Page 44 of Special Delivery

She lets out a huff, not satisfied with my lack of an answer. “No one can know this happened. I’m serious.” She waves her finger at me.

“Who would I tell? Mom?”

She winces, her adorable button nose scrunching, and my lips pull into a full-on grin.

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” I pretend to lock my lips, and her gaze catches on the motion.

She closes her eyes for a second, but when she opens them, she’s ready for action. “Here’s the story: you helped me with the wound, and that’s it.”

“Pretty straightforward.”

She levels me with a glare, only making my grin widen. Her hand wraps around the doorknob, and she takes a deep, steeling breath before opening the door.

Out on the swim deck, the others are getting out of the ocean. Their faces sport marks from the masks and satisfied smiles. They haven’t even realized we were missing. Paige’s dad notices her first.

“Are you okay?” He takes her palm, studying the way it’s wrapped.

“Yeah, it was nothing. Ryan helped me clean and wrap it.” She glances at me for a brief moment, but Roger flashes a grateful smile.

“Thank you, son.”

The more I get to know him, the more I think he really is a good guy. He loves his daughters dearly, and he seems to love my mother, too. I respond with a polite nod, and a quiet giggle brings my gaze to my right. Two crew members are whispering and giggling while staring at me. Their faces turn serious, their postures straightening as soon as they see me looking at them, and I shake my head, suppressing a chuckle.

I guess our secret is out. Paige is chatting to her sister, oblivious to it, which is better. Good thing the sea life distracted our families.

When we get back to our villa, I return Parker’s call from earlier. He’d called immediately after I text to say I’ve finished the book, but I had no intention of talking about it on the boat with everyone else.

“So, what did you think?” he asks as soon as I pick up.

“You were right.”

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that? There must’ve been a roaming error, because I’m pretty sure you said I was right, and that can’t possibly be true.”

I roll my eyes, huffing a laugh. “Yeah, don’t get used to it. But the book’s great. The tension between them is palpable.”

“I know, right?” He sounds like he’s waited years to talk about this with me, and I kind of love it. “What did you think about the dirtier parts?” Of course that’s what he wants to hear about.

“They were definitely… something.” The amount and the level of sexual content came as a shock, but it’s not like I minded it.

“That’s what I was telling you about. And you can definitely pick up a trick or two. Not to generalize, but women love that shit.”

I got first-hand experience in how women love that shit, but I don’t plan to share that with him. The book gave me a few ideas that I’d love to try with Paige. I’m almost certain she’d love them, but I’m not so certain I’ll get that chance. She’s apprehensive and jittery. Like a cat that I brought in from the street.

A part of me wants to make her trust me, but another part realizes that I’m in no headspace for a relationship. My life is a mess. I live with my mom, work a part-time job, and my only current goal is to survive a day without a headache.

“By the way, Chrissy says you owe her a sleepover,” Parker says, reminding me that he’s still on the line. I was supposed to have Chrissy over for our monthly sleepover this week but had to cancel because of this trip.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to her.”

“That’s what I told her. Anyway, gotta run.”

“Yeah, me too. Say hi to her.”

The call clicks, and I drop onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. I always had a plan for my life. Finish college, find a good job, climb the corporate ladder. Get a promotion, a better salary, a bigger apartment. Paige was never part of the plan, but now she’s all I want.

What the hell am I doing?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE