timed her visit for when I wouldn’t be there.”
I release the dog on a huff, and let her scramble for a moment, but then she begins paddling when she remembers her two hundred pounds will sink if she doesn’t do something about it. “Of all those folks over there.” I glance back to the cops. “Which one is Doc, and which one is Dopey? Fuck,” I swipe a hand over my sweating brow, “there are so many people here, Giselle. This was a dumb idea.”
“Not working out quite how you expected it to, huh?”
I spin at a woman’s voice, and lift a brow when Evie Kincaid stands nearby with her baby floating on his back. She holds one hand under his head, another under his torso, and together, they rest and barely disturb the water’s surface. “You figured you’d see her in a bikini, and that’d be good enough.”
“I see the bikini,” I grunt out. “But it’s not enough.”
She snorts and brings her son a little closer to her body. The boy is more trusting of her than I’ve ever been of anyone – ever – in my life.
“She waited for me to walk away before going over to Jamie and Quinn.”
Evie lifts a shoulder, careless, carefree. “She likes Jamie. Not like,” she shakes her head, “she doesn’t like-like him. But he’s a sweetheart, and they’ve hung out a bit over the years.”
“So her being over there has nothing to do with me or my towel?”
Evie smiles and catches Wes when he decides he’s done with the trust exercise and tries to roll over in the water. She grabs him with sure hands, pulls the chunky boy up to sit on her hip, and together, they work on tilting his head and dislodging water from his ears. “I suspect her being over there has a lot to do with you, but there was no way she was heading over while you were there. And even if she wanted to, Oz would have hounded her steps, and Brenten would have whined about it the whole way over. But since you got up and opened that space for her…”
“She got to visit her buddy and gossip about me.”
“Nah.” She stares into her baby’s eyes and smiles when he shows her a single-toothed grin. “I doubt they’re gossiping too much. Whatever they’re saying, the dude lawyer can hear it all. I suspect they might be chatting about Giselle, and slipping the odd, occasional question about you in every now and then.”
“What’s the guy’s deal?” I hold Giselle’s weight and turn in slow circles so she can get her exercise without having to do it herself. “He looks like a douche.”
She snickers and tickles the baby’s stomach when he smiles. “Ah, let’s see. Lawyer, douchebag, spoiled brat, family money, but not a lot of family to speak of. Highly strung, doesn’t like the sunlight, seems to genuinely enjoy working a desk and snitching on people.” Her eyes come back to me. “Like, his job is literally to be a snitch. And that’s gross. Also, he might be a vampire, but I can’t confirm.” Then she lifts a brow. “What’s your deal?”
“Mine?”
“Mm. You see a pretty girl one time a few years back, decide you’d like to see a little more, now you think you get to ask questions about the man she’s been dating for months. What makes you think you deserve answers?”
I think on her words, and shrug when I can’t come up with a decent justification that doesn’t invite more questions. “I’m just curious. I never said I’m entitled to the answers, but I’m gonna ask questions anyway, and if someone just so happens to feel chatty…”
“What would you do if we all decided to shut our traps and not create lake days to facilitate a meet?” She looks back to Olivia and waves when their eyes meet. It’s not a delicate finger wave typical of sneaky women, but an arm-in-the-air summons that draws eyes. “You mentioned a week ago you’d like a lake day,” Evie continues, “so I made a lake day happen. But you’re here, she’s there, and maybe I’ve decided I don’t think you’re good enough for my little Livi.”
“Well, first of all,” I huff, “I didn’t realize your idea of a lake day would include a hundred people, two-thirds of whom are guys who want to protect her innocence, and many of which carry guns.”
She shrugs and inches around in the water so I have to turn to