by Eva Charles
“She going swimming alone?”
I ignored the question.
“Hey! Is she going in the pool alone?” My fucking brother again.
“Nah.”
“Who’s going in with her?” Now Sophie’s husband Max was the prick. My brothers and I had given Max a hard time the first time Sophie brought him around. We were brutal, especially me. I told him in the pool that he had the wrong idea about me and Emmie, but he needed to exact a little more revenge, anyway. Whatever.
“Me. It’s a nice night for a swim.”
“Hmmm. Maybe I’ll take a dip before bed, too.” Luke was baiting me, and before I could stop myself, I bit, glowering at him. Now I was going to have to listen to a shit-ton of crap from these clowns.
“You girls want to go for a moonlit swim?” Will asked.
“Sure,” Ella said. “Just let me change into a suit.” But Ella didn’t make any effort to get up—she was just piling on.
“I’ll come, too,” Talia chimed in.
She used to be one of the nice ones.
“It’s not a party, and I don’t remember asking any of you to join us.” For the record, that last comment was supremely stupid. It didn’t help my case one iota.
“Why not?”
“Can’t you ever let anything go? Emily doesn’t swim. She’s not comfortable in the water. Happy now?”
“And you’re going to help her get more comfortable?” Helena’s boyfriend Gabe took that shot.
“Listen, Innocenti, I’ll take the shit from my family, but you’re still an asshole as far as I’m concerned.”
Sophie watched quietly from the far corner of the couch. I could feel her eyes on me. It was unlike her. Not the watching part, but the quiet part. Although now she was maneuvering her very pregnant body off the couch. “The monitors might be hard to find. I’ll go with you.”
Max grabbed her wrist. “I’ll go. You’ve already done those stairs too many times today.” Max meant well, but Sophie threw him a dick-shriveling look, and like any man who hoped to get laid again in this lifetime, he loosened his grip on her arm, kept his mouth shut and his ass in the chair. Max might be the toughest SOB in the business world, but his pint-sized wife owned his balls.
I followed Sophie up the steps. “You know, I could have found the monitors. I’m not as clueless as I look. Max has a point about the stairs.” She glared at me over her shoulder, and like a good little minion, I stopped talking. It’s not that I was intimidated, but the monitors were hers, and I wanted to leave here with them, and with everything else, intact.
“Mark…”
Here it is—wait for it…
“I don’t know what’s going on inside your head regarding Emmie, but kids change all the rules. Everything becomes more complicated. I bet you’ve never dated anyone with a child.”
“Come on, Soph. Give me a little credit. I’m not some guy who takes advantage of women.”
“Of course not. I know that… Just tread a little more gently. Listen more carefully. Ask if you’re not sure. Her life’s not free and easy. And dating her won’t be either.”
“It’s a swim lesson, for crissake.”
“Right.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but she wears a wedding ring. And I doubt it’s her mama’s, because she wears it on her left hand. Nothing says I’m unavailable quite like a wedding ring.”
“She’s a widow.”
“I repeat, nothing says I’m unavailable like a wedding ring.”
“It might just be a swim lesson, tonight. But you’re hoping for more. And I think she might be, too.”
“And you know all this, because…?”
“Because even though I look like I’m having triplets,” she whacked me on the arm, “I can still see over my belly. You’re always watching her, and you hang onto every word she says. And she laughs at every dumb little thing you say. You’re not that funny. Plus, at the pool yesterday, you were giving each other those X-rated little looks.”
“Oh, please.” I groaned. “X-rated little looks?”
“Yeah. Eye-fucking. That’s what Max called it.”
“Jesus! You know, Max used to be a regular guy. Now, he’s a blabbering pussy, who runs to his wife with every little thing. He’s worse than a teenage girl. It’s a shame what you’ve done to him.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt your friend.”
