He set down his book, a surge of adrenaline pushing him to his feet. “Abs,” he said with surprise. Her hair was a little frizzy and tousled, and her white sweatshirt was smudged with dirt, but her smile was as fresh as a new day, and she looked even more gorgeous than she had that morning. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes drifted over the kite. “By the looks of it, I’m rescuing that kite from ending up in the trash.”
“The last time I flew a kite was with Remi when she was a kid. Now I remember why. It’s definitely a two-person job. How did things go with Cait?”
“Good, thanks. I like her. A lot actually. As you probably noticed, she’s quiet and a little skeptical of people, but she warmed up quickly. She’s sweet and funny, and she worked her butt off. We didn’t talk about anything too important yet. But I’m sure we will tonight. She’s going to stay at the house with us. Deirdra showed up to help right after you left, which totally shocked me. I guess today is full of surprises.”
“Sweet and funny must be a family trait.” He reached for her hand without thinking too hard about why he felt the need to be closer to her and brushed his thumb over her knuckles, enjoying the way her breathing quickened with his touch. “And you’re here, which is the best surprise of all. But shouldn’t you be with them?”
“They’re tired and wanted to relax. I . . .” Pink stained her cheeks. “I thought I’d see if you needed help with the kite.”
“The kite, huh?” He arched a brow.
“Well, yeah. I said I’d help you with your list, and you said you were going to struggle—”
“Wrestle,” he corrected her, enjoying her adorable rambling.
“Wrestle, right. I pictured you out here tangled up in string, and I didn’t want a good kite to go to waste.”
“Well, we can’t have that, now, can we?” He stepped closer, and she lifted her eyes, full of wonder and want, confirming that he hadn’t imagined the heat between them earlier. It took all of his control not to lower his lips to hers and taste what he was sure would be the sweetest kiss of all. But he’d been with enough women to recognize how different he felt around Abby, and he didn’t want to fuck up whatever this was between them, so he said, “I’m jealous of that kite right now.”
“Yeah?” she asked breathily.
“Oh yeah. Knowing you want to get your hands on my kite does all sorts of interesting things to me.” He was walking a dangerous line. If he didn’t step away, he was going to haul her into his arms and kiss her, and he might not be willing to stop. He reluctantly let go of her hand and tore his eyes away, looking at the kite. “Think it’s salvageable?”
She picked up the kite and cocked her head at the knotted string. “How did you even do this?”
“The thing is possessed. All I did was try to hold up the kite and run, but it kept twisting and falling and . . .” He shrugged. “That happened.”
“Stupid kite,” she commiserated, and plunked herself down in the sand beside his chair. “I’ll teach it a lesson.” She began working out the knots.
“You can sit in the chair.”
She looked up at him, the late-afternoon sun reflecting in her eyes, and said, “I’m an island girl. Sand is my go-to comfy place.”
“In that case.” He sat beside her in the sand, pulled one knee up, and leaned his arm on it, watching her unravel the knots like a pro. “You’re good with your hands.”
She pressed her lips together, as if she didn’t want him to realize she’d taken his words another way. Little did she know, Aiden hadn’t flirted like this since he was in college.
“Deirdra was good at getting things tangled up when we were kids. Someone had to be good at untangling them.” She tugged at a knot, eyeing his shoes, and said, “Do you always wear loafers and nice clothes?”
“Not all the time. I sleep naked.”
Laughter tumbled from her lips. “Don’t tell me that.”
“You asked.” He chuckled and picked up the book she’d recommended. “Have you read this?”
“Yes, and I’m so glad you got it. Isn’t it good?”
“I’m only about a third of the way through, but yes. It’s very well written. I didn’t peg you as a horror reader.”
“I read everything, but I grew up with the author, Jack Steele. I had to read it. He goes by the nickname Jock now. He and his twin brother, Archer, used to scare everyone all the time just for fun. That’s how you knew they liked you. Jock recently moved back to the island and got married at his family’s winery. I can introduce you at some point if you’d like.” She untangled another knot, and a spark of excitement shone in her eyes. “Hey, isn’t the winery on your list?”
“If it’s not, we’ll add it. I want to see all the sights that make your eyes light up like that.”
She looked up from the string and said, “Your lines are better than any I’ve ever heard.”
“Because they’re not lines, Abs. I’m being honest.”
“Whatever.” She shook her head and said, “The winery is a must see. It’s got the best views on the island. Archer runs it with their parents, Steve and Shelley, and Jock’s wife, Daphne. Daphne handles their events, and Shelley runs the tours. Shelley’s like a second mother to me and Deirdra. She’s the one who told us about Cait.” She stretched the string and wound it around the spool, looking like she wanted to say more about that, but then she said, “There we go. Good as new. You’re lucky it’s not tourist season yet. The beaches get packed. You wouldn’t have room to run with your kite. Why did you choose this time of year to go on vacation, and why here instead of someplace warmer?”
“It was a good time to take off work, and as I said yesterday, I’m not fond of crowds. I let Remi pick the location, so here I am.”
“Well, I think you brought this unseasonably warm weather with you. Ready to fly this baby?”
“Absolutely.” He stood up and helped her to her feet.
“Thanks.” She held up the shocking-pink kite and said, “Interesting color choice.”
“I was on FaceTime with Patrice when I was shopping, so I let her pick it out. Pink is her favorite color.”
“That was sweet of you.”
“My brother-in-law says I’m niece whipped. They blink those innocent eyes at me, and I can’t say no. I think they learned it from Remi.”
“Well, let’s make them proud and get this kite up in the air.” She held the kite and handed him the spool. “You have to be the one to fly it since it’s on your list, so I’ll be the runner.”
“That’s fitting, Runner Girl.”
They made a quick assessment of the wind direction, and Aiden let out some string as he walked down the beach. When he looked back, Abby stood with her head slightly tilted, one hand shading her eyes. The breeze swept her hair away from her face, and the bright pink kite was blowing against her bare legs. She looked utterly gorgeous. He pulled his phone from his pocket and took a picture.
“Hey!” She put a hand on her hip. “You need proof that you flew the kite, not me.”