S. JACKSON RIVERA
Wet Part One
Rhees heads to the Caribbean, determined to learn how to scuba dive. What's the fastest way to grow up after losing both parents within a short time, parents who've sheltered and over-protected you your whole life? You grow up fast by facing your fears, the ocean topping the list. At least she thought the ocean was her worst fear, before she met Paul, the owner of the dive shop she randomly chose.
Meet the dive instructor from hell: Paul has traveled the world, running from his past, a past he’s not proud of and refuses to talk about. When he reaches the small, Caribbean island on the dive bum circuit, he’s found home. He buys one of the local dive shops and finds solace running a top-notch scuba operation, diving by day, and by night, allowing the never-ending supply of hovering women to seduce him.
Rhees isn’t Paul’s type, so why does she drive him so crazy, pressing his already foul temper to its limits? She’s the biggest baby he’s ever known, scared of her own shadow, and no one can really be that good at heart. He has too much fun goading her to drop the act and stop trying to make everyone believe she’s a saint, but each time he breaks down a piece of that reserved facade of hers, he’s amazed at how tough she really is.
The thing Paul doesn’t count on is the way Rhees is breaking him down as well.
Wet Part Two
Paul will do just about anything to keep Rhees from leaving—including making a deal he's not sure he can keep. In exchange for giving up his Coitus Club groupies, he'll lead everyone to believe she's the first girlfriend he’s ever had.He doesn't know what it is that has him in awe of this cute, naïve, and all-around good girl but she draws him in and inspires him to try to make some needed changes to his lifestyle. He's not even sure anyone can really change a lifetime of habit, circumstance, and genetics. You are who you are, of that he's sure.Yet when you're going through all the motions of being an intimate couple, pretending to be together is a fine line—and the line only gets fuzzier as time goes by. But it's all just pretend …
Wet Part Three
Paul is good with books, logic, and statistics, but emotions? Not so much. He experienced betrayal as a child and he vowed to never, knowingly, let it happen again. He built elaborate, protective barriers around his heart, against the dysfunction that is his family. He didn't see it coming when Rhees Williams came along, dragging her oversized duffle bag onto the deck of his scuba shop. He didn't see it coming when she appealed to his softer side. He didn't see it coming when she found her way into his heart.
Rhees is not only a good person, she’s the kindest, most innocent, beautiful woman he’s ever known. With her, he sees everything doesn’t always fit into simple black and white boxes. She teaches him that just because he can get away with something; it doesn’t necessarily mean he should. She’s changed his life for the better and he wants it to stay that way.
Paul finds himself starting to believe in happily ever after's, that love is real—after all—his feelings for Rhees are proof of that. What he and Rhees have is true love—he’s sure of it.
And another thing he’s figured out with certainty? Love sucks!