to pull Maggie aside and find out her take on what Blair considered possibly the most intense three minutes of their summer so far.
“Right this way, ladies.”
The girls trailed behind Justyn.
Leaping from the bow and landing a few feet in front of them on the shore, a muscular dark-haired guy maybe two inches shorter than Justyn shot a smile their way.
“Who do we have here?” The other guy glanced at Blair before locking his eyes on her friend. Something about the way he studied Maggie made Blair wonder if her roomie might have found herself an island admirer.
Justyn hopped on the boat and strolled to the lineup of coolers. “This is Blair.” He pointed in her direction. She waved. “And this is Maggie.”
“Sorry, my cousin’s such an ass and a bad receiver. That was a perfect throw,” the quarterback quipped, smiling at the girls.
“You’re crazy.” Justyn laughed. He handed each of the girls an icy beer. “Reid thinks everything he does is perfect. I caught that pass by the way.”
