Reece couldn't fall asleep. He laid in bed staring at the ceiling, his mind stuck on this evening.
He kept seeing Lynn's blue dress swirling around as they danced, her bright green eyes shining as they talked. Her soft hands in his, her blush when he complimented her.
Every time Reece closed his eyes he was there dancing with her again, like it was a dream that was too good to ever forget.
As he laid there, he realized that he was beginning to fall for Adalynn Caine. Shit.
* * *
Reece woke up late the next day, bone tired from last night. He was up too late to wake up any time before ten.
He rubbed his face and stared up at the ceiling. He was going to have to see Adalynn today. And the next day. After his realization last night, he knew that being around her now was going to be difficult to say the least.
He finally found the energy to get up and get dressed. When he walked into the living area of the guest suite, his grandfather was stiffly sitting in a chair and he gave his grandson a cold stare.
"Reece. Come sit."
He had prepared himself for this, but he still didn't want to hear it. He begrudgingly sat down.
"I have Mr. Caine's trust. I have landed in a place where our job is the easiest. Stealing all we can and leaving. As for you, you have gotten nowhere. And that is unacceptable. This Adalynn Caine was difficult from the beginning, but now I'm only seeing laziness and hesitation from you."
"Grandfather, I have seen no evidence that Adalynn has her own stash of money. My other targets were given piles of it, loads of jewelry, they were spoiled beyond belief. Adalynn doesn't have anything for me to take."
Mr. Graves was furious. "That sounds like quitting talk to me, boy, and I will not have it. I have worked hard for this job, and you will not be the one to ruin it. Find Miss Caine's fortune, bug her phone to learn more, search her room. Do anything. Just get to work. I'm tired of waiting for you, and I'm not walking away from this job with less money than I planned."
Reece knew there was no arguing with the old man. "Yes sir." He finally brought himself to say.
"Good. Now get to work. I've already set a few things in motion."
Reece left without another word. He wanted to punch something. Particularly his grandfather's crooked old face. He wanted to get in his car and drive away to anywhere away from here. Last night he told Adalynn that he wasn't going to hurt her. And he was heading toward doing just that.
* * *
Lynn was out by the pool for the hundredth time that week, it seemed. She was determined to swim, to get over her fear of water. She let out a slow breath. "Okay, here we go."
She lowered herself into the pool and stood frozen to the spot as she looked at the rest of the pool. The deeper end. Right now the water was at her chest, but at least she could still stand.
"It's just water. It's just a little pool." She whispered. She took a step forward, but stopped again. "It's water. I'm scared of water."
Lynn turned back and grabbed onto the edge, taking in deep breaths as she closed her eyes. "You're fine, Lynn. You could swim when you were seven. Come on."
She finally faced the water again. "Good start." She whispered. She began moving forward slowly, determined to make it. The water crept up her body as it grew deeper. She stopped when it was at her chin. "Don't panic."
After a moment, Lynn finally built up the courage she needed. She pushed forward, letting her feet slip from the bottom of the pool. And she began paddling, going through the motions of swimming that she knew.
She smiled triumphantly and then laughed as she swam around. She remembered how it was to swim freely. The days she did with her mother that seemed so long ago.
After a time, she swam back to the shallow end and set her arms on the edge. She laughed, dropping her forehead to her arms. "I'm still scared of it, but I swam."
"Well done, Princess."
Lynn looked up to see Reece standing near the beach chairs in front of her wearing shorts and a white t-shirt. "Oh, morning Toad."
"Well to us it's morning but it's actually past noon."
She laughed. "Right." She pulled herself out of the pool and Reece handed over her blue towel. "Thank you." She dried herself off and wrapped it around her. "Got any plans today?"
"I do, actually. And I'm here to invite you along." Reece offered, shooting her a hopeful smile.
"Oh. Well it depends on what you're doing. Like if you were going golfing I would decline because I find the sport mind numbing. If you were eating sushi, well sushi makes me sick-"
Reece chuckled. "Lynn. You don't need to ramble."
She blushed. "Oh, right, sorry."
"Don't worry about it, it's cute."
Her blush deepened. Why could he always do that to her?
"I'm going surfing with a few of my friends. Did you want to tag along?"
