揕ike me??
She nodded again. 揕ike you.?
My eyes narrowed. 揥hy??
Her mouth hitched to the side. 揑t isn抰 any of your business.?
I snorted. 揑抣l make my own assumptions, then. You抮e sick of hiding in that dark bookstore all day and want to meet someone.?
Her eyes widened. Bingo.
揑抦 turning thirty soon.?She twisted her fingers together. 揑t抯 time to make some changes.?
My eyebrows pinched together. She didn抰 need to change a thing. She was adorable, with her pretty eyes and sweet little mouth. Even her glasses were cute in that dorky-girl way. The collar of her sweater pulled to the side and a pale pink bra strap peeked out, and my gaze raked down her form. At Emmett抯 wedding, I was going to ask her to dance but every time I tried, she had disappeared.
A pang of regret hit me in the chest. I should have asked her to dance at the wedding.
Her wanting to change bummed me out. Lots of guys in town would jump at the chance with her, but she didn抰 realize that. She just needed to leave her store once in a while.
There was no way to tell her this without sounding condescending, though. I stood there, crossing my arms over my chest, studying her while she looked like she was about to bolt if I spoke too loud or made any sudden movements.
A tiny, tiny part of me wanted to do this. Something about her had me curious. The quiet determination under her meek little exterior. I wanted to poke at her, scratch the surface and see what was underneath.
Maybe something interesting.
Surfing had taught me to trust my instincts, and my instincts pointed me straight toward her.
Pacific Rim lingered in the forefront of my mind, though. I had two months to catch as many waves as I could. Two months to get my head in the game. I didn抰 have time for distractions.
揑 don抰 have time to show you how to flirt. Sorry, bookworm.?I shrugged and leaned on the doorway. Her gaze dropped to my bare stomach again and satisfaction flickered in me.
Poor little horndog Hannah. She just wanted to get laid.
揑f you want to get guys,?I said, 揋o to the bar, wear that dress from the wedding last year, sit by yourself at the counter, and within ten minutes, someone will come up and talk to you.?
An image of her dancing at the wedding with Avery popped in my head. They were laughing, being silly, enjoying themselves. With Avery, she smiled openly and let something shine through. She had a spark of fun in her, but she kept it locked away.
She wasn抰 this shy little shrimp deep down.
I shook it out of my head. Not my problem.
She crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring my stance, and set her jaw. 揧ou want to get a sponsor, right? Avery told me. I抣l help you run your social media. All the other surfers have social media, even before they got sponsors. People need to notice you.?
I paused and frowned at her. She made a good point. I hated dealing with social media, staring at a screen all day. I didn抰 care enough to be good at it. I抎 rather stare at the ocean, the mountains, or the sky.
揝urfing is how I抣l get a sponsor,?I told her. I wasn抰 sure if I believed that. 揑 need to focus on surfing.?
She swallowed and her chest rose as she took another deep breath. 揑 didn抰 want to do this, but you left me no choice.?Her gaze met mine. 揑 know about the Tula video.?
My eyebrows lifted with surprise, but I snorted. 揙kay.?
Her mouth dropped in shock.
I laughed again. 揥hat, you want me to get on my knees? Please, Hannah, don抰 tell anyone about the video??
She sputtered. 揑 don抰？I don抰 know.?
揕ook, I don抰 care if people know about the video. I don抰 care what people think. Sorry, bookworm.?I opened the back door to the surf shop.
揘o cool surf brand would sponsor a silver mermaid!?
I paused in the doorway and cocked my head at her. 揗erman.?
She raised her eyebrows in a challenge, struggling to hold eye contact. She wanted to crumble. I could feel it.
The corner of my mouth tugged up. 揂re you blackmailing me??
Her eyes were so wide. She crossed her arms and set her chin. 揧ep.?
This was a side of Hannah I had never seen before. Ballsy. She stared me down, forcing me to help her.
I weighed my options. I didn抰 care that much if everyone found out about the video. It had paid my way to a surf festival in Australia, and I didn抰 regret doing it.
She shifted again. Her resolve waned. I could see the cracks in whatever tough front she had put on today. She was about to fold, walk away, and never mention this again.
For some reason, this version of her intrigued me, and I wanted to see more.
Handing my social media over to someone would be a relief. All I had to do was give her a few gentle shoves out of her comfort zone.