The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(94)

She inhaled sharply and lifted her head, opening one bleary eye. “What time is it?”

“Just after seven. Relax. Liya’s opening the shop today, remember? You told her you were packing online orders here.”

“Right.” Her head came back to my chest. “How are you feeling about today?”

Today was the initial qualifier for the competition. About half of the entrants would be eliminated over the next three days, but I wasn’t worried. It was the last two days which would determine my fate.

The pinch of concern I expected in my chest didn’t happen when I thought about surfing against the best in the world. I still felt the rush of competition, the surge of energy to do my best and work with the water to ride the waves, but the biting worry that I wouldn’t place well never showed up.

“I’m fine,” I said simply. “I’m ready.”

If I didn’t do well at Pacific Rim, if I didn’t get that sponsorship deal, I’d be right where I was now, curled up with warm, soft Hannah in bed. My bookworm.

And if I did well? If I placed higher up and scored that sponsorship and was on the next plane out of here? Panic filled my chest at the thought of leaving her. Not Queen’s Cove. Queen’s Cove would still be here. I could miss it and return. But Hannah, I couldn’t leave her.

I almost asked her to come with me at karaoke night, but karaoke started and I wanted to save it for later, for a quiet moment where I could make it special.

And then I chickened out.

She might say no, but it was more than that. I teetered on the edge of something precarious. Whatever Hannah and I were doing, whatever we were wrapped up in, it was fragile. One wrong move and the entire thing could slip out from beneath us.

If I made plans for the future, they could crumble. If the plans didn’t exist, there was nothing I could lose.

So I perched on the edge of the cliff, enjoying what I had with Hannah, terrified to move a muscle.

Her hand tucked between my torso and the sheets. She did that a lot, tucked her hand between my skin and something. Funny, these little traits you started to notice about someone once you spent all your time with them.

Today. I’d ask her today if she’d come with me. If she could be brave and get up in front of half the town and sing karaoke, or learn to surf when she had never tried before, I could be brave and tell her how I felt.

She made a satisfied humming noise and turned her head, pressing a kiss to my chest. My cock ached and when she shifted and slipped one of her legs over mine, she brushed against it. She opened her eyes with mischief in her gaze.

I knew that look.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked with a lazy grin, raising my eyebrows.

She grinned wider, still sleepy and so fucking adorable. Before she could do anything I flipped her onto her back, she was giggling, and I was dipping my head between her legs.

“Oh,” she gasped as I swiped my tongue over her.

Today, I was going to be brave and ask Hannah to come with me, but right now, I had to give her another reason to say yes.





“Wyatt Rhodes, Queen’s Cove, Canada.”

I was out in the water on my board, paddling to take my place, but could still hear the cheers rise up on the beach after the announcer spoke. Hannah and my family gathered in the spectator area, seated on blankets. I had told them not to bother coming since today wasn’t a big event, but they had insisted.

Each entrant had three waves per round and the judges took the top two scores. The wind was low today and the waves were clean. Despite today being an easier round, my blood hummed with competition. I took a moment to center myself, noticing the way the water lifted and dropped me with my torso draped over my board, listening to the sound of the waves washing against the sand and the spectators talking and laughing, and letting the cold bite of the ocean remind me who was boss.

Hannah took up space in my head as usual. I glanced at her on the beach again, her light hair catching the sun, and my chest eased a notch. Three waves and I could take her for lunch and ask her to come with me.

She was going to say yes. I knew she would. Why wouldn’t she? She’d been stuck in Queen’s Cove her entire life like a bug under glass and now that she had broken free, she could see the world at my side.

The store was finally hers, though. Maybe she wouldn’t want to leave after all the work she’d put in.

Behind me, the wave approached. I gauged its speed, and when my instincts flashed now! in my head, I paddled hard. My arms dipped in and out of the water, propelling me forward, my back muscles burned, and as the water lifted me, I snapped up, used my core to turn, and coasted along the length of the wave. The adrenaline rush I had come to love raced through my veins as my board shot forward.

The spectators cheered but I ignored them, taking another deep breath and paddling back to my spot while another entrant caught a wave. When it was my turn again, I followed the same steps I’d done a thousand times. Gauge wave speed. Listen to instincts. Paddle. Snap up. Engage core. Feel like a fucking king riding on the massive energy of the ocean. Repeat.

When I returned to the beach, I glanced at my scores. Top marks across the board, no surprise. I had been dealt a lucky hand today, with no wind, clean waves, and a clear head.

Hannah and my family surrounded me, and I chatted with them for a few minutes before I pulled Hannah away.

“Let’s get some lunch. I just need to stash my board. I want to sit on The Arbutus patio with you and a beer.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’d put my arm around you but I don’t want to get your nice dress all wet.” She wore the blue and white striped dress, the same one she had worn to dinner with herself.