I wasn’t even sure what that meant, but I liked the way he was so close to me. But then we heard voices nearby, and we sat down as the others returned.
Brock raised an eyebrow while he handed us our drinks. “Have you two been behaving over here?” He sounded like a schoolteacher. Or better yet—a sexy professor.
“Yes,” Jessie said.
“Yes,” I echoed.
Then I added another word in my mind: unfortunately.
6
Jessie
“What? Did you check the code? Yeah, go look at the—yeah, that one. I’ll wait.” I pressed my phone to my ear, trying to hear my assistant. Now that the other guests had retired for the evening, the surf sounded louder than ever. Still, I hadn’t wanted to stay in the cabin and disturb Brock and Kincade. They had jobs that allowed them to sleep. Or at least I thought they did.
My mind kept returning to Maddie’s comment earlier, about how she was surprised we lived so far apart. That got me thinking, and I realized that it had been over two years since the three of us had gotten together. Sure, I met with Brock sometimes when I was in L.A. for business, which was fairly often. I always stayed in the same hotel suite, and when he was available, he’d join me for dinner at the restaurant there.
And sometimes, Kincade and I would find ourselves in the same place at the same time, though less often than Brock and me.
But it still hit me hard that it had been so long since the three of us had hung out together.
Static hit my ear before my assistant returned. Willa wasn’t just a PA, she was my right-hand woman at my firm. If not for her, I wouldn’t have been able to take the week off and—mostly—forget about work.
I listened to her for a moment and then grinned. “Really? That’s all it was? You’re an angel. Now go home to your wife before she sends hitmen after me.”
I was still grinning even after I pocketed my phone. So far, this trip had been a blast. A big part of it was my buddies. Though we hadn’t hung out together like this in ages, it sure didn’t feel like it. The moment I’d set eyes on those guys, it was like old times. It always was with us. No other people in the world—not even Willa—knew me as well as those two did.
Well, Doug knew me. He was part of the group, and we loved him like a brother, but it wasn’t quite the same. He’d always marched to the beat of his own drummer. He’d never been the odd man out, but he’d never been as tight as Brock, Kincade, and I had been. But he’d made a fantastic life for himself and had found the woman of his dreams.
Taking advantage of the quiet night, I walked along the decking around the series of pools until I got to the side near the ocean. I couldn’t wait to swim. Hopefully, the guys would want to do that tomorrow.
Or maybe that delectable Maddie would. Meeting her, even in the unusual way I did, had been the highlight of my day. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so instantly attracted to a woman. But with that wildly curly hair, those large, tawny eyes, and that voluptuous figure, she was completely my type.
But that meant she was Brock and Kincade’s type, too. We’d always shared a type. That wasn’t the only thing we’d shared, either. But that hadn’t happened in a long time.
The pounding of the surf usually calmed me, but even though it was after two in the morning, I felt restless. I couldn’t help thinking about the way it had felt to dance with her. Or to run my fingers through her hair. I hadn’t come here to meet a woman, but now that I’d met such a pretty one who was so vibrant and full of life, she was pretty hard to ignore.
Turning around, I walked back the way I came. It was tempting to simply dive into the pool and cut across, but there’d be enough time for that kind of thing tomorrow. Plus I had my phone with me.
When I reached the area where the reception had been held, I still stuck close to the pools. It was too dark to tell if all the tables and food stands had been cleared away, and I didn’t want to trip.
Then, just as I’d finished that thought, my foot connected with something, possibly some kind of metal tray from the reception. I managed not to fall, but it made a huge clamor causing me to jump—and causing someone else to yelp.
For a moment, I foolishly thought that I had kicked someone, but that didn’t make any sense. I’d obviously hit something metal. I whipped out my phone and turned on the flashlight, something I should’ve done before. Too many drinks at the reception, probably.