asks in mock outrage even though the happiness at seeing her man is clear in her voice. “Is it already midnight?”
Carey squats down beside her and presses a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Yep.”
“No it’s not,” Emery accuses after looking at her phone. She glares at her husband as he crosses the pool deck toward her. “What are you doing here?”
He toes off his shoes and straddles her from behind, dipping his legs into the water and soaking his jeans. He wraps his arms around her and nuzzles her throat. “I missed you too much to stay away.”
I roll my eyes at the adorable connection between them.
“He’s lying, Em!” Kaipo pulls his shirt off showcasing his massive upper body before joining us in the hot tub with a splash. “He was worried about you, you know, because of what happened last time.”
Emery nods. “That’s reasonable.”
I spot the stack of towels on the far side of the yard near the back door, right under the patio light. I try to decide if I’m safer here in the dark with my arms crossed over the bare skin of my stomach, or if I should make a run for a towel and risk being caught under the spotlight. At least Loren isn’t here. Maybe he’s with Riley? I burp up pineapple and coconut flavor. I still hate to be in a bikini in front of three incredibly fit football players, dammit, why didn’t they give us a warning they were on their way?
“Make room for one more.”
Noooo! My body tingles with awareness at hearing Loren’s voice. The slap of his bare feet against the deck grows closer and I coil to spring and retreat. He stops right next to me and lowers himself to sit right beside me.
My flight instinct has me on my feet in less than a second. A wave of dizziness washes over me and I hope to God I don’t face plant because it will take more than vertigo to slow me down.
“Bex, wait!” Rowan calls to my staggering, hasty retreat. “Where are you going?”
“It’s late. I should get home.” I make it to the stack of towels but am now stuck directly under a six million watt spotlight. Cover up, and I’m in the clear. I whip a towel off the stack, but in my hurry drop it. You have got to be kidding me! I squat to pick it up rather than bend over because no matter which way I turn I’ll either be showing my ass or my tits. Squatting is always better.
“I’ll get her,” a male voice says, and I refuse to name who the voice belongs to.
I try not to make it look like I’m running as I throw open the sliding glass door and step into the house. The kitchen is lit up like a midday cloudless sky and I wonder why it didn’t seem this bright when we were in here earlier making drinks.
“Bex, hold up.” Loren’s voice is right behind me. He grabs my shoulder and I freeze. He whips his hand away as if he didn’t actually mean to touch me. “What’s the rush?” he says through a chuckle.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Wait, why would I cry? Loren is my cousin’s boyfriend. I should not worry about what he thinks about me in a swimsuit. And I’m covered in a towel so… I exhale and put on a smile before turning around.
“Oh, Loren! Hey!” I grip my towel at my chest tightly with both hands. “Wassup?”
He raises his brows and his grin widens. “Sorry about breaking up your girls night.”
I bat at the air between us. “Psht, don’t be. We were done.” I point over my shoulder. “I’m just going to get changed and get an Uber.”
“You don’t have to leave. Hang out with us for a bit.”
My gaze drops to his swim trunks and then to his feet. “Oh my God, really?”
“What?” There is worry in his voice.
I shove an accusing hand toward his toes. “Is there any part of you that’s ugly?”
He looks down at his feet then back up to me. “You like my feet?”
“Please tell me you get athletes foot six months out of the year.”
His lips tick. “No.”
“Warts from the communal shower?”
He’s grinning wider now. “Never.”
“Never?”
“I broke my pinkie toe in tenth grade.” He wiggles his littlest piggy. “Stepped on by Cassius our pig.”
“You had a pet pig?”
“A few actually. And chickens, horses, a mule. I grew up on a farm in Tennessee.”
“I thought I