Derek didn’t have the heart to argue with her. She seemed excited to be shopping for him. Maybe the shirt wouldn’t fit, and he’d have a good excuse not to buy it. He took the garment from her and locked himself in the stall.
“Come out after you try it on. I want to see it,” Nara called.
He loosened his tie and then unbuttoned his dress shirt. If this wasn’t humiliating, he didn’t know what was. He slipped into the offensive piece of clothing. Oh, heavens. It fit just fine. And now he had to go out into the store looking like an idiot. He steeled himself and exited the dressing room.
Nara’s hands flew to her mouth when she saw him. “Oh. My. Word. Is that really you, Emperor Derek?”
Her words stung. He knew she called him that because she didn’t like him. He stiffened and tried not to let it bother him. “Is it too much?”
“Nope. It’s just right. In fact, it’s more than just right. We should buy several in different patterns.” She shoved a pair of shorts into his hands. “Now, try this on with it.”
At least the shorts were khaki and looked somewhat normal. He wasn’t used to wearing anything but dress pants, though, so when he walked out of the dressing room with them on, he felt odd. And his extremely white legs were embarrassing.
“Yes. They look great on you. Do they fit?”
Unfortunately, they fit just fine. “You have a knack for selecting the right size of clothing.”
The smile that lit up Nara’s face was bright. “Maybe it comes from working in the fashion industry.”
“I’m sure of it.”
That statement seemed to please her. She pulled several other shirts from racks as well as some more shorts for him. He tried them all on while she kept pulling more. After he was done, he joined her at the checkout counter. He stared at her piles of clothes. “You look like you’re getting ready for an apocalypse of the islands or something.”
Nara grinned. “We need some vacation clothes. I barely brought anything. These aren’t all yours, you know.”
“Okay, good, because I got a little worried when I saw this.” He pulled on a piece of hot pink fabric in the pile, and out shot a bikini top. His face heated as he stared at the two pink cups dangling from the strap he held.
She snatched it out of his hand. “Get your mitts off. This is what I’m changing into in a minute. We’re getting some beach time.”
Great. Now all he could think about was how she might look wearing that swimsuit. He closed his eyes and tried to get the mental picture from his head. Unfortunately, he was going to be seeing the real thing in a few minutes. This week was going to kill him.
They left the store with the clothes and were soon back at the resort. Nara grabbed her new bikini and walked toward the bathroom. “I’ll change in here. You get into your swim trunks and knock on the door when you’re done, okay?”
Wait. What? “You want me to swim with you?” He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “I didn’t buy any trunks.”
“I picked out a pair for you while you were trying on clothes. I’m sure they’ll fit.”
“I thought maybe I’d just sit on a lounge chair. Enjoy the fresh air.”
Nara frowned. “Don’t you want to get into the water?”
He debated what to say to her. The water did look inviting, but he had never learned to swim. He felt silly admitting it, though. A grown man who didn’t know how to swim? It was stupid.
As he hesitated, she walked to the pile of clothes they’d purchased and pulled out a pair of dark blue trunks. “Come on. Just put them on. You need to loosen up.” She reached up to mess up his hair, but she was short and he could easily evade her reach.
After several failed attempts Nara huffed and shoved the trunks at him. He took them and almost cracked a smile. Almost. She was quite adorable when she was frustrated. “All right.”
She smiled at him and disappeared into the bathroom. He sighed and got dressed, then knocked on her door. There was no use arguing with Nara. She always found a way to convince him to do what she wanted, even when they were kids.
A memory flitted through his mind as he waited for Nara to come out of the bathroom, and he chuckled. The door opened and she stepped out. She wore her swimsuit and had a towel around her neck. He had to admit, she looked every bit as good as his imagination. She froze, her eyes wide as she stared at him.
He self-consciously glanced down at his bare chest. Did he have something on him? Toothpaste? Did he dribble his breakfast? He didn’t see anything, thank heavens. “What are you looking at?”
She blinked and her gaze lifted to his. “Nothing. You were smiling. Why?”
“I was thinking about that time when we were about eight years old, and you had gotten this idea in your head that we could make lots of money by selling rocks to our fathers’ co-workers. So, we started up that company.”
She laughed. “N and D rocks. Oh, my goodness. I haven’t thought of that in years. Those poor people, buying our three-dollar rocks.” She shook her head and giggled. “What made you think of that?”
He sobered, and his face heated. He couldn’t tell her it was because she was being bossy about his swim trunks. “No reason.”
Nara rummaged through their bags of purchases and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. “Will you do my back?”
Derek froze. She wanted him to do what? Before he could object, Nara squirted some lotion into his hand and then turned around. She held up her long, black hair and waited. “Hurry up. The beach is calling me.”
He had no other choice. He rubbed the sunscreen into his hands and then applied it to her. Nerves shot through him as he touched her warm skin. It was so smooth, and soft. Like she bathed in some secret youth-giving oils. And standing this close to her he could smell her shampoo. Touching her brought back every feeling of longing he ever had when Nara was around. But he couldn’t have her. Not in the way he wanted. And right now it was killing him. He quickly finished up. “There. That’s done.”
She made a turnaround motion with her finger. “Your turn.”
Derek nodded then faced the other direction. He held his breath while she applied the sunscreen to his back. Her touch was feather-light, and yet she still managed to send shivers through him. Why had he picked the beach for their honeymoon? He should have booked them an Alaskan cruise.
“Okay, you’re done.” She tossed the bottle of lotion on the desk and opened the sliding glass door to the patio. “Come on. Let’s go. My feet are itching to get in that sand.”
Derek followed after her, the warmth from the sun hitting him as he stepped off the wooden planks of the patio. It was bright out, and he wished he’d put on his sunglasses. The sand was hot, so he picked up his steps.
Nara turned around and opened her arms wide, walking backwards toward the ocean. “This is amazing, isn’t it? Have you ever felt such soft sand?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. She ran toward the water.
The wet sand was much cooler, and he stood for a moment, letting a wave wash over his feet. Nara continued further out into the water, then turned and beckoned to him. “It’s only a little cold. You get used to it fast.”
“I’m good standing here,” he called to her.