Page 7 of Take the Bait
I lean back in my chair. "You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?”
He shrugs. “I’m likeable. It’s a fact. Ask anyone.”
I roll my eyes and stuff a French fry into my mouth. The relay race is only a week away, but Ace has already slipped into my daily routine in a way I didn't plan for. Morning texts about water conditions, kayaking together every day, bantering back and forth nonstop. He’s the first thing I think about in the morning, and the last thing I think about at night.
And, as Dani keeps reminding me, I have been half in love with him practically forever.
But Ace is… well, Ace istoocharming. Can I trust him with my heart? Not a chance. He’s a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy. He’s not a heartbreaker, exactly. From what I’ve seen and can gather, he dates tourists who are looking for flings. Summer fun. Notforever.
And I just can’t do that. Especially not with Ace.
"You coming to movie night on the lake tomorrow?" Rayna asks me.
"Oh, she has to," Ace says before I can answer.
I raise an eyebrow. "Do I?"
"It's mandatory team-building experience for the relay team,” he replies.
“You’re making that up.”
"Absolutely," Ace says. "But you should still come."
Everyone laughs.
“We’ll all be there,” Forrest says.
“Yep,” the others say.
He asks like he already expects me there. Like spending time together has become natural for him, and maybe the worse problem is that it's becoming natural for me too. I should probably resist that harder.
But Ireally, reallydon’t want to.
“Fine,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Five
Ace
MovienightonLakeMercury turns out to be the worst possible environment for a man trying not to fall too hard, too fast, for a woman.
Mostly because Chrissy is floating beside me in an inner tube wearing a red bikini top that has reduced my IQ by approximately twenty points.
The giant inflatable screen bobs gently near the swimming cove while Jaws plays across the water. Around us, people drift lazily in clusters of tubes with drinks in their cupholders and glow sticks around their wrists. Somebody farther down the cove screams dramatically every time the music changes. Joel keeps intentionally splashing Rayna during the suspenseful scenes.
And Chrissy is laughing. Turns out, she loves scary movies. And somehow, that makes her even more beautiful to me.
But what doesn’t?
Yep. I'm completely screwed.
"You're staring," she says quietly.
"It’s your fault for being so damn beautiful.”
The words leave my mouth before I can reconsider them. Chrissy blinks at me like she wasn't expecting that answer. Honestly, neither was I.
The teasing grin she usually throws at me softens around the edges. "That was smooth."
