Romantic Acquisition Page 0,43
it a try?”
“Sure. I have to get my suit on though. You didn’t give me enough time to figure out all the possibilities.”
“No problem. I need to change as well. Jamil has equipment around here somewhere. I’ll gather them up. Why don’t you grab some breakfast and I’ll be back,’ he said and downed the rest of his coffee.
He got up to leave a moment later, but not before bending down and kissing her hard. “You’re lovely when you’re embarrassed,” he said, chuckling as her blush increased.
Twenty minutes later, a speedboat delivered them to the shore. Carlo had already arranged for a smaller boat that he drove to a small cove. The coastline was rugged and filled with trees and flowers draping over the small beaches to the water. It was truly paradise from this angle.
They put on their gear and dove into the small lagoon Carlo had found for them. Kate was instantly in love with the small, curious fish that darted in and out of the reef. Carlo took her around the area, showing her small sea turtles, sergeant majors, invisible fish and lots of others that she couldn’t name.
They swam for over an hour, skimming through the waters, watching both the fish and the coral as they danced among the dappling sunshine. Coming out, Kate was in love with the underwater world.
“Wow! I’ve never imagine anything like that before,” she said as they boarded the boat again.
He followed her up into the boat, helping her take off her flippers. “It’s pretty amazing. You should see it with scuba gear. You can go lower and see more types of fish. Larger ones too.”
“I’m not sure if I want to see larger ones. Doesn’t larger mean more teeth?”
Carlo laughed. “No necessarily.”
“Where are we going for lunch?’
“There’s a small restaurant on this side of the island. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get to from here.” He started the engine and pulled up the anchor. “Why don’t you go below and change.”
Kate changed quickly into dry clothes, braiding her hair and just letting it hang down her back. Carlo was already changed into navy blue shorts and a white polo shirt by the time she came back up and she sat in the back of the boat and enjoyed the sea air as he maneuvered the boat along the shoreline and back into the harbor.
They met up with the two other couples in a small restaurant with rough, wooden tables that looked like they had been around for centuries and never sanded down. The waitress that greeted them, Lady Beth, hugged the three men, as if they were all old friends.
She turned to the women sitting at the table, her eyes admonishing each of them. “What you ladies doing with these bad boys?” she asked.
The three men laughed and shook their heads. “Be nice, Lady Beth. Don’t tell them all the naughty things we’ve done or we’ll publish your recipes,” Jamil warned.
Lady Beth shook her finger at them, “I know you boys wouldn’t do that. You know I’d come up to those cold places you call home and wallop each and every one of you.” Turning back to the group, she smiled, “You all gonna have the fried fish sandwiches today? It’s the best.”
The men laughed. “You’re the boss, Lady Beth,” Phillip said and sat down in one of the seats, putting his arm around Melissa.
“Good boys,” Lady Beth said, wiping her hands on her flowered apron and moving quickly away. “Six fishies,” she called to the cook and started pouring lemonade into mismatched glasses.
They sipped the lemonade and laughed about the day’s excursions. No one believed that Carlo and Kate spent the morning snorkeling but Carlo just laughed off their suspicions. The fish sandwiches were wonderful. There was some sort of seasoning that created a lemony taste with a kick. The fried part was not greasy but was crunchy. Ashley asked how the sandwiches were made but Lady Beth just laughed and shook her head as she walked away, mumbling about the pointlessness of giving family secrets away to skinny women.
They moved on down the street to a noisy bar that was playing jazz music that spilled out onto the street. All six of them joined in the dancing, playing darts, pool and various games. The afternoon slid into the evening and they settled for a variety of appetizers for dinner and drinks.
Kate stuck with less potent drinks this time, eventually switching to club soda by the early evening.