The five of them watched the scene unfold in fast motion.
First, one couple arrived at the pool; the time mark said a quarter past one in the morning. Zoey rolled her eyes when they immediately stripped off their clothes and jumped in. “Great, old-people porn,” Zoey said under her breath, earning her a nudge from Elle.
The time mark showed that less than five minutes later, another couple arrived with a six-pack of beer. They quickly talked to the first couple, then stripped naked and jumped into the water.
“Seriously?” She groaned, earning her another nudge.
Now, as the tape sped up, four more couples arrived, all stripping naked and jumping into the water.
“Oh my!” Hannah said slowly. “Look, they’re . . . swapping.”
“What?” Aubrey gasped, then turned away.
“See, that’s Elaine and Albert Tilton, from Houston, but Elaine is with Dane Juarez, while her husband, Albert, is with Sarah Juarez.” She pointed to the screen, where two couples were making out. When everyone just continued to look at her, she sighed. “They swapped partners. Look.” Everyone turned back to the screen.
“Thank god the water is dark enough that we can’t see what was going on under there,” Zoey said.
Then, to their horror, a couple jumped out of the water naked and laid the lounge cushions on the side of the pool.
Elle gasped and shut off the monitor, then turned to them.
“We’re a high-end swingers’ camp,” she said under her breath as her face turned pale.
“Hey.” Zoey walked over and took Elle’s shoulders. “Maybe it was just a fluke?”
A low male chuckle sounded behind them. They had all been so engrossed in watching the computer screen that they hadn’t heard Dylan enter the room and stand behind Zoey.
“I doubt it,” he said easily. “Something like that doesn’t happen naturally. They probably set it up before coming here. I doubt it’ll be the only get-together while those couples are staying here.”
Everyone in the room was looking at him, and he just shrugged. “What? Old people have sex drives too. You had to know this before you opened the gates.”
“Sure.” Elle rubbed her forehead. “It’s just . . . well, we expected them to do that inside their cabins.”
Dylan chuckled. “Look, no harm, no foul. You can probably put out a bulletin about destroying property. I’m sure everyone will obey the rules.”
Elle nodded. “I’ll send a text out to all of the cabin systems this afternoon.” Then she turned to the computer. “I’m going to delete the footage and any more that may show up. I’ll know, if word gets out about this, that it was you.” She glanced up at Dylan.
Dylan laughed. “Yes, boss.” He made a move as if he were zipping his lips.
“I need some coffee after . . . that show.” Zoey motioned to the computer screen.
“More like a cigarette,” Hannah said under her breath.
“I expect you’ll hold what we witnessed with both the utmost respect and the privacy of our guests as your priority,” Elle said to the room, but her gaze was glued on Dylan.
“Of course.” His smile disappeared and he nodded.
Aubrey interrupted them. “Thank you. We appreciate it.”
They all turned and left the office. Dylan followed them out.
“Coffee and food first; then we’ll have our meeting,” Elle said.
When he started to tag along, Zoey stopped him by grabbing his arm. “What are you doing here?”
“I was coming to see you.”
“I . . .” She glanced around him and down the hallway, where Elle stood in the doorway to the dining room, watching them. “I have a meeting.”
She started past him.
“Later?” he asked, his hand brushing hers. She held in a smile as she nodded quickly and then rushed to catch up with Elle.
“What was that about?” Elle asked, her eyes watching Dylan disappear out the back door.
“Nothing,” she mumbled and nudged her friend into the dining room.
The five of them walked into the dining room at a quarter past six. There were a few guests sitting at tables, enjoying coffee and breakfast from the buffet.
Most of the staff enjoyed breakfast in the staff meeting room, where another buffet was set up for each meal.
However, this morning, they needed to have a meeting out of earshot.
“Let’s take that table in the back,” Elle said, motioning to the table by the large windows.
Everyone went through the buffet line, grabbed their drinks, and filled the table farthest away from the prying ears of the few guests up this early.
