Chapter 5 Nina
NINA
I’d heard about Echo Island mainly from social media since the vacation spot was way above my pay grade. It was a favorite tourist destination for influencers and movie stars, but today the white sand beach was crowded with my kind of people: joyfully screaming kids.
My colleagues and I had divided the kids up by age range for the day’s activity, and thanks to my new gig, I was hanging with Noah and the rest of the five-to-seven-year-olds for our surfing lessons.
I was happy to see that he’d started to come out of his shell a little, telling the other young cruisers about the stowaway now sharing his bunk.
Since we were strict about our no-phones policy with the kids, he’d resorted to drawing a picture of Ariel in the sand while the other kids watched in awe.
And speaking of awe…I glanced over to where Logan was chatting with one of the instructors. He was in swim trunks and a T-shirt that I sort of hoped would come off, because I needed to know what was going on with those shoulders.
The biceps peeking out beneath his sleeves clued me in to all of the hidden real estate worth exploring.
No. Down girl. I mentally sprayed myself with a water bottle. He was now my boss times two, and he was still a big freaking grump.
Both Logan and the instructor seemed to sense my staring, because they looked over and busted me in unison. My face went hot, and I turned away abruptly, like I heard someone call my name.
I was happy I was still wearing my cover-up over my bikini, so I wouldn’t have to wonder if they were staring at my ass.
“Hey, Team Stingray,” I called out, clapping my hands. “Report to me, please. We’re almost ready to go.”
My group of young cruisers scampered over to where I was standing right as the instructor for our section walked over. He had the sun-bleached, laid-back vibe of a man who was living his dream every day, and the body that proved that surfing was phenomenal exercise.
“I’m Tanner,” he said, extending his hand to me. “Looks like we’ll be working together.” He winked at me. “It’s my lucky day.”
“Nina.” I played off the compliment as we shook hands. “This is a fantastic group. Right, Team Stingray?”
The kids cheered and pogo-ed, but I noticed Noah drifting backward.
Uh-oh.
Tanner cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Team Stingray, let’s go! Who’s ready to shred?”
I laughed because Tanner seemed like a big kid. It was the right sort of energy for my group of goofballs.
Tanner led the kids through the basics of mounting a surfboard while on the sand, and they all followed along, even Noah.
But when it came time to get used to the sensation of holding onto the board in the water, he refused to go more than ankle-deep.
I’d had a feeling he was shutting down, and now I had proof.
Tanner broke off from the rest of the group to check in.
“Hey little bro, you good?” Tanner asked him.
Noah stared down at the sand. “I’m going to watch.”
I walked over to them and placed my hand on Noah’s shoulder. “I’ll hang with him, it’s okay.”
“Hey bud, surfing is super fun,” Tanner said encouragingly. “And your beautiful counselor and I won’t let a thing happen to you. Am I right, Miss Nina?”
He glanced at me and winked again. Yeah, guy, you’re handsome and all, but cool it with the hard sell in front of the kids.
“Exactly. You’re okay, Noah.”
“I’ll go out in a minute,” he answered.
Tanner looked ready to say more, but I stepped in front of Noah. “When we’re ready, we’ll come out.”
“Well, alrighty,” he gave us the “hang loose” hand sign and waded back out to the rest of the group, who were looking on.
Noah had been making progress with the rest of the kids, opening up a little thanks to the kitten, but now they were seeing him revert back to the scared, quiet kid who preferred being alone. I knew that wasn’t the real Noah, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what was making him retreat.
I dropped down where the water met the sand. “Sit with me?” I suggested.
Noah plopped down beside me.
“I love swimming. How about you?”
“Me too,” he said in a small voice. “My grandpa has a pool. I swim there when I visit my dad.”
I filed away the nugget of information.
“Have you ever swam in the ocean?”
“One time, with my dad.”
We both scanned the crowd on the beach. No surprise, Logan was locked onto us, frowning.
“He carried me in,” Noah added, pointing at his father.
