NautiCal (Forever Wilde 8)

Mia laughed. “Tell them about the goat.”

Prescott’s head tilted at her. “How do you know all of this?”

Mia waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “From Friday lunches. You’d know if you ever joined us.”

Pres looked at Lucas. “I thought you met Nat for lunch on Fridays.”

Lucas looked confused by the question. “I do. Nat, Mia, Jade, and sometimes Jin if he can swing it. Oh, and sometimes Brady too.” He turned to Cal. “That’s the surgeon I work with. Great guy. Super talented.”

Prescott muttered something under his breath about Dr. Perfect. I didn’t mind seeing him jealous, but his peevishness made me wonder for the hundredth time what my brother saw in him.

Cal shot Pres a look that quickly turned into sticky treacle. “Prescott, why don’t you meet them for lunch too? Do you work farther away?”

If looks could kill, Cal would have been a chalk drawing on the floor.

“I work through lunch,” Prescott said.

Jade snapped a few pictures of the group with her phone. “I want to get some pictures tomorrow on the beach. Maybe get the three siblings together for some of them. I know Nat would love to have a photo of her with her brothers.”

Nat nodded. “And the couples.”

Cal shifted against me and lifted his head up to meet my eyes. He looked half-asleep already even though he hadn’t had any wine. “I think I’m going to go to bed.”

I leaned down and kissed his soft lips. The scrape of his whiskers teased my cheek, reminding me of the breath he’d sucked in when I scraped my own stubble on his inner thighs earlier tonight. He’d been so responsive, so fucking sexy.

I met his eyes. “I’ll be down in a bit and I’ll bring you some ice water. Need anything else?”

He leaned closer to my ear. “Just you.” His voice was so heavy with sleep, I almost laughed. There would be no fooling around with him in this state which was fine by me. I was pretty damned happy to sleep with him even if all we were doing was actually sleeping.

I lifted his hand and kissed it before letting him go. He waved good night to everyone else and promised to be himself again in the morning.

Once he was gone, Jade was the one who gave me a knowing look. “He’s the one.”

“The one of what?” I asked, reaching for my wineglass.

“The one as in the one,” she repeated.

“Your soul mate,” Mia added with jazz hands.

Natalia laughed. “Stop, you’re scaring him. Look at his face. He’s gone pale.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, glancing at Prescott to see his reaction. Other than flaring his nostrils, he remained still. “He’s a kid.”

“He’s a sweetheart,” Lucas offered. “And sexy as hell.”

Prescott scoffed and stood up to go inside for a refill.

Lucas laughed. “You can’t deny the truth. I think he’s good for you too.”

“I’m not in the market for a serious relationship,” I reminded everyone.

“And yet…” Nat studied me. “Sometimes good opportunities come along when you’re not in the market. I believe that’s what my famous venture capitalist brother would say.”

She was right, but that advice wasn’t relevant to… soul mates.

“Anyway,” I said, desperate to change the subject, “what about focusing on the other singles here. Jade, do we need to find you a soul mate this week? Mia, what about you? My sister has plenty of energy to put into this.”

Jade didn’t look up from her phone. “No, thanks. I’m what you call a free spirit.”

Mia, meanwhile, blushed deep pink and blinked back and forth between me and Nat. “What? Me? No. What?”

Curious. I wondered if Mia had a crush on my sister.

Lucas nudged Nat’s shoulder where they sat next to each other on the sofa. “Save your poor friend.”

Nat laughed. “She’s a big girl. And if Mia wanted a soul mate, there would be an entire arena full of men to volunteer.”

Mia covered her face. “Stop. Please.”

Lucas laughed. “I think this is one of those ‘dish it but can’t take it’ things.”

Mia grinned at him. “I think we should put you under the hot lamps. Why haven’t you two set a date yet?”

“We’re trying. But my schedule isn’t very flexible right now. The only reason I was able to take this week is because Brady went to Maine to help his parents with a construction project.” The breeze off the water curled a piece of his hair around his ear. “Pres keeps reminding me it’s a volunteer gig and I can leave anytime. But he doesn’t understand it’s important in getting the recommendations I need for wherever I want to go next.”

I glanced inside but couldn’t see Prescott. If he was in the bathroom, I had enough time to ask my question without inadvertently starting something between Lucas and Pres. “Does he know who’s behind the charity you work for?”