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than admit it wasn’t surfing that was on his mind.

      “Possibly. What time, so I can see if I can juggle my schedule?”

      She pursed her lips and studied him, maybe sensing he wasn’t being entirely honest with her, then tucked the tablet under her arm and pulled out her phone. She scrolled for a second.

      He wasn’t sure what she was doing. “Do you want to text me the time?”

      “I’m looking right now. Okay, we want low tide, just as it’s coming in. Looks like the wind direction will be good as well.”

      She could have been speaking a different language. “And can you find an actual time somewhere in there?”

      “You don’t have a board, I take it.”

      “Not of the surfing variety, no.” A flicker of enthusiasm colored her voice and it lit a matching one in him. How long had it been since he’d actually gone anywhere with a woman? It wasn’t a date. But it could be fun. He was allowed to have fun, wasn’t he?

      “It’s okay. We can rent a board.”

      “Whoa.” He held up a hand. “I’m not planning on climbing on a surfboard. I was just going to watch.”

      Like a voyeur.

      “You don’t even want to paddle out? You don’t have to stand up, if you don’t want to. You’ll be bored if you just sit on the beach.”

      Doubtful. He turned his scarred hand so she could see it. “I’m not exactly able to use this the way most people can.”

      “It’ll be fine. Believe me. There are surfers who are missing limbs and still get out there and catch plenty of waves.”

      He was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be one of them, but he didn’t feel like arguing the point with hospital staff passing them in the hallway. “So what time would we need to leave?”

      “Do you want to meet at the beach or here at the hospital?”

      “Beach.” The word came out without hesitation. He had no idea if she’d be wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, but he certainly didn’t want to meet out front if she was only wearing some kind of cover-up. The gossip chain would have a field day with it. And there was no way he was showing up in board shorts.

      “Okay. Well, the tide should be right and the shops open at around ten a.m. Can you swing it if we meet a half hour before that? We’ll want to go over some basics. Or you could take a class.”

      “No. No classes. I don’t plan on making a career out of surfing. But yes, I should be able to make time to come out.”

      “I think you’ll like it.” She grinned. “Even if you don’t plan on making a career out of it.”

      She tucked her phone back in her pocket and held up her electronic file. “Well, I’d better get back to something that actually is my career. I’ll see you Wednesday at nine thirty?” She suggested the name of a local surf shop as their meeting place.

      “I’ll be there.” He wasn’t sure why or how this had happened, but it had. And there was no way he was going to back out and be stuck explaining that his reasons involved a mental tug-of-war over her choice of beach attire. “Anything special I need to bring?”

      “Nope. Just yourself and some swim trunks.”

      Swim trunks. She’d just cemented every reservation he’d ever had about Wednesday’s trip.

      Instead of swim trunks, maybe he should settle for bringing along what was left of his sanity. Because going to the beach with her was not on his list of smart ideas. In fact, it might just be the dumbest thing he’d ever agreed to. But it was too late to do anything but own his decision…and hope for the best.

      * * *

      Addy pulled her surfboard out of the walk-in closet and ran her hand over the smooth, glossy surface. What had she been thinking asking Garret to go with her? Being with him was hardly going to fill the ticket of taking some time for herself.

      She was on edge around him. Had been ever since he’d come to the hospital three years ago. She’d just been careful, because, unlike her husband, her marriage had been important to her.

      And look where that had gotten her. Maybe she should have been the first to have an affair.

      Her nose crinkled. Not that Garret would have agreed to be her partner in crime. Besides, it wasn’t in her to cheat. She was loyal to a fault. It showed in her friendships, and she’d thought in her marriage.

      Except that had all been an illusion. Like the perfect wave. It teased and beckoned you to paddle out and see what it was all about. Only it was rarely as glorious as it looked from the shallows. Up close you saw the imperfections and the flaws hidden within the turbulent whitewater.

      And a surfboard was incomplete without a wave, just as a marriage was incomplete without trust. That was something she’d never get back again, even if she’d allowed Leo to stay and they’d gone to counseling as Garret had suggested.

      And there was the fact that, once discovered, he’d moved right in with his lover.

      Oh, well. That part of her life was over. At least it would be once the divorce was final. The sooner the better.

      Picking the board up, she set it on the forbidden bed. She gritted her teeth and forced that thought from her mind. Tomorrow if she had time, she’d wax the board up and get it ready for its first outing since her ex had moved out. Garret was right. She had been working too hard. But the alternative was nights like tonight when she had nothing to do but think. And that wasn’t good.

      All she had to do was get through this evening, and then tomorrow morning she could work her shift, come home again and on Wednesday she’d be out on the water. Not alone, but out there just the same.

      She wasn’t sure why she’d asked Garret to go with her, but now that she had, she was relieved. Having him there would keep her from backing out and sitting at home brooding the day away. Because she didn’t dare show up at work. He would have her head.

      It was up to her to show him that she knew how to cut loose and have fun.

      Or at least pretend to. Because deep down inside, with everything that was currently going on in her life, she was pretty sure she was going to be anything but a fun date.

      No. Not a date. This was an outing. To prove a point.

      How did that saying go? Fake it until you make it? Well, she’d better start faking being a fun-time girl, and soon. Or Garret was going to figure out the little secret that she’d been hiding.

      What secret was that? That she had eyes for her boss?

      She gulped. No, she didn’t. And it was up to her to prove that once and for all. If not to him, to herself.

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