“So,” Elle started. “First off, how can we tell which guests are here to . . . party, and which ones aren’t?”
“We should have taken a better look at the video,” Aubrey said.
Zoey chuckled. “Go on back tomorrow morning. I’m sure there’ll be more to watch.”
“I made a point to memorize most of our guests as Julie and her crew checked them in,” Hannah surprised them by saying. “It’s one way to be sure you’re getting the right people to the right events later on without name-tagging everyone. I can write down the ones I know from the video.”
Elle nodded. “Send it to us, only I’ll compile a memo that I will send out to all of the cabins with our announcements.” She stretched her arms. “I have no idea what it’s going to say, but I think we should leave it as a reminder to be respectful of camp property. After all, swinging isn’t illegal.” She whispered the last bit.
Zoey chuckled again. “Sorry,” she said when everyone looked at her. “God, how embarrassing was it to watch that in front of Dylan?”
Her friends erupted in laughter.
“Okay, now for the rest of today’s business,” Elle finally said as she pulled out her phone and started at the top of the list.
By the time they’d dumped their empty food plates into the dish bins, they all had an idea of what their days were going to hold.
Zoey headed straight for the pool area to make sure everything was back in order, since it was on the way to the zip line. Knowing her mother was going to be going out in less than half an hour with Dylan had her concerned.
She hadn’t had time to call or text her last night, since she knew that her mother was always in bed no later than nine each night.
When she climbed the stairs to the small hut that marked the beginning of the zip line trails, Dylan was out front, sipping out of a thermos and watching her.
“Morning.” He toasted her with his thermos. “Heard there was some . . . excitement at the pool last night.”
Her back teeth clenched at his smirk. “Shut up,” she hissed with a glare.
Dylan’s smile widened, then fell quickly as he leaned closer to her. “Just an FYI: the cleanup crew found a lot more than soaked cushions and empty beer bottles. You might want to have a chat with them as well.”
Zoey tensed. She hadn’t thought of all the aspects of a sex party. There had probably been more used condoms and empty condom wrappers than there had been beer bottles.
“Ew”—she shivered—“gross. Let’s never discuss this topic again.” The memory of what they had seen on the computer screen threatened to cause her face to turn beet red.
Dylan’s chuckle was one of the sexiest sounds she’d heard in a long time.
Crossing her arms over her chest to try to act casual, she decided to think about something else. “It’s a beautiful morning.”
Still, she knew that within the next hour or two, the heat would be in full swing.
“Come to put a halt to your mother’s fun this morning?” He leaned on the railing next to her.
She felt how close his body was to hers and could even feel the heat radiating from him. Her first instincts were to pull away, but instead, she tilted her head and stayed where she was.
“If I asked you, would you turn her away?”
His dark eyes scanned her face.
“No.�
� He shook his head. “I can’t stop my father from all of his midlife craziness, and I don’t think it’s right for you to stop Kimberly’s.”
“The fact that you call my mother by her first name gives me more concern,” she admitted.
“Hey, she’s the one who asked me to call her that.” He smiled. “Not Kim. Kimberly.”
“My father used to call her Kim.” She groaned.
“Used to?” he asked.
“Before he ran off with a woman a few years older than me.” She leaned on the railing next to him.
“Ouch!” He shook his head. “Your mother seems like a wonderful woman. Your father must be stupid.”
Zoey smiled. “Kiss-up.” She nudged his shoulder with hers.
“It’s the truth,” he said as he reached up and brushed a strand of her hair away from her eyes. The move was so natural that she felt her breath catch in her lungs, waiting, hoping he’d make another move.
“What about your folks?” she asked, looking off over the tree line until her heart settled back down.
“Mom died shortly after giving birth to Liam.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, causing him to nod slightly. “What about your father?”
He sighed. “He’s off sowing his wild oats somewhere.”
