This was a bit of awkwardness neither of us had expected. So why was I so happy? Especially when he seemed eager to get away?
"Absolutely not. No staying. You'll just have to swim for it." I grinned. It was either that or smile outright and give my secret pleasure away. How was it possible to be peeved, insulted, and happy at the same time?
He looked sheepish. But maybe a bit happy, too? "I'll try to keep out of your way."
"Don't mind that. I've always wanted a houseboy. As long as you pull your weight around here and earn your keep." I shrugged, still grinning. "I might even share my food with you."
He grinned back, showing off those dimples. "Depends on what you mean by earning my keep." There was just enough innuendo in his voice to make my toes curl. And since I was barefoot, it was pretty obvious.
I put a burrito on a plate and handed it to him. "Do you want to eat inside or out?"
"Out. It's gorgeous out today. And the good news is, the second floor looks okay—as much as I could see from the deck, anyway. I'll go up and check it after we eat."
I followed him onto the deck. He righted a table and two chairs. We sat next to each other looking across the table to the private island beyond.
"How did the chairs and deck furniture manage not to blow or wash away? While our boat is gone with the wind. And it was supposedly protected in the boathouse."
He picked up on my sense of wonder. "The mysteries of cyclones."
"Yeah. The boat's probably in Oz by now."
He nodded, almost dreamily, as if he was longing for that boat. "Look."
At the sight of his wistful expression, my inkling of peevishness and insecurity resurfaced. He was so damn eager to leave. It was insulting. And yet…
He turned to me and must have caught my expression. "I'm really sorry. I need to get back to Suva. If there was a way to get out of here and leave you to your vacation, I would."
I pursed my lips. Clearly, he was missing the real reason I was upset in the slightest. And making it worse. If he wanted to leave so damn badly…
"Can't you take the fish?" I squinted in the sun, making a note to dig out my sunglasses as I offered him my terminal helpfulness.
"What?" He looked genuinely puzzled.
"The barracuda in the boathouse. It looks seaworthy." Not. It looked bay-worthy, maybe. Lake-worthy, possibly. But not open ocean material in the slightest.
"You mean the amphibious vehicle?" He shook his head. "That's just a shore toy. It doesn't have the range."
"There's always the rowboat. I'll pack you a lunch." I flashed him a wily smile.
"Surely you jest." He grinned with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I’m serious. And don’t call me Shirley." Old joke, but hey. "Just offering you the complete Life of Pi adventure package."
I paused and leaned dramatically toward him. "For the record, I think you can make it. But in case you don't, would you mind signing an ironclad statement offering Flash an exclusive Hott event in your last will and testament?" I smiled sweetly. "I'm sure one of your last wishes would be wanting to pay me back for the hospitality of lending you the row boat."
"That leads to my death? I think my last wish would be more along the lines of wanting to kill you."
"Vicious. And vengeful."
He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Nice try. You're stuck with me for another day. So. What were you planning to do on your vacation?"
"Read. Do my nails." I shrugged. "Sunbathe topless."
His eyes lit up. "I like topless sunbathing. Don't let me stop you. I'll just stay out of the way and watch."
I shook my head, but I couldn't help smiling. "This is awkward now, isn't it? We weren't supposed to live through the night," I joked. "No messy morning-after goodbyes. That was the beauty of last night. At the very least you were supposed to roar out of here on your mighty speedboat."
"Yeah," he said. "The best-laid impromptu plans. And I rescheduled my date for tonight. She's not going to be happy when I postpone again."
I laughed to cover the swell of jealousy rising in me. He was still going on that date? After what we had last night? "You're a rich guy. She'll wait."
Although there was a lot of truth to my statement, I was just joking. But he seemed to take offense.
"You think women are after me just for my money?" He did that peacock preen again.
"You're twisting my words." I sighed. "I only meant to imply your money makes women more tolerant and willing to wait than they might ordinarily be. You inferred the rest yourself."
"Hmmmmm." It was almost a grunt.
We fell into awkward silence again.
He looked toward the island, squinting against the brightness of the sparkling water. "I should go to the island today after I check the roof and make sure everything's okay there, too." He slid a glance in my direction. "You could come with me." It was not quite a question, but enough to leave it open to interpretation.
Damn the parsing we do early in relationships.