“Oh, okay,” I said as I started to piece together what was going on. “Was it fun once you got out there?”
He nodded. “Because then I didn’t fall. One time I tried walking out and I tripped, and the waves pulled my bathing suit down.”
Bingo. Noah didn’t like the sensation of the shallow current and was probably worried about losing his swim trunks in front of his peers.
“Oh my gosh, the same thing happened to me, a long time ago! It was embarrassing, but I laughed it off because it was also kinda silly.”
Noah stared out at the water wearing a frown.
“I have an idea: what if I hold your hand and the surfboard, and then once we’re past where those nasty little waves are, you can float on the board? Is that an okay plan?”
“Yeah,” he replied, sounding like he wasn’t convinced.
I stood up and ran to grab the surfboard then brought it to Noah. I held out my hand to him.
“Let’s go.”
He reached for my hand then paused. “Miss Nina, hold on. You can’t wear your dress in the water.”
“You’re right, silly me,” I laughed, then peeled off the gauzy black cover-up.
When I turned to toss it on the sand, I caught Logan’s eyes on me, but I resolved to ignore them.
If he wanted to monitor our every move, fine.
I knew what I was doing, and Noah ending up with his belly on the board in waist-deep water proved it.
“Wow!” Tanner exclaimed as he paddled over to us. “Looking good.”
His eyes were fixed on me.
“Noah is really brave, huh?” I answered. “Are you having fun?”
“Uh-huh,” he beamed at me. “Watch this!”
Noah paddled his hands through the water like Tanner had showed us on the beach.
“Yeah, dude!” Tanner clapped as Noah circled back to us. “You two make a great team. I sort of wish Miss Nina would be on my team. How long are you visiting Echo Key?”
Tanner fixed me with a smoldering glare that almost made me blush.
Noah bobbed on the board in between us as I negotiated a way out of the pending ask.
“Oh, we’re just here for the day,” I replied quickly.
“Really? Because I heard you guys were docking overnight. That means you have some free time after your shift ends, right?” Tanner said playfully. “I’d love to show you some of the hidden delights of the Key. I think we could have a lot of fun together.”
I opted to watch Noah paddling instead of meeting Tanner’s stare.
“Excuse me, but don’t you have children you should be instructing?”
The harsh voice behind me made me jump.
Logan, coming in hot. His scowl was so blatant that Tanner took a step backward.
When I spotted his bare chest on full display, I took my own steps away from him. Why did my boss have to look like that? Now it was my turn to stare because his torso was Greek god-tier. Like, grab a chisel and some marble to commemorate that perfect fucking body.
I cleared my throat and refocused on Noah.
“Oh, no worries, brother,” Tanner answered good naturedly. “I’ve got this. It’s shallow enough so that everyone can stand,” Tanner replied. “Team Stingray, woo hoo!” He fist pumped.
“Well, remember that you’re being paid to teach the kids, not chat up our staff.”
My face went scarlet at the blatant callout. Noah was watching the show from his surfboard, swiveling his head back and forth like he was watching a tennis match as the two men sparred.
“Easy, bro, take a breath,” Tanner laughed, but I could tell he was intimidated by Logan. “We were just talking.”
Tanner backed away, leaving the three of us alone. Noah paddled in circles nearby, probably to show off for his dad.
“Okay, that was a bit much,” I scolded Logan in a low voice. “He was just being nice.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, would you prefer that he keep flirting with you while one of our young cruisers slips under water? You were that into him?”
I was shocked by the displeasure in his voice.
“Come on,” I hissed, because Noah was circling back to us. “Not at all.”
“Hey, Daddy! Look at me!”
Noah attempted to get onto his knees on the board, causing it to tip back and forth. He pancaked back onto it, his eyes wide and panicked.
“Bud, don’t fight the water,” Logan coached. “Feel it. You’re in a partnership. That’s the only way to find your flow.”
“Hold on, you surf?” I asked incredulously.
He bobbed his head. “When I can.”
