Joshua laughed harder, and she joined him, finally stopping trying to dunk him. She kicked her legs as well to help them stay afloat, but she didn’t let go of his neck.
He felt the exact instant that the mood changed. One moment they were both grinning, and the next he was staring deeply into her green eyes, wondering how he was going to resist kissing her. Her trim body felt incredible pressed against his. Her face was so beautiful, and her lips were so appealing. He really loved being around her.Why resist?
He started to lean closer as she said, “You’re a lot of fun.”
He smiled and said, “Don’t act so surprised.”
“Well, I am. Earlier …” She paused and looked a little horrified about whatever she was going to say. She released her grip on his neck.
Joshua hated to let her go, but he released his hold on her waist. She floated half a foot away. They both treaded water for a few seconds; then he prompted, “Earlier?”
He could see her throat bob as she swallowed. She glanced toward the beach and then met his gaze again, “I thought you were a jerk who didn’t care about me and believes I could be the thief.”
Joshua’s stomach tightened. “I can understand why you feel that way. We need time to get to the bottom of it.”
“Why can’t you just trust me?”
“I really can’t trust anyone until they find the culprit.”
Fire shot from her eyes. She swam quickly toward the shore.
Joshua followed her. He didn’t want to keep fighting, but he felt she needed to know. “Jade.”
She didn’t even slow.
He raised his voice. “I’ve hired an outside investigator as well as internal. Curtis shouldn’t have confronted you until we knew more. The others in your office are under investigation as well, but they don’t know about it.” His feet touched sand and he pushed forward, still talking to her back and wishing she’d look at him. “I promise you I will get to the bottom of this, but it’s going to take some time.”
She was knee deep in the water, and he was a little ways behind her, up to his waist. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Well, good luck to you on figuring out the truth. Stay away from me until you do.” She flipped back around and stormed up the beach. Grabbing her backpack and flip-flops, she climbed the concrete stairs, still dripping.
Joshua watched her go. He had this crazy feeling that Jade Jardine could be the woman for him. The problem was that he’d had that feeling ten years before, and even now, he had a hard time trusting himself in a relationship. His youngest sister, Eve, had fancied herself in love as well. The man had taken her to Vegas, married her, and when he’d found out she had no access to her inheritance until she was twenty-five, he’d ditched her. Now she had an adorable three-year-old daughter and bigger trust issues than Joshua had.
If only Jade would talk to him, get to know him, instead of demanding that he believe her innocence. He had absolutely no clue what to believe.