Ex on the Beach (23 page)
She wore a proper look of being caught red-handed. “I’m sorry, Mom. I just—”
“You liked it,” her mother finished for her. “It always intrigued you. Called to you.”
“I can return it.”
“No. It’s yours.” Her mother put her fingers to her lips and blew her a kiss. “It always belonged more with you than with me.”
The door closed between them and Andie stood there staring, wondering what in the world the entire night had been about.
She definitely had to talk to Ginny.
T
he forty-three-foot fishing boat slapped through the choppy waters, causing Mark to breathe in deep through his nose for another gulp of fresh air. He wasn’t normally prone to seasickness, but after the last couple hours of the constant up and down, he was beginning to worry he wasn’t immune, either.
Eyeing the rest of the men in the boat’s cabin added no reassurance that he wouldn’t succumb. All of them, with the exception of Rob, were some varying shade of green. Rob looked his usual self, and was busy regaling the group with stories from his and Penelope’s fishing trip in Canada earlier in the spring. Rob had gone out with a group of locals for some ice fishing.
Mark loosened his fingers around the bar above his head and then closed them more securely, getting a firmer grip on the metal. He stood just outside the cabin, leaning back against the bait well they’d loaded up before daylight as they’d headed out for their all-day excursion.
The charter was owned by the same company that owned the ferries, all a part of Andie’s friend Ginger’s business. But what had shocked him wasn’t seeing Andie board with them that morning but watching Ginger take the captain’s seat.
It had to be rough on the green crowd inside to watch the two women at the helm, seemingly suffering no ill effects, and to know that the women were “tougher” than the men.
To Mark it was pretty hot, actually.
As was Andie, in general.
Mark shifted his gaze to watch her where she stood next to Ginger, her back to the front window and facing the crowd of men. She wore pressed capris in a light olive-green color and a simple white button-down shirt. She looked utilitarian yet comfortable. But the way she had her hair tied back in two low ponytails, each twisted off with a long orange ribbon, reminded him that she had that slight edge about her. She was cute yet professional. Fun. Her casual flair made him wonder what kind of underwear she wore beneath.
He’d tried to catch her alone that morning, but she’d avoided him at every turn.
But he had caught her looking more than once.
Each time her gaze found him had been like a lit match touching his skin. A sharp jab with a hot poker, then the shock of a live wire streaking through his veins. Her looks had been a mix of frustration — he assumed over the conversation he would have with Rob that day; along with undercover glances at his body — likely her remembering their activities of the afternoon before.
It wasn’t as if he’d be forgetting those activities anytime soon himself.
Or knew what to do about them.
They’d had sex. Unbelievably good sex. She’d told him they shouldn’t do it again. She’d turned down his offer to stay on longer and continue. And then he’d realized he was far more of an idiot than he’d ever given himself credit for.
He craved her.
He wore the desperate need to be close to her, to talk to her, and to be inside her. He wanted everything.
And yet she wanted to send him on his way.
This whole trip had backfired in a fashion he couldn’t have imagined.
Rob finally seemed to catch on that no one cared to hear his stories, and he fell silent. Irritation began at the base of Mark’s spine. He knew he had to tell Rob what was going on right under his nose, but his doing so would put Mark on a plane out of there. And he wasn’t yet ready to go.
“Rough trip.” Gray slipped from the cabin and settled in beside Mark, looking pale but not necessarily green. “She doesn’t get this boat to where we’re going soon, I fear the inside of that cabin is about to smell very bad very soon.”
Mark chuckled. “That’s the truth.” He nodded toward Max, the boy he and Andie had played charades with a couple nights ago. “Kid’s been holding on to his breakfast, but it can’t be for much longer.”
Gray’s lip curled at the suggestion, then his skin lost more color as the boat hit yet another wave. This one seemed to suspend the front of the vessel in the air for several seconds before it came down, pitching to one side. A groan rose from inside the cabin, and Mark clenched his teeth as he sucked in a long breath. The boat righted itself and kept chugging right along through the water.
“Shopping with the girls is beginning to sound better than this crap,” Gray muttered.
Mark would have laughed if he hadn’t been focusing so hard on breathing. He even had his eyes closed. “You mean shopping or sniffing around Roni?” The other half of the wedding party was on dry land today. “And does the decision really have anything to do with the stomach-clenching ride of this trip?”
He’d watched Gray head up to Gin’s during their volleyball game Thursday afternoon, and was aware his friend had not joined their dinner party that same evening. He’d also bailed on the parasailing yesterday.
At Mark’s question, a half smile settled on Gray’s face.
“Nothing wrong with shopping is all I’m saying.”
Mark glanced back at Andie and caught her watching him. His pulse sped up.
“So you and Roni?” Mark asked. “You talked her into it, then?”
Gray lifted one shoulder. “Wasn’t much talking to be done. The girl’s fun. She was looking for some fun. I happened to be the lucky bastard to give it to her.”
Laugher burst from Mark at the smug look on Gray’s face. Gray wasn’t a jerk with the ladies. Far from it. But he
was
known for having a good time. Anywhere he went.
“Someday, McTavish. Someone’s going to catch you and put a stop to your ways.”
“Yeah?” The boat suddenly slowed, and the rocking motions ceased. Mark lost his balance for a second before he righted his footing and stood at last without a death grip on the overhead bar. “Like Andie has caught you?” Gray asked.
The words caught Mark off guard, and he scowled. “She hasn’t caught me.”
“You haven’t quit looking at her all morning.”
“She’s hot. It’s either puke my guts up or focus on something that keeps my attention elsewhere.”
“The blonde is cute, too.”
Mark lifted an eyebrow. Yeah, Ginger was cute, too. But she wasn’t Andie.
