AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
THANK GOODNESS THE SUN WAS shining again. Ashley had urgent business to attend to—and no, that did not mean toasting marshmallows with a bunch of fawning sixth graders. She’d finally spotted Cooper’s yacht approaching. As she waited impatiently for it to moor a little way offshore, she was texting him like crazy. At last he was rowing ashore to get her. About time.
Because the waves were buffeting the little dinghy, it took ages for Cooper to get anywhere near the beach. Ashley stripped down to her bikini and sweatshirt and waded in as far as she dared. Not that it mattered if she got wet—there would be a hundred fluffy towels on board, and she could warm up in the hot tub.
As he neared, drawing the oars back and forth with strong, broad strokes, Ashley caught sight of his outfit. He was all in white, with little black epaulettes on his shoulders. Was this some kind of costume?
“Over here!” she called. It was annoying the way you had to row backward—Cooper was heading straight into her. “Help me climb up!”
Cooper glanced over at her and shook his head.
“I’m coming ashore,” he said, the boat bobbing up and down. He was wearing a uniform, she realized—white with brass buttons. And was that a name tag? “We need to talk.”
“But why can’t we talk on the yacht?” she pleaded. She’d been looking forward all day to lording it over the other girls, waving to them from the luxury yacht and letting only the other Ashleys come aboard. Maybe Lauren would start speaking to her again once they were all sitting on deck, drinking hot chocolate and soaking in the hot tub.
“Help me pull this in,” he told her, and Ashley—for once—did as she was told. She helped Cooper drag the dinghy through the shallows, pulling it up onto the sand. Why was he dressed in this strange way?
Cooper leaned against the prow of the little boat, his white pants rolled up almost to his knees. He looked very unhappy.
“I don’t get it,” Ashley said. “Why can’t I come to the yacht? Why are you wearing that?”
He folded his arms. “It’s a uniform, Ashley. I should have told you this before, I know, but the time never seemed right, and I thought you’d just run a million miles when you found out.”
“Found out what?” Ashley didn’t understand.
“That the yacht isn’t mine. It doesn’t belong to my family—my family can barely afford a car. It belongs to a Hollywood director who’s hardly ever in town. Some guy named Marty Law. My uncle works on the boat, and sometimes I do as well. Today the director’s in town, so I’m working. Hence the uniform.”
Ashley was speechless. Utterly speechless. Cooper was poor?
“I really meant to tell you,” he said, running a hand through his dark hair. “I tried to tell you . . . but I know how important money and nice things are to you. I knew you would just despise me if—”
“No!” Ashley interrupted him. She didn’t despise Cooper. Of course she didn’t—he was way too cute. So what if he was poor? She was rich enough for the two of them. “But what about that guy who was following us everywhere—I thought he was your bodyguard?”
Cooper shook his head. “That night I came to your house, he was parked in your driveway. Didn’t you see him when we went out to the car? You’re probably right that he was a bodyguard. Your parents must have hired him to trail us. They probably wanted to make sure you were all right. You know, hanging out with a lowlife from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“Don’t say that!” she cried. “My parents really like you.”
“Really?” Cooper looked kind of pleased.
“Yes.” Ashley nodded. They must have known that Cooper wasn’t a Greek shipping heir, but clearly it didn’t bother them. She wasn’t sure whether she should be pleased or annoyed that her parents had hired a secret bodyguard. On one hand, at least it showed they still cared and worried about her. On the other hand, they were kind of treating her like a little girl who needed to be looked after every minute of the day. Didn’t they trust her? When were they going to let her grow up?
“They seem pretty cool,” Cooper told her, and Ashley knew he was right. Her parents were overprotective, but it was just because they loved her.
“They are,” she said. “They like you and so do I. What kind of girl do you think I am? I mean, seriously. You think I’d care that much about whether you owned a yacht or not?” She blew out her bangs and rolled her eyes.
“Really?” Cooper looked up at her. He was so dashing in that uniform!
“God, you’re silly,” she told him. “Do you want to come toast marshmallows?”
“I better get back.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her close, and swiped a quick kiss on her cheek. Swoon! “Now that the sun’s coming out, everyone’s going to be wanting drinks on the deck. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
Ashley stood, watching him row back to the yacht. She was kind of glad that Cooper wasn’t a big-time heir. She didn’t really want to move to Greece or waste a lot of time at charity balls. She’d rather go shopping in London or sunbathing in Cabo. If Cooper was poor, then he’d go anywhere she wanted. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“Ashley!”
She swung around on her heels. It was only A. A., looking like thunder. Really, if A. A. wanted to play beach volleyball, then she had to get the teams organized and set the net up herself. Ashley couldn’t do everything.
“We need to talk,” A. A. barked, and Ashley sighed. First Cooper, now A. A. Today, it seemed, everyone wanted to talk to Ashley.
Being popular was so tiring. Thank goodness the weekend was coming up—at this rate, Ashley was going to need bed rest to recover from Congé.