In Your Heart, стр. 41

“Sure,” Ezra nodded, “we’ll be right down.”

“Cool.” Maddox began to back away, watching us carefully. He was just as suspicious as Emma.

When he disappeared Ezra reached up and gently stroked my cheek.

I sighed happily and leaned into his touch. He placed a feather light kiss on my forehead and held his lips there when he murmured, “How can I do this for a week? How can I pretend I’m not spending every second thinking about the way your body hums when I touch you and you sigh when I kiss you?”

A week? How was I going to pretend to not be thinking about those things for the rest of my life? Our agreement was going to come to an end in a matter of months, maybe even less, and then…and then I didn’t know.

I grasped his shirt in my hands and leaned forward, inhaling the scent that was uniquely Ezra.

I answered truthfully. “I don’t know either.”

“UP! UP! UP! GET UP!” Maddox drummed his fist against the door to my room.

“Go away!” I yelled back, tossing a pillow over my head. If I had to deal with Maddox’s chipper personality at the crack of dawn every morning I might murder him, which would suck for Emma since she loved him and all. But, seriously.

The door to my room swung open and I sent up a silent prayer that Ezra had snuck over to his room early in the morning.

I tossed the pillow off of my head and rose up on my elbows to look at Maddox. I was sure my hair was a wild untamable mess, but for once in my life I didn’t care.

“I made breakfast.” He grinned, clearly pleased with this news, like he’d done me some kind of favor.

“It’s too early,” I groaned.

“It’s eight o’ clock,” he tossed his hands up in exasperation, “that’s not early. You’re as bad as Emma. Now come on and get ready. We’re all going snorkeling.”

“Snorkeling?” I sat up completely, this bit of news making me a little excited despite the early time.

He nodded. “Yep…or you could stay here and sleep. Your choice.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

I pointed a finger at him in warning. “Don’t you dare leave without me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Westbrook.” He flashed his winning smile and closed the door.

I immediately tossed the covers off and ran over to my suitcase.

I pulled out all of my bikinis and dropped them on the floor, rifling through them. I ended up picking a solid black one. The top made my breasts appear larger than they actually were and had several overlapping straps in the back. The bottoms exposed more of my ass than I was used to, but let’s face it, I was planning on driving Ezra crazy.

I put on a pair of old ripped jean shorts and a see-through blousy white top over my bikini.

I brushed my hair and it hung in soft natural waves just past my shoulders.

I didn’t bother applying makeup, just a bit of gloss.

Before I left my room I grabbed my sunglasses and stuck them on top of my head.

Ezra’s bedroom door was open, but I didn’t see him inside so I figured he’d already joined the others downstairs.

Everyone was seated at the dining room table and a smorgasbord of breakfast food was sitting on the table. An empty seat was left between Arden and Ezra.

Ezra looked up when I entered the room, his dark eyes raking over my body. They flared with hunger and he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. His eyes rose to meet mine and he winked.

I sat down and Arden smiled. “Morning.”

“Morning.” I reached for a biscuit and put it on the plate that was already waiting for me.

“They all made breakfast,” she hissed like it was some kind of secret, “the guys.”

“We have many talents.” Hayes quipped, having heard her. “Did you know Mathias can rap?”

Mathias rolled his eyes. “I can do a lot of wicked things with my tongue.”

Emma snorted and Remy nudged his arm with her elbow in a silent gesture to tell him to shut up. She also threw in a glare for good measure.

“Sweetie, do you want another biscuit?” Hayes asked.

At his words we all turned to look at him and saw that he was talking to three-year-old Mia. Her hair was a vibrant red like her mother’s and she looked up at Hayes with wide blue eyes.

She nodded her head and he grabbed one for her.

Arden watched the two in awe.

“She doesn’t normally like strangers,” she whispered.

“Everybody likes me,” Hayes scoffed, flashing a wide smile, “I’m irresistible.”

“I’m beginning to think so,” she agreed.

Beneath the table Ezra’s handed landed on my thigh and he gave it a soft squeeze. I closed my eyes and my lips parted on a breath. He quickly let go before anyone could notice and my body instantly ached for his touch.

Once breakfast was done we all cleaned up and then piled in the SUVs to head over to a different beach.

There, we met with a guy that went over instructions and what to do in case of an emergency—mainly if a shark happened to swim by. It wasn’t likely to happen, but they still had to warn us.

I bounced with excitement, eager to dip my toes into the blue-green water and see the creatures that lived inside.

“I’m going to stay behind with Mia,” Arden said, holding her daughter’s hand and moving back a few steps.

Hayes paused what he was doing and frowned. “Come on, Arden, you don’t want to miss out on this. I’ll stay with her.”

“No, no,” she waved him away when he started forward, “I don’t want to be a bother. We’re fine here.”

He shook his head adamantly. “Go,” he said firmly. “Mia loves me,” he grinned, bending down to the little girl’s level. “We’ll go hunt for seashells while you snorkel.”

Arden seemed to be contemplating his words. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” He reached a hand out to Mia. She put her much smaller one on top and her pale pink nail polish sparkled in the sunlight. A little yellow hat was perched on her head to block the sun from her eyes and she was dressed in a cute bathing suit with little ruffles on her butt. She was such a cute kid.

“Okay.” Arden agreed, watching as Hayes swept Mia up into his arms. He tickled her stomach and she giggled happily. I’d never seen this side of Hayes before and it made me smile. He really was maturing and I was beginning to think what he told me on our date about settling down wasn’t a lie.

Arden had brought a beach bag with her and she rifled through it. She pulled out a small bucket and handed it to Hayes.

“For the seashells.” She smiled at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for doing this.”

“It’s not a problem. Mia and I will have lots of fun. Won’t we?” He addressed the little girl. She nodded eagerly.

Arden stepped away slowly, still a little reluctant to leave her daughter behind.

I put the goggles on that covered my eyes and nose and turned to Ezra. “How do I look?” My voice sounded thick and funny since it had a nosepiece.

“Adorable.” He grinned and kissed me quickly.

I froze and so did he. We both turned to see if anyone saw.

Luckily everyone was busy putting their own masks on and didn’t notice.

We both let out an audible sigh of relief.

That had been a close one.

My heart still pounded in my chest and I eyed them all warily in case one of them was pretending not to have seen.

“Relax,” Ezra whispered, his lips near my ear.

I didn’t know how he expected me to do that with him standing so close.

We followed the others to the water’s edge and I giggled when it tickled my toes. It was warm and the sand squished between my toes, which were painted a pretty pale purple.

I walked out into the water until it hit my hips. I fixed the mouthpiece between my lips and then dove slightly into the water, making sure to leave the snorkel sticking out so I could breathe.

Beside me Ezra did the same. Arden was close by with the others a little farther out.