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Gabby
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I watched him move around the kitchen. He was comfortable in the kitchen and from the way that fish looked and smelled, he was a talented cook as well. Jake was the total package. He was hot as hell. Apparently, he was very capable. And now he cooked. There had to be something about him that was terrible. This was not okay. I couldn’t be trapped on an island with the hottest guy on the planet. I was only human.
For one brief second, I let myself think about a week with him. Like really with him. It was the perfect scenario. Didn’t every woman want to be stranded with the sexiest man alive? Granted, I wasn’t sure what his relationship situation was like back home, but he didn’t seem to be attached to anyone. If he was, he didn’t act like it. Did I really want a man who would cheat on his girlfriend?
I took a giant mental step back. I had veered off the path somewhere and gone down a road that didn’t exist. There was nothing to say this man was even remotely attracted to me. We’d been at each other’s throats since he arrived. But then, here he was, making me lunch. The guy wasn’t so bad. This whole vacation could have been very different so far, had I just given him a chance. I had him within my reach, and I kept pushing him away. Hell, I was doing a lot more than that. I had turned into a she-devil. Now I really felt bad watching him cook me a meal.
He brought me a plate at the table with a fork and everything. “There you go,” he said and walked back to the stove.
I inhaled the scent and found myself absolutely starving. I noticed him collecting some napkins and a fork instead of putting them on the table. “Are you eating?” I asked.
“I’ll eat outside,” he said and grabbed his own plate.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I mean, if you want to, I won’t stop you, but don’t feel like you have to. I wouldn’t mind you having a seat here.”
He smirked and stood next to the table. “You’re sure?” he asked. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome. This is good. I don’t want to disrupt a good thing.”
“Please, have a seat,” I said.
He sat down and only then I felt like I could take my first bite. I was dying to dig in. It smelled amazing and looked just as good. He watched as I took my first bite. He cut off his own piece. “Well?” he asked.
“It’s delicious,” I said. The fish was moist and flaky, and the flavor was amazing. He was a talented cook.
“You’re just saying that,” he laughed.
“No, I’m not. This is really good.” I took another bite. “This is restaurant quality good.”
“Thank you,” he said, and took his own bite.
“Do you do a lot of fishing?” I asked conversationally.
“Not as much as I’d like to,” he answered. “If I could, I think I would fish for all my meals. Maybe not the same kind of fish, but I enjoy catching my food and then eating it fresh. Nothing beats that feeling of satisfaction.”
“Is that why you came out here?” I asked. “You wanted to live off the land and test your survivor skills?” The last was supposed to be a jest. I wanted him to see I didn’t always have to act like a total jerk.
He slowly nodded. “Basically. I’m not great at hunting. I can do it, but I think I prefer a little less blood.”
“Where did you say you lived?” I asked the question I was sure we had covered once. Unfortunately, our first few interactions weren’t great, and my adrenaline had been pumping. It was hard to really hear anyone when you were trying to figure out how to throw them off an island.
“Maine,” he answered. “Just outside of Bangor.”
“That’s right,” I nodded. “Do you like it there?”
“I do,” he said.
I liked the conversation. It was all very basic, but we were communicating instead of screaming at one another. This was a good thing. I hoped we could keep it up. “I flew into Bangor and then caught a ride out here. It seemed like a nice place, very quaint and old-fashioned.”
He smiled and nodded. “That’s what brought me to the place.”
“From where?” I asked with curiosity.
“New York,” he answered and the look on his face said it all.
“The city?”
“Manhattan,” he nodded.
“You didn’t like it?” I pushed.
“It was okay for a while,” he said. “I loved living there in the beginning, but as I got older, I wanted to get back to a slower way of life. I wanted to slow down and breathe clean air. I wanted to be able to jump in my car and drive somewhere without hearing blaring horns and sirens.”
“Did you grow up in the city?” I continued my line of questioning.
He slowly shook his head. “No. Upstate in an average town with average people. I grew up hunting and fishing with my dad. We went camping a lot. It was all very normal.”
“Sounds like a nice childhood,” I said with a smile.
“What about you? You said you were from LA. Always been?”
I slowly nodded. “Always. My parents were Beverly Hills doctors. I went to medical school in California. I’ve always been there.”
“Do you like it there?” he asked me.
“I do,” I said with a finality I hadn’t expected. “I love the weather and the ocean. I like the different people and there is always something going on. Not that I have time to do anything, but I know there will always be a concert or show I could go to if I wanted to. I love the palm trees and the sun.”
He laughed with those gorgeous blue eyes twinkling. “You sound like you work for the tourism department.”
“I could,” I replied. “I know just about every inch of southern California. Not a lot about the northern half of the state though.”
“What brought you all the way out here?” he asked. “How did you find this place?”
I had to laugh. “Google. Lots of Googling.”
“You didn’t want to stay in the state you love?” he teased.
“Nope. I wanted to get as far away as I could. I thought about Hawaii, but too many tourists. I just wanted to see something new and experience something different. I guess there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.”
“Did you search for an island retreat?” he asked. “How did you find this one particular island on the other side of the country? I know they don’t do a lot of advertising for this place and on the vacation rental searches, it barely makes the cut.”
“Honestly, it kind of just happened,” I told him. “I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I just started looking for cabins in the woods and stuff like that. The cottage appeared in one of my searches. At first, I laughed at the idea. I was like, no way. I wanted to be alone, but a deserted island seemed extreme.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Yeah, things changed, and I realized this was exactly what I needed,” I said. “I did more research and felt confident I would be okay on my own. I researched the weather patterns and even wildlife. Nothing seemed too scary. What about you? How did you end up here?”
