had a slightly wicked motive. But my arms are feeling like wet noodles, and I’m pretty darn tired. I think I’ve had enough surf for the day.”
“I will pull you in, like a dolphin leading you to shore.”
I looked down at him and couldn’t hold back a laugh as I thought about Kenna’s Life Plan. Caden was a man who looked just as incredible soaking wet as he did dry. Possibly even more so because in the water he was shirtless and glistening with salt crystals.
“What are you smiling about, Trinket?” He moved swiftly through the water with me and my board in tow. I almost could have believed he had a dolphin underneath him.
“Oh, nothing. Although, I might as well tell you since my cover was blown anyhow. Even my parents were on to me.”
“Not understanding a word you’re saying.”
“You weren’t meant to. I was thinking aloud. I won’t tell you what I was smiling about because you’ll make fun of me.”
“Would I do that?”
“Yes, you would. As I recall, you spent most of your teen years making fun of me.”
“That’s the way a boy shows that he likes a girl.” He squinted up at me as salt water splashed his face. A rush of water rolled beneath the board lifting me up and causing Caden to tread water for a few seconds before continuing the journey to shore.
“I’m still having a hard time believing that you liked me. I mean, boobless, skinny freckle-nosed brat that I was, I was hardly Caden Stratton material.”
“Guess you didn’t know me as well as you thought.”
“I knew you plenty. I knew that you always ate the ham off your sandwich and rarely the bread. And you only ate the cheese if it was cheddar . . . or orange, as you called it, Mr. Cheese Connoisseur.” I added an eye roll. “I knew that you hated to wear socks of any kind in your shoes and that you only liked cherry flavored Slurpees. And I knew that spiders scared you but that you’d pick up a big, scaly lizard without a second thought. Oh, and your favorite television show was Lost and your favorite ride at Disneyland was Space Mountain, although that’s an easy one because it’s almost everybody’s favorite.”
We reached the shore. I stepped off the board. My legs were as wobbly as my arms. “Oh my God, I’m in terrible shape. My muscles are rebelling. That’s what studying for a law degree does to a person, makes them all fluffy and weak. So, did I get all the quirks of the teenage Caden right?”
“Pretty impressive. But spiders and I have come to an agreement. They stay out of my way, and I don’t throw my shoe at them.” He combed his long, wet hair back with his fingers and tucked the surfboard under his arm. His tattoos looked exceptionally hot over his tanned skin and muscled arms. Even with dark hair, he really looked the part of the quintessential California surfer. “I’ll bet I can list a few of the Kenna quirks too.”
The sand grew hot, and we picked up our pace.
“Should be easy since they are numerous.” I hopped onto my towel, happy to get my feet out of the burning sand. I sat down and reached into the ice chest for two water bottles, while Caden stuck the surfboard in the sand.
He took hold of the water and sat down on his towel. He drank most of the bottle in one hit and sighed with satisfaction as he lowered it. “I know you wanted to be a marine biologist, mostly because of the seals and the fact that you could wear a bathing suit and sandals to work. You hated onions, unless they were deep fried in the form of a ring. When you were in fourth grade, you wore a ballerina costume for the Halloween parade and you regretted it and swore that you’d never wear a tutu or ballet slippers again. In the fifth grade, you were saving all your allowance to buy a horse, which you planned to keep in your dad’s garage. And at the high school swim meets, you used to tap the railing on the spectator stands for luck just before your heat.”
It took me a second to find my tongue. “You remembered all that? And all that time I thought I was just this little pebble in your shoe, getting in your way and causing you irritation.”
“Well, you were