“Oh. Well. I mean, I came over to invite you to dinner.”

“Really? I’d be happy to. But no reason we couldn’t go for a swim first. Unless you’re cooking a pig or something and have to start on it now.”

He was totally ribbing her and she grinned as some of the panic melted away under the warmth of this smile. “No pig, but I did buy a fair piece of a cow.”

He rubbed his belly and sighed. “You do know how to tempt a man. So, how about that swim? I’ll help cook after we’re done.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she said with a shake of her head. “You did all the cooking last time. This time, you’re going to sit on the deck with the beer I bought for you while I do all the cooking. I already baked a cake.”

“Damn. You’re spoiling me, woman.”

Her cheeks tightened again and the warmth spread into her chest. “And yes, I think I would like to swim. I’ll just go change and meet you back here.”

“Great. I’ll wait for you on the beach.”

Sarah flew back to her cottage and rummaged through her things for the swimsuit she’d purchased just a few days after arriving on the island. She hadn’t used it yet. Not even once. But suddenly she was eager to feel the ocean.

It was a modest one-piece, and by modest, it covered everything. High-necked, broad shoulder straps and a skirt that fell midway to her knees. She felt like a granny, although she doubted many grandmothers wore suits this ugly.

Knowing she was about as attractive as a toad should have dimmed some of her enthusiasm, but she found she just didn’t care. Garrett didn’t seem to mind her odd behavior and her eccentricities. She was going to enjoy today if it killed her.

She mentally flipped Allen and Stanley Cross the bird as she trekked down the steps of her deck and onto the sun-warmed sand. Allen was already in hell, and Stanley could kiss her ass. If there was any justice in the world, he’d join his brother there eventually.

As promised, Garrett waited in front of his cottage, a towel slung over his shoulder. She slowed as she approached and realized she’d forgotten to bring one.

“I’m an idiot,” she said.

Garrett raised a brow.

“I forgot a towel. I need to go back and get one.”

He grinned. “No need. You can use one of mine. Let’s hit the water.”

She turned her gaze to the ocean and the gorgeous canvas of blue that sparkled like a cascade of diamonds. “Is it cold?”

He gaped in exaggerated fashion. “You mean you don’t know? You haven’t been in yet?”

She shook her head and grimaced.

“It’s warm. Feels pretty damn good. No crap on the bottom. Sand is smooth. No seaweed.”

Laughter bubbled up. “Well, thank goodness there’s no crap on the bottom. That would suck.”

He winked at her. “When you’ve waded through as much shit as I have, you tend to appreciate nice, clean water.”

“Last one in is a rotten egg,” she yelled, just as she took off for the water.

“Why, you little!” Garrett yelled. “Cheater!”

She hit the water with a resounding splash. Garrett barged in behind her and promptly tipped her into the surf. She came up sputtering, hair in her face but grinning like an idiot.

“I won,” she said triumphantly.

“You cheated.”

She sniffed and shoved at her bedraggled hair. “According to my rules, I won.”

Garrett laughed. “I know better by now than to argue with a woman when it comes to rules.”

She flopped back, rocking over the gentle swells as she stared up at the sky. “You were right. The water’s great and no crap on the bottom.”

He turned over onto his back and spread out his arms as he floated lazily beside her. “It’s good. I didn’t think it would be. I was thoroughly prepared to hate it here.”

Her brow scrunched up and she tried to glance over at him, but got a face full of water. “Why on earth did you come here then?”

He went silent for a minute. “Let’s just say my family was leaning on me pretty heavily to take a vacation. They put me on a plane and here I am. I hate to admit it, but they were right. I needed the downtime. I feel almost a hundred percent again.”

“Almost?”

“Yeah, I’m getting there.”

“Me too,” she murmured.

His fingers brushed hers as he stroked in the water. He snagged her finger, just one, but he held on, keeping that connection between them as they bobbed along with the waves. Here in a vast body of water, no one around for miles, she should have felt incredibly isolated and alone. She didn’t. For the first time in a year, she felt a connection to another person. A man. It helped heal a little part of her soul. The part that wondered if she was doomed to forever lock herself away from other people.

