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“You going to open the bar?”
“I’d rather spend the time with you.” He spreads his hand across my belly again.
“I’m not sure I’mthatokay. Why don’t we work it together tonight? Then tomorrow morning I’ll probably be in good shape for all the things.”
“All the things?”
I nod. “All.”
“Mmmm.” His thumb slides across my chest.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“I think you shouldn’t work on your vacation.”
“It’s not work when it’s with you.”
His gaze rests on my face. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah. It’s a good time. Then we could have a late dinner. I assume there is somewhere on the island open at midnight.”
He nods. “There is. Okay. Let’s do it.” He leans over and presses a kiss to my belly, then drops another one farther down. “And tomorrow, let’s really doit.”
I push his head away. “Absolutely. Now get off me, you brute.”
Getting off the bed is easier than when I got on. The aloe helped. We both work to spread another layer on me. His hands on my body make me heat up again, this time from the inside out. It’s more than the physical attraction, though. He’s taking care of me. Like a partner. Like someone who cares.
As he sweeps my hair aside to cool my shoulders, I realize this is already more than an island fling. Something deeper has already engaged.
Leaving is going to be impossible.
The bar is rapt as Mendo tells his story one more time. “And then Gabe here rowed her out to the secret caves.” He leans close to the man near him. “I have a secret boat tour that goes to them.” He sits up again. “But when he helps her out of the boat, he slips, and accidentally pulls her over the side.”
I glance over at Gabe. He’s shaking his head while he fills a pint glass, as if he wants no part of the story.
“Did she die?” a woman asks, her hand at her mouth.
“Did he kill her?” The wife of the man near Mendo grips her drink with both hands.
Mendo waves his hands. “Oh no. He heard a splash, then a strange whoosh of a giant fin. And he never saw her again. Later, he realized there were rainbow scales on the edge of the boat, same as the ones he sometimes found in his bathroom.”
I lean against the counter, in awe of how Mendo has the whole bar enthralled. He’s missed his calling.
“And now he makes his secret rainbow drink, the mermaid sunrise, in her honor.” He spots me and his eyes go alight. “But this story doesn’t end there. Only a few days ago, this beautiful creature you see inside the bar arrived, with the same dark ringlets and cornflower eyes. She goes by another name, but the way the two lovers connected so swiftly ...” He shrugs. “Who is to say who she really is?”
It’s my turn to shake my head as I dry my hands on a towel.
“I love that story,” a woman says. “Can I get a mermaid sunrise?”
I push away from the counter. Gabe is still drawing beers. “I’ll make it,” I tell him. Then I turn to the lady. “If you spot any unusual scales on the glass, keep it between us.”
She laughs, and I start pulling bottles. “We’ll want to pick up more blue curaçao tomorrow,” I tell Gabe.
He nods, ringing up the previous order.
It’s nice and easy, working this space with him. I mentally tally the orders and glance at the tip jar. It easily supports one. Probably it could do two.
Then I chide myself for the thought. I can’t stay here. Of course not. For one, that wasn’t the arrangement. For two, I have to be there for Lila and Rosie, especially now that Ensley’s married. And for three, I barely know the guy. He might not be as great as he seems once the shine wears off.
