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Scarlett: She’s a grown woman. Maybe she’s met a gorgeous Italian and is too busy to text.
Knox: No.
Ivy: Ha. Just no. I hope she’s met two gorgeous Italian men and lost her phone.
Miles: Control your woman, Wilder.
Hunter: Miles, you might want to shut up.
Wilder: Do not tell me what to do with my woman. Ivy, don’t talk about our baby sister that way.
I’m laughing hysterically at the text thread, imagining the horror stories that my brothers have made up in their heads in the less than twenty-four hours I’ve gone without checking in. I’m sure Ivy and Scarlett are loving every second. I decide to let them know I’m alive, but not without giving them a little bit to obsess over.
Clara: I’m alive…but exhausted. Met a guy with a yacht and had a very full day. Love you all.
Miles: Exhausted?
Hunter: Guy?
Scarlett: Go, girl!
Ivy: Tell me everything – don’t spare a detail. Go to the secret place – Scarlett and I will be waiting.
Wilder: Secret place? What the fuck! Ivy, you’re not going anywhere. Clara, I’m glad you’re okay. Stay away from men with yachts.
Knox: Stay away from all men. You are a child.
Ivy: She’s my age.
I love my family. They are amazing, but a little crazy. I put the phone down on my nightstand. Wilder is probably interrogating Ivy about the secret place and I’m sure Knox is doing the same to Scarlett. There is no secret place. I have no idea what Ivy was talking about.
I will also need to apologize to my big brothers when I get back, but there is no way I’m staying away from all men, especially not the one with the yacht. That man I plan to spend the day with tomorrow…and maybe the night, too.
Chapter 6
Ethan
The next morning, I find myself right outside Clara’s door again. My palms sweat with anticipation. Last night didn’t end how I expected it to, but walking back to my boat last night I thought about what Clara said. I’m glad that she slowed things down. I wouldn’t regret anything that happened between us, but I don’t want to rush this. I want this to be forever, which is crazy after one day together, but I’ve never been more certain of something in my whole life.
I knock on her door and, once again, she answers instantly. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
“Good morning, handsome.”
This morning she’s dressed in a cute sundress over what I’m assuming is her bathing suit. Her hair is pulled back in a high ponytail and her face is free of makeup. She looks young and innocent. The thought that she’s too young for someone like me crosses my mind.
With a big bag in her hand, she closes the door. “I packed a book and some other things.” She looks at me sheepishly like she expects me to tell her not to bring anything with her.
“Angel, you could bring everything with you and stay on my boat if you wanted to.”
We have breakfast together in the hotel restaurant and Clara insists on paying. I let her, only because she smiles an incredibly sweet smile as she explains it will mess with her brothers to see breakfast for two when they do their check of her expenses. From what she’s told me, she absolutely adores her older brothers but also loves giving them hell for how overprotective they are of her.
I leave a very generous tip on the table as my contribution and we leave her hotel to walk to my boat.
“Are we staying in dock? Are you even able to take this thing out like a regular boat?” she asks once we are on board.
“Well, I have a smaller boat that we could take out if you want to go somewhere, or we can just stay here. There’s a pool if you want to swim or we can watch a movie. If you could do it at a hotel or at home, you can probably do it here.”
“Let’s go swimming,” she says while taking off her coverup. The bikini she’s wearing underneath should be illegal. I’m not even sure you can call it a swimsuit. It’s barely fabric.