“But she’s not the one who spent the night in your bed last night, is she?”
Mark jerked his gaze from where it had eased down to Andie’s thighs — remembering them squeezed around him — and squared off with Gray. “No one spent the night with me last night, asshole.”
“Ah.” Gray clapped him on the shoulder. “That must be why the frown today.” He chuckled and headed up one side of the boat, tossing a wave back over his shoulder. “Better luck next time.”
Annoyance fizzed inside Mark. He’d wanted Andie in his bed last night.
The boat stopped, and the men in the cabin started to move, coming out for fresh air. Poor Max — as well as his father — ran to a railing and leaned over, retching. Mark grimaced at the noises. Looked like quite the bonding experience for father and son.
As Ginger finished up whatever she was doing at the helm, Mark was surprised to see Andie heading through the cabin. This was the first time she hadn’t been glued to Ginger’s side all morning.
He wanted to ask how it had gone with her mother yesterday. And why she hadn’t come to him last night to talk about it.
She could have knocked on his door. He would have helped.
But she hadn’t. And he hadn’t gone over to her when she’d slipped quietly into her room, either.
She stepped out of the cabin and lifted her face to the sun, her nostrils flaring and her chest rising as she took in deep gulps of air. Her eyes were closed as she stood there, and as he watched, she slid one hand low over her stomach. The movement made him realize that the rolling waves had gotten to her after all. Yet she’d hidden her discomfort well. But then, she was good at keeping things close to the heart when she didn’t want to share.
He suddenly wanted to push at her. Poke at her until she cracked. It annoyed the hell out of him the way he was so churned up over what had happened between them, and yet she seemed perfectly neutral.
She’d rocked his world yesterday afternoon!
Had that done nothing for her?
When she turned and went around the side of the boat, heading to the front, he followed. Most everyone else remained at the back, hanging out near the sides in case they needed to go the way of Max and his dad. Ginger had yet to come outside to issue instructions. This left Andie and him more or less alone.
“Andie.” He spoke softly when she reached the bow of the boat and was surprised when she jerked around quickly, as if she hadn’t known he was there. Her attention seemed to be a million miles away.
“What?” she asked.
He caught a wary look in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” He hadn’t followed her to ask that question, but she looked so lost standing there by herself.
“Sure.” She nodded. “Just needed some air. And wanted to be away from everyone for a bit.”
She glanced back at the crowd, then plopped down on the wide bench seat that backed up to the front windows of the cabin. With a long sigh, she stretched out her legs in front of her, leaned her head back against the window, and closed her eyes. She looked exhausted.
“What’s going on?” He lowered himself to the space on the bench beside her, half expecting her to pull away, but she didn’t so much as move.
“I’m just tired. I had a long night.”
“And that’s all?”
She peeked at him from under her lids. “What else do you think it is?”
There were so many things. He lifted his brows to make a point. “Your mother did something to upset you? You’re about to toss your cookies like everyone else?” The “toss your cookies” line brought a tiny smile to her lips, which made him lean in slightly. “Us?”
He spoke the last word softly, and her eyes drifted shut instead of giving him an answer.
“I heard you at my door last night, Andie.”
Andie went immobile at Mark’s words.
What was she supposed to say to that? That she’d wanted to knock, had wanted him to hold her, all because her mother was hurting? Because
she
was hurting? Because she wanted a relationship with her mother but wasn’t sure she wouldn’t mess it up before it even got off the ground?
Or maybe she should just blurt out that she’d wanted to knock on his door and then crawl into his bed.
And not to sleep.
“I wasn’t at your door,” she lied. She kept her eyes tightly closed, unwilling to look at him. Of course he knew she was lying. He wouldn’t have brought it up if he hadn’t heard her out there. “Plus, you left out one thing that I might be upset about.”
Her tone was mulish, but she didn’t care. She was exhausted from tossing and turning all night. And though it was the last thing she wanted to admit, she was sexually frustrated.
She’d spent the morning watching Mark, thinking about yesterday afternoon, and knowing that he’d been thinking about the same. She’d seen it every time he’d looked at her.
Which had been pure torture for her libido.
The two of them weren’t even going to be friends. Merely acquaintances. Her girl parts needed to get on board with that!
Mark remained silent for so long that she almost gave in and opened her eyes, but finally his low voice touched her, caressing her almost as if he’d stroked the palm of his hand slowly down over her body. “What else are you upset about, sunshine?”
She curled her fingers into her palms and forced her eyes open, focusing on the horizon and thinking about the glorious colors of the sunrise they’d witnessed earlier that morning. It had felt as if they were driving right into it.
She did not think about how nice it was to have Mark there beside her as if he cared. Or how much she loved the sound of his voice when he spoke so gently to her.
“Rob,” she uttered. “You’re going to talk to Rob today.” Mark was going to upend her life, and she had to be prepared for the upheaval.
“I am,” he agreed.
“And I have to stop it.”
“You can’t stop it, Andie. I’m going to talk to him.”
She glanced over at him then. Bluish-green eyes stared solemnly back at her, a day’s worth of whiskers making him look rough. It fit with the out-to-sea fisherman look he had going. “Not you,” she said. “I’m not going to stop you. I’m going to change Rob’s mind after you talk to him.”
“Ah.” He nodded as if something finally made sense. “So that’s why you’re here today.”
“Instead of shopping with the girls?” She smirked. “Yeah. That’s why I’m here today. On zero sleep. Because I’ve got to do everything I can to save my business.”
“Why didn’t you get any sleep?”
Her gaze widened for a second. Oh, crap. She hadn’t meant to say that.
“Why didn’t you knock on my door last night, Andie?” He zoomed in on the crux of the situation.
