“This is going to be a good competition.”
He turned to his left to see Zane Lee, one of his fiercest competitors. It figured Lee would be out here early testing the waters.
“Yeah. Waves are already coming in high.”
“I’m going to kick your ass this year.”
Alex grinned. “You can try.”
“Catch you for a brew later?”
Alex nodded. “Definitely.”
Lee paddled off. That was the one thing about his sport—they were all competitors, but they were also friends. Unless you were a total asshole. It was rough water out there, and they all knew they could wipe out, get hurt bad enough to end your career or even worse. You made friends with your competition, because you just never knew . . .
He hopped on a low-riding wave, dropped down into the tube and rode it out. It was weak, but still good practice.
Before he turned to paddle back out, he caught a glimpse of Tori sitting on the shore watching him.
Now there was a sleek-looking woman. She had a certain spark, and he enjoyed an intelligent woman.
He wanted to spend more time with her, though he knew he should focus on the upcoming competition.
Then again, he always had time for some fun.
He grinned and paddled out onto the waves.
* * *
Tori had caught sight of Alex. She was mesmerized as he rode the waves like a pro.
Of course he did. He was one. After she’d eaten, she’d gone up to her room, grabbed her laptop and spent some time researching him.
Such interesting reading. He’d won several surfing championships at the international level, and had started at the junior level when he was just fifteen. Since then he’d always placed in the top five, and he’d won a number of championships.
The guy was internationally famous and had been for nearly twenty years. He’d done multiple endorsements and commercials and was the highest-grossing surfer in terms of monetary prizes there was.
Alex McConnell was a winner.
Tori liked backing winners. She wondered who his agent was, and who did his PR. She’d looked into the endorsements he’d been doing, but it wasn’t enough considering his appeal. Why wasn’t he doing commercials for energy drinks or gracing the covers of sports magazines? She’d never even heard of him. Obviously his representation wasn’t doing a good job for him. Granted, surfing wasn’t a mainstream sport like football, basketball or baseball, but she could turn that around.
She mulled that over while she watched the surfers master the incredible waves.
“Yeah, the waves kind of suck today.”
She turned to look at a girl who’d plopped down on the sand next to her.
“Really? They look enormous to me.”
The girl grinned. “They’re okay. Kind of puny, actually. They’ll need to roll higher for the competition.”
Tori turned in her chair to face the girl, who had to be no more than in her early to mid-twenties. Absolutely beautiful, with long black hair, a sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and the prettiest dark eyes Tori had ever seen.
She held out her hand. “I’m Victoria, or Tori.”
The girl shook her hand. “I’m Whitney. Everyone calls me Whitney.”
Tori laughed. “Are you a surfer, Whitney?”
“Yes. Been surfing my whole life.”
“So you’re here for the competition?”
She shook her head. “Oh God no. I live here on the island.”
“You do? That’s great.”
She nodded. “I think so. My dad manages one of the hotels.”
“He does? Which one?”
She pointed a few hotels down the beach. “That one. My mom works there, too. So do I.”
“That’s convenient. So when you’re not working, I assume you’re surfing?”
Whitney grinned. “Yes. It’s what I’d rather be doing, but you know, gotta pay the bills.”
“I understand that. So you love surfing. Do you compete?”
“I’m not that good. I only wish I was. I surf for fun, and I love to watch the competitions every year.” Her gaze drifted out over the water. “They’re amazing.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
“Women compete, too, though not right now. They compete in a separate event from the guys. The one going on now is men only.”
“I met one of them today.”
“Yeah? Who?”
“Alex McConnell.”
She nodded. “Alex is an unbelievable surfer. He comes here every year to compete, and he’s won . . . so many times.”