“You don’t know where he is?” She was shocked and straightened up as he shrugged. Then she remembered that, currently, she didn’t know what her own father was up to.
“Not right now, no.” He glanced around, and she could tell he was calculating something in his head. “Actually”—he straightened and turned toward her—“we had thought he might be here.”
“Here?” She balked. But before she could ask him what he meant, she heard her mother’s voice.
“This is a surprise.”
Kimberly Rowlett was the most beautiful fifty-five-year-old woman Zoey had ever seen. Her mother’s silky silver hair was the envy of any young woman trying to match it with dye nowadays. Though her mother’s smile drew everyone in, she retained an underlying shyness as well as a touch of reserve that neither Zoey nor Scarlett had inherited.
“Morning.” Zoey walked over and kissed her mother’s cheek. “How are you settling in?” She’d only gotten over to the River Cabin a few times to help her mother unpack, since she’d been too busy preparing for opening day.
“Oh.” Her mother waved her hand. “I’m almost done unpacking. How was opening day? Am I the only one this morning?”
“The only one who’s early.” Dylan smiled at her.
“My mother is always early to everything,” Zoey teased her.
“As you should be.” Her mother patted her arm. “Dylan has promised to show me a good time today.” Her genuine smile always filled Zoey with more desire to protect her mom’s instant innocent love for strangers. Dylan in this case.
“We have a good-size group this morning.” He walked over and picked up a sheet. “Four couples and a last-minute sign-up for someone named Reed Cooper.” Dylan glanced up.
“He’s a local,” Zoey filled in. “He lives across the water.” They were deep in the tall pine trees, so the thick underbrush restricted their view of the bay. “We’ve made a deal with him,” Zoey added, feeling the need to explain to her mother. “He’s paying to use all of the facilities. Sort of like a private club.” She leaned closer to her mother. “We suspect he’s a spy for the government.”
“Oh?” Her mother smiled. “Why?”
“He fits the stereotype.” Zoey winked at her. “You’ll see for yourself.” She cocked her head at the man strolling up the trail. The fact that Reed Cooper was easily the best-looking man over fifty Zoey had ever seen wasn’t the only positive thing about him.
He wore black, all the time. Today’s black T-shirt hugged impressive muscles that rivaled Dylan’s. His thick salt-and-pepper hair was neatly trimmed, as was the scruff on his face. Zoey doubted the man’s sharp green eyes missed any small detail.
Right now, his scan took in Zoey’s mother, and Zoey was pretty sure she heard her mother make a soft sound of appreciation.
“Yeah,” Zoey said softly.
But the main reason Reed Cooper fit the spy mold was that he was a very silent, private man.
His massive mansion had caught her eye the first time she’d visited the camp. The place had always looked like it belonged in Hollywood instead of in the middle of swampland in Florida. He drove a fast sports car and had a speedboat that flew across the bay in a few minutes’ time, and she’d even seen a helicopter take off from his place a few times.
After quick introductions, Zoey pulled her mother aside while the men chatted.
“Why are you doing this?” she hissed.
“What?” Her mother’s eyes were still glued to the newcomer.
“Mom”—she dragged the word out and nudged her mother until her eyes focused on her—“zip-lining is dangerous.”
“Then why do you offer it to your guests?” her mother retorted.
“You know what I mean,” Zoey said insistently. “It’s dangerous for you.”
“No, it’s not. Dylan has assured me that I’m perfectly safe—”
“I don’t care what Dylan said. Scarlett and I talked about it. We don’t want you—”
“Zoey Elizabeth.” Her mother’s tone stopped her cold. “I am fifty-five years old. I think I can assess what is good for me and what isn’t. I’ve gone years allowing someone else to rule my life. I’m done with that.” Her mother clenched a fist and shook it. “If I want to go skydiving, I’ll go. The fact that my daughters think they know better than I do what’s best for me is downright insulting.”
Zoey noted that the men had stopped talking to witness the scene.
