Cinderella Steals Home (15 page)

   
He drops the anchor first, then the ladder.
 

   
I turn to the galley steps and see Justin already coming up them with a small grill in his arms. The other guys come up with coolers and drinks and the girls have blankets in their hands. I'm just wondering how they all fit down there at the same time.
 

   
I also notice they've all changed out of their bathing suits and into shorts and sweats.
 

   
I look around for my bag and find it laying against the couch.

   
"Probably a good idea," Doan says, nodding as I pull out a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. "I'll wait for you while you get changed."
 

   
I take the clothes down to the galley with me and slowly strip out of my still-wet bathing suit and change into a dry bikini. I toss my sweatshirt and shorts on, shove my feet back into my flip-flops and trot back up the steps, avoiding looking in the mirror hanging on the side wall at all costs.
 

   
"Ready?" Doan's standing over by the ladder when I get up to the deck. I walk over to him and he reaches out and gently brushes his hand against the small of my back as he guides me in front of him.
 

   
"You first," I tell him, and he gives me a funny look before he goes down the ladder, the last of the things we'll need for grilling dinner tucked neatly under one of his arms.
 

   
He gets down the ladder and stands in the shallow water, waiting for me. I turn to climb the short distance down.
 

   
As I'm climbing, my left foot lands on one of the rungs but my shoe must be wet from the lake or maybe it's just the ladder, I'm not really sure.
 

   
But all I do know is that I lose my balance first, my grip second, and my foot swings out from under me and I'm falling backward toward the very shallow water with a very hard, sandy, rocky bottom that isn't going to be too kind about catching my fall.
 

   
And just as I squeeze my eyes shut as tightly as I can to brace for impact, two strong hands reach out and grab my arms, steadying me. They pull me against Doan's solid, broad chest, my toes just dangling in the water as he holds me up.

   
"Son of a bitch," he mutters to himself as he eases me down and gently sets me in the water.
 

   
"What was that?" I ask, not sure I know exactly what just happened.

   
"You fell, I caught you," he says, that cocky, teasing smile back in his place on his face where I'm so used to seeing it now that it doesn't irritate me anymore.
 

   
It just feels like Doan.

   
"My hero," I tease, looking at him then frowning. "What happened to all the stuff you were carrying?"
 

   
"Dropped it to grab you," he says.

   
I look down into the water and sure enough, paper plates, cups and napkins float around my ankles.

   
"Oops."
 

   
Doan shrugs and smiles and turns to start walking toward the shoreline. We head up to the beach and join the others in easy silence.
 

   
Justin and Joey are working on lighting the grill while Allison hovers over my brother's shoulder, and I'm not sure what happened to the other two people whose names I still don't know.

   
"Got it!" Justin calls out triumphantly as a small flame shoots up. He and Joey lean back and rest on their calves in the sand, and when Allison plants a kiss on Justin's cheek, it's hard for me to keep from smirking.

    
But instead I just look around for Doan and find him standing near a palm tree maybe twenty feet away, watching me. I blush and immediately shift my gaze away.

   
"Do you guys need help with anything?" I ask, desperate for something to do to keep me busy.
 

   
My brother shakes his head. "We're good, Holls. Thanks."
 

   
"You can help me spread out the blankets," Allison pipes up, pushing herself to her feet and disentangling herself from Justin. "I don't know where Cam and Liz went, anyway."
 

   
I stare at her for a few silent seconds before nodding and following her a few yards away from the grill.
 

   
She hands me an end of one of the blankets and we shake it out then spread it on the sand. When I happen to glance up at her, she's staring back at me.

   
"So," she says. "You and Doan, huh?"
 

   
I shrug and place my end of the blanket neatly on the ground. "What about us?"
 

   
"You're a thing."
 

   
I smirk and shake my head. "No, we aren't."
 

   
But Allison just smiles. "I've known him for a long time," she says. "A long time. I've never seen him watch someone the way he watches you."
 

    
A small shiver prickles at the base of my spine. "How does he watch me?"
 

   
"Like he doesn't have any other choice."
 

   
I feel my cheeks start to grow warm as I think about this.
 

    
I'm not sure what it means, not even sure what I
want
it to mean. Doan isn't the kind of guy I'm interested in; I've said that from the beginning.
 

   
But what happens when things change?

   
Are
they changing?

   
I don't know the answer.

   
I'm not sure I want to, either.
 

   
Allison spreads out her end of the blanket and smooths it out before getting to her feet and picking up the second.
 

   
"You look flustered," she observes, passing me part of it.
 

   
I shake my head as if that'll help me clear out the loud, buzzing thoughts battling around in me now. "Nah, I'm fine."
 

   
Allison lifts an eyebrow. "I'd believe you if I didn't know what Doan can do to a girl myself."
 

   
She's definitely grabbed my interest with that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

   
But Allison only grins like she has a secret only she knows and she isn't planning on sharing.

