The Guy Next Door - By Lori Foster, S Donovan, V Dahl Page 0,69
close and kissed her hard. He wanted to make a statement with the kiss. He wanted Gail to know she’d found the right man for the job, that she was in very capable hands. Jesse slid his palm down the curve of her back to the globes of her L.L. Bean-covered ass, where he gave her a firm squeeze.
She jumped. Jesse ended the kiss. “We’d better get going.” He grabbed the straw bag and hooked it over Gail’s shoulder before guiding her back toward land. “We’ve got a lot on our schedule.”
CHAPTER SIX
“HELLO? MOM?”
“Hi, honey. What are you up to?”
Holly rolled her eyes. What are we up to? She couldn’t believe this. What are you up to was the issue.
“We’re still hanging with the friends we met this morning. We’re down near Mallory Square and want to stay for the sunset celebration then go for pizza. Would that be okay?”
“Sure. That sounds fun. Just remember your midnight curfew.”
“Right.”
Just then, Hannah got all up in Holly’s face and started asking questions. “Is she with him? What are they doing?” Holly shushed her friend and shooed her away.
“So, what have you been doing today, Mom?” Holly hoped she sounded casual enough.
“Oh, a little of everything,” was her answer. “I took the Hemingway tour then wandered around the island to get my bearings. I talked to some of the locals then had lunch. I’m getting ready to jump in the pool.”
And? And?
It looked like there wasn’t going to be any and. Holly realized her mom wasn’t going to say a word about the hottie captain, which pissed her off because her mom always got so parentnoid on her about the importance of honesty, but here she was—not one word about how she’d shamed herself zooming around town with her skirt yanked up to her granny panties!
Just then, her mom began to confess.
“I suppose I should mention that I spent most of the day with our neighbor, Jesse. Turns out he’s a very nice man.”
Holly nodded her head dramatically and gave Hannah a thumbs up, their prearranged signal that her mom was coming clean.
“Wow, that’s cool, Mom. Sounds like you had fun.”
Her mom was silent for a moment. “Yep,” was all she said. “Well, I better go. Call me when you’re on your way back to the house so I know when to expect you.”
“Sure.”
Holly felt somewhat calmer. So what if her mom was having a little fun with the dreamy old dude from next door? It was her vacation, too. It was all perfectly innocent.
“See you then, honey,” her mom said. “Thanks for checking in.”
“No prob. Hey, wait.” Holly stopped herself from hanging up. “Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Be careful out there.”
WHAT KIND OF HIDEOUS, despicable mother was she? When Holly called to check in, Gail had just finished stuffing herself into her daughter’s bikini, the one Gail had only yesterday deemed pornographic and unfit for public display.
Yet she was about to head downstairs to put herself on display for Jesse, the guy from next door.
Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod…
Gail examined herself one last time in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. She had to admit that her body looked pretty good for her age, but the suit was slut city. What kind of skanky shops had found berth in the Beaverdale Mall, for goodness’ sake? Gail only thanked God she’d shaved her bikini area that day, because there was no room for error in this thing.
But seriously. She couldn’t really go through with this. Could she?
She heard the clank of the back gate and ran to the upstairs window. Jesse had just let himself in. He wore only a towel, which was angled low to one side and knotted at the hip. He carried a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands, which he placed on a table. Gail watched him move in the glow of the setting sun, his brown skin gleaming, the light casting shadows on his ripped stomach and cut arms.
Suddenly, he turned. He must have felt the heat of her stare. This time, Gail wasn’t ashamed to be caught ogling, so she smiled and gave him a little wave.
Jesse tilted his head and brought one muscled arm across his body, rubbing the skin low on his abdomen. It was impossible not to notice that he was already getting aroused—the thin terry cloth was no match for the bulge taking shape beneath it. Gail watched in fascination as the ends of the towel began to open like a curtain.
Holy shit. He was naked under there. The