…
Lacey Garrity had watched all of his fights. Not just watched, judging by her in-depth recollections, but studied. It humbled him, and he was buoyed by the revelation. He didn’t want to read into it too much, but maybe she’d been harboring a little crush on him at some point that had gotten her interested in his boxing. When they were younger, a few times he’d caught her looking at him when she thought he didn’t see, but he’d taken it as nothing more than girlish curiosity in the physique of a growing boy. Now he wondered if it had been more than that, and what things might have been like for them if he’d known sooner and had acted on it. Maybe she never would’ve married that asshole Marty, and they could’ve had a shot at something. But that ship had sailed.
Hadn’t it? He was still mulling that over when the ladies emerged from the bathroom. Nikki was chuckling, and Lacey looked happy and relaxed. He marveled that, in such a short time, she was already so much more at ease than he’d ever seen her. He had to admit, it looked good on her. Their day at the beach gave her skin a warm glow, and he resisted the urge to trace the delicate line of her shoulder.
“Ready?” she asked with a smile.
The four of them filed out of the restaurant and headed by tacit agreement toward the beach. The sun had plummeted off the horizon when the palm trees started to sing. Co-kee, co-kee.
“What is that?” Lacey whispered.
“Coquí frogs,” Nikki said. “Isn’t it lovely?”
“So neat. Do they do it every night?”
“Every night we’ve been here.”
They fell into a companionable silence as they strolled along the shore. With the waves lapping against the sand and the coquí singing their song, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to take Lacey’s hand. She stiffened and looked his way, but a second later, her fingers curled around his. It felt nice. More than nice. It felt…strangely right. The thought unsettled him. The last thing he needed was to get too emotionally attached. If things weren’t so complicated for her, it would be one thing, but falling in love with a neurotic woman who just got jilted at the altar and only wanted a rebound guy? That was a recipe for pain. Not going to happen. When she was ready, he would be happy to offer his body for her as-yet-untapped bad girl to practice on, but he was going to keep both hands up and protect his heart.
Cyrus and Nikki pulled ahead a bit, but Lacey seemed content to stroll, so he didn’t increase his pace. Their actions certainly weren’t doing anything to dissuade their new friends from thinking the two of them were a couple, but that didn’t bother him in the least. In fact, maybe now was a good time to see if that bad girl was ready to come out and play. He tugged her to a stop and bent low to pick up a flat stone.
“The water’s pretty calm. Know how to skip?”
She laughed. “Well, duh. Your sister is my best friend. You think the undisputed champion of Pawtucket Lake would allow me to go through life without learning how to skip a rock?” She dropped his hand and began searching the sand for a suitable stone. “A-ha!” She squatted down and came up with two perfect specimens. “Ready? I’ll bet I can get more hops than you.”#p#分页标题#e#
He snorted. “First off, ‘undisputed’ is entirely inaccurate. I dispute the shit out of Cat’s claim. Second, you’re on. I’ll even make it easy for you. My one to your two.”
They made their way to the water’s edge. “I know your stance on the whole ‘ladies first’ thing, so why don’t you go ahead.”
He chuckled and stepped up. “Watch and learn.” Waiting a beat until the gentle incoming wave crashed, he flicked his wrist and sent his stone skimming across the surface. One, two, three, four skips.
Lacey let out a low whistle. “Not bad. Now me.” She took a deep breath and blew it out before snapping her arm out to send the rock skittering across the water. One, two, three, four, five…shit.
“Seven! Woo-hoo! I am the champion!” she crowed, pumping her fist.
He laughed and shook his head. “One win doesn’t make you the champ, squirt.”
She stuck a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “Why not? You beat Mickey Lewis one time and became champ. In fact, I think I deserve a belt.”
“I’ll give you a belt all right,” he said with a grin. But when her words sank in, he stepped closer. “Speaking of that, I’m happy to hear that you watch my fights, Lacey.”
He stepped closer, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek, and her breath caught. When her body swayed toward his, he leaned in. “Picturing you, in front of your TV, rooting me on? It makes me feel real good, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. But I know that I like it.”