Surrender 01 - Surrender

overprotective down to a science. They are amazing, though, truly amazing. You have to come with us and meet my mom. I’ll try to get her mad and then she’ll start swearing in Italian. It’s good entertainment .”
    Ari couldn’t help herself. She was growing very fond of these two bubbly girls. How could she not when they talked a mile a minute and smiled constantly? She felt safe in accepting their dinner invitation.
    “Sure, I’ll come to dinner with you. It sounds like fun. I’ll let my friends know after the game is over,” Ari agreed.
    They played volleyball for another hour before Ari decided she needed a quick dip. She was burning up and had a bad feeling she’d sweated off most of her sunblock. Worse, she could feel a bit of an ache in her shoulders. She’d probably pay all week for her impromptu beach visit. But ultimately she didn’t care — it would be worth it because she was having a lot of fun.
    After introducing the sisters to her friends and explaining exactly where she was going, she hopped in the car with the two women and enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair as they made their way to the harbor.
    When they pulled up to the marina and approached the boat, Ari was stunned. She’d expected a large vessel because the girls had talked about a massage room, but she wasn’t ready for what was floating in the water before her. It seemed to take up the entire dock.
    “We’d better hurry. We’re really late. My brother hates it when we keep him waiting,” Lia said.
    “Is he going to have a problem with your inviting a stranger aboard?” Ari asked, suddenly nervous. She wasn’t used to hanging around people with the kind of money it took to own a boat like this one.
    “He won’t mind at all,” Rachel said as if she were privy to her own inside joke.
    The three of them climbed aboard, then turned around and watched as the crew pulled in the plank, and the boat began moving.
    “We really are the last to arrive. Rafe’s going to kill us,” Rachel said, though she didn’t seem too worried.
    Ari turned toward the girl, her body suddenly stiff as the boat began moving out into the water. She could still make it back to shore if she jumped now.
    “What is your brother’s name?” Ari asked, her voice barely audible over the sound of the motor.
    “Rafe Palazzo. Do you know him?”

Chapter Eighteen

    Ari began to feel light-headed and, leaning against the rail, she forced herself to inhale deep breaths of air. She turned to look as the mammoth vessel moved farther and farther from land, and she tried to gauge the swimming distance. Should she jump? she wondered. And she did jump, very slightly, when Rafe spoke.
    “I see you girls are late, as usual. We’ve been waiting on you for an hour now.”
    “Oh, Rafe. We were playing a very intense game of volleyball. Plus, we met a new friend and had to bring her along,” Rachel said.
    Ari couldn’t move. She in no way wanted to turn around and see his face. She hadn’t seen him since that night almost two weeks ago. If she could force herself to move, she really would abandon ship. What had she gotten herself into?
    “Welcome aboard…” Rafe began saying, then suddenly stopped. Ari could sense he’d figured out who she was. Maybe he recognized the stiff set to her shoulders. Everything in her told her to just jump and get it over with, but she managed to plaster a fake smile on her face and turn woodenly around to meet Rafe’s gaze.
    Everyone was silent as the eyes of the two clashed — his narrowing, hers widening. Time had done nothing to lessen the man’s incredible appeal. In a suit he was gorgeous. In a skin-tight polo and attractive shorts, he was devastating.
    “Ari. What a coincidence that my sisters happened to run into you today,” Rafe said after a few tense moments of utter silence.
    “This is your Ari!” Lia gasped far too dramatically . Rafe sent a glance in her direction leaving no doubt to any of them that he wasn’t fooled.
    “I’m not his Ari.” She finally found her voice and directed an incredulous stare at both Lia and Rachel before turning to face Rafe.
    “That’s to be determined,” Rafe said as he took her arm. “You didn’t protect your skin. We need to get ointment on it right away or you’ll be miserable by the time you lie down tonight.”
    He led her away, leaving his sisters behind. They were around a corner before Ari thought to protest and began tugging her arm. The pressure