Page 44 of What I Like About You

“Oh, fuck, he is perfect.”

“I told you he could charm the skin off a snake,” Zara said, laughing.

“Hey now!” Dalton exclaimed, pulling her into him so her side was flush with his chest. He planted a soft kiss on her temple, which was met with another set of giggles.

“It’s a compliment!” she said.

“I’m sure…”

“I said to tone down the cute!” Antwan repeated. “Now, I didn’t get into this water to watch you two make kissy faces. I assume there are actual turtles in Turtle Cove?”

“Yeah, follow me—we can hit up Drea’s secret spot,” Dalton answered.

“I’m pretty sure that is hottie boat captain’s job, but okay…” Antwan commented. Dalton couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at the innuendo. The more time he spent around this guy, the more he understood what had attracted Zara to him. He was glad she had someone like this in her life.

They swam a little ways over to the part of the reef where Drea always managed to see at least one of the gentle sea creatures the area was known for. Sure enough, a pair of large leatherback turtles swam up over the reef shortly after they arrived. Both Zara and Antwan were in awe as the large reptiles moved past them, close enough to touch yet completely unbothered by their presence.

The rest of their outing seemed to fly by. When he heard the whistle that they used to alert everyone it was time to return to the boat, he considered arguing with Kyle, even though he knew he’d never win. Pulling her up onto the boat from the ladder, he couldn’t resist giving her another brief kiss. This time, she didn’t seem to even be aware of the other guests around them, much less care if they were watching. Wrapping her in a towel, his heart skipped a beat realizing how natural this felt to him and just how easily he could get used to it.

Very, very easily.

* * *

As with everythingelse the Indigo Royal did, the picnic lunch provided for the excursion was simple, yet exquisite. Resembling the meal she and Dalton had shared on the beach last night, the spread was more than enough for the group on board, especially since Zara wasn’t entirely sure that CC actually ate real food. Grabbing a plate from the table, she noticed that the meatballs and crab cakes from last night had been replaced by what appeared to be a variety of finger sandwiches, but thankfully both the pot stickers and pinwheels were included.

“Those pinwheels are to die for!” Maeve said, grabbing a plate for herself.

“I know, I had some last night. Do you know exactly what’s inside them? Some kind of herb goat cheese?”

“Yup. It’s Miller’s homemade recipe, so no one knows exactly what all’s in it. But I could eat it by the pound!”

“I’d be in so much trouble if I worked here and had this kind of food all the time. I’ve struggled with being overweight my whole life,” Zara offered up. She still didn’t quite understand why, but she felt like she and Maeve had a bit of a connection. “Not that you have that problem.”

“Girl, please, I have the opposite problem. I’ve been underweight my whole life. Was teased endlessly about it as a kid. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Zara was taken aback by Maeve’s statement. She’d never considered that someone as stunning as the willowy brunette in front of her would have similar insecurities. But of course she did. Every woman hated something about herself, right? Zara had to fight back the urge to hug Maeve out of fear of seeming like a crazy lady.

“You? You were made fun of for being skinny?”

“Oh yeah. Don’t think you’re alone in that. I felt really alone for a long time and made some pretty bad life choices because of it. I’ll have to tell you sometime over drinks.”

“I’d like that,” Zara said, suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of connectedness with Maeve.

“Besides,” Maeve continued. “The resident resort hottie is currently looking at you like he wants to eat you like those pot stickers, so I’d say you have nothing to worry about.”

Zara looked over at Dalton, who was standing by the steps to the captain’s chair, talking with Drea and Kyle while he looped a rope around his palm and elbow. He might have been in conversation with them, but his focus was all on her. It sent a tingle through her as she realized that Maeve was right—he was looking at her like he wanted her to be his next meal. Better yet, the feeling was mutual.

“Like I said the other night, it’s complicated,” she told Maeve.

“Boys usually are,” she offered, which made them both burst into laughter.

Returning her gaze back over to Dalton, Zara watched as he excused himself from the conversation with his friends and made his way over to her and Maeve. As he reached them, Maeve simply gave her a knowing smile and waggle of her eyebrows and walked off, calling out to Antwan about wanting to hear the rest of some story he’d started earlier.

“Hey, you,” Dalton said, that megawatt smile taking up his entire face. Zara’s tummy did flip-flops thinking about how that smile was for her and her alone.

“Hi,” she returned, hoping her smile was having a similar effect on him.

“So, the next stop on this grand adventure is Trunk Bay Beach. Drea’s planning a tour of the ‘underwater trail,’ which is a series of underwater placards that you follow that talk about the corals and wildlife and all that.”