"Holy shit!" Joey yelled as Ritchie pushed the throttle forward and the boat took off, planing over the water. Ritchie just looked back over his shoulder and grinned. Maria didn't even give Joey an admonishing look herself, because she knew exactly how he felt.

When Ritchie asked her if she'd rather take the speedboat or the yacht she'd thought he was joking. So not the case. The three partners had a yacht – a yacht - with an actual crew. But they used it for longer trips, he explained, like down to Key West. Bimini was a short 45 miles from Miami, and a fast boat could make the run in under two hours. The 35 foot Baja Outlaw they were now flying over the water on was like no other speedboat Maria had ever seen. When she'd told Ritchie it looked like something drug runners would use, he'd just laughed and told her criminals weren't the only ones who liked power and speed.

Ritchie told her he and Jonathon had planned to sail over. At that point, she gave up being shocked that there was apparently yet another boat in their fleet. The sailboat, Ritchie explained, was Jonathon's, and, being familiar with Ritchie's skills as a sailor – or lack thereof – there was no way he'd be lending him his sailboat.

But don't worry, he'd assured her. He was more than capable at the helm of the Baja. As they sliced across the water, Joey's shouts of pure joy disappearing into the wind and spray, Maria tugged her life jacket closer and said a little prayer just in case.

It seemed like no time at all until they had arrived. Maria and Joey waited on the boat while Ritchie stopped in the marina in Alice Town and took care of customs. Now that the boat wasn't moving, Joey entertained himself exploring the surprisingly roomy cuddy cabin in the boat and asked excitedly if he could sleep there one night while they were in Bimini.

"You'll have to ask Ritchie about that," she told him. Personally, Maria thought the windowless cabin was a bit claustrophobic, but she had to admit it was luxurious. She left Joey playing with his 3DS in the bed and went back up to the fresh air just as Ritchie stepped onboard.

In no time at all, they were pulling up to a private dock in front of a cottage-style house that way exceeded her expectations of what a beach rental would be.

"How many bedrooms are there?" she asked as they stepped up from the dock onto a wide brick patio that led to a brick walkway. Wooden chaises with brightly colored pillows were on one side, facing the water, and a wide hammock graced the other side of the walkway. Maria pictured herself curled up in the hammock with a book, swaying gently in the ocean breeze, and sighed.

They continued up the steps onto the wide wraparound porch, then stepped in through the French doors.

"Four bedrooms," Ritchie said. "It sleeps 10 comfortably. We get a lot of extended family rentals or two families vacationing together."

"What does it cost to rent this place?"

"About $1,800 a night. But we do weekly rentals at a reduced rate. Housekeeping's included. If they want a private chef, that's extra of course."

"Of course."

"Ritchie, it's lovely to see you again. Welcome back to Alice Town." A tall, tanned, and gorgeous blonde wearing cut-off shorts and a tank top under a chef's apron came into the room from a doorway Maria assumed must lead to the kitchen.

"Jillian, hello. Meet Maria and Joey Martinez." He gestured toward the blonde, "Jillian Rowe, personal chef extraordinaire."

"It's nice to meet you," Jillian said, clasping hands with Maria and then turning to Joey to smile. "Please let me know if you have any special dietary restrictions or preferences. It's my job to make your dining effortless and memorable."

"Thank you," Maria said. Would this gorgeous woman be staying here at the house with them? How well did she know Ritchie? Stop it, she told herself. You're being jealous of a private chef? Jillian wasn't here to seduce Ritchie – she was just here to do her job.

Maybe it was Maria's experience with the temperamental executive chef at the restaurant where she waited tables in South Beach that made her find this woman more than a little intimidating. Of course, the long legs, clear blue eyes, perfect face, and blonde ponytail weren't helping either.

"Cool," Joey said. "Can you make pizza?"

"Absolutely," Jillian answered. "Why don't the two of you make a list of foods you like and foods I should avoid? I'll leave my iPad on the island in the kitchen and pick it up later." She turned to Ritchie and smiled. "I already know what you like."

I already know what you like. Right. Maria forced herself to smile graciously. "I'm sure whatever you're used to preparing for Ritchie will be fine for me."

"I'm gonna make a list," Joey said. "Thanks Jillian! A private chef. Your job must be so cool," he said, following her. "Did you ever cook for, like, rock stars or any famous people?"

Their voices trailed off as they disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ritchie," Maria said quietly, "do we really need a private chef? I'd be happy to cook for the three of us."

"You," he said, moving closer to her, "are on vacation. You deserve the chance to just relax and enjoy yourself. So, no cooking. Ok?"

"Ok," she said dubiously.

"Don't worry," he laughed. "I've always been in good hands with Jillian."

That's what she was afraid of.