She reached up and brushed her hand over my hair. The last time she did that, she’d just finished straightening my collar, right before we left for the funerals. It’s going to be okay. We’ll all be okay. I promise, she assured me then, smoothing my hair. And thanks to her, we were. Not exactly the same, but mostly okay.
“I’m not worried about Emmie.”
I held her wrist, and studied her for a few seconds. “You’re worried about me?”
She nodded, her brow wrinkled. “When you let people into your life, they’re yours forever. You treat them like treasured keepsakes. This is different. Kids are addictive—especially that one. You’ll be in over your head before you even realize what’s happening. Then what will you do?”
“Well, if there’s not enough room for two on the keepsake shelf, I guess I’ll just have to marry the kid’s mom.”
“That’s not funny.”
“He’s a cute kid, but you are getting way ahead of yourself, sweetheart.” She stared at me as if I were full of shit. Just because her out-of-control pregnancy hormones—which I pictured as puffy, pink, heart-shaped floaters—were causing her to fall in love with every small human she encountered, didn’t mean the rest of us were suckers. She was still clutching the monitors, so I kept the opinion to myself.
“And whatever you think about dating women, it’s never free and easy. But I hear you. Don’t sweat it. You gonna hand over those monitors sometime soon, or lecture me until the sun comes up?”
Emmie was waiting when I got back. “Sorry, it took me longer next door than I expected. Let me just run up and put one of these bad boys outside Teddy’s door.”
In the two minutes it took me to set up the monitor and get back downstairs, she began having second thoughts. “It’s getting late, and you’ve already had a long day. Maybe we shouldn’t do this tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s go.” I put my hand on the small of her back and nudged her out the door.
“Are you sure we’ll be in range, and able to hear once we’re outside? The foliage is dense between here and the pool.”
“I’m absolutely sure. Sophie and Max use them all the time, and when Alexa’s brother, Owen, is here, she uses them, too. Max is very particular about anything involving Lily’s safety, and he’s satisfied with these until he can convince Sophie to let him implant a chip under Lily’s skin.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“I have no doubt the thought has crossed his mind. And he’d probably do it if his wife wouldn’t kick his ass. But yes, I’m kidding.”
When we got to the pool, I plugged in the monitor, kicked off my shoes, and tossed my shirt on a lounge chair.
Emily stood, cupping her elbows, staring at the pool, or maybe at the ocean beyond. I came up behind her, and planted both hands on her upper arms. She startled at the unexpected touch, but didn’t shrug me away.
“Your sundress is pretty, but once it’s wet, it’s going to weigh you down.” I slid my hands over her warm skin. “Why don’t you take it off, while I grab towels.”
She nodded, but didn’t say a word. I would have given my Hawks season tickets to know what was going on inside her head.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” I squeezed her shoulders gently and went to the pool house for towels.
When I got back, her dress was neatly folded over the back of a chair, and she was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Her bathing suit dipped low in the back, not indecently low, but low enough to give me an eyefu
l of smooth skin. That delicious swathe of skin kicked my imagination into high gear.
In seconds, my tongue ached to circle the hollow of her back, to slide flat along her spine, until she trembled with need. Her sweet, tender flesh warmed by my mouth. Pushing her silky curls aside, I’d sink my teeth into the base of her neck, letting my hand roam her belly, urging her gorgeous ass against my hard cock.
She combed her hand through the soft brown curls, and the damn ring winked at me, taunting like a nasty bitch. I swallowed, took three long strides to the deep end of the pool, and dove in before she could see the evidence of my dirty little fantasy. I surfaced in front of her, and splashed some water on her long, lean legs.
So much leg.
The front of her bathing suit dipped too, showing off a little cleavage. A gold heart hung from a delicate chain, between her breasts.
So much skin.
I don’t know why I was surprised by all the exposed skin. She was in a bathing suit. At the pool. But still…so much skin.
