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“What do I get for being good?”
“A pat on the head. Maybe some words of affirmation, like me calling you my good girl. Or my well-behaved . . .”
The rest of his sentence faded away. My good girl. She liked that term. Did he talk like that in bed? Was that what he would whisper to her when they—
Nope. Abort thought.
“Not good enough,” she said and jumped, plunging them both into the water. Really, it was for the best. The only way for her to wipe their last exchange from her memory was to throw herself under the cold surface.
“I should have seen that coming,” Daniel said, pushing his hair out of his face.
“You’re used to the water now, though, right?”
“I suppose I am. But I’m not taking that lying down.”
“Technically, you were standing until I knocked you over.”
He gave her a flat look.
Anxiety poked at her. Maybe she was taking it too far. Maybe she needed to tone it down and be normal for a second.
But then Daniel smiled. “You’ll regret this snark when I come up with a way to get you back.”
Her heart lifted. “I don’t get the vibe that you’re a vengeful man.”
“When it comes to how cold this water is? I very much am.”
She laughed, wondering what he could possibly come up with. She didn’t get long to ponder on it because she saw John walking to the beach.
He was dressed to the nines. He had a drink in his hand and a pink, flowy cover-up that didn’t do much covering up.
John always stood out in the small town. Most people here welcomed him with open arms.
“John!” Daniel called, his eyes on her brother. Amelia’s heart stuttered in her chest.
John came over, letting his designer sunglasses slide down his nose.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Your tag is showing. You might want to tuck it in.”
“Oh.” John reached behind him for the offending item. “You’re a lifesaver. There’s a bartender here I want to impress and he would definitely have seen that.”
“Happy to help,” Daniel replied.
John winked at him before waltzing to the nearby bar.
Amelia let out a sigh of relief.
“You okay?” Daniel asked.
“Me? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just, you know, my family is . . . not everyone’s cup of tea.”
“They’re great people,” he said. “Real people. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I agree. It’s just . . . my ex didn’t.”
“The infamous ex?”
