“We are not going up there,” Claire said as she tugged her friend’s arm. “We don’t even know who they are.”
“They can’t be too bad; they let us land on their island,” she said as she attempted to free herself.
“No,” Claire said and held her arm firmly. Her eyes involuntarily looked up, and she relaxed her hold on Amy.
“What?” She followed Claire’s line of sight.
On the balcony stood a man. He had golden hair and perfect skin that glistened in the sun. He gripped the railing with both hands, and she could make out his muscles against the black, tight shirt he wore. White shorts completed his outfit. He relaxed on the rails and looked around, and Claire found it utterly impossible to turn her eyes away. He caught sight of her, and she blushed as she grabbed Amy’s hand and hurried back to the beach.
CHAPTER 4
“What was that all about?” Amy asked as Claire tugged on her like a rag doll.
“Nothing. I just felt like I was intruding.” Her excuse didn’t even fool herself.
“Sure,” Amy said and folded her arms across her chest.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Claire said, blushing.
“I could see him just as easily as you,” Amy said, her eyes lighting up. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. He is hot!”
“Well, maybe you could go back and find out if he thinks the same about you, but I want nothing to do with men, no matter how hot they are,” Claire commented defensively.
“Oh, so you do admit he is hot, huh?” Amy said as she nudged her playfully on the shoulder.
“He is kinda cute, but that’s it,” Claire blushed and walked back to the plane. “Let’s go back and see if there have been any updates.”
The entire time it took them to get back to the plane, Amy messed with Claire, but she refused to entertain her.
“Why don’t you go after him? But then, that doesn’t make any sense. We are leaving by morning,” Claire said. She put her hands over her eyes as she squinted against the afternoon sun and looked further into the distance. “Do you see Mom?”
Amy also put a hand up to shield her eyes as they looked around, but there was no sign of Willow. “I thought she wanted to stay here.”
“That’s Mom for you. Changes her mind on a whim,” Claire responded. “Let’s look over there.”
Amy followed her to the other side of the aircraft, but Willow was nowhere to be found.
“Well, she couldn’t have gone far,” Amy commented. “It is a small island, after all.”
Claire was listening to her friend, but she had her eyes peeled for her mother. “I think that’s her,” she finally said. “But why is she that far away from…” Her words caught in her throat when she saw her mother was in the company of a man. She was laughing and blushing, and his hand was resting on her shoulder in a most comfortable way.
“Well, well, well,” Amy said. “Seems your mom has more nerve than you!”
“Shut up, Amy,” Claire said. “She didn’t just get jilted before her wedding. I’m out of here.”
“I’m sorry, Claire. That was insensitive of me. Wait for me.”
As Claire turned around to walk away from Amy, she noticed someone approaching them. The same man they had seen on the balcony.
“And the day keeps getting more and more interesting,” Amy murmured as she caught up to Claire and fluffed her brown hair. It caught on her shoulders and had a nice bounce to it, especially when she flicked her neck ever so lightly. Like she was doing now.
There was no denying the man was devastatingly handsome; his hands were still in his pockets, and as he neared them, she could make out eyes as blue as the ocean. When he was a few feet away, he smiled, boasting two rows of perfectly shaped teeth smack dab between two of the cutest dimples she had ever seen.
“Hi,” he said. His right hand left his pocket as he extended it to the girls.
Claire looked at it like it was a strange thing to do, but Amy quickly took it. “Amy,” she said as she batted her lashes at him.
“And you are?” he asked, looking at Claire.
“Do you personally meet and greet everyone who stops on your island?” Claire asked him.
“It’s the polite thing to do, wouldn’t you say?” he asked her as he held out his hand again. “I’ve already met almost everyone. My name’s Chance.”
“Claire,” she told him, taking his hand. She flinched like she had been burned by his touch and retracted her hand quickly. “So, do you live here?”
“Here and there,” he said casually, like it was a commonplace thing to do.
“Where’s there?” Amy asked him. “Where are we, by the way?”
“In the Caribbean, just below the Bahamas,” he told her. “Like I said, here and there.”
“It seems you have quite a few admirers,” Claire said, gesturing to the girls hanging further back, staring at him.