“He’s talking with Keith,” she said. Tessa recognized the name of the director. “We were going over to Merriman’s for dinner. Do you three want to join us?”
“Oh, heck.” He grinned at Sophia. “I promised Sophia if she rode three waves to shore on her feet, we’d get her shave ice.”
“And I did it,” she confirmed. “I did it.”
“I know,” Grace told her, giving her belly a tickle. “I saw. Okay, you guys go celebrate. We’ll see you tomorrow night at Jax’s, right?”
Tessa didn’t know what Grace was talking about and didn’t like the idea that Zach had made plans with Sophia without telling Tessa. There wasn’t any logical reason not to let Sophia go somewhere with Zach on her own, Tessa just hadn’t thought about it. This was all moving so damn fast.
“Probably,” Zach said, glancing at Tessa. “We’ll talk about it tonight.”
“Okay.” Grace surprised Tessa by turning to her and wrapping her in a hug. “Great getting to know you.” Then she caught Sophia’s hand and kissed the back, making her giggle again. “You too, water baby.”
As Grace started up the sand toward the parking lot, Tessa took Sophia, set her on a towel, and dried her off.
“Did Pegsis have a good nap?” Sophia asked, leaning down to pick up the stuffed horse.
“A very good nap.” Tessa noticed a little pink tinge to her skin and winced. She looked up at Zach while he dried off with another towel. Water glistened on his tan skin, reminding Tessa of how he’d looked getting out the shower their first night together. “I guess she shouldn’t stay out in the sun this long.”
“You put sunscreen on her every hour.”
“Doesn’t look like it was enough.”
“I’m hungry.” Sophia’s grumpy tone set off warning bells in Tessa’s head.
“You were in the water a long time,” Tessa told her. “I bet you’re starving.”
“Can we get shave ice now?”
“Yep,” Zach said.
“No,” Tessa said at the same time.
They looked at each other and smiled.
“I guess your mom’s right,” he told Sophia. “Let’s get some real food in that tummy of yours, then you can have the ice. We’ll call it an early dinner.”
“I don’t want dinner,” Sophia said, starting to pout.
Tessa looked at Zach. “She’s going to be wiped out from the day. I think dinner at home would be the safer bet.”
“I don’t want to go home,” Sophia said. “I want shave ice.”
Zach crouched beside them and helped Tessa get Sophia out of her wet bathing suit and into a sundress. To facilitate the transition, he took the stuffed animal while he helped maneuver her into a dry outfit. And Tessa had to admit, he looked adorably ridiculous with a sparkling Pegasus under his arm.
“I wanna go back in the ocean,” Sophia complained.
All Tessa wanted to do was put Sophia to bed and sink into the bathtub with tropical bubbles. Of course that would come second only to the desire to slide her naked body against Zach’s.
“But, you look so pretty,” he told her. “And we can go back into the ocean tomorrow.”
Tessa pulled out Sophia’s sandals and Sophia put a hand on Zach’s shoulder to balance. She looked Zach right in the eye when she told him oh so seriously, “I have sparkly sandals. Like Pegsis’s wings.”
He grinned. “You sure do.”
Once Sophia was sorted out, Tessa looked at Zach. “You don’t have to stay with us if you want to hang with your friends.”
He reached out and cupped her face. “You’re better than friends. You’re family. And I’m right where I want to be. This has been the best day I’ve had in months. And I really want to take you both to dinner.”