Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(4)

She started to mentally roll her eyes as she waited for him to hit on her, but stopped herself. For the past few years, working at the Pearl Island Inn, she’d felt like the lone single person at a never-ending, all-couples dinner party. Now that fate had dropped an obviously interested guy in front of her, didn’t she owe it to herself to give him a chance? Maybe this time well-dressed and gorgeous didn’t equal conceited jerk.

But before she could do something radical, like flirt back a little, one of the children screamed her name.

She turned to scowl at Lauren. While she genuinely adored the kids, couldn’t they stay out of trouble for five minutes?

Lauren pointed toward the end of the pier. “Stop AJ!”

Chloe glanced in that direction but saw no sign of the little rascal. Instead she saw her cousins, Derrick and Rafe, standing at the end of the pier staring into the water. Which meant AJ must have jumped in. AJ could swim like a fish, but Lauren’s little brother had a knack for turning the simplest outing into a life-threatening adventure.

“He’s trying to swim to the shipwreck!” Lauren screamed. “They dared him!”

“Oh, no.” Chloe took off across the sand like a sprinter off the starting block. By the time she reached the pier, her heart pounded as loudly as her feet against the wood.

The twins jumped with guilt when they saw her charging toward them. “We didn’t think he’d do it.”

Without breaking stride, she dove straight into the water, angling down for a fast descent. The saltwater stung her eyes, but she didn’t dare close them. Swimming hard, she continued down until her lungs ached. Just when she feared she’d reached the point of no return, she spotted AJ swimming back up, his eyes frantic. Grabbing his arm, she turned and kicked for all she was worth. The burn in her lungs threatened to engulf her by the time she broke the surface, where she sputtered and gasped for breath. The silence beside her drove her panic higher.

With one arm wrapped about AJ’s now limp body, she kicked for the pier. The second she reached the ladder, a pair of big hands reached down to grab the boy and hoist him out of the water.

She scurried up the ladder to find the blond stranger kneeling over AJ, his mouth covering the boy’s. The other children hovered in a circle. Little Nicki clung to Lauren, both girls crying, while the twins stared with wide eyes. Her mind raced with a million nightmarish thoughts, each one ending with AJ dead. It would all be her fault. She was supposed to be watching the children. She’d never forgive herself.

The instant the man lifted his head and pressed a hand to AJ’s diaphragm, the boy spewed water from his mouth. The man rolled him to his side so he could expel water all over the pier.

As AJ convulsed in a fit of coughing, Chloe scrambled over on her hands and knees. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” The man laid a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. “Just give him room to catch his breath.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God!” Her whole body shook as she watched the boy struggle to breathe.

Finally, AJ rolled to his back and let his arms flop to his sides. Blond curls stuck to his face as his narrow chest rose and fell. He managed a laugh through labored breathing. “Wow, that was sick.” AJ’s way of saying something was super cool.

“You brat,” his sister Lauren said through her tears. “I’m telling Mom.” Lifting a sobbing Nicki onto her hip, Lauren marched up the trail toward the inn.

Chloe looked at the twins still shaking with fear. “You two are toast when your father hears about this.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Derrick insisted, the picture of innocence. “AJ’s the one who bet us he could swim to the shipwreck. Honest. All we did was say no way.”

“So you dared him?” She wanted to strangle them.

“We didn’t think he’d actually do it,” Derrick said.

“When has he ever not taken you up on a dare?” she demanded.

“We didn’t dare him. Honest.” Derrick crossed a finger over his heart.

“Never mind,” Chloe said. “Everybody up to the inn. Now.”

AJ struggled to stand on wobbly legs, so she hoisted him onto her hip. Not an easy feat, since he’d passed fifty pounds.

“Need some help?” the man asked.

“No, I’ve got him,” she said, wanting to groan. What a way to make a good impression, right when she’d decided that’s what she wanted to do. “Just don’t go away. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried after the twins, who were stomping toward the inn like defiant prisoners. Halfway up, she glanced back at the handsome stranger and found him frowning. What was she thinking, telling him to stand in the sun and wait for her?

“Actually,” she called, “come up to the inn. I’ll make this fast and be right with you.”

Turning, she resumed herding her cousins. At least this interruption gave her a little time to decide if she had the guts to flirt with a total stranger who looked like he’d left a trail of broken hearts and broken promises in his wake.





Chapter 2





Luc stood on the dock, stunned by the interest he’d seen in Chloe’s eyes in that instant right before the girl had screamed. While the boy nearly drowning had created a major distraction, now he felt flummoxed all over again by the alluring way her lips had started to curve.