Bishop Brothers Series: Four Book Complete Set

Chapter 5-2

Miranda or Mazie hands me a piece of paper, and once I see it’s her phone number, I look up and wink, knowing I have no intentions of actually calling her. But I’m a gentleman after all, so of course, I smile in return. We had a good time last night at the bar drinking and dancing, but that’s as far as things will go.

I watch her walk away, and when I look up, I see the blonde girl glaring in my direction. The opportunity to taunt her is too good to pass up when I see her muttering under her breath.

Just as I take a huge bite of my pancakes, the redhead that was sitting with the blonde girl who just rejected me walks over to our table with a beaming smile on her face.

“Hey, I’m Natalie, and this is my boyfriend, Adam,” she says, waving her hand to the guy standing next to her. “And that girl at my table you were talking to is my friend River.”

Smiling, I quickly swallow down the rest of my food. “Nice to meet y’all. This is Dylan, and I’m Alex.”

“River likes to play hard to get, but she’s totally single.” She flashes a wink. “Just in case you were wondering,” she adds, then continues, “and she’d probably murder me if she knew I told you that.”

Now I’m the one laughing. “Probably, but I can keep a secret.”

“Okay, good. Thanks.” She grins. “Well, I hope we’ll see you around the resort.”

“I’m sure you will. We’re here for two weeks,” I add, giving her a smile.

“Us too!” Natalie squeals. “Wait, are you single?” She furrows her brows at me. “Want to make sure there isn’t a wife, girlfriend, or fiancée waiting for you at home.”

Dylan snorts. “Ma’am, his middle name is single.”

I glance at Dylan, but Natalie doesn’t seem to notice.

“Well, that’s great news.” Her eyes light up, and I can tell she’s already trying to play matchmaker. It’s not the first time I’ve seen that look on a woman's face, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

“Babe, we gotta go. The boat leaves in twenty minutes,” Adam reminds her.

She nods at him with a smile then looks back at me. “We’ll totally see you around.”

Once she walks away, Dylan scoffs. “Seriously? I swear, it’s so easy for you. She’s already trying to hook you up. What a nice friend.” He grins.

I continue to stuff my face. “Basically, but she’s just trying to play matchmaker. I already know what type she is—overly flirty and sweet, but a loyal friend. And I sincerely appreciate her giving me the scoop on her pretty friend. The info might come in handy.”

After Dylan rolls his eyes then basically licks his plate clean, he sits back in his chair and pats his stomach. “Might need a wheelbarrow to get me out of here.”

“Wasn’t like Mama’s cooking, but it hit the spot,” I admit, overly full too. Dylan and I finish our juice before we stand and stretch. Thankfully my head stopped pounding, and I feel like a new man after eating.

“Whatcha wanna do today?” Dylan asks just as a man with a stack of bright yellow flyers walks through the hotel lobby and hands us both one.

“Stand up paddleboarding, windsurfing, jet skis, kayaks, snorkeling, and an all-day pass is only $149. But wait, for just $59.99 more, we can add a sunset cruise with a romantic dinner.”

“You’ve got the creepy infomercial voice down,” I tell him with a chuckle. “I saw some people on those board things yesterday. It looked like fun.”

“Yeah and the weather outside is perfect. We should do it. The rental place is right around the corner.” Dylan folds the paper and shoves it into his pocket.

“Let’s get ready and head over there.”

After we go to our room and change into swim clothes, we walk down to the water sports shop, just like the flyer says. Before we leave the hotel lobby, I glance around for River but don’t see her anywhere. That woman is officially on my radar. Her smart mouth and the way she responds to me is intriguing, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was curious. After I shake the image of her round ass walking away from breakfast this morning, I realize Dylan is talking to me.

“What do you want to do first?” he repeats himself, annoyed.

“Let’s start at the beginning of the list and work our way down.”

As we walk a few blocks, we see the big yellow signs pointing to the shop.

“Hey, welcome!” a high-energy woman says from behind the counter when we enter.

“Howdy, ma’am,” Dylan and I both respond in unison. It’s easy to blend in with the tourists in our board shorts and flip-flops, but the moment we open our mouths, people know we’re not from around these parts. Though we’ve been here less than twenty-four hours, Key West is a culture shock to us. It’s much different from the rolling hills, cactus, cows, and ranch. Reggae music plays in the background, and seashell wind chimes rattle in the breeze.

“Have you ever been on a paddleboard before?” The cute woman walks around the counter as we look at the different boards and paddles lined up against the wall.

“No, ma’am,” Dylan says, putting the Southern accent on real thick, and I’m pretty sure she’s about to melt in his palm.

“Please don’t call me ma’am. I’m twenty-two years old, not eighty,” she tells him with her eyebrow raised. “I’m Trish.”

“Nice to meet you, Trish,” Dylan says in a low raspy voice. Right about now, if he was wearing his cowboy hat, he would’ve tipped it.

She blushes. “I have a class in ten minutes to teach beginners if you’d like to sign up,” she tells him with a flirty smile playing on her lips. “We’ll meet right over there by the flags.” She points to the bright blue flags out by the kayaks on the shore. The shop is walking distance from the water, which’ll make carrying everything convenient, considering the boards are so bulky.

Dylan looks over his shoulder at me for approval, and I nod my head at him with a smirk.

“Yeah, we’ll sign up.” He pulls out his credit card and pays.

We happily walk to the beach with our boards and paddles while the sun beams down on us. A slight breeze wisps through the palm trees, and it feels as if we’re in actual paradise on Earth. I take off my shirt and throw it on the beach, trying to enjoy the warmth while I can. In a month, the temperatures in Texas will drop below forty before lunchtime, so warm days like this will be few and far between.

“She was cute, don’t you think?” he asks, removing his T-shirt too.

As soon as I get ready to open my mouth and give him some s**t, Trish comes bopping toward us in a small bikini. After a quick explanation of how to mount the board, she starts giving extra attention to Dylan, allowing her eyes to linger a little too long on his chest and abs. I encourage him with every innuendo she throws his way.