Ready for You (Ready #3)(56)

“You know I don’t do rafts!”

“No, you just haven’t gone before,” he corrected.

“Yes, because I’m terrified!”

“Why?”

“Because the river moves, Garrett. It moves. I don’t want to be in a tiny inflatable boat, floating down the river, with no ability to turn around!”

He laughed and cupped my chin. “You’re being irrational.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “You’re being irrational,” I said, acting like a five-year-old.

His laugh turned into a smirk, and it was infectious. I couldn’t help but grin back.

“Fine,” I agreed. “But if I die, you’re going to feel really bad about it.”

“You’re not going to die, baby. You’ll have me, and for f**k’s sake, it’s the James, not the Grand Rapids!”

My stomach fluttered every time he called me baby. Besides renaming me Mia, it was what he always called me, and hearing him fall back into it so easily made my heart swell.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” he urged.

“Okay.” I was rewarded with a huge grin, one I hadn’t seen in ages, and it made me incredibly happy to be the one who had made him smile again.

With everything he’d been through in the last few weeks, he deserved to smile again.

We both hopped out of Garrett’s car, and he came around the back to walk by my side. His arm went casually over my shoulder, and I naturally melted into him, the two of us falling into a natural rhythm.

The door chimed as we entered the small rafting company. A few other customers milled around, waiting for the scheduled tour to begin. There was a small store set up with snacks, drinks, and a few rafting supplies.

Garrett looked down at my flip-flops and frowned.

“What?” I asked.

“You are going to lose the flip-flops in the water.” His eyes traveled around the store until he found a rack displaying water shoes.

“I’m fine,” I tried to argue.

But he hauled me over to the rack and started sorting through the shoes. He didn’t need to ask me what size I wore. He remembered, picking up a size seven in black and pink.

“Which color, baby?”

I started to disagree, folding my arms over my chest in protest, but he just rolled his eyes and bent down on the ground. He lifted my foot up on his muscular thigh, forcing me to balance on one foot.

“Pink or black, Mia?”

I let out an exasperated sigh, but its effectiveness was lost when my lips curved into a goofy grin.

“Fine. Pink.”

“Good choice. Very girlie.”

He slipped my flip-flop off, and he began to help me put on the water shoes. He pulled the tag off, so he could pay for them whenever the store clerk decided to show up. He’d just finished putting on my right shoe when the store clerk, who was clearly not worried about theft, finally decided to make an appearance.

He was tall and lean, and as he turned around to greet everyone, I heard Garrett mutter a curse under his breath.

Brent’s eyes caught mine, and he instantly smiled. “Well, long time no see. Hello, Mia.” His eyes briefly met Garrett’s in greeting. “Garrett, good to see you again.”

Garrett didn’t say anything in return. He just continued to stare at Brent like he was the devil incarnate.

“So, here to take a trip down the James?”

“Uh…yes,” I answered.

“Good, I’ll be your guide.”

Crap.

“I thought you were in graduate school?” Garrett said with a menacing tone.

My fingers found his and weaved around them. I was hoping my touch would keep him from killing our rafting instructor.

“I am, or was. I just completed my MBA. I’d taken a few years off in between to work for my dad, but I figured it was time to spread my wings.” His white toothy grin grew—along with his arrogance.

Brent’s family came from the same social circle as mine. I’d known him far longer than Garrett, having attended social events with Brent since I was in grade school. His dad was a major player at a corporate bank, and Brent had wanted nothing more in life than to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“So, why are you here?” Garrett motioned to the run-down rafting business, which was about as far from the stuffy banking world as one could get.

“Oh, well, I love the river, and it’s a great way to stay in shape and meet beautiful women,” he said with a wink.

Garrett’s hand tightened on mine.

Brent pointed at our joined hands. “I thought you two were just friends?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Garrett beat me to it.

“A slight oversight, which has been corrected—permanently. In fact, did you happen to hear anything last night as you were stepping out of the restaurant?”

My eyes widened, remembering his heated words as his fingers had grazed my core.

Maybe Brent will hear you screaming my name from down the street.

Garrett and Brent shared angry stares that were about to escalate, and I had no idea what to do.

“Well, it’s probably for the best anyway. It’s not like I could take you home—not after your parents made such spectacles of themselves, fleeing town with their tails between their legs.”