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“It’s the bartender and the goddess!” the woman exclaims. “This will be so fun!”
Mixing business and pleasure. I’m really breaking my rules now. I give them a nod.
Mendo starts his spiel about the stingrays and to wait until he’s brought them around to interact.
A tall man in yellow swim trunks raises his hand. “Isn’t a stingray how Steve Irwin died?”
“It is,” Mendo says. “But stingrays are very docile creatures. They are not known to go on the attack unless you’re a tiger shark.”
The man seems placated and settles back onto his bench.
Mendo claps his hands. “Let’s head out to Stingray Bay! The bay is only three feet deep, so it’s an ideal place to interact with these majestic creatures.”
Tillie turns to me, her eyes bright. “I’m both excited and terrified.”
I’m not worried about the stingrays, but I still understand exactly how she feels.
Chapter 15
TILLIE
The ocean air over the water tastes and smells different from the version on land. I hold Gabe’s hand as the wind barrels over my face, freeing tendrils of hair from my messy topknot.
“Would it be weird if I bit the air?” I ask Gabe.
His chuckle, so close to my body, reverberates in my chest. “Everyone here is a tourist. You’ll never see them again.”
I peer around him to check whether Zeke and Mendo are watching. I can see only Zeke’s back as he steers the boat. Mendo is up there with him, but he’s not visible at all.
I’m clear.
I open my mouth and bite down. More of the tangy flavor fills my mouth. It’s wild. Normally when I breathe in, it’s blank air. But not here.
I catch the honeymoon woman watching me, and her eyebrows shoot up. Dang it. Caught.
Gabe leans in. “What’s the verdict?”
“Tastes like chicken.”
He laughs again. “Do you mean seafood?”
I turn so that I can’t see the staring woman, not even in my peripheral vision. “Maybe. It’s definitely meatier out here. The land air is fruitier. Still very salty.”
“Never in my twenty-eight years have I tried to bite the air on a boat.” His amused gaze holds mine, and I’m caught off guard by how handsome he is.
His sandy hair has curled up on the ends from the wind and humidity. There are fine white lines around his eyes, creases that haven’t tanned like the rest of his face.
He wears a tight blue shirt that I’m praying he’s going to pull off when we get in the water. I want to see the thing that I’ve kept feeling when riding behind him on the bike.
He seems amused that I’m staring at him, and the white lines around his eyes disappear into the crinkles.
I lean a little closer so that I can say, “The honeymoon lady saw me biting the air. I can’t even look in that direction now.”
He pauses a beat, then casually turns his head in her direction. His lips press to my ear. “She’s still staring. Should we give her a show?”
My heart hammers. “What do you have in mind?”
Two fingers press against the bottom of my chin, making me tilt my head up to him. Then his mouth is on mine.
