Illusion (Swept Away #1)(16)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know.” I bit my lower lip, and my mind flew to the TV show Lost. Growing up with a father who was an inventor and becoming an avid movie watcher had helped me to have a very active imagination.

“Bianca, you can tell me what you’re thinking.”

“How do you know I’m thinking anything?” I burst out.

“I can tell.” His voice changed. “Now tell me.”

“I don’t want you to laugh or tell me I watch too much TV.”

“Fine.” His voice was sharp.

“Have you ever seen Lost?”

“Don’t tell me you’re worried that polar bears or smoke monsters are in there?” He sounded incredulous.

“Well, you never know.”

“So you want to try the ocean?”

“Well, I don’t know.” I stared at the calm water and sighed. “What if the current gets rough, or what if a shark comes?”

“We’re going to have to take that chance.”

“Let’s try the ocean,” I decided after looking at the mysterious jungle behind us. “I can kick a polar bear, but I don’t know what to do with smoke monsters.”

“Or hyenas, or wild boar, or monkeys, I assume.”

“Thanks for that,” I hissed, and shivered. He laughed then, and I felt my insides softening at the sound of his voice. “I’m glad I’m not alone,” I said softly as we walked to the ocean.

I was being only slightly honest. The other part of me was being calculating. I wanted him to think that I trusted him. I wanted him to think I was glad he was there. Once he thought my walls were down, he might lower his walls as well.

“I’m glad you’re not alone as well. Solitude is overrated,” he agreed, though, I couldn’t tell if he felt any closer to me. We continued shuffling along the sand and then stopped as we reached the water. “Okay, are you ready?”

“I guess so.” I nodded and then paused. “Oh, shit. I just realized we’re going to get wet.”

“And?”

“We can catch a cold if we keep wet clothes on. And we’ll be really uncomfortable in wet clothes—they’ll feel so heavy on our bodies.”

“It’s like one hundred degrees out, Bianca. I’m pretty sure our clothes will dry out quickly. And if they don’t, we can just take them off and let them dry.”

“What? I can’t take my clothes off.” I trembled at the thought of disrobing in front of him. He was a stranger to me. He couldn’t see me almost naked. No matter how handsome he was.

I took a deep breath as I thought of the note. Was this a part of the master plan? I thought about David then. Handsome and not-really-with-it David. He’d be so angry if he knew that I was about to get almost naked with a guy I’d just met. I’d been with him for six months and he hadn’t even gotten that far. Though he knew that I wanted information about his family business, he didn’t know that our entire meeting and relationship had been orchestrated by me.

“Let’s do this. Okay, Bianca?”

“Okay.” We waded into the water and walked around, trying to find a rock with our feet.

“So tell me about yourself,” he said after a few minutes of splashing around. The ocean floor was soft and sandy, and I felt frustrated. Where were the rocks when I needed them?

“What do you want to know?”

“Describe yourself to me.”

“You’ve already seen me.” I was hesitant and too embarrassed to say more. “Twice now.”

“I barely saw you.” His voice was casual. “I can’t really remember what you look like.”

“I’m pretty average.” I shrugged.

“Tell me.”

“Well, you can already tell I’m about five six, not as skinny as a model.” I paused and waited for him to say something in response, but he didn’t. “I’ve got really dark brown hair and greenish eyes.”

“Greenish?”

“Well, they’re a brown-green.”

“Hazel?”

“No.” I stopped and dragged my big toe through the sand. “Hold on. I think I felt something,” I muttered, and held my breath. “False alarm.” I sighed. “Anyway, my eyes sometimes look green and sometimes look light brown.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes.” I laughed. “It’s your turn.”

“My turn?”

“Tell me about you.”

“You saw me though. And the fact that you recognized me from the coffee shop means you do remember what I look like.”

“Barely. I can’t really remember what you look like,” I lied as an image of his handsome face flashed through my mind. “I just recognized your blue eyes, that’s all.”

“Well, as you can tell, I’m tall, dark, and handsome. The doctor would probably say I’m six two. I weigh in at a respectable two hundred pounds. Most of it is pure muscle.”

I rolled my eyes at his comment. He certainly wasn’t on the modest side.

“I’ve got dark brown hair, that’s almost black and blue eyes that twinkle in the sunlight.”

“Are you joking?” I groaned.

“Well, you asked.” He laughed.

“I wasn’t asking you to give me your online dating profile.”

“I don’t date online.”

“Of course you don’t.” I made a face and looked down at the water.

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Date online?”

“I have in the past.” I cringed. “There are too many psychos online though.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure there are some nice guys as well. My brother dates online.”

“Good for him.”

“He doesn’t seem to have any problems.”

“Well, I think it’s easier for men. They have all the pickings. It’s us women who have to scramble.”

“You have to be careful online. You never know who you’re going to meet.” His words seemed casual, but I heard a hidden meaning behind them.

“You never know who you’re going to meet in real life either.”

“True,” he agreed. “You never really know what someone’s intentions are, do you?”

“No,” I responded. “No, you don’t.”

I thought back to Matt and how my life had taken a disturbing twist after talking to him. I had no proof that he was related to any of the crazy events that had happened, but I had my suspicions. I really hoped that Rosie had paid attention when I’d read her the e-mails I’d received. If she was okay, that could be vital information for her to give the police, now that I’d been kidnapped.