Lynn bit her lip. "Um... Sure. Just don't blame me if I chicken out at some point. The ocean is the biggest body of water, and I'm scared of water..." She trailed off, glancing up at Reece.
"That's perfectly fine. You can sit on the beach and do nothing if you want."
Lynn smiled. "Okay, cool. I'll go get changed and... I'll meet you out front?"
He nodded. "Sounds good."
Lynn hurried inside.
Reece glanced up at the windows of the guest suite, where his grandfather was watching with cold eyes, and he felt sick. Mr. Graves found out that he was going to invite Lynn along today, and when he did, he ordered Reece to keep her busy so that Brighton could search her room today.
Reece planned on leaving without inviting her and pretending that she turned the offer down. But his grandfather insisted on witnessing the interaction. He wished Lynn didn't agree.
* * *
Lynn held onto the board like her life depended on it.
"Lynn-"
"I know, I know, you showed me the basics on the shore." She spat out. "But now we're on the ocean."
Reece laughed from where he sat on his surf board a little ways from her. "There are hardly waves right now, it's a good time to test out the waters... Literally."
Lynn bit her lip and pulled her legs up underneath her. She slowly got herself standing.
Reece was already on his feet. "If you are as stiff as the board you're on, you won't be able to do anything."
"Right." Lynn laughed nervously.
"Okay, there are a few small waves coming in, we can test them out." Reece positioned his board expertly. "Just follow my lead, you'll be fine."
"Okay, I got this." She whispered to herself. "If I fall, oh well, I'll get back up." She watched Reece closely, watched how he moved, how he looked fully relaxed on his board. She copied the position of his feet, the way he stood.
"Reece glanced back at her. "Ready?"
"Totally."
The wave hit Reece first and he easily rode the wave, gliding over the water like he belonged there.
Lynn didn't have much time to prepare. The wave was rather small when it came to surfing, but she was still scared of water. She tried copying exactly what Reece did, and for a moment it was working. But her victory didn't last long. Her board skimmed the water at a weird angle, which sent Lynn flipping into the water.
She floundered for a moment but quickly surfaced, grabbing onto her board instantly.
"Princess, you alright?" Reece called.
Lynn laughed. "Yeah, I'm good! I'm just an idiot!"
Further out on the water where the bigger waves were, Lynn could hear Reece's friends laughing. Probably because she looked so stupid while she fell. But she found it funny as well.
Reece paddled over to her. "You were close, you just panicked and tried moving against the water."
Lynn brushed her wet hair from her face. "You make it look easy, Toad. I must tell you that it is not."
He chuckled. "You want to move with the water, not fight against it. Come on, get on your board."
Lynn pulled herself onto the white board with a huff. "I'm not sure surfing is for me, Reece. Now if it was a surfing videogame, it might be different."
He shook his head but smiled. "The real life is much more fun."
"Okay." Lynn tilted her head. "So, how do you properly surf?"
"There are a lot of different ways to surf, but the only way to be able to do any surfing is to be relaxed. The board is the one being tense and stiff for you."
She nodded. "Okay, I get that. It's just hard to relax when... I'm scared of water."
"Pretend it isn't water."
Lynn looked out at the water. "Hm. Okay, I'll do that."
"Good to try again, Princess?"
"Yeah, I'll give it another go." Lynn paddled further out to sea, ready to try again and get it right this time. She dragged her leg in the water to pull herself to a stop and watched as the next small wave came rolling on. She slowly stood on her board. Pretend it isn't water.
She let out a slow breath and imagined the wave was cotton candy, that the water was marshmallows.
Reece watched from a short distance away, noticing the determination in her green eyes. It was kind of cute how she was so determined to do this, even though it was such a small thing. She seemed to put her all into everything, no matter what it was.
"Come on, Lynn." She urged herself. She met the wave head on, relaxing her body and moving with the flow of the water. Lynn laughed as the wave faded toward shore. "Yes! Toad, you saw that, right?"
"You bet I did! Whoo!"
Lynn fist pumped the air, proud that she managed to do that. Then her feet slipped. "Whoa!" She fell off the board as graceful as a falling boulder, causing her own waves in the ocean.
Reece laughed as she surged to the surface again, spitting out water. "That was very good, Lynn. I liked the final act as well."
Lynn laughed, a little embarrassed as she clung onto her surf board. "I like to end with a flourish."
