“No.” She gives me a shy smile. “I might have overreacted.”
After she sits down beside me again, I hand the fishing pole back to her. “Most likely it was a crab or a turtle. Now they know how sweet you taste, they’ll be back for more.” I wiggle my brows at her, and she rolls her eyes.
The sound of a boat engine captures our attention.
“Who’s that?” she asks, shielding her eyes.
“Cameron.” I stand, hooking my fishing pole on one of the pilings. Bliss does the same.
“You don’t sound very happy about it.”
“That because he’s coming to rescue you from me.”
She laces her fingers with mine. “I don’t need rescuing from you. I want to be here and have sex on my honeymoon.”
I almost choke. “Good to know.”
“Jackson,” Cameron calls out. “You two okay?”
“No. It’s zombie us and if you try to dock your boat, we’ll eat your brains,” I shout.
“Zombies eating brains?” She wrinkles her nose. “That sounds disgusting.”
“Zombies are popular.”
“Since when?”
Amazing what this girl doesn’t know actually does to me. I feel ashamed for assuming she’d get my pop-culture reference. “For a while now, but I guess you haven’t much time for The Walking Dead or Warm Bodies.”
“Maybe we can watch it one night, after the power’s back on,” she says lightly.
“You don’t have to.” I let go of her hand and catch the rope Cameron throws me, wrapping it around the metal bar on the pier. He cuts the engine and joins us.
“Hi Cameron,” Bliss says, smiling at him. My gut churns, jealousy rising from it.
He smiles back and I recognize that smile. He might not think of himself like me, but all men are like me. They all want what they can’t have. And he sure as hell can’t have Bliss. Unless she chooses him over me.
With that awesome thought, I position myself in front of my wife. “Everything okay at your house?”
“Fine.” He cocks his head to one side, studying me. “The only reason I came by was to make sure both of you were okay.”
Wrapping an arm around Bliss’ shoulders, I pull her to me. “Fine and dandy here.”
“We’re having fish for supper. Want to eat with us?” Bliss asks. I’m not sure if she’s asking because she truly wants him to stay, or because she thinks it’s the right thing to do.
Cameron’s gaze goes to me and I raise my brows, daring him to say yes. “Thanks, but I already have plans tonight.”
“You sure?”
I slice my gaze to Bliss. “Yes, he’s sure. He’s probably doing something humanitarian or something.”
“Exactly.”
Bliss blinks up at me, green-eyed innocence. “Shouldn’t you help him, then?”
I open my mouth to speak, and then shut it.
Cameron punches me in the shoulder. “Hope Baptist Church would love for you to help.”
“Praise Jesus,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Anything I can do?” Bliss asks, practically bouncing.
“Not this time, unless you can work a chainsaw,” he says. The sun chooses that very moment to shine on his head, and I swear to God that there’s a damn halo surrounding it. “We’re going from house to house and cutting up trees, only moving the big stuff.”
She grins, and I want to punch Cameron for making her smile like that. “No, sorry. But if you need help with non-chainsaw stuff, then I’m your girl.”
A growl actually leaves my mouth.
Cameron stuffs his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Yeah… so you might want to change. I’ve got gloves you can borrow.”
Of course he does. “What about looting?”
He squints, looking over my shoulder. “Couple of guys, a father and son team, were spotted going house to house, breaking in and taking stuff. But they focused on the rentals and out of towners.”
“Were they caught?”
An uneasy look settles on his face. “Not yet.”
“Then I’m staying here.”
“Bliss, do you mind if I have a word with Jackson in private?” Cameron asks.
“Sure.” She walks away from us, and I watch as she makes her way to the house, and it’s not until she’s safe inside that I turn to my buddy.
“Thanks for making me look like an uncaring asshole, Cam.”
“It’s your own damn fault.”
“Oh, so you’re not being a humanitarian this afternoon?”
Cameron exhales, taking a hand out of his pocket and running it through his brown hair. “Already did it this morning. It was mostly water damage and not wind. There wasn’t a lot to do.”