Thank god someone was on my side. Lark, always the sensible one. We were the only two who had real jobs that weren’t because of our parents. But I also saw her the least. Her real job, like mine, kept her away from us far too often. If I wanted to see her, I had to fit into her insane work schedule. Between the two of us workaholics, it didn’t happen often.
“Of course it is,” Katherine said.
“Sure, sounds fun,” Natalie said.
She swayed on her feet, leaning into Lewis for support. He looked perfectly chummy about it.
“Great! It’s a date.”
Natalie nodded and then blinked. “That champagne kicked my ass. I think I need to…” She pointed at the door. “Before I black out.”
“Oh dear, okay,” Katherine said as if she hadn’t been pumping her full of alcohol all night. “Get some sleep. We’ll follow up tomorrow.”
Natalie nodded and then waded to the stairs. She stumbled on one step and reached for the railing before righting herself. She laughed softly. “Where did that step come from?”
“Always been there,” Rowe said seriously.
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. Classic Rowe.
But Natalie’s eyes narrowed at me. As if I’d been laughing at her near fall. I arched an eyebrow in her direction and admired her body before she reached for a towel. She slipped it around her figure as if she were suddenly shy about it. Even though she’d been skinny-dipping and now nearly naked in front of the rest of my crew. It was cute. Like a glimpse into the Natalie I’d known for that brief time before.
Then, she was through the door. She didn’t turn around even though my eyes tracked her the whole way.
“Oh, I like her,” Katherine mused. She finished another glass of champagne and then swam to my side. “She has teeth.”
“I’m not dense, Ren. I know that you were just being nice to her for my benefit.”
“Me?” Katherine gasped. “I’m always nice.”
The rest of the crew laughed.
“Are you though?” Lewis asked. “Don’t get me wrong. We love you. But…you are Katherine Van Pelt.”
“I’ll remember this,” she said, pointing at them. “I’m nice to people who deserve it.”
“Who deserves it in your estimation?” Lark asked, fighting back a laugh.
“Fine,” Katherine muttered. “But Natalie makes it easy to like her. Especially with the way she insults our Penn here.”
She slid her arm around my waist, leaned into my side, and fluttered her eyelashes at me. The thing with Katherine was complicated. Always had been. And when she did things like this, all she did was blur the line.
I moved out of her embrace. “She’s just hurt. Not the first girl I’ve hurt.”
Rowe snorted. “Or the last.”
“I think you have your work cut out for you,” Katherine said smugly.
“It’s not like that,” I said automatically.
Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.
I wanted Natalie. She confused me. She intrigued me. And despite all my training in ethics, I wanted to throw my morals out the window and go after her. Fuck that smart mouth. And have her crying my name out.
And if I didn’t stop that train of thought…it would become pretty evident what I was thinking about.
“We all know that look, man,” Lewis said. “She gets under your skin.”
“You love girls who get under your skin,” Lark said.
“She doesn’t get under my skin.”
“Yeah, okay,” Rowe said.
“So, fine. Whatever. It’s hardly a challenge if I’ve already slept with her.”
“I really don’t think so,” Lark said.
“Nope. No way,” Lewis said. “She seems to hate you.”
“I’m sure, if I tried at all, she’d be eating out of the palm of my hand,” I muttered like a fool, trying to hold on to a sliver of pride.
Katherine grinned slyly. “I’ll take that bet.”
“What? No. I don’t have to bet on that, Ren.”
“Afraid you’ll lose?”
“No, I think it’ll be too easy,” I said confidently.
“Guys, please don’t,” Lark said. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?”
“I remember winning that one, too,” I said with a challenge leveled at Katherine.
“Still too soon,” Rowe said.
“Feels like old times,” Lewis said. “You two whipping out some ridiculous bet. Well, I’m with Penn on this one.”
“See,” I taunted Katherine.
“Well, man, it’s because you need the most help. Natalie is going to eat you alive.”
I shot him a frustrated look. “So much confidence in me.”
“Well, I’m out,” Lark said, crossing her arms. “This is my vacation, not another chance for you two to go at