Trying It All

by Christi Barth

  “Yeah. It’ll take a shit ton of research, though. Looking at statistics from all over the world. Figuring out how and where our money can make the most impact. And figuring out how to jerk at the heartstrings to make people respond. That’ll be the killer.” Not to mention the most pivotal part.

  Backing away until his ass hit the window, Knox said, “Don’t look at me. I know numbers and computer code. Period.”

  Griff waved him off, too. “I’m not good at expressing myself. Just ask my girlfriend.”

  “Obviously.” It was petty as shit to twist the knife in an already festering wound. But Ry couldn’t resist doing it after the way Griff went after him about Summer. “You won’t even tell her that you love her so much that she’s gotta marry you.”

  “I did that to put the ball in her court. Fuck it.” He threw his hands up. Which happened to be completely in time to the music Jerry had going on the Bose speaker by the stove. You know you make me wanna shout…“I’m not going to keep explaining it to you idiots. It made Chloe happy, telling her that she needed to propose to me. And if it makes her happy, I file it under a good decision.”

  “Yeah?” Ry crossed his arms over his chest. “How’s that working out for you?”

  Instead of getting pissier, Griff leaned back with a smirk. “I’m getting sex every night, which is more than you can say.”

  Too fucking true. That had to be why he’d reacted so strongly to kissing Summer. Both times. It’d been a while since his last hookup. Summer pushed all his buttons—the bad and the good. It was that simple. He’d take Josh tomorrow night, head up the road to Dewey Beach, and they’d bring home the hottest girls in the bar to scratch the lust itch.

  “Speaking of, we need to rearrange the bedroom assignments.” Josh glared at Knox. “I don’t want to listen to Knox and Madison banging the headboard into the wall all night long.”

  “Sounds like maybe we could consolidate. Riley and Summer could end up sharing a room.” Knox pointed at the mug-o-cash.

  Hell, no. “I’m taking a different floor from wherever you put her.” Which would also be a plus in executing Operation Screw a Stranger. “Getting myself completely out of temptation’s way. That’s the theme for this weekend—to stay as far away from Summer as possible.”

  Josh shot him the often used You’re overthinking the fuck out of this look. “Really? My plan is to drink beer during the day, stuff my face, and then switch it up to wine with dinner.”

  “Not all of us have lives that revolve around food and beverage,” Riley countered.

  “Maybe you should. Spending every day thinking about food makes me way more cheerful than you are most of the time.”

  “I’ll be plenty cheerful as soon as we hit the beach. I just need to check in with work first.”

  Everyone groaned. “It’s a vacation, Ry. Three days. Take a break.”

  “There’s a lot going on.” He kept it deliberately vague because they’d just piled on him about Summer. Riley wasn’t up for another gang bang of negativity—which was probably what would happen when he mentioned how he’d been putting in a ton of extra time and his boss was still riding him about doing more. And breathing down his neck on everything he did do.

  “Dude, you investigate traffic accidents. Not to be heartless, but cars crash every damn day, whether you’re paying attention or not. So put on your trunks and come outside.”

  “Wait for us,” Chloe hollered from the hallway. Madison, Brooke, and Summer were right at her heels in a flurry of slapping flip-flops. “I intend to outlast all of you on the beach. It’s my personal goal for the weekend.” She handed a plastic bag to Jerry, as did each of the women in turn.

  Knox frowned. “What’s with the bags? I told you we had the food covered.”

  Madison slipped under his arm and kissed the line on his forehead. “We passed a dozen farm stands on the way here. We picked up everything we need to turn your excellent wine into sangria.”

  “And I got watermelons,” Summer announced. It was the last thing Riley needed to hear. It flashed him back to Josh’s joke about melons. Which sent his gaze dipping right to that shadowy dip of cleavage revealed by her tight black tank top. Right where he wanted to lick…

  Josh thumped the melons with his fist, then nodded his approval. “If anyone’s for a seed-spitting contest, don’t bother. Logan’s got loft with his spit you wouldn’t believe.”

