Chapter 2
BECK
The goddess on the pool lounger? I might have dreamed her up.
I'm minding my own business, cleaning Lakeview Bliss (one of the private cabins owned by the Love Lake resort), when I see her. I try not to stare, because she's gorgeous. Billowy curves fill out a modest two-piece swimsuit, and her rosy-beige skin glows in the afternoon sun. The wavy hair piled on top of her head is a rich glossy brown, and her wide kissable lips are strawberry pink.
Damn.
It's not that weird for me to come across clients in swimsuits in the course of my working day. I own Perry's Pool Posse, which began its life seven years ago as an offshoot of Perry's Plumbing, the company my dad runs with my two older brothers. They were all set to take me on as the next plumber in the family, but I'd already started spending my teenage summers cleaning pools around the Dogwood Falls and Love Lake area, and I wasn't willing to give that up. Dad made me a loan to cover my startup costs, and I paid it off a few years ago. Since then, I've expanded to three employees, and bought a couple of heavy-duty trucks with scraper blades so I can plow roads in winter.
The business is doing okay. It's maybe not the steady, college-educated job my mom had hoped I'd get, but I get to work outside and meet a lot of people, and it's fun. More to the point, I'm in charge.
Speaking of meeting people, I really want to meet this one. Find out the name of this brunette beauty. Find out where she's from, find out what she's like, find out if she really is the woman of my dreams.
When her eyes open, a little cloudy from sleep but soft and warm like melted chocolate, I want to fall into them. Just like that.
I introduce myself. "Hi. I'm here to clean your pool." And give you anything else you want. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
She blinks those big brown eyes a couple of times. Parts those strawberry-pink lips. "Hi. Sorry, I think I went to sleep."
I get my skimmer net and scoop the surface, removing bugs and leaves. "No problem. I usually knock and then come on in--I assume that's okay?"
She sits up, touching her hair. "Sure. And I guess I did know the pool service would be here today. I just--" she shrugs one shoulder, and the motion highlights the valley between her breasts--"dozed off. It wasn't a long plane ride this morning, but the trip from the airport was almost as long."
I laugh, setting my skimmer aside and moving to the pool brush. "Yeah, we're not close to the airport. Tri-Cities, in Tennessee, is probably closest, but that's a really small airport so it's tough to find flights. Where'd you come in from, if you don't mind my asking? And you just started your vacation today?" I start cleaning the sides of the pool, trying to keep my brain from wondering whether she tastes like strawberries.
"Yes, today. From Philadelphia," she says."
"I can't imagine living in a big city like that," I say.
"You get used to it. I've never known anything else." She smiles up at me through her long lashes. "I'm Delia, by the way. You're Perry?" She holds her hand out to me, and I lean over and shake it. Her hand is soft and warm, her grip firm.
Just the touch of her hand does things to my chest...and lower down, too.
"Um," I say, finally registering what she called me, "no, Perry's my last name. I'm Beck Perry. Not to be confused with Bill Perry, that's my dad, or Brett and Ben Perry, my brothers. Of Perry's Plumbing. Everybody knows us around here." I move a little farther down the pool, brushing the next section of tile.
"Well, I don't. Yet," she adds, with another flirty smile.
This can't be happening.
I know seducing the pool boy is a staple of porn fantasies, but this seriously cannot be happening. Not with this girl, who I've just met but who feels like she could be my girl. I hope I'm wrong.
At least she's not asking me to put oil on her back...because honestly, I don't think I could resist.
She picks up her glass and sips at the pink stuff in it. "So you're from the area? Maybe you could suggest a good place for me to get dinner."
I'm having a hard time getting enough oxygen. "Sure. Depends on what you're in the mood for, though. The hotel restaurants are really great, with trained chefs and everything. They're a little pricey for us locals, so we mostly do special occasions there. You can get seafood at the Floating Folly at the pier, and Italian at Lago d'Amore. Pizza at Slice of Heaven.
"Seafood," she says immediately, and grins wide enough that her eyes sparkle. "I'm supposed to be treating myself, according to my mom and my sister."
I'd like to treat you like the goddess you are, goes through my brain but, thankfully, not out of my mouth.
What does come out of my mouth is probably also stupid, but I need to know. "So...no boyfriend to treat you right?"
Delia doesn't answer for a second. I look up from brushing down the pool sides to catch her cheeks turning pink. "No. No boyfriend." She looks like she might say something else, but then closes her mouth and bites her lip.
She's single! "That's a shame."