Page 30 of Prime Time Romance

“That’s not a boat. That’s a bird.”

Josh stands, arms crossed, staring at what is technically a boat but more closely resembles a giant plastic swan.

When Spencer suggested a trip to the island, I pictured a quaint little wooden boat. Ideally with Spencer and me rowing side by side, our shoulders bumping with every gentle swell of the waves. When we arrived at the marina, I was as surprised as Josh to see two paddleboats tied to the dock. The unobtrusive blue one was quickly claimed by Luce for her and Spencer, leaving Swanzilla for Josh and me.

“Why do we have to do this again?” Josh takes the seat on the right and holds out his hand to help me in.

“We agreed to act like Sloan and Fletch.” I ignore his hand and step into the swan, holding my arms out for balance. “This is what Sloan and Fletch do. Besides, we haven’t seen even a glimpse of Sheldon all day. We might as well enjoy ourselves.”

The moment I say it, a giant wave comes. It rocks the boat so badly that I have to reach for the swan’s neck to steady myself, but my foot slips, and I instead plummet toward the water. At the last second, two hands find my hips and pull. I fly backward, my fall broken by Josh’s body as I land in his lap.

“You okay?”

I blink up at Josh, who is studying me with a concerned ridge between his eyebrows.

“Your thighs are like rocks.”

He stares down at me. “I generally refer to them as quads, and I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You go to the gym?”

Josh shakes his head. “No, I run. Ten kilometers every morning.”

Huh. I never knew that.

“Why do you look so confused?” Josh asks.

“I didn’t know you did things in the mornings. I just assumed you were nocturnal and worked at night and slept all day.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m a bartender, Brynn, not an owl. I get up to many things while you’re at work, most of which you don’t know about.”

Now I want to know. I open my mouth to ask what else he does, but Luce calls out from her boat, “You two okay over there?,” reminding me that my ass is still in Josh’s lap.

Again, he holds out his hand with a “Sure you don’t need help?”

I do not go to the gym in the mornings, nor any other time of day. My below-average core strength leaves me with limited options, so I take him up on his offer and use his hand as leverage to lift my hips and hoist myself back into my seat.

Luce and Spencer are already waiting for us in the middle of the bay, making slow, lazy circles in their little blue paddleboat. I’m so preoccupied with watching them that when I reach to steer our boat toward them, I don’t see Josh’s hand doing the same.

I place my hand on top of his a fraction of a second after he touches the joystick. And as I jerk my hand away, I note that in fewer than two minutes, we’ve already had two romantic comedy moments. All the things I’d hoped for tonight are happening. They’re just happening with the wrong guy.

“Why don’t you drive?” I offer, tucking my hand under my thigh. Josh accepts and steers us out into the bay.

Our swan is propelled by two bicycle-like pedals and steered with a single joystick between the seats. We follow Luce and Spence as they weave between a dozen or so islands that litter the small bays and inlets along the coast. Some are just tiny piles of rocks. Others have thick cedar forests you could get lost in.

“See that?” I point to one of the larger forested islands ahead. “I’m pretty sure that’s the spot where one of my favorite episodes of all time takes place.”

Josh’s gaze follows my finger. “Let me guess, the cast gets shipwrecked and washes up on the shore and has to survive the entire episode on nothing but coconuts?”

I ignore the sarcastic tilt in his tone.

“You’re actually not far off. Sloan and Spencer are heading out for a paddle in a very regular, boring rowboat when they notice some storm clouds in the distance. But they ignore them, claiming they’re still far away, and decide they have lots of time to picnic and get home even if the storm does blow in. However, once they dock, they both assume the other has tied up the boat. While they’re eating, they notice their boat has floated out to sea in a current. They’re trapped. And, of course, the storm starts to build and get closer. It’s all very suspenseful.”

Josh slows his paddling. “But let me guess, they’re rescued at the last possible moment.”

I smile. “By Spencer’s dad, who spotted the empty boat from shore.”

Josh nods. “I’m starting to understand what you meant when you said that the show always works out.”