Page 33 of Ruining His Smirk

He patted my knee once and rose to join Keith, expecting me to follow, of course.

I didn’t.

The problem was that moving required letting go. I was two hundred percent sure that if I did that, I would lose my footing and topple headfirst into the cold ocean. I felt pathetic as I looked down at my fingers, which refused to uncurl from their death grip.

Come on.

I was being ridiculous.

“Landry.” He was back in my line of sight. I looked up. That smirk appeared. “Don’t take this the wrong way.”

I stared at him. Okay, here it was, his real motive. He was about to push me into the abyss. And no one would know.Everyone was busy being all oooh aaaahh over some shitty seals or dolphins. He had zeroed in on the right window of opportunity. It was how every villain worked: “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve outlived your usefulness to me. Bye. Splash!” Or in his case, he would probably add a wink to distract me, like he had at the fencing match.

“I’m going to offer you my hand, and you’re going to let me lead you to the front,” Braddock finished.

Huh.

He extended a hand and held it in front of me. I looked up at him.

Was he…

Oh.

“But this is the only time we’re holding hands.” His smirk was at full wattage.

A smile broke through before I could stop it, but I managed to school it. It was too late. He had seen it, and his green eyes lit up with unadulterated amusement.

The bastard knew exactly what he was doing. He was making a joke so I wouldn’t have to admit I needed help. Not planning to murder me after all.

I looked from his hand to the narrow stretch of boat between us. I had two choices. I could let go and crawl my way to the bow, which would mean squeezing between Braddock’s and Keith’s spread legs like some oversized crab. Or I could take the hand Braddock was holding out to me and walk there with what remained of my dignity.

Between the two evils, holding hands with my arch-nemesis was clearly the sensible choice.

I released one hand from the Zodiac and clasped his palm, our thumbs locking as his fingers closed hard around mine. The strength in his grip surprised and reassured me. He hauled me upright in one smooth pull, and I wasn’t sure whether I hadstumbled or he had deliberately pulled too hard, but the result was that I fell straight into him. He absorbed the shock while somehow managing to remain upright.

Damn him and his skill.

My free hand landed on his shoulder. For one suspended second, we stood chest to chest, nose to nose. His freaky pale green eyes were bright with the effort of not laughing. Okay, the jerk had done that deliberately.

He caught my hand on his shoulder and guided it down around his waist. My entire body reacted as my palm settled against the firm curve of his side over his smooth diving suit.

“Hold on,” he said.

As though I needed telling.

I tightened my arm around him while he kept our other hands locked together across my chest, and in this most manly of ways, I made my way toward the bow in a few careful, unsteady steps.

God, I hoped no one was watching. Especially Dexter.

The moment we reached the bow, Braddock pushed me down, dumping me like a sack of potatoes.

“There you go, princess.” He grinned down at me.

Oh, he was so going to pay for this. I wanted to punch him, but my hands were busy.

Hmph.

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