Narrowing her eyes at Dylan, she snarled, “You’d better watch out for her. If she hurts one hair on her head, I’ll come after you.” She turned on her heel and marched down the steps and didn’t stop until she stood outside her office door.
Feeling as if she hadn’t cooled off yet, she decided not to go inside and instead took a turn around the grounds to stop herself from strapping in next to her mother.
When she returned to her office, beads of sweat were rolling down her back, and she took a few moments in the bathroom to wash her face and cool off.
She was a little surprised to see Ryan Kinsley as she stepped inside. The woman had taken a seat across from her desk and was waiting for her. Zoey must have unlocked the office the first time she’d arrived and forgotten to lock the door when she’d gone for a walk.
“I’m sorry. Did we have an appointment?” She pulled out her phone and looked at her schedule.
“No.” Ryan smiled. “I was hoping we could have a little chat.”
“Oh?” Zoey shut her door and walked over to make sure that her drawers and computer were still locked. “What can I help you with?” She slid into the seat behind her desk.
“Actually”—the woman leaned forward, her smile widening—“I think I’m the one who can help you.”
Why this woman believed she could help Zoey was beyond her, but she was curious and, since she had a few free minutes, figured she could at least listen.
Still, it weighed on her knowing that Ryan had thrown herself at Dylan and Owen. She’d confirmed with Hannah, who had witnessed the scene between Ryan and Owen.
“The woman practically threw herself on him,” Hannah had told her. “I mean, it was almost a reverse Me Too movement moment. I talked with Elle about firing Ryan, but she assured me that unless Owen filed a complaint, the only thing we could do was have an HR talk with her about her actions.”
“Did Owen want to file a complaint?” she had asked Hannah.
“No.” Hannah had frowned. “He assured me it was just a one-off and acted as if he wasn’t fazed by it. What kind of man has so many women throwing themselves at him that he no longer notices?”
Hannah’s question had rolled around in Zoey’s mind and played against how Dylan had reacted to Ryan. There was definitel
y more to the brothers than they were letting on.
“Oh?” Zoey said again and leaned back.
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time Dylan was officially done for the day, the dark skies had opened up, and the downpour was almost blinding him while he made his way slowly back toward the main building.
Zoey had consumed his mind for the rest of the day—endless images of the way she moved, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled. He couldn’t explain how she drew him to her but knew that if things were different, he would have no problem exploring his feelings further.
He had just turned the first corner in the pathway when he bumped into a very wet and very angry Zoey.
“We seem to keep bumping into one another,” he joked. His smile fell slightly when he noticed the look in her eyes. “What’s wrong? I made sure your mother didn’t harm a hair on her head.”
“I had a very interesting talk with Ryan Kinsley this morning.”
“Oh?” Instant worry flooded him. Glancing around for some sort of shelter, he realized that there wasn’t anything around, short of returning to the small hut where all the equipment was housed.
“Yes.” Zoey shifted, and he realized that the cream work shirt hugged her curves perfectly. His mouth went dry as desire for her jumped full force. “She actually warned me away from you.”
“She . . . what?” His eyes snapped to Zoey’s.
“She told me that if I didn’t stop flinging myself at you, she’d tell Elle.” Zoey’s laugh burst from her. “First off, I have never flung myself at a man before. Second, like her warning me would make a difference.” She paced in a small circle as she spoke, as if she were upset. “Next, who does she think she is? Like Elle has any power over me. Doesn’t she know we’re partners in this venture? I mean—”
“Why don’t you fire her?” he asked, interrupting her.
She frowned. “We’re not exactly bursting with options at this point.”
“Is that why you hired us?” As an answer, she shrugged and avoided his eyes. “What else did she say?” He almost held his breath waiting for the answer.
“Only that I’d regret it.” Zoey’s eyes darted to his lips quickly.
“Would you?” he asked, his heart skipping at the heat that he saw in her eyes as she stood in the rain.
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