Flirting with Temptation - By Kelley St. John Page 0,75
succeeding. She wasn’t fooled, of course. He’d let her, but still, it felt rather rewarding when he came up coughing.
They played for a while, splashing and laughing and sputtering, until she’d drank way more saltwater than she wanted and surrendered.
“Okay, you win. I’m waterlogged,” she said, her breath coming out in gasps.
He followed her out of the waves. “A victory on the volleyball court and a victory in the water. Not a bad day.”
“Last time I checked, I won too.”
“What was that?”
“The no flirting challenge.”
“The day isn’t over yet, and last time I checked, you’ve got six more days to go.”
“But now you have to talk to me about Kitty. You promised, and I’m going to hold you to it.”
“Because she’s calling you nonstop?”
“Because I’m supposed to keep my clients aware of my progress,” she corrected, starting across the sand toward the condo.
“You’re going in already?”
“I thought we were going to talk.”
“Hey, I took off half a day to play in that volleyball game and enjoy the beach. So far, I’ve only done half of that. You do have sunscreen on, don’t you?”
“Rose bought me a new bottle, and it’s nowhere near the expiration date.”
“Good. Then let’s go for a walk down the beach while we talk.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t ready to go in either, even if walking on the beach with him triggered memories of other beach walks that had typically ended with them finding somewhere secluded, losing their swimsuits and exploring each other.
Babette gradually tamped down on her current round of Jeff-induced lust, and they walked away from the White Sands area, past Sunny Beaches, and continued beyond several more resorts before either of them spoke. Although she probably should have decided what she wanted to ask him regarding his relationship with Kitty, she hadn’t. Or maybe she hadn’t come up with any questions because she didn’t want to listen to Jeff providing details. It’d been difficult enough hearing them from Kitty.
But Kitty was paying for this trip, and she was expecting Babette to deliver on her promise to get the two of them back together at the end of the two weeks, which, coincidentally, was merely six days away.
She really couldn’t afford to keep dodging this conversation. Kitty was getting tired of waiting. This morning she’d told Babette that if she didn’t let her know something soon about how things were going, then she’d drive down here so she could see for herself.
“So can I take your silence to mean you’ve changed your mind about discussing Kitty?” Jeff asked, at the very same moment that Babette blurted, “Tell me what you liked about her.”
He visibly swallowed. “Guess you were just getting ready to start.” He glanced at her, his blue eyes even brighter in the direct sun, in spite of the fact that he was squinting. “What I liked about Kitty?”
“In the beginning, when the two of you met at the charity golf thing,” she said, recalling Kitty’s description of how he’d stood out from the crowd. “What did you like about her? What was the first thing that caught your attention?”
He continued walking, but turned his head toward the waves so Babette couldn’t see his expression. “You realize that this is rather awkward, given the time frame of when I met Kitty. I’m assuming you know when we got together.”
“I didn’t until she told me, but it wasn’t all that hard to figure out. You met her right after we stopped talking.” Babette was rather impressed that she said it so easily, as though it didn’t sting. “How does that affect what you first noticed about her?”
He looked back at Babette, and he was smiling, but it wasn’t his usual smile. It was rather pensive, as though he wasn’t sure what to say, or how to say it. “The truth is, I didn’t notice anything about her. I didn’t notice her at all.”
Not what she had been expecting. “You didn’t notice Kitty Carelle?” Babette couldn’t control her shocked tone and couldn’t fathom how any man, let alone Jeff, wouldn’t notice someone who looked like Kitty.
“No, I didn’t. And as bizarre as it may sound, I think that’s what got her attention.”
“I’m certain that isn’t something she’s used to.” A major understatement.
He shrugged. “I wasn’t looking for anyone then. Didn’t want another relationship.”
Babette was thrown by that. The whole time they were together, he hadn’t wanted a relationship period. Nothing beyond burning up the sheets, anyway. Or that’s what he’d implied. Yet he now said he didn’t want