“It’s not fair, Max.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re going to make out with me just to keep me from swimming!”
This time his whole body jerked back when his chin drew in. Chloe gave him a disappointed push to help him along.
“What?” he huffed.
“You don’t want me to swim at night, so you’re pretending you want to make out!”
Panic flashed in his eyes, but Max assumed an incredulous expression. “That’s ridiculous. What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you being a freak, Max.”
“Hey!”
Shaking her head in disgust, Chloe spun away from him and waded toward the sand. “I thought you liked me.”
“Wait…” His splashing tossed water high, making her shiver when the drops struck the small of her back. She’d felt confident and playful a moment before, but now she was left vulnerable in her swimsuit, exposed to a man who didn’t find her attractive.
She made it to the waterline and looked around for her shirt.
“Chloe,” Max said behind her. She jerked away when his fingers curled around her elbow. “Chloe, I do like you. So why are you calling me a freak?”
“Give it up, already. I’m on to you, okay? I see what you’re doing.”
“What?” He threw his hands up. “What am I doing?”
Though he tried to hold her gaze, Chloe turned away to search the beach for her shirt. Humiliation was a familiar enough feeling that it only stung a little when she realized how close she’d come to letting him distract her with his fake kisses. Even now she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Or just opened it for him, actually. She could be rolling around on the sand with her hands wrapped around those big biceps right now.
“Last night, you weren’t interested in me or in Jenn, were you? You were checking on the fire. That’s why you came over.”
“Chloe,” he said, his voice warm with indulgent laughter. “Come on.”
“And the diving? You didn’t want to go diving. You didn’t even look at that wreck.”
This time he didn’t respond. Finally spotting her shirt, Chloe sprinted over to grab it and shook it hard to be sure there were no crabs nesting in it. She jerked it over her head, then glanced back to find him standing five feet away, hands open as if he’d paused midgesture.
He inclined his head, and his hands completed the circular motion. “Of course I wanted to go diving. I love diving. It’s what I do. Sorry, I must’ve gone into work mode. I guess I’m not used to diving on vacation anymore.”
“Max.”
“What?”
“You’re a big fat liar! You didn’t want to have marshmallows, and you didn’t want to go diving, and you definitely didn’t want to make out on the beach tonight.”
“I… It’s…” He looked dumbstruck. His big, sexy shoulders drooped. “It’s no fun to make out on the beach. The fucking sand is a hundred times worse than a rug burn.”
“The sand? What’s the sand got to do with anything?”
“You said I didn’t want to make out with you. That’s not true. I just didn’t want to do it here.”
She ignored the stab of ugly hope that hit her belly. Slick talk. “So why’d you follow me out here?”
He snapped his mouth shut.
“Why did you want to come with me?”