Page 22 of Maneater

“We saw a baby! We chased it over here to try and see if we could take a picture of it,” I lie excitedly. Rory nods beside me, mimicking my excitement. Being undercover with someone is a lot like improv: you just sayyes. That’s why having a partner you click with is so important. If you don’t get along well, there’s a good shot someone will slip up. They have to be able to trust that you either have a plan or know how to talk yourself out of things, or else things will start to fall apart.

“A baby?”

His eyes go wide with panic and shock, and I nod, playing into it.

“Yeah, it was super cute.”

“I’m sorry, you saw a baby walking or, possibly, crawling over here, and you guys decided to chase it? And were you too slow to catch it? Ababy?”

My brow furrows for a moment as if I don’t understand. Ofcourse, I do, but confusing him like this and getting his emotions all jumbled makes it more likely he’ll forget why he was so annoyed that he caught us back here sneaking in the first place.

“Oh, it was a turtle,” I say with a wave of my hands and a laugh as if that were a common mistake. “A babyturtle.” His shoulders loosen, and for a split second, I feel a trickle of guilt for making him worried. The man is clearly stressed out, and I just nearly gave him a heart attack.

I bet I could help with that stress problem,the little voice in my head that runs on lust and lust alone and has been thirsty since our unfinished moment in the bar says. I lock her back in her box.

“Well, you can’t go there. The entire beach is blocked off.”

I look around with wide eyes and put a hand to my chest.

“Oh my goodness, we’re so stupid.” I look over at Rory, who has a similar, dopey, embarrassed look on her face. “I’m so sorry. I got excited.”

“Well, now that you know, let’s get out.”

Rory gives me a silent, subtle nod, telling me we already have what we need, which is good since I can almost guarantee security on this spot will be increased as soon as we head out.

“Lead the way, my man,” I say, and then we follow Rowan in the direction we came. “It’s so wild you’re here. Rory, this is Rowan. Remember I told you about him? He works here.”

“Oh, wow, small world,” Rory says as if she hadn’t already put that together, and I nod in agreement.

Rowan holds up the caution tape for us, and he glares at me as I duck under his arm. I give him a guilty smile as we step off the beach and onto a patio.

“You know, I have a spa appointment in,” Rory says, turning to Rowan and looking at her watch. “Thirty minutes. Maybe since you already know each other, you could show Josie around the resort? We just got here, and she’s absolutely terrible with directions.”

“I don’t know—” I start, but Rory’s look and accompanying firm words stop me.

“You totally should. It’s good to have a friend here. Someone who knows the place well.” It clicks then: Rowan could be our first in and possibly the most valuable one, especially if he works in the corporate side of things, which is what my gut is telling me.

“You know, that’s actually a really good idea,” I say, turning to Rowan and smiling. “I can’t read a map to save my life, and you seem to know this place well. What do you do here again?” I ask, despite knowing he never told me.

“No,” he says, quick and easy, without even bothering to answer my question. I fight the urge to flinch, not because I’m hurt or disappointed, but because that doesn’t happen.

I don’t get turned down.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m not showing you around,” he says, and my eyes narrow on him, and I put my hands to my hips, suddenly annoyed.

“Why not?”

“Because I have better things to do.”

Then, I blink at him and tip my head to the side.

“You’re kind of an ass,” I say without meaning to, but it seems to be the right thing to say regardless because, for the first time since he caught us, a smile spreads on his lips.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Oh, there is no world where that should be hot. Not even the tiniest bit.