when it comes to Charm.”
She could hear the brotherly fondness in his voice. Any other family that consisted of six siblings, all of whom had different mothers, would certainly be dysfunctional to the nth degree. But not the Outlaws.
“Ready to start?” Garth asked her.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Their bodies moved in sync as they glided through the water. The pool was large enough that they had their own space, yet their moves felt choreographed. As if on cue, when they reached the other side, they turned to go back to the other side of the pool.
They did a number of laps before she eased over to the side of the pool. She wanted to watch him work his body.
“You’re leaving me?” he asked, treading water as he watched her.
“For the time being. I don’t have as much stamina as you do.”
When she was on the other side of the pool, he began swimming. His body maneuvered several different strokes masterfully, and he looked amazing while gliding through the water.
Regan lost track of time. Maverick was right about Garth having a lot of stamina. She couldn’t help but be curious whether he took that same level of vigor to the bedroom. She wasn’t shocked to be wondering such a thing since she had long ago accepted Garth as a fantasy lover.
“Daydreaming?”
Regan sucked in a deep breath. She hadn’t known he’d come to join her at the side of the pool. “Excuse me?”
A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I asked if you were daydreaming. You looked as if your thoughts were a million miles away.”
Regan wondered what he would think if he knew her thoughts had been right here in the pool with him. “I was just deciding it’s time to get something to eat.”
He nodded. “Everything is ready but the French fries and that won’t take but a few minutes in the air fryer.”
“Okay.” She just realized how close they were standing. She was tempted to reach out and rub her hands down his wet chest. But she wouldn’t stop there. Then she would lean in and lick the side of his neck, and then...
“Did I tell you how nice you look in your bathing suit?”
“Yes, you did. Thanks.”
“I got an idea of what we can do after we eat, if you aren’t tired.”
She licked her lips. “What?”
“Something we haven’t done in a long time.”
Her thoughts were on making love, but she figured that wasn’t it, since they’d never done that before at all. “What?”
“Play Scrabble.”
She couldn’t help but smile. It had been years since she’d played. “Um, why do I get the feeling that I’m about to find out that Charm and Maverick aren’t the only Outlaws with competitive genes?”
“What! You’re challenging me again, Regan?” Garth said, grinning broadly.
“You bet I am. Lionize is not a word.”
“Yes, it is.” He didn’t want to argue with her, but darn, she looked so cute when she was angry. Especially the way her lips formed into a pout. He took a sip of his wine, needing something to soothe the sensations rolling around too close to his groin.
“Then prove it.”
“You do realize, Regan, that you can’t afford to challenge me again, right?”
She lifted her chin. “Is that what you’re counting on? That I’ll let you get away with this one?”
“No.
“Then I’m challenging you, Garth. Prove it.”
“Okay.” He picked up his phone.
“No, this time, we are using mine,” she said, standing to pull her cell phone out of the back pocket of the denim shorts she had changed into after their swim. He thought now what he always thought whenever he saw her legs. She had a gorgeous pair.
“Are you accusing me of cheating?” he asked, amused when he probably should feel offended.
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I’d just rather use my phone to look it up this time.”
He shrugged. “Fine, go right ahead. And just so you know, you’re cute when you’re mad.”
She frowned. “I’m not mad.”
“If you aren’t, then you could have fooled me. You know what I think?”
“No, what do you think?”
“I think you’ve been hanging around Maverick and Charm too long.”
“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes, as she pulled up the dictionary on her cell phone.
Garth watched her expression and knew the exact moment she saw challenging him had been a mistake. He couldn’t resist adding salt to the wound by saying. “So, what does it say? What’s the definition?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, placing her phone aside and picking up her wineglass.
“It matters to me. So, what does