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But his hand warmed hers as he led her across the long boardwalk, away from the harbor and toward a row of cafés.
“I could really use a T-shirt or a dress or—anything.”
He glanced down at her. “Not a fan of denim?”
“It smells like fish.”
“The dogs like it.” He gestured to a stray hunting her down behind them. “Shoo,” he said, and the dog loped off.
The air swept off the sea, carrying with it the briny smell, and the sun shone down upon massive trees of bougainvillea that spilled over rooftops and walls, brightening the cliffside with vibrant pink flowers.
So maybe it wasn’t a terrible place to be shipwrecked.
“Just take the shirt off.”
“Not a chance.”
“You don’t like walking around town in your swimsuit?”
“Oh sure. It’s my favorite. I’d wear one to work, but it could get breezy.”
“Not to mention no one would ever catch a pass again.” He grinned at her, then pulled her into a nearby shop.
A fishing shop, filled with net supplies and lures and buoys and all manner of seafaring goods. But he spotted something and pulled her over to a display of rain jackets. Picked one up. “This should fit.”
“And what are you going to buy it with, Hemsworth?”
“I’m going to barter, like the Greeks do.”
He walked up to the counter. A teenager—maybe sixteen, a hundred pounds soaking wet, dark hair, and big brown eyes—looked at him.
“Would you trade for the jacket?”
The boy looked at him, then at her. “Trade what?”
And then Iris had nothing as Hud pulled off a ring he wore on his right hand. Gold, with a stone set in the middle. “What are you doing?”
He ignored her.
The boy picked it up. Looked it over. Shrugged.
Hud took the jacket and slipped it off the hanger. Then he handed it to her.
She stared at him. “What was that ring?”
“Just something I picked up in Vienna. Not important. Trade you.”
“You wear the jacket.”
“For one, it’s too small. For two, I saw the way you were eying Nico and all his fisherman manliness—”
“Oh, for the love.” She pulled off the shirt and handed it over. He gave her the jacket. She put it on, zipped it up. Lightweight, it still fell down to her thighs.
He, in the meantime, completely filled out the shirt.
“How about these shoes too?” He addressed the kid at the counter, holding up two pairs of short rubber boots—one pair for him, the other for her.
The kid nodded, and she slipped on the rubber booties. “I look ridiculous.”