  “There’s not a lot to do in the jungle at night. I honed my game.” One arm wrapped tight around Brooke, Logan leaned over to ruffle Madison’s hair. “Hey, Sis.”

  For a man who’d been deathly scared a month ago to meet his surprise half-sister, let alone hug her, it was huge progress. Good thing, since she was engaged to Knox. That tie might mean more to Logan than the fact that they shared DNA. He was trying, anyway. Trying to figure out how to make up for them missing two decades–plus of inside jokes and laughter and, well, the closeness he shared with the ACSs. His blood brothers.

  Summer lifted her hair off the back of her neck. Which promptly sent Riley into a tailspin of need. Need to blow across her nape to cool her down. Need to twist that hair around his hand and then use it to pull her close. “The watermelon gets thrown in a blender with vodka. Simplest drink ever. It’s summer in a glass.”

  “What did we miss?” Brooke asked. As the newest addition, she was still feeling her way with the group. They all liked her. She just seemed more at ease with the other girls than with the guys. Logan had asked them to go the extra mile this weekend to make her feel included. Riley would freaking jump at the chance. Seeing as how it gave him extra time to not be tempted by Summer.

  Logan stroked her cheek with the side of his thumb. “We were just talking about getting the Foundation off the ground. And convincing Riley that he shouldn’t spend all weekend working.”

  “Maybe if some of you helped him with the Foundation stuff, he wouldn’t need to work.”

  She delivered the verbal spanking so blandly that it took a second for Logan to wince. “Ouch. Touché. Except he’s good at it and we’re not.”

  “Well, I had a brilliant brainstorm that should solve both problems.” Chloe swung her arm like a pendulum until it pointed at her best friend. “Summer can help.”

  “Help with what?” Riley quickly asked. Shit. The implicit sneer in his words came out way more condescending than he’d intended. Sheer habit.

  “The mission statement for the Foundation. The white paper. The speech. She’s great at that stuff. Channeling emotion into motivation.”

  This time Riley’s condescension was as intentional as wearing red when he went to a Nats game. “I get that you’re good at convincing people to buy dresses that’ll burn up their credit card. But this is a little more targeted.”

  He had to give her credit for sticking to their truce. Better than he just had. Summer just beelined to the chips and started wordlessly snacking. Which made Ry feel about two inches tall for not having taken the high road himself.

  In a patient tone, Chloe said, “Summer gives motivational speeches. About how lives are affected by random acts of violence. How one moment can change a life forever. How education and planning can save lives.”

  “That sounds right up your alley, Ry,” Griffin said with a harder-than-necessary elbow to the ribs.

  It didn’t add up. A pageant girl who, yes, did more than just play with dresses, but what about that made her inspiring? “Where’d all this knowledge come from?”

  With a pointed clearing of her throat, Chloe said, “Riley, you mean when you Googled me, you didn’t do the same for my friend?”

  “After you shamed me about it? Nah, I quit. Cold turkey.” She’d oh-so-politely ripped him a new one about doing so when they first met. He’d declared girlfriends of the ACSs—and their friends—a Google-free zone.

  Summer tapped long, delicate, red-tipped fingers against her sternum. “I was in the shooting. With Chloe.”

  Well, wasn’t that a kick to the nuts!r />
  Chloe was a survivor of a mass college shooting. She didn’t talk about it. He’d found out about it when Griff started dating her and, yeah, Riley had done some research on the woman turning his friend inside out and upside down. They’d had a conversation where she filled in a couple of details, but she’d never mentioned that her best friend had been there as well. It wasn’t improbable. Knowing they’d been friends since college, he could’ve even done the math and at least wondered if Summer had been hit as well.

  Except he’d never bothered to think about Summer before this week.

  Aside from thinking about how she bugged the living daylights out of him. The more he stopped bitching about her, and knee-jerk blowing up at her? The more Riley was discovering the hidden depths of the gorgeous brunette with zero regard for safety or planning.

  Logan stepped forward. Squeezed her triceps, then let go. “Summer, I’m so sorry. You look like, uh, you came out okay?” He gestured at the acres of skin revealed by her cropped shorts and halter top.

