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“And how are you not going to fall for him? He’s hot, smart, and available. You think you can seduce him and not let your heart get involved?” Maggie knew her friend was confident, but she wasn’t so sure she could pull off the plan.
“I totally can’t get wrapped up in some island romance. I leave for Dallas at the end of the summer. I don’t need some puppy love guy following me to Texas. It can be a summer thing. Besides, there’s nothing else for me to do on this damn island.”
Maggie smiled, knowing she had the right ensemble in her hands. Even though Blair’s idea was a little extreme for her, there was some honesty to her words. Spending the rest of the summer hanging out with Reid was a fun prospect. She’d only seen him a couple of times, but Maggie already knew she wanted to make more plans. Her plotting didn’t go nearly as far as Blair’s. Using him for sex wasn’t something she could conspire to do.
Maggie decided to draw inspiration from her friend’s boldness. She turned to Blair. “How about this? Let’s make a pact for the summer.”
“Seriously? We aren’t in middle school.”
“Come on, play along. It will keep us sane.” Maggie knew she would have to protect her heart if she was going to spend the rest of the summer with the hot boat builder, but this plan was worth a try.
Blair huffed. “Ok. What’s your great idea?”
“No entanglements,” Maggie uttered the words, but had a nagging feeling as soon as they drifted into the air that she set something in motion that maybe she didn’t really agree with.
“That’s it? No entanglements? Like no attachments?”
“Yep. Let’s do it. We can have fun with these guys, whatever that means for each of us, and when the summer is over, it’s over. Agreed?”
“Oh yeah. I can do that,” Blair agreed.
“Good. We can reel each other back in if we need to. Like an anchor.” Maggie realized she had already incorporated way too many nautical terms into her vocabulary.
“I just feel bad for these boys in September when we leave.” Blair strutted back to her room.
Both girls changed into their cruise outfits and jogged down the stairs to wait for their ride to the creek.
Six
Blair
Promptly at seven thirty, the screen door to the kitchen screeched a little as Justyn knocked and pulled the weathered frame to enter the Buttons house. She marveled at the punctuality of the island folk. It didn’t make sense to them that a place that was so laid back and slow would value timeliness as if it were the Eleventh Commandment. He had left his truck rumbling in the gravel drive.
“Girls? You ready?” he called into the house.
“We’re here. Ready.” Blair beamed at him.
Unlike the last time she’d seen him, Justyn, was dressed in a polo shirt with a pair of khaki shorts. Blair noticed he donned loafers instead of the usual island standard flip-flops. This was different. Very different.
“Where’s Reid?” Maggie blurted out, and then covered her mouth. Her friend sounded a little too eager to see him.
“He’s at the boat. He said he’d get everything ready for us. You know, check the ropes, that kind of thing.”
Blair exchanged a puzzled look with her friend. No, she didn’t know why he needed to check the ropes, but she grabbed her bag and followed Justyn to his truck.
They piled in and headed to the creek where Justyn kept his boat.
As promised, Reid was busy coiling ropes and working on knots in the stern of the boat. He already had music blaring and the girls smiled. This was definitely going to be fun.
“Hey.” Reid waved at both of the passengers, but his eyes were locked on Maggie. He jumped up and reached for Maggie as she stepped from the dock toward the skiff.
“Hey, you.” Maggie took his hand as the boat wobbled under their entry.
Blair sighed. These two were going to be trouble. So much for that no entanglements pact they just made. She grabbed Maggie’s hand and walked with her to the bow.
“Let’s sit up here and the guys can take care of whatever boat stuff they need to.” She eyed her friend.
Once they pushed off from the rickety pier, they cruised under the bridge and Justyn pointed the vessel toward Beaufort. Patches of marsh, duck blinds, and abandoned crab pots littered the channel to downtown Beaufort.
