Page 23 of Enticing Her Love

“Ha ha. Just so you know, if anything creepy gets in, I’m hiding behind you.”

“Damn, and here I was thinking you’d sacrifice yourself for me.” He went up on his elbow, gazing down at her. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he tried to distract her from her worries. “Tell me more about your family.”

“They’re nothing like yours. Growing up, we lived a pretty simple life on the island, and while there were life lessons and the rest, the only thing my grandparents taught me was how to make wine and sunbathe in my bra.”

“That’s a great combination. I bet the guys you grew up with loved it, but why bother with a bra?”

“Are you kidding? I’d’ve been the talk of the island if I went topless.”

“I meant, why not wear a bikini top?”

“Oh. Well, when I went to the beach I did, but sunbathing with the Bra Brigade is a tradition.”

“You just keep getting more interesting, Steele. What’s the Bra Brigade?”

“It’s a group my grandmother started with her girlfriends when they were growing up. They’ve been sneaking away to remote places on the island to sunbathe in their bras since they were teenagers. Over the years they recruited their daughters and daughters-in-law and granddaughters and friends.”

“So this Bra Brigade is a big deal?”

“Kind of.”

“I’m picturing a line of women marching down the sidewalk like ducks in a row, with towels over their shoulders and beach bags—”

“We’re not an army. Did you not hear the part about sneaking away? We don’t want people to see us. It’s like a secret club. We go out to the cliffs or to one of the private coves.”

“A secret club sounds much cooler than marching ducks. You know all the thirteen-year-old boys are armed with binoculars just waiting for the Bra Brigade to pick a spot. They probably stake out street corners and sit in windows with walkie-talkies. As soon as they see movement, they’re like, I’ve got a visual and ten-four on the cliffs.”

She laughed. “Is that what you were like as a kid? A spy?”

“Isn’t every young boy? Look at the payoff. Not only would I see you and probably all your friends in your bras, but I’d also see older women.”

“Were you seriously into older women at thirteen?”

“I was into boobs, and they had some nice ones.”

They both laughed. Something rustled outside the tent, and Sutton gasped. “What’s that?” She shifted closer to him.

“Nothing you have to worry about. Tell me more.” He didn’t want her to be scared all night, and whatever was making the noise was retreating from the tent. “I can’t imagine Archer is cool with the idea of you prancing around in your bra. You make him sound like he’ll kill anyone who comes near you.”

“Not just me. My sisters, too, and don’t mess with my mom or my grandmother, because he has zero patience for that.”

“Who would mess with your mom or grandmother?”

“Nobody smart. My mom is a big, beautiful woman. She’d give a stranger the shirt off her back—”

“And ask them to join the Bra Brigade?”

“Probably, or at least feed them dinner and get to know every little thing about them. But because she’s big, sometimes people who don’t know her can be assholes and make comments.”

The sadness in her voice tugged at him. “That sucks. I’m sorry she has to deal with that.”

“Me too. She’s so confident and loving, and she really is beautiful inside and out. People on the island adore her, but we get a lot of tourists, and sometimes kids are mean. I remember one time when we were young, my family was barbecuing on the beach with our close friends the Silvers and the Remingtons—”

“The Silvers of Silver Island?”

“Yeah. Their family is a big deal. Their ancestors founded the island, and they own the Silver House, a fancy resort on the island. But they’re really down-to-earth, good people. Alexander Silver and Roddy Remington are the reason my parents met and fell in love. My dad isn’t from the island. He met them when he was in college, and the summer after their freshman year, they invited him to come back to the island with them. He came for the summer and met my mom. She was sixteen, but that’s a story for another time.” She laughed softly.

He looked forward to hearing it.