* * *

Ritchie spent the morning dragging Joey around on a tube behind the boat, while Maria reclined on one of the outside chaises reading a book, listening to music, and enjoying the view. Wearing a bikini that made him wish he were stretched out beside her, enjoying a view that wasn't the glistening water. But it was hard to resent the time out in the boat when the kid was so damn over-the-top excited to be bouncing along on the round, flat tube. Ritchie cut the boat to the side in a sharp turn and sent Joey flying over the wake, shrieking happily and hanging on tight as the tube went airborne. Nothing scared that kid. Ritchie was already looking forward to taking the two of them snorkeling. Just thinking about what a kick Joey would get out of swimming through the hull of an old wrecked ship made him grin.

After one more spin around the Bay, Ritchie cut the motor and hauled the tube back in with Joey protesting that it was way too soon to quit.

"Aren't you hungry, kid?" Ritchie gave Joey a hand onto the swim platform at the rear of the boat."I heard Jillian saying something about baking her special chocolate chunk cookie bars. Of course, if you're not hungry..."

"I guess I could eat," Joey said, grinning up at him.

"Thought so. Besides, you've gotta save some energy for when we go snorkeling this afternoon."

Joey wrinkled his nose. "That doesn't sound as much fun as tubing."

Ritchie chuckled. "That's what they all say, until the barracudas show up."

"No shit! Barracudas? Are you serious?"

"If you're lucky, we might see some tiger sharks too. They like to hang around the hulls of old sunken ships."

Joey was looking at him, his eyes wide and round, and his jaw slightly slack.

"You better not be putting one over on me, Ritchie."

Ritchie grinned and rubbed his hand over the kid's wet hair. "Just wait and see."

Apparently, the afternoon of snorkeling had taken on a new appeal for Joey. Ritchie walked up the short walkway toward Maria. She looked like a vision in her striped bikini – he hoped she kept that on this afternoon – huge sunglasses and a wide brimmed straw hat. Why hadn't he noticed before how her legs seemed to go on for miles? His fingers itched to undo the bow of fabric that held the front of her bathing suit top together. He imagined doing just that, and her slowly sliding her sunglasses down to look at him with those dark, expressive eyes while the bikini top fell away, and his hands cupped those beautiful breasts. Then he would lean down and...

The image shattered as quick feet pounded behind him and Joey pushed past, running up to Maria to chatter excitedly and drip cold salt water on her smooth skin. She sat up with a startled yelp, the sunglasses falling off sideways, but the bikini staying well in place. Oh, yeah, that's right. They had an adolescent boy with them. Not to mention a private chef, Ritchie reminded himself, as Jillian came out across the wide porch carrying a tray with conch salad, fruit, sweet rolls, and a pitcher of iced tea.

Stop acting like a hormone-crazed teenager, Ritchie told himself. After all, he was the one who drew the line in the sand about not sleeping together. Right now, he was trying to remember exactly why he thought that was so important. Oh yeah. Because taking the virginity of a woman who still blamed him for prosecuting her brother and ruining his life was not a great idea. It didn't matter that said brother was a punk, up to his neck in the illegal activities of a drug-dealing, gun-selling street gang, and Ritchie had just been doing his job.

"If there's nothing else," Jillian said, "I'm heading off to the market to get some provisions for dinner."

Ritchie looked up. "Why don't you see if you can pick up some fresh grouper? Or maybe tuna steaks. I'm in the mood to fire up the grill tonight."

"Sure," Jillian said. "Anything special you'd like to go with it?"

"How about your potato salad."

"All right. I'll get some vegetables you can toss on the grill, too. And maybe whip up something for dessert."

"Don't put yourself out," Ritchie said. "We'll still have the chocolate cookie bars."

"Not if I can help it," Joey said, already eying the plate of thick, chocolatey bars.

"Okay, okay," Ritchie said. "Make us something for dessert, but don't wait around. We may be out on the boat pretty late."

"Just make sure you get out of the water before the sharks start to feed," Jillian said, winking at him as she whisked off her apron and headed back toward the kitchen.

"Sharks feeding?" Maria hissed. "Is there something we should be worried about?" She glanced over nervously at Joey who, if anything, seemed even more excited about snorkeling.

"It's been weeks since anyone was eaten," Ritchie said.

Maria narrowed her eyes. "Go ahead and make fun of me. But I'm having serious doubts about this. It's too dangerous."

"Oh come on, Maria," Joey said, bypassing a second helping of the conch salad to shovel another cookie bar into his mouth. "Ritchie's just fooling around. It's totally safe, right Ritchie?"

"Well, I wouldn't say totally safe . . ."

He actually didn't mind her being cautious. And that little worried crease between her eyes was pretty cute. "People who are just a little bit nervous stay alert. They're less likely to make stupid mistakes."

"I'll keep that in mind," Maria said.

"Don't worry," Ritchie said. "I've been doing this since I was a kid. Just stay close to me, and I'll protect you."

Exploring the glistening underwater environment with Maria staying close to him was something Ritchie was looking forward to.

Author's Note:

What do you think of Maria's reaction to Jillian?

How about Ritchie's reaction to seeing Maria in her bikini . . .