Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“No.” She glanced down at the jacket and back to me. “You need that. The waves are too high.”
“I don’t. I’m a great swimmer, and this is the only compromise I can think of.” I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “It will take us less than five minutes to get you both in the boat.”
“Five minutes?” Eva panicked.
“Less than,” I repeated, keeping my eyes on Alessandra. “Anything is doable for five minutes. I’ll stay with you both the entire time. Take the jacket.” It went against everything I’d ever read about performing rescues, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a shit.
“I can’t do that to you.” She shook her head.
“I’m a stranger,” I reminded her.
“No. You’re Hudson Ellis.” Her arms trembled.
“Then we’re at an impasse, because you won’t leave your sister and I won’t leave you.” I pushed the life jacket toward her. “I’m pretty stubborn, so all waiting does is prolong the time you’re both in the water.”
“Come on, Allie, I’m freezing!” Eva cajoled.
Alessandra took the jacket, and once she had it on, all three of us swam toward Gavin.
By the time I got the girls into the boat, both their lips carried a bluish tinge, and the waves had devoured whatever was left of their rowboat.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Gavin snapped at me.
“They’re alive.” I gave my black Rip Curl hoodie to Alessandra despite her initial protest, then handed almost every towel we had to Eva before sitting them both down. “We should get you to a doctor.”
Alessandra shook her head, zipping up my sweatshirt. “Our mother will realize we’re gone.”
Seriously? My eyebrows hit my hairline.
“If you need a doctor, then we have to go,” Eva whispered.
“I don’t,” Alessandra assured, her tone sharpening toward her sister. “Can you imagine what she’ll do to us?”
The fuck? Even when Gav and I were caught doing something we weren’t supposed to, Mom’s first reaction was always relief that our idiocy hadn’t killed us.
“We could just call Dad. Wait. You’re not going to tell her that I—” Eva started, her eyes filling with panic.
“I never tell her, do I?” Alessandra retorted, her hands disappearing into the sleeves of my hoodie. The damned thing was practically a dress on her.
“Can I look at your head?” Gavin asked, brushing past me as the boat rocked. Our hull was deeper than the little rowboat, but we shouldn’t be out here much longer with this storm coming in.
Alessandra nodded, and Gavin leaned over her, examining the wound.
“It’s small and has already stopped bleeding. Probably doesn’t need stitches,” he announced, then shot me a look that said we’d talk about my choices later.
“Can you please take us home?” Alessandra’s shoulders straightened, and she composed herself with a speed that was both impressive and a little jarring, but her eyes were a dead giveaway that she wasn’t as calm as she wanted us to think. Almost like she’s performing. “We live—”
“I know where you live,” Gavin interrupted with a grimace. “We’ll take you.”
He did? My gaze jumped his way.
“Thank you.” Alessandra tucked her knees up into my sweatshirt, and her gaze flickered toward mine. “Really. Thank you, Hudson.”
“No problem.” Damn, I liked the way she said my name.
“We’re about fifteen minutes out.” Gavin looked over at me, then motioned toward the console, and I followed him to the seats behind the dashboard. “That was fucking reckless.” He shook his head at me, and I barely had time to grab ahold of the handrail as he put the throttle down, heading toward the cliffs at the west side of town, past the local beaches. “And watch the way you’re looking at her. You know who they are, right?” Gavin asked, just loud enough for me to hear, but not them.
“No, but obviously you do,” I replied, rubbing my towel over my arms to get the blood moving. Fuck, it was cold. “And I’m not looking at her.” It wasn’t exactly a lie since I was faced forward.
“I watched that whole thing go down. You’re looking.” He scoffed. “And it’s just going to get you in trouble. They’re the youngest Rousseau girls. Alessandra and Eva, if I’m remembering correctly. Forget asking her out, if that’s what you’re thinking. Their parents don’t let them interact with anyone outside their social circle, let alone locals.”
Rousseau. One of the families with summerhouses on the cliffside. Old money.
My chest went all wonky. “The ballerinas.” No wonder I didn’t recognize them. They trained here every summer, but mostly under lock and key until their mother trotted them out in August for the competition that brought an onslaught of dancing tourists and their rich families every year. “There’s four of them, right?” Pretty sure I’d seen a couple of them in the café once or twice when I dropped in, but I usually spent my summers lifeguarding at the beach.