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Jade and Sawyer quickly followed, leaving me standing on the yacht looking down at them.
“Does this mean I am a rotten egg?”
“Grab a float and get in here,” Jade called out. “The dolphins will protect you.”
I hadn’t planned to show off the bikini I was finally feeling brave enough to wear, but I laid my coverup on the chair then jumped into the water.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
COTA
Sabrina standing on the yacht in a bikini shouldn’t have surprised me the way it did. I’d seen plenty of women in bikinis, but something about her had my stomach fluttering. It wasn’t about how she looked, but more that she was feeling comfortable enough with us to wear it made me so happy.
“You know, you were the last in,” I said as she emerged from the under the water. “That makes you the rotten egg.”
“That is fine, I have never been a rotten egg before.” She treaded water next to me. “What happens when you are the rotten egg?”
“Nothing happens. It’s just a saying.” Jade swam over to us. “Look behind you, Sabrina.”
The dolphins swam all around us, jumping and spinning. I watched as Sabrina cheered and laughed. Thanks to Jade, she was brave enough to not only pet but also hug a dolphin, the whole time never realizing she was swimming on her own. We had played with the dolphins for thirty minutes or so when the captain announced our meal was ready.
“You never answered about the rotten egg,” Sabrina said, drying off on the deck.
“It just means you lost, so now you have to do what I want to do tomorrow,” I teased. “We didn’t have a chance to decide the prize. So, I went with yesterday’s prize idea.”
“What will you be making me do?” She frowned.
“I think jet skis.”
“Must I drive one myself?” She continued to frown. “Remember, I do not know how to drive.”
“No, you can ride with me.” I pulled a chair out for her to sit at the table. “You know you never said what you wanted to do for winning.”
“I am still thinking about it.”
Jade and Sawyer joined us on deck for lunch. We all laughed and chatted about the dolphins. At one point Jade brought up the bikini, but I quickly changed the subject when I saw that she looked uncomfortable. When lunch was finished, the girls went off to tan while Sawyer and I laid out blueprints and talked about the islands we had visited.
“I feel confident that last one would be perfect.” Sawyer leaned back in his chair. “We need to go walk the land to get a good feel for it.”
“The girls look content. I suppose we leave them on-board.” I looked over to them. “I’ll just let them know we’re going.”
We spent an hour walking the island making notes, then headed back to the yacht. The girls were standing, waving to us. I was starting to see what the rest of the Hawthorne men were feeling, having a companion. It had only been ten days, but it felt like more.
“Hey there, you two pirates. Did you find any treasure?” Jade joked. “While you were playing, Murphy called to announce she is flying in tonight.”
“Now, what would bring her here?” I asked. “More begging, I suspect. Can a man not hide away on a private island?”
“You can hide from anyone not in the Hawthorne family,” Sawyer said. “I haven’t seen Murphy in a bit. It’ll be nice to have her here.”
“She will not want to have fun outside,” I chuckled. “She likes to be in the air conditioning.”
“That’s it! I know what I want to do tomorrow,” Sabrina called out. “I want to watch movies and eat popcorn.”
“That, we can do. Do you have any movies in mind?”
“Nope, I never had the pleasure of watching movies, so surprise me,” she nodded cheerfully. “At least two movies. I have a lot to catch up on.”
“We can look at the list of movies later. I’m sure Murphy will have some suggestions, too,” I offered. “Don’t forget, though, you owe me jet skiing.”