My dick didn’t care about her ring, and there was no talking down the fucker when it saw something it really liked. The water was nowhere near cold enough to help a guy out, so I stayed waist-deep, treading water, trying to stay afloat. Swimming lessons. That might be the dumbest idea I’ve ever had—and I’ve had plenty.
“Come on in. Don’t be a toe dipper. It’s warm once you get all the way in.”
After a few minutes, she slid slowly into the water. “It is warm,” she admitted, through clenched teeth. “So, what’s first?”
“First, we relax. Take some time to get you comfortable in the water.”
She nodded.
“Let’s sit on the bench. You’ll be immersed, but not too deep.” I took her hand and led her to the Gunite bench built into the inside of the pool. She held onto the edge while she lowered herself, almost neck-deep, covering much of the skin that had been feeding my fantasies for the last several minutes.
“You act like such a tough guy, but you’re really very sweet.”
If you only knew. “Aw, come on. That’s like when someone describes a woman they want you to meet as nice. The minute I hear nice, I’m out.”
“Because she’s not gorgeous.”
“Nooo. If they say she’s got a big brain, or she’s funny, I’m in. But she’s nice? It sounds like the boiled chicken and white rice you eat when your stomach’s upset.”
“She’s got a big brain? That turns you on, really?” Emmie splashed water in my face.
“Ohhh, little girl, you’re going to be sorry you did that.” Without thinking, I dove underwater, grabbed her leg and dragged her off the seat into the center of the pool. I would have pulled her deeper, but the blood-curdling scream alerted me that I was a reckless bastard. Fortunately, years of lifeguard training automatically kicked in when she screamed, and I reacted before she was fully submerged.
“Are you okay?” I asked, with an arm securely around her. It happened so fast, I lost sight of the fact that I wasn’t horsing around with my brothers or my cousins. “I didn’t think.”
She was still gasping for air.
I pulled her against me, and ran my hand up and down her back. “Emmie, I am so sorry.”
After a minute, she jerked away, patting her chest, right below her neckline. “My necklace. It’s gone.”
I remembered something snapping in my fingers when I grabbed her. “I’ll find it.” When we were kids, we spent hours tossing small objects, usually a Saint Anthony medal on a chain—don’t tell my grandmother—into the pool and then scouring the pool floor for them.
After about ten minutes of searching in the area where she’d gone down, I came up with the necklace, and dropped it in her palm.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“I’m glad we found it. It looks like an antique.”
She nodded. “I don’t think it’s particularly valuable, but I’ve had it for a long time.”
“Tim get it for you?”
She shook her head. “No. It belonged to Mrs. Rose, my last foster mother. Before she went into the nursing home, she gave it to me. She didn’t need it anymore. Told me to hang onto it for as long as I could, but not to be afraid to sell it if I was hungry.” The lump in my throat grew with every word.
“You grew up in foster care?”
Emmie gulped a few breaths. “Uh-huh.” She nodded, white-knuckling the side of the pool. “It’s not a secret. Not really. But Teddy doesn’t know much about it. He wouldn’t understand. I don’t want to frighten him. And Jake. Jake doesn’t know. I…I shouldn’t have said anything.” She rambled nervously.
I lifted her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. “I won’t say a word. Not a single word to anyone.” She didn’t seem convinced. “But I hope growing up in foster care isn’t something you’re ashamed of, Emmie. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about it.”
She laughed. A small, anxious laugh with an almost delirious quality about it. Any second, I expected to see fat tears roll down her cheeks. Not happy tears.
“Oh, Mark, that’s too funny.”
I reached for her arm, but she jerked it away before I could touch her.
“Maybe you were right. We don’t need to do this tonight. The swimming lesson can wait for another time.”
She swiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I made you uncomfortable.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“You, who’s comfortable with anyone, anywhere. Imagine what it does to other people—the ones who are more socially awkward. Get in touch with that feeling, Mark. The one in the pit of your stomach. The one that made you squirm. What is it? Repulsion? Pity?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Then what is it?” she asked, so quietly her voice was nearly drowned out by the crash of waves in the distance. “Do you see, now, why I don’t talk about it?”