"I can see that. But really, that was good, Lynn. You could become an awesome surfer one day."
"Ha. Maybe. But right now I'm going to shore. I've had enough water for a bit."
"Okay. Good job."
She smiled. "Thanks. Now go join your friends on the big waves. I know you've been dying to since we got here."
Reece grinned. "Alright. See you in a bit." He paddled out to sea, ready to get rid of his pent up energy.
Once on shore, Lynn dried off with her towel and leaned back against Reece's car. She watched him out on the water as he surfed. He moved freely and expertly among the waves. And it helped that he looked delicious, as Sammy would say. His dark hair was soaked with sea water, but it still looked soft, somehow. She didn't even need to think about how nice he looked shirtless. Anyone could see that for themselves.
He was faster than his two friends, and he seemed more at ease on the water.
Lynn found herself drawn in by his surfing, almost mesmerized by how he moved and how happy he seemed.
"Damn."
"Mhm." Lynn hummed in agreement. She jumped out of her daze. "Oh! Holy crap, Eva! You scared me, I didn't know you were there."
Eva laughed, throwing an arm around Lynn's shoulders. "Girl, you're falling head over heels for that boy. You looked like you were watching your favorite movie, but all the characters are sexy Reece."
"How did you even know where I was?" Lynn asked, turning her attention to her best friend.
She shrugged. "Miss Sanders tracks you. I asked her to locate you for me."
"Aw, I've always wanted a stalker." Lynn teased, patting Eva's face.
She batted her hand away. "I came to see if I could score a surfer dude. From the looks of it, the other two are just as yummy as your sexy Reece."
Lynn groaned. "Do you really have to call him that?"
"Of course. He's sexy. What do you call him?"
Lynn snorted. "Toad."
"Really? He calls you Princess, and you call him a slimy creature that has no place in your life?"
"It was from when I met him. When I... didn't like him."
"There it is. Girl, he's staying at your place. Jump on that." Eva shrugged. "I would."
"Of course you would. Well I'm not doing that. He doesn't like me, I know that."
"From what you were saying last night when I called you, it sure sounds like it. Your dad wants you to marry some rich shmuck, and all the other dudes are idiots or jerks... or both. You told me that Reece is kind, gentle, and funny. Plus, he's sexy as hell."
Lynn chuckled. "You're right. It's just... I don't think I can... get involved with him."
"I support whatever you do, girl."
* * *
"Today was awesome." Lynn murmured as she leaned back in the passenger seat.
The sun had gone down an hour ago, and she was riding home with Reece. After surfing, they had all gone to get pizza. Eva and Quentin were the entertainment of the night as they joked around and flirted with each other.
"It definitely was." Reece agreed. "Although I still have a bit of sand in my hair."
Lynn chuckled. "I do too. But that's good in a way I guess." She sighed. "It was so nice to relax for once. Get away from my suffocating life."
"I hear ya." Reece glanced over at her and smiled. "You got past your fear today. That was also awesome."
"Yeah, that was probably a one time thing." She looked at him. "You looked way relaxed on the water. The opposite of me. It was like you belonged there. Like it's where you find your peace."
Reece's lips twitched. "You're perceptive. My grandfather doesn't exactly fill my life with daisies. He's tough, bossy. And you already know that he's an asshole. The water gives me an escape, in a way."
Lynn smiled. "That's nice. The only escape I really have is in books and video games. But those escapes are so small so... temporary."
"So you feel like you're... trapped. Like you don't have any choice but to live on with what you have."
"Yeah." She touched his arm. "Thanks for showing me your escape."
Reece nearly forgot how to drive as he felt her hand on his arm. "Yeah, I'm glad I did." He managed. There was definitely something wrong with him. He never reacted like this with a girl. Even a girl he liked. Too deep.
Lynn quickly drew back, realizing that she nearly caused herself a heart attack.
Luckily they pulled up to the mansion right away, killing the awkward tension that seemed to rise out of nowhere.
They went inside together, unknowingly trailing in sand behind them.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Lynn said as she stepped onto the stairs.
"Yeah. And I'm glad you had a good time, Princess."
She smiled. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Reece watched her disappear up the stairs and cursed at himself. Too deep.
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I love this book. I'm having so much fun writing it. Hope you enjoyed.
Thanks for reading (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)