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  Duke exhales heavily. “Let’s get some ice on it.”

  My face flushes at his obvious exasperation. “No. I’m fine. It’s fine. We’re all fine.”

  “We’re not all fine. I swung my board around when I should have waited for you to pass by me. Instead, I got distracted by... other things.” Duke grabs my upper arm gently and just when I think he’s about to drag me to the boardwalk, he dips and swings me up in his arms. “Laird!”

  “Duke!” I flail a little, searching for Sunny. When I find her, she’s staring at us, dark brown eyes wide. As soon as she recovers, she gives me a thumbs-up and flops down on the towel, her work to land a man for her bestie, i.e. me, done.... Or so she thinks.

  Being carried in a swoony, hot guy’s arms due to an injury is not my idea of the perfect meet cute.

  “I got you, True,” he assures me, then raises his voice, “Laird King, get your ass out of the ocean, dammit.”

  “Ophelia,” he calls out, his voice way soothing again.

  “Is Ophelia your girlfriend?” I ask.

  Before he can answer, a young woman appears beside us, her dark hair wild and long. With her pale green eyes and shimmery blue-green one piece, she looks like a mermaid with legs.

  My heart sinks.

  I’m super bad at discerning age, so she could be a teenager or fully legal. Either way, she’s gorgeous in this sort of ethereal, heartbreaking way that I can’t compete with. While I’m not disappointed with what my momma gave me, I’m more like the girl next door.

  Trustworthy.

  Friendly.

  Easy to get along with.

  Like a golden retriever.

  I do like to fetch things for people...in need, anyway.

  “Laird’s coming in,” she says, head tilting toward the ocean.

  I follow her movement. A surfer, tall and broad-shouldered, hefts a surfboard under his arm as he emerges from the break in waves. His hair is bleached nearly white from the sun, but his smile... his smile is shadowed.

  As he gets closer, I can tell by the lack of heavy muscle on his bare, mostly hairless chest that he’s young. A teenager, but still, young.

  “What’s up?” He plants his board next to Duke’s.

  Duke shifts me in his arms, holding me out a little. It’s the nicest feeling ever to be held like this, in the strong arms of a man who smells like mango board wax, coconut, sunscreen, and the ocean, and makes all the tingles tickle my body. “Gotta take True to get some ice for her leg. Can you keep an eye on my stuff?”

  “That’s a new one,” Ophelia says.

  “Oh my gosh.” My eyes grow round. “I wasn’t hitting on your boyfriend. Swear it. I mean, yeah, Sunny dared me to come talk to Duke. But for sure, I was going to find out if he was taken or not.”

  Laird moves closer to Ophelia. They’re not quite touching, but even I can tell that there’s something going on. “Duke’s not her boyfriend.”

  “Besides being more like a little sister to me; I don’t date anyone under twenty,” Duke says, and I swear my face has to be as red as the board shorts Laird is wearing.

  “Twenty-two here,” I sputter, because I have no idea what to say that will make me look less like a fool and/or ease this awkward moment.

  “We’ll be back,” Duke says, taking charge.

  Halfway to the boardwalk, I find my voice. “You don’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  “Should I put you down?” he asks.

  I shake my head hard. “The bottom of my feet will burn off.”

  “Can’t have that,” he murmurs and cradles me closer as a group of kids rush by us, their laughter putting a smile on my face. “You like kids?”

  “Brand new teacher,” I chirp. “You?”

  “Would I be a monster if I said no?”

  “I don’t think it makes someone a monster not to like kids... as long as you like your own if you decide to have them. Someday.”

  The side of his mouth quirks. “That seems like a reasonable response.”

  “There seems to be a lack of those these days.” I grin as he carefully set me on my feet. For a moment, I’m put off-balance as I look up at him. He’s really handsome and hot, and his eyes are the exact color of dark storm clouds.

  He frowns. “You okay?”

  I blink. “Totally. Except for the throbbing bruise.”

  “Now I feel even worse.” He runs a hand through his golden-brown hair. “Maybe I should buy you lunch, too.”

  “Dinner would be better,” I blurt. I pull at the corner of my bottoms, worrying a thread that’s been bothering me since we got here. “I mean, it’s too late for lunch. Obviously. So, dinner is even later and that would work better because I’m not hungry right now.”

  I sound like an idiot. An over-eager beaver of an idiot.

  “Dinner, huh?” He strokes his jaw, as if he’s really considering my proposition.

  Maybe he likes over-eager beavers?

  I tilt my head to one side, the thick braids Sunny plaited this morning swinging with the movement. His gaze washes over me and the admiring look in it makes me even bolder. I’ll only be here for the summer, so why not go for it?

  “Only if your girlfriend won’t mind. I mean, only if you don’t have a girlfriend, that is.” Okay, so my boldness doesn’t extend into other woman territory.

  He bites the side of his lip and I’m a goner. A total goner for a guy I just met and barely know.

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “So that means...?” I prompt, my heart beating a mile a second.

  “I’m free for dinner.”

  Get Picture Perfect Summer now!

  More Books by Marquita Valentine

  Kings of Castle Beach

  Picture Perfect Lie

  Picture Perfect Marriage

  Picture Perfect Summer

  Picture Perfect Love

  Scored Series

  Scoring Her Heart

  Protecting Her Heart

  Catching Her Heart

  Boys of the South

  Live For You

  Only For You

  True For You

  All For You

  Wish For You

  Burn For You

  Melt For You

  The Romanovs

  Nikolai

  Benjamin

  Dmitry

  About the Author

  Marquita Valentine is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary romance.

  Since first taking the plunge in July of 2012, Marquita has appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling Ebooks Lists on iBooks, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes&Noble. She’s been called “one of the best new voices in romance” (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been accused of being “a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting contemporary read” (The Book Queen).

  When she’s not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously small town in the South with her husband, two kids, and a dog.

  www.marquitavalentine.com

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