Page 77 of The Rebel

He cleared his throat, reaching for my hand. The second I placed my palm on his, we clasped our fingers. “It’s been there ever since the first time we met.”

I swallowed hard. “You always go from zero to a hundred, huh?”

“Always.”

We drove into the city, bought breakfast and coffee to go, and ate on the away while I asked him all sorts of questions about the bayou. I imagined it like a narrower version of the Mississippi River.

It turned out I was wrong. It was smaller, of course, but it also had a completely different feel. The smell of swamp hit me the second we stepped out of the car.

Anthony narrowed his eyes at me. “Should’ve bought you a hat and some sunscreen.”

“Same goes for you.”

“I don’t burn easily.”

“How do you know I do?”

“I don’t. I just want to take precautions.” He touched my cheek with the back of his fingers as he pinned me against the car. I liked that he was protective, even with something as simple as the sun. “But the boat’s got enough shade.” He kissed one corner of my mouth, then the other one as I melted beneath his touch. “And I’ll make sure to keep you there so you don’t get burned.”

I shivered despite the fact that it was significantly hotter out here than in the city.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“What?”

He sucked in a breath. “Nothing. I’ve been very good at not kissing you until now. Thought we might never leave the house if I did.”

I didn’t say anything because I felt the same way.

“I’m starting to think that holding back will always be an issue.”

How on earth were we going to manage things at the office? But I didn’t want to bring that up right now. I felt so immensely happy just being here with Anthony, and I didn’t want to sour the mood.

“Come on, let’s get on the boat.”

I’d imagined a decent-sized boat with some shade, but this was huge.

“This is amazing,” I gushed. “Much more than the kind of fishing boat I was picturing. And you have a license to drive it?”

“Of course.”

I raised my brows. “I’m impressed!”

It had two levels. The captain’s cabin was on the upper deck. The lower one was a bona fide apartment, with two bunk beds, a living room, and a small kitchen.

“Your grandfathers spend a lot of time here, huh?”

He nodded. “They boat two, sometimes three times a week.”

“And they won’t mind that we’re using it?”

Anthony curved an arm around my waist from behind before whirling me around to face him. “Daisy, just trust me to take care of everything. All you need to do today is relax and enjoy.”

I licked my lips, smiling. “I can definitely do that. Relax and ogle you to my heart’s content. Yeah, those are the only things on my to-do list for today.”

I had a hunch it was going to be on my to-do list for the upcoming week too.

He grinned. “Fantastic. Then I’ll get us moving.”