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I rolled my eyes at Lincoln. He wasn’t going to hurt me, just annoy the hell out of me. “Yes, my boyfriend is just an idiot!” I shouted back at the gentleman.
Lincoln surfaced, his arms at the edge of the raft, holding on. I couldn’t see the bottom of the river.
Was it deep?
“Boyfriend, huh?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I figured if I called you the guy I regrettably slept with, he might phone the cops. Do you want to climb on?” He’d probably do it without my permission, seeing as how he chased me downstream.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Lincoln said. He hoisted himself onto the raft.
The boat swayed.
My eyes widened, and I pushed myself to the opposite side to keep the raft from tipping. “Careful!” I warned.
“Funny, I should be telling you that. No helmet. No life vest. And one paddle.”
He knew just what to say, to get under my skin.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting company.”
“There’s another rental unit a few miles downstream. We can grab the rest of the necessary gear as long as we’re going rafting.” Lincoln gestured at the paddle. “It’s all yours.”
“Gee, thanks. You’re quite the gentleman, aren’t you?” I mocked while attempting to paddle.
I couldn’t reach both sides from where I sat.
We needed another paddle.
Lincoln grinned the entire time, pleased with the predicament.
I wanted to hate him, but that huge grin and his carefree attitude just made me almost relax.
“Are you having fun?” I still gave him hell. It was the least I could do considering what he put me through, not telling me the truth.
Had he ever intended on mentioning to me that he worked security for the production?
Did he think I wouldn’t notice?
“I am, but I think it would be helpful if we carefully changed positions. I’ll ride your back, and you take the lead.”
I raised an eyebrow at his suggestion.
“The longer you stare at me with that come hither look, the longer we’ll be sitting on the river barely moving.”
“It’s not a come-hither look,” I retorted.
We hadn’t hit rapids yet, and I couldn’t even see or hear them in the distance.
Slow and careful, we switched positions as I scooted around to the front center, and Lincoln sat behind me. “Of course, it’s not,” Lincoln said with a sly grin.
Thankfully, I was seated in front. At least he couldn’t see the expression on my face.
We sat in silence for several minutes as I paddled from one side to the other, keeping us moving downstream in mostly the center. I avoided the rocks to the right and the tree root to the left of the riverbank.
The raft shifted slightly, and Lincoln’s warm hands brushed the hair to the side of my neck.
With one hand, I gripped the raft and the other the handle of the paddle. “What are you doing?” I squeaked.