Page 31 of The Elusive Billionaire

He shrugs, his face hidden behind his giant beard, but I get the impression he’s smiling.

“We brought you some supplies.” He lifts a large Styrofoam cooler and places it in the water. He’s attached a rope to it, which Clover hangs on to while he gently pushes it toward us. Then he puts a smaller one in, attaches it to the same rope, and nudges it toward us.

“What’s this?” Savvy asks. She’s way too excited about these packages.

“Some fresh fruit, a couple of sandwiches, and alcohol.” Clover laughs. “Braxton’s still worried about you killing each other. He figured if you were tipsy, you’d have a better chance of survival.”

“How did you even get through the downed trees?” I ask, hip-checking Savvy out of the way and wading into the murky water to reach the delivery.

“Not my first rodeo, son. I’ve been through worse.” Something tells me my friend Moose has a life story that would make Hollywood froth at the mouth.

“How long until the water drains?”

“No tellin’. My guess is a couple of days, but the mud and sediment it’ll leave behind will be the real issue.”

“Great.” My eyes narrow in on his canoe. “Wait. Take Savannah with you.”

Clover bites her bottom lip and stares at the murky water as if she’s searching for a mermaid. Knowing her, she probably is.

“No room,” Moose says, even though he just emptied two coolers from it. “No offense, Sav, but we’re close to weight capacity with the two of us in here.”

My bedmate shrugs as if she expected that answer.

“Well, can you drop Clover off and then come back for her?”

“Jesus, Grey. Your desperation to get rid of me is charming.” Her eyes sparkle with mirth, and I’m right back to my mental hate list.

I hate that even when she’s aggravating, she’s beautiful.

Hauling one of the coolers to dry land, I lower my voice so only she can hear. “Charming has never been an aspiration of mine. But getting rid of you? It’s in my prayers every thirty seconds.”

Her lashes flutter, and she swallows hard.

And now I feel like an asshole. This is why I put space between us. I can’t trust her anymore, and apparently, I can’t trust myself to be a goddamn adult in her presence either.

“Can you do that, Moose?” she asks, but her glare never wavers from mine.

“Either of you ever been in a canoe before?” my old friend asks.

A delicate line appears between Savvy’s eyebrows as we stare at each other. I shake my head. When would I have ever been in a canoe? It’s not like my father was putting me in outdoor clubs or taking me fishing when I was a kid.

“No,” Savvy answers for us both.

“Well, it’s a weight issue. Can’t have just one person in a two-person canoe or we’d go around in circles.”

Something in his tone is off. Is he trying not to laugh? If I had cell service, I’d be googling the shit out of that answer, but we’re literally stranded on an island right now.

“Is that true?” I ask, trudging back into the water, hoping I don’t get some weird staph infection as I pull the second cooler to shore.

“’Course it is. Well, I gotta get Clover back. I’ll come check on ya again tomorrow, long as the water’s still high enough.”

“And if it’s not?” Savvy asks.

“Then we’ll start working on getting some mudrunners up through here.”

“Madi threw in some condoms too…just in case.” Clover laughs while Moose turns them loose in the water.

“Unnecessary, Clover.” My words sound a little like when Sage had whooping cough as a baby.