“Awww, too bad. You have to work like the rest of us poor suckers.”

“Yeah, my life is a living hell.” He graced her with a wicked grin that made the female parts of her quiver.

She had no business quivering over Ben Reynolds. He wasn’t at all her type. Which didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company. He was smart and engaging, and after all, she was on vacation.

She broke a lot of rules while on vacation.

“Somehow I don’t think your life is all that bad, Ben.”

“I’m not complaining. I still get to travel, still get to attend all the surfing events, and I still don’t have to pay for them, since my company foots the bill.”

“That doesn’t sound like such a bad life to me.”

He stood, and she did, too. “It’s a great life. Being as good a surfer as I was, I’ve learned to spot real talent. And when I do, I make sure I put my logo on their boards and their suits. They make me money. It’s a pretty sweet deal.”

“Sounds like your life is just where you want it to be.”

He led her outside, and she was surprised by how many people had shown up in the short time they’d been inside the tent.

The smell of something cooking made her stomach growl. She laid her hand there.

“I think I’ll go grab some breakfast. I rolled out of bed this morning for a run and haven’t even had a cup of coffee yet.”

“Me, either. Come have breakfast with me, and then I’ll get you a prime seat for the morning practice runs.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, but I need a shower first, and it’s going to be hot as hell today. My hat is in my room. I’ll need to gear up if I’m going to spend the day in the heat.”

“You can sit in the tent area with me, out of the sun. Go take your shower. I’ll still buy you breakfast. Stop at the registration desk. I’ll leave you a pass for all the competition events and private areas.”

She wanted to decline. No, that wasn’t true. She should say no. She wanted to say yes. She liked spending time with Ben.

She also liked spending time with Alex, whose touch made her tingle in unexpected, delightful ways.

But Ben was Alex’s friend, and he’d offered breakfast, not sex.

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes.”

“Great. I’ll be at the far end of the tented areas, the one with the Surf Hot logo.”

He pointed, and she nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

*   *   *

Ben watched Victoria jog off, his lips curving as he admired her long legs and great ass.

It was really too bad Alex had met her first. She was beautiful and intelligent and the kind of woman he’d love to spend time with.

Plus, he couldn’t help but focus on her mouth. He had a thing about a woman’s mouth, and Victoria had a full bottom lip that begged to be tugged on.

His cock tightened. He finally tore his gaze away from her retreating form, searching the ocean for Alex.

He found him sitting beyond the waves and talking with a few of the other competitors. Even from a distance, Ben read the ease that Alex had with the board and the waves. The one thing Ben had always liked about Alex was his instincts. He knew when the right wave would come along, and when the wrong time was to drop in on one.

Ben would give anything to be out there, ready to catch one of the tubes. Dangerous to be riding the Pipeline, but he could still remember the adrenaline rush of dropping down into a wave of overpowering size and mastering it.

It might have been a lot of years since he’d ridden competitively, but the urge had never died. He clenched his fingers into his palm, sucked in a deep breath, then released it.

Give it up. It’s over. It’s been over and you’re never going to ride the big waves again.

The dull, constant pain in his back reminded him why.

He pivoted and headed toward the promoter’s tent.

*   *   *

Victoria showered and changed into her swimsuit, then tossed a pair of cotton capris and a T-shirt over it, slipped into her sandals and grabbed her bag. She made the walk back to the competition area and went to the registration area first to pick up the badge Ben had said he’d leave for her. She flashed her badge to get in, and found Ben in the tent. He was talking to a few other people, so she turned to watch the surfers, some already in motion on the waves.

She searched for Alex, but couldn’t find him in the sea of bodies undulating in the water.

“He’s in the center, just to the right of the dude with the bright orange board.”