“Same story, basically,” he said. “I was at a point in my life where I knew I had to reset. I needed to start fresh. I actually knew about this place from some locals. I looked it up and decided it was where I needed to be.”
“A reset,” I nodded. “That’s a good way to put it. I think that’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to reset my life. Not a total reset of my life, but of me. Who I am and what I’m doing with my life.”
“Why?” he asked casually. “That sounds like the kind of thing you realize after a life-changing event.”
I figured I could tell him without really telling him anything too personal. “I was working too hard.”
“You said you were a doctor?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “I did dual credit when I was in high school. I graduated with my high school degree and my associate’s degree at the same time. I was on a fast track through medical school. Got into my residency and just kept going. I never took a minute to just breathe. I did summer classes and volunteered at the free clinic. It has been nonstop from the moment I hit seventh grade. My parents were overachievers. I was lucky enough to inherit that gene.”
“You’re pretty young to be a doctor,” he said.
“Like I said, I’ve been busting my ass forever,” I said. “You?”
“Me?”
“Are you out here because you were overworked?” I asked.
He wrinkled his nose. “Yes and no. I was overworked but I have since stepped away from the day to day that kept me at the office twelve hours a day. I stepped away and gave up the bulk of the control to my COO. I still keep an eye on things and I’m handling expansion and stuff like that.”
“What is your business?” I asked him.
“I own a chain of sporting goods stores,” he said.
“Oh,” I said with surprise. “Successful?”
He grinned with a twinkle in his eyes. “You could say that. I’m not one of the biggest chains in the country, but I do all right. I like that we’re a small business. We have a handful of stores in the northeast but that might change soon.”
“You’re taking a vacation to figure out how you can work harder?” I joked.
He chuckled. “Yes and no. I needed to get away to clear my head. Reset and reexamine my priorities.”
I nodded as he talked. “Reset. I like that.”
“What about your personal life?” he asked.
“What about it?”
“I guess the first question would be, do you have one?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Honestly, no.”
“No boyfriend?” he questioned.
“No boyfriend,” I said. “I guess you could say that’s a symptom of my work ethic. I’ve worked too much. I’ve isolated myself. I need to start living in the real world.”
He laughed and took a drink from the bottle of water. “So, you chose a deserted island for a vacation.”
I pulled a face. “You make a good point, but I wasn’t taking a vacation to find a boyfriend. I was taking a vacation to give myself a break from myself. I had to step back and give myself a minute to think. To figure out what my priorities are.”
“Are you questioning your decision to become a doctor?” he asked.
“No!” I gasped. “Definitely not. I like my life and all that, but I’ve recently been questioning my choices I guess you could say. I need a minute to reassess.”
“Me too,” he agreed. “I guess we’re two people reassessing.”
“I guess so.”
We finished our lunch and when he started to clean up, I stopped him. “I’ll do it,” I told him. “You literally caught our meal and cooked it. I can clean up.”
He nodded. “I get it. I’ll go.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked. “I mean, with your day.”
“I think I’m going to go for a swim and then try and collect some dry firewood,” he said.
“And you’re just going to hang out on the beach?” I questioned.
“Yes,” he said with a laugh. “It’s all I want to do. I didn’t come out here for a touristy vacation. I’m here to be with my own company. I have a couple of books and I was thinking about picking up an old habit again.”
“What old habit?” I asked.
He actually looked a little embarrassed. “Whittling.”
“What?”
“Whittling,” he said again. “Wood carving.”
“You whittle?”
“You seem surprised,” he laughed.
“I just, well, I guess it’s not a hobby I imagine a guy like you participating in,” I said.
“What kind of hobby do you think I should be involved in?”
I shrugged. “Working out? Running? Golfing?”
He laughed again. “While I do enjoy all those things, I’m not a one trick pony. I like to do other things. Thanks for letting me use the kitchen. I’ll see you around—maybe. Hopefully not.”
“Hopefully not?”
“Because we’re keeping our distance,” he said.
“Oh, yeah, right,” I nodded. “Okay, well, if you need anything, just knock. Please knock.”
“Got it,” he said and walked out of the cottage.
I walked to the window and watched him head through the trees. I cursed the view. It wasn’t totally clear. He was somewhat visible as he headed towards the same spot he’d been the first night. I drifted away from the window and cleaned up the kitchen. Even though I told myself not to do it, I went back to the window to take a little peek. There was a small fire burning and I could make out his sleeping bag and a beach chair beside the fire.
He came into view carrying a stack of wood. I watched him drop it and then to my surprise and pleasure, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the sand. Then he lost the cargo shorts he’d been wearing. “Don’t do it,” I whispered.
Do it.
He turned and looked over his shoulder almost directly at me. He was staring in my direction, but I knew he couldn’t actually see me. Could he? He took a few steps towards the water and then dropped the boxers.
“No way!” I shrieked.
He dove under the water and disappeared. I couldn’t look away. I was glued to the window. He popped up and then dove under once again. I watched him swim before he turned and started walking out of the water.
“Look away, Gabby,” I murmured. “Look away. This is a total violation of his privacy.”
Despite knowing what was right, I couldn’t look away. I was glued to the scene unfolding in front of me. His gaze looked towards me once again. I knew he saw me watching him. I quickly turned around and flopped on the couch. That was just a little embarrassing.
