spotted a shark. A splash followed the squeal, and he was already kicking off his flip-flops as he spun into lifesaving mode. But Jenn and Elliott were both still on the boat.
“I’ve got something!” Jenn called, bouncing up and down on her toes.
Max cringed at the movement, but tried to turn it into a smile. “That’s great! If you want to play Captain Ahab, you’ve got to get some leverage. Take a seat and brace one foot against the side of the boat. Some of these guys can be monsters.”
She laughed over her shoulder, eyes bright with excitement. Max saw the exact moment his brother got hit over the head with the cartoon anvil of a bad crush. Elliott’s face registered a moment of stark, painful shock as a ray of sunlight struck her wind-blown hair.
Max paused in his rush across the length of the boat. He should let his brother take care of Jenn. If Max left them alone, maybe the awareness he’d noticed between the two of them would develop into a flirtation. Maybe his brother really would relax and have a good time. Maybe he’d have a wild affair with a gorgeous woman and let go of this idea that he wasn’t cut out for a relationship.
Max dropped his outstretched hand and took a deep breath, but then the boat bobbed up, and Jenn lurched toward the low railing, and Max leaped forward, covering the last five feet in a blink of an eye. He and Elliott grabbed her at the same time, but Elliott merely aimed an irritated glance in Max’s direction. Max could feel his own face frozen in fear.
“Look.” Jenn shook off their hands and tilted her head toward the water. “It’s tiny. I can handle it.”
Worried that she was about to lean out and try to snag the line, Max reached for the net, but his hand knocked into Elliott’s arm as he did the same thing. This time Elliott glared.
“Right,” Max murmured, feeling like a dick. “Sorry.” He stood and moved away from Jenn, staying close enough to Elliott that he could keep an eye on him as he swept the net out to scoop up the little roundhead she’d caught.
As soon as everyone was settled happily back into the questionable safety provided by the railing, Max backed away and resumed his place at Chloe’s side.
“Elliott thinks I’m flirting with Jenn,” he muttered.
“Even after you were over here feeling me up?”
“He thinks I’m a player.”
“Are you?”
Surprised, Max met her serious gaze. “No!”
She raised an eyebrow. “So why would he think that?”
“I’m not… Okay, I admit I can be flirtatious, but I am not a player.”
“You don’t have to lie to me, Max.” She turned back to look at the line bobbing in the water. “It’s no big deal, all right?”
“I’m not lying!” When the bird chatter died out for a few seconds, Max realized he’d shouted. He glanced over to a puzzled Elliott and a suspicious Jenn and offered a friendly wave. “Sorry.” Chloe, on the other hand, was smirking at the water. He leaned in close and whispered. “You’re the first woman I’ve touched in nine months.”
The smirk faded from her lips, but Max’s heart was dropping. Had he just said that? Aloud? Way to play the desperation card, Max Sullivan. “It’s nothing weird, though. I just decided that celibacy was… I mean, not celibacy celibacy. Just…”
“Celibacy?” she squeaked.
“No!” To offset another shout, he offered Jenn the flash of a sick smile over his shoulder. “Forget I said anything.”
She shifted and tried to cross her arms, but the fishing rod and life vest interfered, so she just edged away from him. “So…you’re sending mixed signals here. Flirting with me and then telling me you’re celibate.”
“But I’m going to have sex with you,” he insisted, just before the roar in his ears warned him that this was getting very bad, very fast. His pulse pounded, pushing a headache to life behind his eyes.
“Really?” Chloe drawled.
“Oh, Jesus.”
“Am I going to like it?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Uh-huh.”
He ran a hand through his hair, aware of the drop of sweat snaking down his neck. “I meant that I really wanted to, even though I told myself it was a bad idea, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you and that red bikini. And your eyes!” he added belatedly. “And you’re such a normal girl. You’re not glamorous or… Um.”