The tightly wound man was the last person I could picture embracing chill surfer vibes, but as he coached Noah, it became clear that he did know what he was talking about.
“Hey, Miss Nina, come here!”
It was Brayden, standing on top of his board and waving me over. I waved back and held up a “one second” finger.
“Guys, excuse me for a minute.” I glanced between them. “You’ll be okay?”
Noah nodded, but he was frowning, clearly not happy with the idea of me walking away. Weirdly, his dad’s face wore the same expression.
And honestly, I would have liked to stay…but Noah was in good hands, and the other kids deserved to get my attention too.
We neared the end of the class, and I realized that I hadn’t taken a single photo.
The ship had a staff photographer, of course, but I had gotten into the habit of capturing shots of the kids throughout the day to send to parents, which they all seemed to love.
Not a job requirement, just something I did to share the joy.
I walked back to shore relishing the perfect day. A cloudless blue sky, bathwater-warm water, and laughter all around me. I waded back out into the water and snapped photos of the kids having fun, then turned my phone to Logan and Noah.
Damn it, why did his back have to flex like that? And those arms…so strong and capable, holding onto the surfboard while Noah stood up. It didn’t help that he was having a genuinely sweet moment with Noah, and guys being good dads was a weak spot of mine.
To distract myself, I snapped a flurry of photos and couldn’t stop even after he sat back down. I zoomed in on Logan.
Yeah, I needed to share evidence of the hotness with Tasha, so she’d understand what I was up against.
I waited until Logan was perfectly framed, with his wet hair slicked back and his body covered in rivulets of cascading water.
Fuck. He was perfect.
“Can my boss be any hotter? FML,” I typed quickly, then attached a zoomed-in photo of Logan.
Tanner blew a whistle to signal the end of class, and everyone started swimming back to shore. Noah ran straight for me, trailed by Logan.
“Did you see me, Miss Nina? I stood up!”
“I sure did! I even got pictures of it,” I replied. I handed him his towel and scrolled through the camera roll to find the series I’d taken of the two of them. I handed my phone to Noah.
I watched his face shift into a giant smile as he looked at the images. “Daddy, look at us!”
He handed my phone to his father, and as I watched him scroll, I remembered the creeper pictures I’d taken of him and sent to Tasha.
“Uh, can I get my phone back?” I asked nervously.
Logan didn’t answer as he scrolled with his thumb. I could feel my cheeks going hot. But then again, maybe it wouldn’t register that my photo series made me look like a groupie.
“Noah, you have to bring the surfboard back to Tanner,” I heard a little voice call out. “I can help you.”
My heart warmed when I saw Ryan running over. Was it the beginning of a new friendship? They each grabbed a side of the board and hiked over to the meeting spot.
“These shots are…interesting,” Logan said, reminding me of the more pressing issue I was currently facing.
His eyes flicked to me for a moment—I could see the little smirk from ten paces away—then back down to my phone as he continued swiping his finger on the screen.
Busted.
My text alert chimed.
“Oh, I’m expecting a reply to something,” I said, reaching my hand out and clawing the air. “Can I grab my phone…”
“From Tasha?” Logan asked mischievously.
I went numb. Oh hell no. He did not just see her reply to the thirst-trap photo I sent her.
“She said, ‘What a body, holy eye candy, did you sign a non-fraternization policy?’ Now what could she mean by that?”
“She’s, uh, talking about, um,” I stuttered as reality crashed down on top of me. “A guy at her job.”
He pursed his lips and did an exaggerated nod. “Sure. Right. That makes sense.”
Logan walked my phone back over to me, eyes locked on mine. I wanted to fidget, to look away, but I was hypnotized, unable to look away despite my embarrassment that this shirtless, damp, muscley grump now knew exactly what I thought about his body.
He placed my phone back in my hand, and I blamed my overactive imagination on the way his fingertips lingered against my palm.
Logan started walking away, then turned to look over his shoulder at me.
“Just for the record, Ashford Cruises doesn’t have a fraternization policy.”
Double fuck. So busted.