AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We have a destination. And we have to be there by a certain day. That’s two more things than I usually have.” She smiled. He had a feeling that smile often got her out of awkward or difficult situations. And that she used it, along with her good looks, to skate through life, taking no responsibility.
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “I’m just along for the ride.”
“Great,” she said. “We’ll spend the night and come back first thing tomorrow. Right now, I want ice cream.”
On the way into town, she had him stop so she could arrange rooms at a motel near the lighthouse. He didn’t mention the camping gear they’d just purchased. It would be much easier to work on his project at a motel desk than hunched over his laptop in a tent.
The ice cream was her plan for dinner, but he talked her into real food at a restaurant on the water. They had delicious fresh-from-the-ocean, swimming-in-butter shrimp served over rice, and washed it down with beers. Even after that, she had room for ice cream.
They checked into separate rooms at the motel, and he plopped down on the bed, exhausted from dealing with her perky, happy-go-lucky energy. At least she’d deviated from the camping idea, giving him a real bed for the night. He got out his laptop and opened his plan for the new contract.
Before saying good night, he’d been clear that she should stay in her room, but not ten minutes later, he heard the unmistakable sound of her door opening and closing. He peeked out his window and watched her sneak across the parking lot toward the pool.
“Damn that girl,” he muttered, putting on his shoes and grabbing his room key.
When he rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of her looking right and left before dropping her bikini bottom and diving into the water. The sight stopped him dead in his tracks. She was skinny dipping? That was something he could never unsee. Once his heart restarted, he stomped onto the pool deck.
A look of panic washed over her until she realized it was him. “Oh, it’s just you.”
“Daisy,” he said, hands on his hips. “I told you to stay in your room.”
“But it’s so hot out. A quick dip sounded divine. And technically, I’m still at the motel.”
“My exact words were ‘in your room.’ Do you know how vulnerable you are right now? If someone wanted to hurt you, it would be very easy.”
“You gotta relax a little,” she said, swimming to the wall and putting her hands on the pool deck. “Hand me my suit. I’ll get dressed, and then you can come in. The water feels so nice.”
“What if I’d been someone else? A creepy man? Or a family with kids?”
“It’s the middle of the week, and it’s ten o’clock at night.”
“It’s summer. Prime family vacation time.”
“Hm. I didn’t think about that.”
“You gotta think things through. This isn’t a joke to me or your father. It’ll be hard to keep you safe if you sneak away, and I don’t know where you are.”
“You gotta think things through,” she mocked in a grumble before sticking her tongue out at him.
“Grow up, Daisy. Get out and get dressed.” He turned his back and waited to hear a splash. When he didn’t, he turned back around. She’d pushed off the wall and was swimming away from him. “Don’t make me come in after you.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said with confidence. “That would mean doing something spontaneous and a tad crazy. I don’t think you have it in you.”
He pulled off one shoe, then the other, and started to unbutton his jeans.
“Okay, okay,” Daisy said. “I’ll get out. I was done anyway.”
Thankfully, his bluff worked. He had no intention of getting in, but she didn’t need to know that. She was the most unserious, uninhibited person he’d ever met. One day together, and already he was regretting this decision. He should have charged the mayor more.
She swam to the side. He turned away as she climbed the ladder to get out, but still caught a glimpse.
After escorting her back to her room, he spent the remainder of the evening trying to scrub his mind of the image of her topless body. It was no use. That two-second memory was now seared into his brain for all eternity.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning, they checked out of the motel and grabbed breakfast on their way to the lighthouse. They purchased tickets but had a half hour to kill before their turn, which Daisy used to take pictures and videos of the water, the park, and the lighthouse.
She wasn’t allowed to carry her tripod up the stairs, so he’d been called into service as a cameraman.
