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Her pink face, flushed from excitement, made something ofhistwitch. He had to shut that right down. Shoving a hand into the ice, he pulled out his fish.
Crystal had managed to unhook hers and held it tightly in her gloved hand.
He picked up a filet knife and placed the fish on top of the cooler. Crystal grabbed her knife and pointed to a flat-topped tree stump. He nodded. That would work.
He cut off the head, and she wrinkled her nose, eyes wide.
Her fish wiggled as she pressed it down with her hand. She whimpered, then sliced the head off and squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t look at it.”
“Breathe, Crystal.”
She took a shaky breath and opened her lids. “Okay.”
The fish had stopped moving, and she peeked at Zach.
This next part wasn’t going to sit well with her. He sliced the fish open, reached inside, and pulled out the entrails.
“Eww, eww, eww.” Her face turned ghost-white, and she shook her head hard. “I read about how to do this, but I didn’t want to see the videos. It’s grosser than I even thought.”
Still, he had to give it to her, she was hanging in there. “It’s a small fish. You can do it.”
She whimpered more, but cut the stomach open, gagging as she reached inside. She took out the innards and flung them to the ground. “Gross.” Her face squinched in disgust. She stomped her feet, shook her hands, and yelled at the fish, “I hate your guts.”
Zach burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. She was dancing around like she was on fire.
Crystal shuddered and pouted, her eyes watering. “It’s not funny. I feel sorry for the poor little thing.”
His gaze went to her trembling lip, and a spring of heat unfurled in his belly. He fought the urge to kiss her senseless.He cursed to himself. How could he be turned on by her while cleaning a damn fish? And she was upset, which made him a horrible person. A horrible, horny person. He wiped the grin off his face and softened his voice. “The first time you do this is the hardest. Trust me, that fish died fast. You’re doing great.”
She sniffled and gave him a watery smile. “Thanks.”
“Almost done.” He grabbed a butter knife, held the tail down, and scraped the scales forward.
Following suit, she did the same. “This part isn’t so bad.”
“Nothing left to do but fry it. Do you know how?”
“Yeah. I watched some videos. I think I’ll impress Sydney and Trevor. They won’t know I practiced.” She turned to him, her blue eyes shining. “Thanks for this. You’ve saved me from mega humiliation later.”
His shoulders tensed. She still didn’t understand. He had to try again to tell her about the producer’s plans.
Crystal’s phone beeped, and she picked it up.
“Shit. They’re on the way. You gotta get out of here.” She ripped off her gloves, grabbed her fish, and shoved both at him. “Take these. They can’t know I caught this or see the bloody carnage.”
“All right, but there’s something I need to—”
“Go, now.” She tossed the knives in the tackle box and slammed the lid shut.
Zach chucked the fish into the cooler and picked up his gear. Frantic, she snagged her equipment and hurried to another spot farther along the shore.
With a ragged sigh, he headed in the opposite direction. When would he see her alone again to be able to talk?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Crystal yawned and rolled over in her sleeping bag. Her hair stuck to her face and pillow from the humidity. She missed Zach’s bed. The way his scent clung to the sheets and lingered in the house. She’d never slept better.
As always, she woke up thinking about him. She hadn’t known what to say when he’d said he wanted to clear the air. Some part of her had hoped…what? His logic made sense. No point in getting involved when she was leaving soon. He seemed to have no problem “putting it all behind them.”