  “I lived. Thanks to Chloe.” She grasped her friend’s hand tightly. It said a lot that she was still so quick to show gratitude after almost ten years. “And then, eventually, I healed. When I change into my bikini, there will be a few scars that show. You’re all allowed thirty seconds to gawk, and that’s it.”

  Riley still couldn’t believe that she’d kept something so enormous, so much a part of her very soul, a secret. Especially when he was used to the women he met at bars blabbing everything he never wanted to know about themselves, from their cat’s birthday to their last random hookup.

  “You never told us.” And, yeah, it came out as an accusation. Like she’d been hiding her true identity from them. Because maybe if he’d known about all her different and interesting pieces from the start, he would’ve…well, Riley wasn’t sure what he would’ve done differently. But he would’ve liked the chance to try not to have been such a big dick to her.

  She shrugged a shoulder. A move that sent the black strap slithering down her arm. Damn, that was hot. “You never asked. Anything about me. Griffin knew.”

  “I did, too,” Knox interjected. The self-righteous, secret-keeping asshole. “But then, I talk to Summer, because it’s what I do with beautiful women. Or what I did, before landing this bundle of gorgeousness.” He drew Madison to his side and gave her a huge, smacking kiss that drew a groan from Josh.

  “Can we at least limit the noisy PDA? Keep that shit on the beach where it’s covered up by the crash of the waves?”

  Chloe tapped her fingers on Riley’s forearm. “The point is, Summer’s got loads of experience. She knows what buttons to push to make the biggest impact.”

  “Great.” Griffin clapped his hands together. Like it was a done fucking deal. Like Riley had no say in having Summer foisted on him. Like Griff didn’t remember that Riley was trying like hell to keep his distance from this sexy, strap-slipping girl. “That sounds like exactly what we need. We can handle the big picture and number crunching, but the emotional pull isn’t our thing.”

  “We’d really appreciate your help on this, Summer,” Logan added.

  Of course he’d folded like a cheap deck of cards. The guy was overwhelmed right now, getting a crash course in how to run his family foundation. He probably thought Summer being dealt in would keep Riley from trying to mine him for ideas.

  Asswipe.

  Riley had to do something to stop the Put Summer on the team train. Clearly it was inevitable. Clearly he’d be an idiot to refuse her help. He just couldn’t stand here another second and deal with it.

  Desperate, he figured a change of venue would change the subject. “There’s still plenty of time to hit the beach before lunch. How about a game of volleyball? Change and meet on the beach in ten minutes?”

  Claps, squeals, trash talk, and an almost instant clearing of the room was the response. Riley let out a big sigh of relief. And then almost jumped out of his skin when Josh poked him between the shoulder blades.

  “That was stupid.”

  “What?”

  “Suggesting volleyball. You know that’ll put Summer in a bikini.” With a wicked grin, Josh slowly drew his fingers together into a pinch. “Bet it’ll be a teeny, tiny one, too.”

  “Shit.” She’d be hot as hell.

  “For someone who brags about thinking four steps and two outcomes ahead? You’re kind of off your game when it comes to planning against risk, aren’t you?” Josh laughed the whole way out of the room.

  “Stupid” was right. How was he supposed to hide a raging hard-on in swim trunks?

  Chapter 6

  Summer knew that if her friends caught her working, she’d be the recipient of a lengthy lecture. All about getting away from work. Taking a break from stress. For some reason, they didn’t understand that putting in a solid hour of work would reduce her stress, not add to it.

  That was why she’d decided to station herself in the sitting area on the second floor. Not as obvious as the living room for sneaking in some email time. And it was along the hallway by the stairs. If anyone came inside, she’d hear them and hightail it into her room without being detected.

  After slipping shorts and a tank top over her suit, she grabbed her laptop. Tiptoed—which was ridiculous, with everyone still out on the beach—out of her room, past the laundry room, and rounded the corner soundlessly over the thick area rugs woven in a pattern of beach grass.

