"No pool at home?”
Scarlett let out a belly laugh. “The pool on campus isn’t kid-friendly. It worked for swim lessons, but we don't have a lot of opportunities to get in the water and have fun."
I was glad I got the bathing suits, then. I wanted to give Scarlett something, to make up for the scene with Bryce. Taking advantage of the boys' momentary distraction, I said, "Watch out for Bryce—"
"Savannah already warned me," Scarlett cut in. "She said to look out for the asshole straight out of an eighties movie."
Her description surprised a laugh out of me. "As usual, Savannah is right. My aunt Ophelia, Bryce's mother, is sweet but kind of vague. Unless you're an unmarried man around her age with a fat bank account. Then, she's a shark. But she's always spoiled Bryce. I used to be jealous when I was a kid. My mom took off when I was a baby—she said the money wasn't worth putting up with Prentice and a pile of kids—and then, Darcy, our stepmom, died when I was twelve. Prentice had pretty much given up on being a father by then, and whenever Bryce and Ophelia would visit, Bryce would get away with murder, Ophelia jumping in to defend him no matter what."
Scarlett wrinkled her nose and shook her head, handing me a soda she'd pulled from the basket. It was still cold, dripping from the ice Savannah had packed it in. "I bet Bryce just loved that," she said. "Did he set you up to get in trouble and then call for mommy?"
I took a swig of my drink. Scarlett got it in one. "Pretty much exactly that."
"And you have to live with him? You can't kick him out?"
"I can't do anything. Not my house. Griffen is in charge, but inheriting the house came with a few conditions. He can't open it to the public, and he has to allow Bryce and Ophelia to live here for the next five years."
Not realizing I'd been eavesdropping, Scarlett said, "He admitted he'd searched the house for valuables. He was kind of clumsy about it, but I won't be surprised if he makes another approach, tries to get me to point him in the direction of easy-to-fence pieces."
"I didn't like his attitude when I came in," I said. "Hawk is going to give you a panic button. If Bryce makes you nervous, use it. But if you feel okay and think he's going to say something like that, can you turn on the recording app on the tablet and get it on video?"
The side of her mouth curled up before she took a sip of her own drink. "Good thinking. I can definitely do that. And thanks for the panic button. I don't think I'll need it, but you never know with guys like him."
She called the boys over to eat, pushing the conversation in other directions. I ate, watching the boys scarf down their sandwiches, distracted by thoughts of Scarlett in the bathing suit the Inn had delivered. It was pretty conservative, but that wouldn't matter. I'd had her body splayed out on top of mine, my hands all over her. I knew exactly how luscious she was.
With August sleeping on the couch and Scarlett's own caution between us, I wasn't going to see her naked any time soon. If the bathing suit was the best I could do, I'd take it and enjoy every second.
Chapter Seventeen
SCARLETT
I was in love with Heartstone's pool. I hadn't been swimming in ages, and never in a huge, private pool smack in the middle of paradise. It didn't matter that the gardens of Heartstone Manor were a mess. The view from the pool was spectacular. With the house on one side and the mountains everywhere else, the pool felt like a secret oasis.
An oasis occupied by two screaming kids. But I had an imagination. I could erase the kids and leave just Tenn and me, alone, mostly naked in the water…
No, not going to imagine that. It was bad enough watching him in his board shorts, tossing the boys high in the air so they could splash into the water over and over, without complaint. These days, patience is at the top of my list of sexy traits in a man. Combined with that body, that grin, his kindness… Ugh. I had to stop. I was not here for Tenn.
And I was not mostly naked. I just felt like it. In reality, the swimsuit Tenn's assistant brought over from the Inn gift shop wasn't the least bit sexy. No cleavage, and it actually managed to cover my ass, something I couldn't say for most of the suits I'd tried on lately. Still, when those deep blue eyes cut my way, I had the distinct impression he could see straight through the opaque navy fabric to absorb every detail of my bare breasts. And no, that thought did not get me hot. At all. Really.