The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(27)

But today, something about the slight swell of cleavage over the neckline caught my attention. And the way she whipped her shirt off, I pictured her doing that in my bedroom.

She unzipped her denim shorts and tossed them over the railing.

Her ass. It was so cute. Two handfuls. Slappable. I stiffened further in my wetsuit.

Jesus Christ, Rhodes.

I turned around and stared into the forest behind the surf shop, eyes wide open and seeing nothing. It wasn’t like that with Hannah. I wasn’t her type. She wanted someone charming, polished, and stable. Hannah was a true love type of girl, not… whatever I could offer. She wanted forever, and I was all about temporary.

She wanted someone like Beck.

Irritation prickled on the back of my neck.

“Wyatt?”

I snapped to attention. She was right beside me. “Hmm?”

“Can you zip me up?” She offered me her back.

Even in the wetsuit, her ass was so cute. This must be what people were talking about when they referenced intrusive thoughts. I shoved them out of my head and zipped up her wetsuit before we grabbed our boards and headed to the water without another word.

She yelped when the cold water hit her feet.

“Oh, shit, I forgot the booties.” I set my board down on the sand. “I’ll go grab them.”

She shook her head and put a hand on my arm to stop me. “You were right, they make it harder to grip the board. I’m going to try without them today. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Her feet were going to get cold, though. “Tell me when you’re ready to go in.”

She nodded and smiled at me before wading into the water.

We paddled out into the white water area, where Hannah had been learning.

I glanced over at her, paddling beside me. “You’re getting stronger.”

She shot me a pleased smile. The sun’s reflection off the water lit up her skin and danced across her face. She moved through the water with more ease and confidence than before. Something warm and proud hit me in the middle of the chest.

We paddled to a spot behind the break and positioned our boards to face the shore. Hannah watched a wave approach, and without needing encouragement from me, she began paddling to catch it.

I sprawled across my board, watching her arms dip in and out of the water. The water rose and fell around me as the wave passed me but my gaze stayed on her. The wave approached, and I had the urge to call over to her when to jump up on her board. I held back though, pressing my hand to my mouth, watching and grinning against my fist.

At the perfect second, she flattened her hands on the board and snapped up—

The board slipped from under her and she fell face first into the water.

Damn it.

I smiled big at her when she paddled back.

“Wipeout,” she called over to me, water dripping off her ponytail.

“You got up at the exact right time.” I winked at her and she nodded. Another small wave approached and I gestured at it. “Okay, bookworm, get back on the horse.”

She took a deep breath, nodded, and her tenacity made me smile. This was the third time we had been out on the water, and she still hadn’t gotten up on the board to ride a wave. Most people would have given up by now.

Not her, though.

I had been thinking more and more about our deal, how Hannah wanted to be a ‘hot girl’. How she had compared herself to her mom.

I’m never going to meet someone hiding in my bookstore, she had said the other night at the bar. And now here she was, bright and early in the morning, perched on her board, watching over her shoulder for approaching waves.

Huh. She must have really wanted to find someone.

Something weird twisted in my stomach but I focused on Hannah paddling as the wave rolled past me and caught up with her.

“Come on,” I muttered to myself, leaning on my board, gaze glued to her.

She glanced over her shoulder, saw the wave, paddled harder, and as the water rose under her, she hopped up.

“You got it, bookworm, stay up.” I bit my fist as if I watched a hockey game in shootout. My heart beat in my ears.

She wobbled once, twice, but caught her balance, hands out, knees bent, and board skimming the surface as the wave carried her forward. My heart was in my throat.

She turned her head to shoot me a wide, elated and I beamed back at her.

“Yeah, Hannah!” I called over. “You’re doing it.”

She lost her balance, bailed off her board, and a laugh burst out of my chest. That big grin stretched over her face, even as she paddled back to me.

“You did it, bookworm.”

“I did it.” The clear sunlight made her eyes brighter.

Something warm and tight expanded in my chest, seeing her with her hair soaking wet, the sun on her face, and the biggest, proudest smile.

“You want to go again?”

She nodded eagerly.

Again and again, she paddled hard as the waves approached. She bailed a few more times but caught three more waves. She was getting the hang of it. I watched the whole time, hanging out on my board and enjoying the morning sun on my back.

Half an hour later, her arms moved slower in the water and her jumps up on the board didn’t have the same snap as before.

“Bookworm, I do believe you’ve earned your moment of solace in nature this morning.” I jerked my chin in the direction of the quiet cove. “Let’s go chill out for a bit.”