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“I’m it!” she shouted, running after Alejandro.
Rooted to the spot, Noah tried to catch his breath as he watched her longs legs churn the sand, her giggles mingling with the children’s.
Not so much progress.
With an about-face, he returned to the collection of towels and water bottles in the sand, searching out his flask. Warm, metallic water was not quite the refreshment he sought, but it did ease his thirst. He grabbed his towel, dried his face, and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes drifted back to the game. Alec, with Teresa on his back, caught up to Grace and wrapped her in a bear hug. It shouldn’t have made Noah jealous, but it did.
“Nice going,” Vanessa said, searching out her own bottle.
Grace shoved Alec into the surf, his feet catching on a wave that sent him and Teresa into the water. Noah dragged his eyes away. “Huh?”
“Tag,” Vanessa said, pointing with her chin. “They’re having a great time. Why did you leave?”
“Thirsty.” He lifted his flask to prove the point and went back to watching.
“Hmm.” She took a drink.
The game dwindled into chaos. Grace circled the children up on the sand, she and Alec directing them in Spanish.
Vanessa shook her head at the pair, who had the full attention and cooperation of the children. “Unfair advantage, speaking Spanish. It would take me weeks to achieve that kind of rapport.”
A girl with long braids ran up and wrapped her arms around Vanessa’s leg, jabbering in Spanish and pointing at the sand toys. Noah looked pointedly at Vanessa.
“Okay, maybe not weeks.” She asked the girl’s name—Rosa, matching her bright-pink swimming suit—then pointed back to the sand toys. “You want to build a sandcastle?”
“Advantage nothing,” Noah mumbled over the girl’s enthusiastic response. He sat in the sand with them, digging and filling buckets while allowing his eyes to wander.
“You knew her from before, huh?”
How long had his attention rested in that particular direction? “Who, Grace?”
Vanessa chuckled. “Yeah. Did you guys date?”
“No,” he said too quickly. “Well, yes. Actually, just one date.” Their sandcastle definitely needed a moat. He dug it out, donating the wetter sand to fill the girls’ buckets and forming a bridge reinforced with sticks and rocks.
His eyes landed again on Grace—she now led the group in a rousing game of what looked like duck, duck, goose; though it sounded like potato, potato, gonzo to his ears—but he pulled his gaze away and forced himself to focus on the sand like he would a complex differential equation.
Dig. Fill. Dump.
Vanessa was quiet, but he couldfeelher questions. He wasn’t about to answer, especially if she didn’t ask.
“It was a setup,” he heard himself blurt anyway. Why was he volunteering information? Scrambling, he said the first unrelated thing that came to mind. “Hey, thanks for rescuing me yesterday,” he said.
“She looks at you too, you know.” Her expression acknowledged but allowed his clumsy redirect. “When did I rescue you?”
“Fun facts. Awkward silence.”
“Oh, that. No problem.”
“I hate talking in front of people, and I don’t have any fun facts anyway.”
Vanessa laughed. “Sure you do! Aquaman is a great fun fact.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Where did you learn to hold your breath so long?”
“Best method to escape my older brother in the pool.”