After a while, Garrett tugged at her hand and pulled her closer. He flipped and treaded water beside her while she continued to float on her back. “Having fun?”

She put her feet down and realized she couldn’t touch bottom. She grabbed a hold of his arm and righted herself until she was keeping above the water along with him. “Yeah. Thanks. I am. It’s ... peaceful out here.”

“We’re pretty far from the shore now. Think you’ll be able to make it back?”

She glanced up and gasped as she realized how far they’d drifted from the beach. She swam decently enough, but that was a long way back.

He nudged her cheek with a wet knuckle. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I didn’t mention it to make you frown. All you have to do is hang on to my shoulder and float. I’ll do all the work.”

Just like he’d been doing all along. Always helping her. Always shouldering the effort.

“Come on,” he said. “Grab hold. I’m hungry.”

She laughed. “We can’t have that. Clearly you’re in danger of starving to death with that body.”

“You like my body?”

The devilish glint in his eyes was nearly her undoing. The man was incorrigible. And his family thought he was an “uptight bastard?” It didn’t compute. Maybe his family didn’t understand him, or maybe they were the uptight ones. She’d never met a man as easygoing and understanding as Garrett.

She rolled her eyes at his fishing. “You know you have a great body.”

“You’ve been checking me out,” he said smugly.

“Duh,” she muttered under her breath.

He took her hand and slid it over a solid wall of muscle until her fingers were hooked over his shoulder. Damn but the man felt good.

“Hang on. Here we go.”

With a kick he was off. She attempted to help for a while until she realized her flailing about was actually hindering him, not helping. So she concentrated on staying afloat and was content to go along for the ride.

When he had them close enough to the shore that he could stand, he stopped swimming and began wading forward while she still grasped his shoulder. He tentatively slid his fingers over the top of her hand and then reached back in a gesture for her to give him her other hand.

She kicked until she was behind him and no longer beside him and gave him her other hand. He pulled until her arms were looped around his neck and she was hugged up against his back. Then he continued forward, pulling them both effortlessly through the water.

The shallower the water got, the higher he rose from the water and the higher she had to reach. He stopped when he was a little over waist deep, patted her hands to show her she should still hold on and then he reached back to grasp her behind the knees. He hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to forge ahead.

Okay, so she could totally stand right now, but she was enjoying the piggyback ride way too much to point out that she could make it on her own. She was wrapped around his hard body, and his big hands burned her thighs where he had hold above her knees.

He trudged out of the water and onto the sand, and still, he made no effort to put her down. He started down the beach toward her cottage. She rested her chin atop his head and sighed in contentment. She almost wished he’d slow down just to make the ride last longer. But all too soon he reached her deck and he turned so he could deposit her on the bottom step.

“Thanks,” she said lightly.

“Not a problem. Now you don’t have sand all over you.”

She glanced down at the sand caked on his feet and legs. “Wait right here. I’ll get some water to rinse you off.”

She hurried inside and filled a pitcher of water and then went back out where he was now sitting in one of the lawn chairs. He dutifully raised each foot for her to rinse and then plopped them back down onto the deck.

“After all that discussion about towels, I left mine back on the beach,” he said.

She blinked. A towel had been the last thing on her mind. “That’s okay. I’ll run in and get us one. If you can wait just a few minutes, I’ll go ahead and change before I come back out.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said lazily as he stretched his arms over his head like he was seeking the sun. He tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, and for a long moment she was riveted to just how beautiful the man was. She was utterly fascinated by him. The idea that man with such hard edges and scarred body—clearly the body of a warrior—could also be so gentle and understanding simply astounded her.

Forcing herself away, she let herself into the house and hurried for her bedroom, where she stripped out of her suit. With a grimace, she glanced down to see that sand had accumulated in some interesting places.

She ducked into the bathroom, turned on the shower and stepped underneath the chilly spray. Shivering the whole time, she quickly rinsed the sand off and decided while she was at it, she’d wash her hair.