Chapter 12
Mistaken identity
Riley was not having a good day, not at all.
She'd woken up in the worst way possible, bolting out of bed and yelling, "Nooo!
" as Bear started puking up some godforsaken thing he'd found on the beach.
She made it just in time to shove him out the patio door before he ruined the floor.
Of course, he came bouncing back in, apparently feeling much better, and promptly planted a kiss right on her lips.
Gross! She loved him, but on some days he was so disgusting.
Then, her Jeep decided not to start. She was grateful it was her morning to bring supplies to the Lagoon by boat, but the rats she worked with hadn't delivered everything yesterday.
Now she was hauling more than she should onto the skiff.
"Hope it all fits," she muttered, eyeing the dive tanks that needed to go in along with the groceries.
"Hey there!" a deep voice called out.
Riley glanced up, squinting against the sunlight. All she could see was a hulking figure framed in a blinding halo. She shielded her eyes to get a better look and saw a tall, attractive man standing on the dock. Great. A tourist. Not today, Satan.
"The registration booth is over the hill. You can't miss it," she said curtly, turning back to the boat to balance the dive tanks and make room for the rest of the supplies.
But the shadow looming over her didn't move.
She sighed, climbed up onto the dock, and stepped out of the sun to get a clearer view.
"Sorry, do you speak English? I mean, you said 'hey there,' and you seem like you understand, but you're still standing here.
" At this, Riley huffed and motioned with her hands all around the area that apparently she didn't want occupied anymore by Gray.
The man grinned, flashing the whitest teeth she'd ever seen. Geez-us, how were his teeth so white?
"Yes, I understand English perfectly. I'm Gray, and you're Riley?" He held out his hand.
Riley stared at him, then at his outstretched hand. "You're Gray? The researcher?" Oh god. How had she not recognized him? Her cheeks flamed as she realized her mistake, but she was still too grumpy to muster an apology.
"Yep, that's me! You're getting it now. Whew, I thought we'd be at this all day." He chuckled. "I'm Gray, and you're my ride."
She stared at him a little longer than necessary, processing.
"Am I missing something? You are Riley, right?
We met a year ago? I know it was a brief, and as I remember, awkward exchange, but we've been working on getting me here for a project for a while.
Well, I guess it's been mostly Cam and me talking, but you have been a big push for this, right?
" Gray studied her, remembering seeing her present at the conference, and his cheeks flashed hot thinking about seeing her for the first time on stage and also realizing that he was once again rambling.
"No, you're fine. No one told me you'd be tagging along on a supply run, that's all.
I need to rejig the boat to fit us and your.
.. stufffff," she said, biting back the urge to use a less polite word while dragging out the word in a way she hoped conveyed her annoyance. This day was getting out of hand.
"Whoa, my stuffff?" Gray laughed. "Have I offended you in another life, or...?"
Riley exhaled sharply, putting her hand up to stop him.
"Sorry. I need to get back to the Lagoon, and you brought more than I was planning for—well, I wasn't planning at all.
This day started out sideways; it's fine.
" Except it wasn't. She'd worked hard with Cam to get Gray here, but now she was stuck in this spiral of a bad mood and snippy remarks.
Why did she make this difficult when she was excited to start the project?
"Right, because 'it's fine' definitely means 'it's fine.' How about this—why don't you take your supply load, and I'll wait here for the boat to come back for me and my stuff?"
Relief washed over her. "Awesome, works for me.
" What was she doing? Cam was going to kill her.
But spending time on an already cramped boat with Gray was not something she could handle right now.
She needed time to shake off her mood and be herself again, the version of Riley that wasn't acting like a complete jerk.
She finished packing the rest of the supplies and cast off.
Holy shit, did she leave?
"I'll radio someone to come and get you!" she called over her shoulder as she sped away from the dock. "They'll be about an hour. There's food and shade at the booth up the hill if you want to wait."
Gray stood on the dock, looking stunned. "Thanks," he said to no one in particular, his voice trailing off as Riley's boat disappeared into the canal.