  And almost dropped her laptop when she stopped about a breath away from Riley. She squealed. He was standing at the wet bar, pouring water into a glass. Or at least, it had been going into a glass until he spotted her. Now it was going all over the floor and his feet. Big feet. Tan, sprinkled with dark hair. Super-duper sexy feet.

  “Damn it.” Riley set the glass and bottle into the sink and pulled out a towel. “Why are you sneaking around?”

  “I’m sorry.” She grabbed the towel from him. Wiped the wood floor and dabbed at his feet. Which just made him swipe the towel back from her. Summer retreated to sink onto the deep, sage-colored armchair. “I didn’t think you’d be up here. I’m sneaking around because I don’t want to get caught. Obviously.”

  “Caught doing what? This isn’t a house party in the Hamptons. There’s no jewelry to steal. We’ve got some classic video games in the basement, but the most you’d get for them on eBay is a couple hundred bucks.”

  Riley’s tone was…surprisingly good-humored. There was even a twinkle in those eyes that looked like a sun-dappled forest, all green and gold and brown. Summer could tell he was teasing. Which was pretty much a first. In the past, Riley’s scathing comments to her had been just as mean-spirited and humorless as, well, as hers had been to him. Despite his regression in the kitchen when he’d questioned her ability to help with their foundation, this felt like progress.

  “What I’m doing is far worse than burglary.” She crooked her finger at him until he joined her on the matching chair. Leaning over, she whispered, “I’m working.”

  Riley burst out laughing. With her, not at her for once. It was…nice. “Didn’t you get the lecture about how this house is a work-free zone?”

  “I did. Hence my illicit creeping around. What are you doing up here?”

  Picking up an iPad from the side table, he flashed it at her. “Working. Secretly, to keep from getting another smackdown from my well-meaning friends.”

  “Ooh. Here I thought you were a straitlaced, type A bore, and it turns out you’re a bad boy. Flouting rules. Being all covert.”

  “You’d be surprised just how bad I can be. Under the right circumstances.”

  His statement—which came off a lot like a promise of naughty, dirty things that made her bare toes curl into the rug—hung between them like a bubble. There was no teasing tone this time. Just a surety. A husky certainty. And that crazy intensity to his stare that weakened Summer’s knees as though he’d cupped her breast.

  Wow.

  Summer was tempted to take him up on it. To ta
ke his hands, drag him down the hall into her room with the white four-poster bed, and see exactly what he could do. Except…they’d sort of actively disliked each other for months now. While she didn’t have anything against a hot hate-sex hookup, that wouldn’t work in this case. Those were strictly drive-bys. Like it or not, Riley was firmly in her life.

  So she tamped down all that warm desire. Tapped his iPad. “Is there an emergency? Do you have to go back to D.C.?”

  “I didn’t get handed a new investigation—I logged out today as a full vacation day, so technically I can’t get an assignment to a Go Team. But being at the beach doesn’t mean all the work waiting back at the office magically disappears.”

  “Funny. That’s exactly what I’d say. But aren’t you in charge of an entire team? They don’t just surf the Web and take long lunches while you’re gone, do they?”

  “Hardly. My team is great. I’ve got full faith they are working their collective asses off right this second. Let’s just say, well, I was raised that the only acceptable work ethic is nonstop.”

  Riley didn’t sound happy about it. He did sound like there was a story there. And Summer was suddenly intensely curious to get him to reveal something deeply personal. Something that would help her to understand him, connect with him. “Did your parents push you?”

  His sexy green eyes rolled back in his head. “Only every day.”

  “See, I don’t get that. You’ve got maybe thirteen good years to goof around and enjoy life without responsibilities. Then another seventy to be serious and stressed out. Why rush the process?” Sure, it was risky throwing down about the way he was raised. But Summer had opinions, and she rarely kept them to herself. If this new peace was going to work between them, he’d have to accept her as is.

  “Oh, they had a reason.” Riley shifted. Then propped his foot on his knee and held it there. In other words, he looked decidedly uncomfortable. Which just piqued her interest even more.

  “Really?” She curled her feet beneath her and propped her forearms on the wide padded arm. “What?”