I chewed the corner of my bottom lip. The very last thing I wanted to do right now was give her a swim lesson. I had a feeling Emily Landon learned to breathe underwater, years ago. She could probably teach me a few things about swimming against the tide.
I wanted to know more about her life. But I’d gotten all she was giving up tonight. That was for damn sure.
Leave it alone. Leave her alone.
But I wanted more. I wanted to hold her. Comfort her. Cradle her against my chest while she told me about the little girl who’d grown up in foster care, and about the young woman who became a widow long before her time. I wanted to know everything. Everything. That’s what I wanted.
That, and to banish the awkwardness between us, now. That shit needed to go.
“Oh, I’m going to teach you to swim, Sunshine. I just wasn’t sure you still wanted to learn, tonight, after you flailed around and got your pretty hair all wet. Smudge your mascara?” I teased, pretending to inspect her face. “I was giving you an opportunity to bow out gracefully.”
Her face softened, the worry smoothed. “If I remember correctly, you were the one crying like a toddler who dropped his Popsicle when you got water in your eyes.”
Her eyes twinkled, and a smile tugged at my lips. She was resilient. One tough cookie. I liked that in a woman. “Well, the night’s a wastin’, Sunshine. Let me hold that necklace for you, and ready or not, I’m going to teach you to swim.”
7
Emmie
I woke up early Sunday morning, turned on the two-way monitor, and sneaked downstairs to make coffee and enjoy the water view before everyone else was awake. When I got to the kitchen, Alexa was sitting at the table sipping tea and taking small bites of dry toast. She was pasty and a little green.
“Good morning. You’re up early.”
“Morning,” she said, sounding less than chipper.
“Mind if I make a pot of coffee?”
She shook her head. “The beans are in the cupboard above the coffee maker. I’d offer to make it for you, but…” She didn’t finish her thought.
“Are you feeling okay?”
<
br /> “Queasy stomach. I’ll be fine after I eat something.”
While the coffee brewed, I went over and sat at the table with Alexa. She looked more washed out than she had five minutes before. “Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head.
“Teddy and I won’t stay long today. It’s hard to rest with so many people around, and you look like you could use a rest.”
“Please don’t leave early on my account. I’m not sick. The smell of coffee…I’m pregnant.”
“Oh. Congratulations! Let me dump the coffee. I’ll have some tea.”
“No. It’s fine. Really.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind. Even the thought of coffee made me nauseous when I was pregnant.” I couldn’t remember anyone saying anything about Alexa being pregnant. But they all talked so much, sometimes all at once, and I might have missed it. “I didn’t realize you were pregnant.”
“No one knows. I only told you, so you wouldn’t think I’m sick, but we haven’t shared the news, yet.”
“I won’t say a word. I promise.”
She nodded, and took a small bite of toast, swallowing carefully. “I’ve been pregnant before. We told everyone the very minute we knew, and then I ended up miscarrying. So this time we decided to wait until after the first trimester.”
“I’m sorry.”
She flipped her hair back, over her shoulder. “We were so excited. Everyone was excited. In hindsight, it would have been better if we had waited. Nothing was wrong, it was just one of those things that can happen early on. There’s no reason I can’t carry this little peanut to term.”
“I had morning sickness with Teddy. More like all day sickness. The doctor told me it was a good sign.” There were footsteps on the stairs, and we quickly changed the subject.
Teddy and I packed in a full day of activities at Meadows Shore before we said good-bye, but even then, he was sad to leave. I was a little sad, myself.
While I loaded the car, I had an opportunity to reassure Alexa, one last time, her secret was safe with me.
“I know,” she said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have said a word.” She wrapped me in a warm hug. “Cole is on-call next weekend, which means I’ll be alone. Come and have dinner with me, one evening. And bring Teddy.”