Page 23 of Fighting With Light

I scoff. “How is that any better?”

“It’s not. I…don’t know this feels different. I have to trust you and I’m not good at that. And I didn’t miss the fact you left your phone here when you left to change clothes. You’ll have to give me a second to, uh, adjust.”

I rub my fingers over my top lip, trying to hide my smile. “You don’t have a lot of girls that are friends, do you?”

He shrugs and takes a sip of coffee. “No, not really. Maybe the women surfers, but it’s not like we hang out much.”

I drop my chin on my knuckles and stare at him. “Do I make you nervous?”

“No,” he says, too fast for it to be the truth.

An idea springs into my head and I immediately know it’s a terrible. The tension, the attraction, the heady chemistry is unequivocal between us. I was ready to explore it last night and snap that thread. Liam had other ideas, but I can forgive if he can forget.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks.

“I’m thinking about how all of this is going to work.”

“If your dad watches you like you said he does, then we will have to be careful. Competitions can be five to ten days. Reporters are there, so you might be photographed, too.”

“I assumed as much. Ten days is a long time.”

“Well, we’re working with weather and the surf isn’t always conducive to competition, so then it has to be postponed,” he explains.

“I see, and where are you off to after we leave Bali?” I ask.

“Peniche, Portugal.”

I smile because if I wasn’t sure if this could work, I am now. “You’re in luck, Tarzan. Where do you think my father gets his guns?”

His eyes widen. “It’s kismet.” He pauses. “But I don’t think that was what you were going to say.”

I shift in my seat, nervous to suggest this. It’s not like I’ve done it before. It’s a bad idea…I shouldn’t. “So, when do you want to take notes or whatever you do with the computer?” I ask him, trying to steer the conversation away from what I originally had in mind.There are a lot of crazy things you’ve done, Aelia. I think this one could be the most destructive.

He looks out at the ocean and the large waves rising. “I was hoping to get out on the water for a bit. But this is more important. We can start now.”

“No, please, we have a few days. Plus, don’t you have more rock climbing excursions to lead?” He takes a drink of water. “Nope, my last excursion was with you. I wanted to take my last days here to get my head right for competition, but then…”

“I happened,” I finish for him.

He takes a long sip of water. “Yeah, you happened,” he says, looking me up and down. His hazel eyes drag over my body and it feels like a feather-light touch. I want more, but that’s a bad idea, right? You can’t mix business with pleasure. It will only end in heartbreak because even if I wanted him temporarily, I couldn’t have him. Our fathers may be partners, but we are on opposite sides. He’s good, I’m bad, that simple.

“You should uh—” I cough, trying to clear my throat of the tension. ”—catch some waves. I’ve got no place to be.” I want to slap myself in the face. I never stumble with my words.

“You sure?”

I nod because I can’t speak.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll just be out for a couple of hours,” he says.

“I’ll just lay out on the beach or at the pool.”

“I mean, you can come with me. We might as well get to know each other if we’re going to work together.” His hand runs through his hair. “If you want, of course.” I bite my lower lip and take a deep gulp of water.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Why am I so damn nervous around him?Aelia, he tied you up and drugged you—be furious and reluctant. No. But this is insane, you are insane. Tell me something I don’t know.

Liam stands and gathers our plates, sets them back on the cart, and rolls it out to the front of his villa. A few minutes later, he loses his shirt and grabs his board, leaning against the wall of the villa. “Bring some water. It’s hot outside,” he says.

“Yeah okay.”