Page 28 of Acadia Falls

“I’ll see if my guy can make you a detox supplement. You probably need it after living in the city for so long.” Jack grimaced.

“You’re different than I thought,” I blurted.

“Oh yeah?” He speared another beet. “You take me for a city boy?”

“Definitely not.” I studied him. “I guess I just didn’t think you’d…” Eat roasted beets? Take supplements? Have opinions?

“You thought I was a hick,” he said matter-of-factly. “Which I am. No shame in it.”

“You’re not a hick.”

He leaned closer, killing me with that smile. His teeth were perfectly straight and white, the kind of perfection you couldn’t buy. Jack radiated good health. Must’ve been all that fresh, clean Maine air.

“Maybe the big-city lawyer needs a little bit of hick in her life, huh? If you got a job at one of the big-five firms, you must’ve been working your behind off in law school. Maybe you need some more fun.” He grinned. “And detox supplements.”

“I’ll try the supplement.” I shrugged. “I’m telling you that I’m healthy, though. I take care of myself.”

“Oh, I do not doubt that. But let’s make a bet. After one month on the island, I bet you a hundred dollars that you feel one hundred percent better.”

“A hundred for a hundred, huh?”

“Yep.” Jack smiled. “You’ll get the crap out of your lungs that you don’t even know is there, you’ll see a difference in your already amazing complexion, and you’ll notice that the whites of your eyes are even whiter.”

“No way.”

“Way.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Are you in?”

“I already feel great—and healthy—but sure, I’m in. What’ve I got to lose?”

His smile widened. “A hundred bucks.”

The Dockburgers were delicious. Jack paid the bill and left a super-generous tip, which impressed me further. We strolled down the dock, the sun dappling the crystal-clear blue-green water, and my heart lifted. Maybe the whites of my eyes would get brighter. Perhaps I’d cough up some of the NYC crap from my lungs. Possibly my complexion would be dynamite without a facial.

“You want to go for a ride on my boat?” Jack asked.

I bit my lip. Of course, I wanted to ride on his boat, but I should get back to my con law outline. “Sure. But I have to study more, so I can’t go for long. Okay?”

“Okay, Blondie.” He winked. “I mean, Maran.”

We headed to the dock and climbed into his boat, the Rose. “This isn’t the boat you fish in, right?”

“Nah, that thing’s a beast. This is what we use for getting around.” He started the motor and drove out into the bay.

I peered down into the water, seeing a large jellyfish pulse by. “I can’t believe how clear the ocean is up here.”

Jack laughed. “Of course you can’t! The last time you saw the ocean was at Coney Island, and it’s contaminated.”

“Ugh, I don’t go to Coney Island—give me some credit.” I’d been once. Every inch of the beach had been occupied, wall-to-wall, with sweaty bodies. The water had smelled utterly foul.

“Nah, I guess you’re more of a Hamptons girl.”

I shrugged. “Alex has a house there.”

“’Course she does.”

The wind blew his hair back from his face, and I confronted how truly handsome he was. He had a few lines around his eyes, which were pale, unlike the rest of his sun-kissed skin. I stared, mesmerized, at his beard. How could there be so many colors? I longed to reach out and touch it—to touch him—but we were in the awkward position of having done things ass-backward. We’d had sex multiple times, but this was our first date—if that’s even what it was.

It was odd being so intimate with someone and having no idea who they were. Or where you stood with them. Or that they ate beets.