Page 27 of The Worst Vacation Crush

“But I can’t swim.”

“Can’t or don’t?”

Apart from the years wasted working for my stepmom, there were three great disappointments in my life. I couldn’t paint like Bob Ross. I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. And I couldn’t swim—not even if my life depended on it. “Can’t.”

Kai’s jaw fell open and he let go of the boat. “You’re joking.”

I lifted my chin as if I didn’t care I’d flunked out of swim lessons at the Y when I was seven. “I never found the time to learn.” And I’d always had this strange aversion to drowning. Stepping into water that was deep enough to kill me had never sounded all that fun to me when I was a kid.

A decent-sized wave washed in and then pulled the boat away from shore on its way back out to sea. Kai took a few slo-mo running steps, splashing through the water before diving in after it. Now it was my jaw’s turn to come unhinged.

It was like watching my own private highlight reel of Bay Watch, only Kai was a bajillion times hotter than any of the other sets of abs that had ever graced the show.

No offense, Hasselhoff.

When Kai reached the boat, he looped a rope tied to its nose around his shoulder and then waded toward me. His eyes were so focused on me, I couldn’t move. He stepped out of the water, dripping wet, and took my hand.

I’ll admit, I’d been impressed by Kai’s physique since day one, but that tight dress shirt he wore the day we met had nothing on his soaking-wet tee.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, nani. You’re safe with me.” He interlaced his fingers with mine and I was done for. He could have told me the moon was made of cheese in that moment, and I would have chartered a rocket ship to the moon loaded down with crackers. I followed him into the water, and he steadied the boat while I stepped in.

“You’d better put that hat back on,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than getting a sunburn on the first day of vacation, or so I’ve been told.”

My heart pounded to a fresh new beat when he hopped into the boat behind me. Somehow, I really did feel safe. And then it happened—my heart cracked a little.

I may have been safe with Kai, but was he safe with me?