The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(13)

“Do those bite?”

“Everything bites if it’s in the right situation.” He must have seen the terror on my face. “It’s rare. Sharks don’t go around looking for a fight like a drunk gym bro at a bar. They mind their own business. Like you and I.”

In the small cove, the water was so calm and still. I swallowed and studied the surface of the water.

“This is so dangerous.” I shook my head at him before tilting my head at the waves. “Some of those waves are huge. You could get hurt. You could drown.”

He laughed easily and shrugged. “You could get hit by a car tomorrow. One of the bookcases in your shop could fall over and crush you to death. The Big One could wipe out the entire town.” The Big One was the earthquake the west coast was due for. Our side of Vancouver Island was unprotected, hence the surfing. Every year, the entire town did a drill when the sirens went off. In the event of a big earthquake, every resident knew to get to higher ground before the massive tidal wave hit.

Wyatt was right. Death was around every corner. My mom had thought she had her whole life in front of her. My throat was tight as I swallowed, staring at the board in front of me. I traced the scratches with my fingernail.

“Why not enjoy what we have while it’s here,” Wyatt said, quieter this time. “Here for a good time, not for a long time.”

We floated on the water for a few more minutes until Wyatt noticed my teeth chattering and suggested we paddle back in.

We were halfway to shore when something grabbed my ankle. My head whipped around and all I could see without my glasses was dark movement in the water.

“Shark!” I shrieked and jerked my ankle, flailing and splashing in the water. “It’s a shark!”

I slipped off my board and my head dunked under the surface. Water rushed up my nose and I coughed and swallowed a mouthful.

Wyatt was suddenly next to me. His arm wrapped around my waist and he yanked me towards him. “It’s seaweed, Hannah.” He held me against his chest as I thrashed, and with his other hand, he tried to pull whatever it was off me.

“Seaweed?” I gasped, still coughing and heaving breaths. My pulse pounded in my ears.

He lifted the slimy green bundle out of the water and tossed it a few feet away. My pulse slowed a few notches. He was still holding me against his hard chest.

This was nice.

“Just seaweed. Relax.” His voice was calm and low. I nodded, and my pulse returned to normal. “That’s one way to wake the sharks up.” He flashed me a roguish grin and I made a weird sound in my throat, like a growl. He laughed and let me go, holding my board so I could hoist myself back up.

Back on shore, we walked our boards across the sand, back to the shop. He had undone the top half of his wetsuit before we’d even left the water and it hung from his waist. His back muscles were on full display, and I tried not to ogle.

“If I wasn’t here, how long would you stay out?” I was out of breath from paddling.

He smiled to himself. “A couple hours. Until I get hungry.” He set his board down in front of the shop and pointed beside it. “You can leave the board here.”

Once my board was on the ground, something tugged on the back of my wetsuit and I heard the zzzzt of the zipper. Cold air rushed in.

“Thanks.” Wyatt was basically undressing me. I had a swimsuit on underneath; it wasn’t like he was unzipping my dress or something.

A quick flash of the look he had given me at Avery’s wedding, his heated gaze skimmed down my form. My cheeks flushed.

“You can leave the suit to dry on the back patio,” he told me over his shoulder, walking down the beach. He lived in a small house in that direction. “Good work today, bookworm.”

Without my glasses, I could only see his form move as he walked with athletic ease, in control of his entire body.

That was it? “Wait. Aren’t you supposed to give me homework or something?”

All I had done today was paddle and get water up my nose. I wasn’t any closer to being a hot girl.

He turned, walking backwards. “Homework? Not really my style, but okay. Um.” He rubbed his jaw. “Ask ten guys out.”

Another shot of panic through my stomach. “What?!” My voice sounded like I had inhaled helium. “I can’t do that. That’s like half of Queen’s Cove.”

“Sure, you can. It’s way less dangerous than surfing.” He waved and turned. “Same time Friday.”

Ten guys? No. No, no, no. I didn’t ask guys out. I had never asked a guy out. I hadn’t even flirted with a guy. I didn’t know how to. That was why I was here in the first place, so Wyatt could teach me all those things.

He clearly didn’t understand what my goals were.

“You’re supposed to help me get a haircut and pick out better clothes!” I called back in desperation. “Not make me look like a fool.”

“My rules,” he called back.

I made a noise of anguish and headed to the back of the shop, where I yanked off my suit and hung it on the railing. Inside, I crept into the bathroom to change out of my wet swimsuit, and nearly gasped when I put my glasses back on and peered into the mirror.

I looked feral. My waterproof mascara? Not waterproof. My eyes were ringed in black smudges. My hair was a knotted mess, half wet, half dry. The salty ocean water had made it frizzy and poofy. My face was still flushed from talking to a member of the opposite sex for so long.