   
"If you have to ask, you haven't figured it out yet."
 

   
"You're freaking me out," I tell her, and I'm only half-kidding.
 

   
She waves a hand dismissively in my direction. "Don't worry," she says. "It'll be different with you guys. You'll see."

   
We finish spreading out the blankets then make our way back up to the guys gathered around the smoking grill in silence.

    
And I have no idea what to think.
 

***

   
"Those were so good," Allison says, putting her empty plate stained with ketchup on the sand next to the blanket. "Nice job, Doan."

   
He looks up from his burger. He's just taken a huge bite out of it and grins bashfully while he chews.
 
Allison laughs and even I can't help but smile.

   
Doan just looks so cute sitting there like this, and I'm not happy that I'm noticing him this way now.
 

   
But I can't get Allison's words out of my head and I don't know what to make of it.
 

    
All I know is that I'm having a really hard time keeping my eyes off him tonight.
 

   
And if we're being honest, it's been like that since the day I saw him in Dad's pool.

   
He happens to look up at me in the glow of the fire Justin built before the food was finished cooking. I'm staring absently at him while I think. He catches my eye and winks ever so subtly -- there and gone before you know it, a gesture meant only for me.

   
Night has fallen completely over the lake now, the fire the only light we have, and I'm starting to wonder when we're going to head back home. Even with my nap earlier, I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes from fluttering closed.
 

   
"Glad you liked it," Doan says once he's finished chewing.

   
"Yeah, you killed it on the grill," Joey adds. "Nice job, bro."
 

   
"It's about that time," he says. "Hand me your plates."
 

   
"I can clean up," I say, scrambling to my feet. "You already cooked and brought everything out here."
 

   
I'm not sure why I do it, but I catch Allison's eye then and she's looking back at me with an amused, I-told-you-so smile on her face.

    
Great.
 

    
"You don't have to do that," Doan says.

    
I shrug but before I can say anything, Justin answers for me.

    
"Yeah, she does," he says. "It's just who she is. That's definitely our mom's side coming out."

   
I turn to Justin slowly and find him smiling hesitantly at me. But I'm just surprised he remembers that. I return his smile before collecting everyone's trash and tossing into one of the empty plastic bags near the grill.

   
When I'm done, I realize that only Doan is left on the blanket. He's watching me as I figure out that it's just the two of us now.
 

   
Alone.
 

   
I slow my approach as I get nearer to him, but I'm close enough to see the amused smile spread across his face.
 

   
"Where'd everyone go?"
 

   
"They left."
 

   
I shake my head. "Oh, is that what happened? Thanks for that."
 

   
He grins cheekily at me and the fire is bright enough to show the twinkle in his eyes.
 

   
"Allison and Justin decided to take a walk. I don't know where the others went."
 

   
I drop down onto the blanket, close enough to let him easily cover the distance between us but leaving enough space that it doesn't seem like I want him to.
 

   
"Fireworks should start soon," he says without moving.
 

   
"From where?"
 

   
He shrugs. "Whoever brought some on the water. I had some last year but we figured out pretty fast that it's easier to watch everyone else shoot them instead." He pauses, then chuckles softly. "Plus, Justin almost blew his hand off."
 

    
I laugh. "You know that isn't the first time he's done that."
 

   
Doan nods. "He mentioned that. You were still living here when that happened, right?"
 

   
"Yeah. My mom wouldn't talk to my dad for days."
 

   
"What happened there?" he asks, his voice quiet and serious.
 

   
"Where?" I ask even though I know exactly what he means.
 

   
"With your parents. And you and Justin. Why'd you move away? What's the rest of the story you wouldn't tell me before?"
 

   
I take a deep breath and absently twist my hair into a loose spiral.
 

   
"You know you do that when you're nervous," he says, nodding at my hair.

   
I frown and instantly let go of the twist. "No, I don't."
 

   
He raises an eyebrow. "Pretty sure you do."
 

   
I can hear the amusement in his voice but with Allison's words blurring my thoughts, I'm unnerved that he's noticed me do this enough to point it out.
 

   
And be right about it.
 

   
"Do you want to hear the story or not?"
 

   
"Sorry." He stretches out and rests his head on the blanket. "Tell me. From the beginning."

   
"I told you a lot of it already."
 

   
"I want to hear it again."
 

   
I take a deep breath. "You know my dad used to play pro baseball."
 

   
"Yep. For Arizona."
 

   
I nod. "Right. And for Colorado," I say. "He got traded there right at the deadline and went and played out the year. Me and Justin and my mom stayed here. We watched all of his games. I still loved baseball then because it was the only thing I really knew.
 
I didn't really think anything of it. Of Dad going to live in Colorado for a couple of months. He would go and he would come back and everything would be fine. He was going to retire at the end of the season because he didn't want to live in Colorado permanently and he still had a couple years left on his contract. And he did come back."

   
I pause before continuing as I pick up handfuls of sand and let the grains run between my fingers.