Her brows drew together. “They aren’t cute.”
She peered at them. They were short and stubby and didn’t even have polish on them. Not horrific by any means, but cute? Nah.
“I beg to differ.” After one last squeeze, he let her foot go. “I think the kids are gone.”
Startled, she peered over his shoulder. When had the gaggle of children left the area? And why hadn’t she noticed their departure?
“Do you still want a towel?”
“Uh…” She looked down at herself and laughed. “That would be a yes.”
He turned his head enough to meet her eyes. “Because if so, I’d better grab it now. I need to get going soon.”
Why? Wasn’t he on an open-ended vacation?
Maybe he had a date. Or maybe he was just looking for an excuse to end this encounter. God knew, he’d already spent an inordinate amount of time helping a cranky middle-aged stranger who couldn’t keep track of her bikini top.
“Okay.” She gave a halfhearted nod. “Thanks.”
Oddly deflated, she unwound her legs from his waist as he returned his gaze politely to the front. And then she was standing on her own two feet, arms wrapped around herself once more.
“Do you want me to get your towel, or will any towel do?” Although he swiveled to face her again, he kept his eyes on her face. “Since we don’t know when a new batch of kids will decide to drift in your direction, I suggest the latter.”
“You can grab one of the resort towels. They’re plenty big enough to cover all the important bits.”
His lips curved. “Barely. And before you wonder, that’s a compliment.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Just bring me a towel, Don Juan. Or whatever his Swedish equivalent would be.”
He nodded solemnly. “Ah, the story of Lars Larsson and his many lovers, all named Pippi. It’s a sweeping tale of seduction. Also, interestingly, rotten herring.”
“That’s total bullshit,” she told him.
The dimples reappeared. “But how will you ever know for sure?”
To the right of his tall frame, she caught some sort of movement under one of the beach’s many palm trees. When she squinted, she could make out a curvaceous woman in a sparkly pink swimsuit with pale skin, a curtain of blond hair, and a waving hand, alongside some guy in gray swim trunks with his arm around her waist.
Whatever. Forget the guy. The woman in the swimsuit was Belle. Her friend was trying to get her attention.
Now that she thought about it, Belle and Lucas would probably get along well. Belle had her own brand of swagger, one that would prove more than a match for him. She had plenty of free time right now, since teachers in her Boston-area school system didn’t have to report back for several weeks. And she was only thirty-four, closer to Lucas’s age than Tess.
“Do you see the pretty blonde in the pink suit?” She pointed toward shore. “That’s my friend, Belle. Why don’t you go over there and tell her I need a towel, so you can get where you’re going more quickly?”
He glanced in Belle’s direction and nodded. “I’ll do that.” But he didn’t move. “What are you doing the rest of the day?”
Mostly brainstorming and list-making as she figured out her principalship-claiming strategy. But she and Belle had also reserved spots on a guided nature walk around the island that afternoon and planned to visit the resort’s seafood restaurant for dinner. He could join them. Easily.
She almost told him so.
Despite herself, she found him charming and affable, if a bit too…
Well, she supposed the best word was unformed. He didn’t appear to have found a purpose in life yet, which wasn’t a surprise given his age. He had years ahead to gain nuance and stories and depth and ambitions.
Those years had come and gone for her already. And she did have professional ambitions, ones which required time and concentration and thought.
So that was her answer. She wouldn’t seek out his company, no matter how sexy she found him. She wouldn’t encourage him to seek hers out either.
“Nothing in particular. Hanging out with Belle, just the two of us, like we’d planned.” She smiled at him, and it wasn’t an effort. He seemed like a goodhearted young man, even if he was a bit too flirtatious and handsome for his own good. “Thank you again for all your help.”
That cocky smile gleamed through his scruff.
“Decided to play it cool and mysterious?” Yup, he was definitely winking at her. She could tell for sure this time. “That’s fine, Tess. I have a feeling you’ll manage to find me anyway. Even if it takes another…accident.”
Oh, Lord. They were back to this again?
“It was an acci—” she started to tell him.
But he’d already begun to swim, his long arms slicing through the water in a slow rhythm that nevertheless brought him to shore with surprising speed. Underneath the palm, the guy in the gray swim trunks had disappeared, and Belle was standing by herself.
Lucas got to his feet in the shallow surf and strode to her side with that smile still fixed firmly on his smug, attractive face. The two of them talked for a minute before he flashed her one last grin, loped to a nearby chair, grabbed a towel, and jogged off between two of the nearby buildings. To do what, God only knew.
Right now, wondering about his rush didn’t occupy the forefront of Tess’s thoughts. No, she couldn’t shake the image of him standing next to Belle. As Tess had speculated earlier, the two of them looked good together. Like they fit. Belle was a few years older than him, but not nearly as many as Tess.
They were both young. Both charismatic. Both at ease in their strong, capable bodies.
They belonged together in a way Lucas and Tess never could.
By the time Tess returned her attention to the water, Belle was already close, one of the resort’s signature canary-yellow towels clutched in her right hand as she splashed through the warm waves.
“Hey, babe. Here you go.” She handed over the towel, and Tess wrapped it around her torso with as much speed as humanly possible. “I have no clue how you managed to lose your top, but good thing you had Mr. Tall, Tanned, and Swedish nearby to help with your, uh”—she made air quotes—“wardrobe malfunction. If that’s what it was.”
Oh, Jesus. Not another one. “It was an accident, Belle. Lucas was helping me deal with the aftermath of my accident. And now you are too, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So…” One of Belle’s sleek brows quirked. “You and your rescuer are on a first-name basis?”
Tess snorted. “I had my naked boobs plastered to his equally naked back. I could hardly insist that he refer to me as Assistant Principal Dunn, even though he’s almost young enough to be one of my students.” After securing the towel in a knot above her breasts, she began to make her way to shore. “I need a shower, woman. Let’s get going.”
Belle kept pace, but she wasn’t ready to drop the subject. “From what I could see, he seemed interested.”
“He was.” Although who knew how sincere his overtures had been? “I guess.”
“Are you interested back?”
Tess shook her head. “He’s only twenty-six, Belle.”