By Chance (Accidentally In Luck #1)

18. No, Not Sunburn-Moonburn- E

*E*

"What about this one," Pip asked holding up another suit.

I stared at her. "No. Hell no."

She stuck out her bottom lip into a pout. "Why not?" she said, drawing out the phrase. "It's cute!"

We'd been in the shop for only a few minutes, but I quickly gathered that Pip should not be in charge of picking out the suit I was going to buy for her.

I looked at the... thing again. It was a black one piece that looked like something my grandma would wear, that is, if my grandma ever went swimming. I swear that on Pip's tiny form, it would cover from chin to knee and halfway down her arms. It was a more of a wet suit than anything else.

"Pip. Just—no. Now this," I held up a bikini that I knew she wouldn't go for. It was a fluorescent pink scrap of material. "is more like it."

The horrified look on her face was worth me being a horrible person. I cracked up.

"Ok, ok. Sorry," I giggled. Yes. I giggled. Shut up.

We kept flicking our way through the racks and I stopped on one that practically jumped off of the rack at me. "Ok, what about this?" I held it up.

I saw her eyes widen and knew I chose right. This one was bright blue, almost the exact color of my car and had a good amount of fabric.

"I'm gonna try it on," Pip said, taking the thing from me and heading back to the small changing rooms in the back.

As I waited, I idly flipped through the rest of the suits on the rack. None of them stood out to me the way the blue one did.

A few minutes later, Pip reemerged in her street clothes. My eyes drifted to the small amount of flat stomach showing without my control.

I quickly drew my eyes back up to her face. Meeting her eyes, I was sure mine had an unsaid question in them: it didn't work?

A small smile formed on her lips and she shook her head. Holding up the suit, she said, "Oh, no. I'm getting this baby."

I laughed and headed over to the men's section.

"I do believe that it's only fair that I get to pick yours since you picked mine."

"Fine," I groaned. Having witnessed her idea of beach fashion, I was worried for both my pride and reputation.

Cora placed a hand on her chest in offense. "Theo Archer, do you not trust me?"

I managed to dead pan and shake my head. "Not at all."

She made a noise. "You, sir, are incorrigible."

I started laughing again. "Sir?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

She grinned back at me. "I talk funny," she said shortly and turned back to the rack of shorts in front of her.

She kept holding up pairs and suggesting them. I hoped that most she was doing as a joke, but with Pip, I could never tell. One pair was neon pink and had white flamingos on them, another was white and covered in small, yellow smiley faces. I could feel my pride slipping and realized my only real hope was to get lucky.

Get lucky. Heh.

"Ok. Here," she said finally, throwing a pair of shorts at me. "Try these."

After pulling them off of my head, I looked at them, full of apprehension. They weren't bad. In fact, I actually liked them. They, too, were blue, but they were navy blue, with a pattern of small white triangles over them.