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“Yeah, you know it, don’t you? Anyway, Jack is handsome. I will admit that.”
I yank off another leaf and toss it out toward the lagoon. The parrot pecks at it, and the turtle’s strong, steady jaws pull it in at the same time.
I lean back against the shed and sigh. “This vacation is a disaster. What am I going to do?”
Chapter 11
Jack
She wanted to get away from me.
She walked out of the restaurant without even looking back.
Ophelia tugs at my hand. “Uncle Jack, they are soooo cool. They can hold their breath underwater for hours, the nice guy said. Maybe he’ll be there.”
“He knows everything about green sea turtles,” Jasmine adds, turning over her shoulder to look back at us.
Ophelia nods happily. “He is like the smartest person I’ve ever met. He knows everything.”
“Wow… everything,” I say. “That’s a lot of stuff to know. Cool.”
Hazel doesn’t care that we kissed.
It meant nothing to her.
If she cared, she would’ve brought it up.
Instead, she talked about work.
The walkway curves. Up ahead, I see the cloudy, dark waters of the resort’s saltwater lagoon. The seaweed and algae in the water give it a viscous, forest-green appearance.
Somewhere in the distance, a parrot squawks. “Jack is handsome. Squawk.”
Ophelia giggles. “Did a birdy just say you’re handsome?”
“Nah. It did sound like it, though.”
She giggles, then breaks away from me and scampers to catch up with her sister. I shove my hands deep into the packets of my khaki shorts.
Maybe Hazel Thorpe hates me.
Maybe last night was no big deal to her, and she can’t wait ‘til this week is over so she can put it all behind her.
Put me behind her.
I thought we had chemistry, but what do I know?
I got the situation with Jess all wrong.
I’m probably reading Hazel wrong, too.
When I catch up to my nieces, they’re leaning way over the wooden railing. Ophelia’s feet rise off the walkway as she swings forward.
“Yo! Lia, careful, or you’re gonna be swimming,” I say.
Even as I talk, my mind’s still on Hazel. She didn’t even look back.
And why does that even bother me?
