“I’ll watch him,” I say as she comes toward me, and holy mother fuck, it’s all I can do not to let my gaze drop to take in her lush breasts and curvy hips. Drool is practically forming in the corners of my mouth. The bathing suit is tight on her, but goddamn, the way she fills it out, is messing with my ability to think straight. I shift slightly, heat coiling low and deep. No need for my folks to see my growing hard on. I sit down on the edge of the pool to cool myself down.
I pat the side. “Come sit, Chase. Put your feet in the water.”
As he drops down next to me, both Mom and Dad ease themselves into the water. Fallon comes back, her chest heaving as she blows into the water wings. Unable to help myself my gaze drops, and her eyes dart to mine. She goes perfectly still for a moment, her eyes narrowing, her body shifting like she’s trying to hide herself.
I tear my gaze away and slide into the water, needing the cold water to push down the heat rising up inside me. She’s the last girl in the world I should be ogling. I turn to face my father, and from the look on his face, I’d gather he thinks so too.
5
Fallon
By the time we make it home from the in-laws, Chase is so exhausted from swimming and playing with his grandparents—who he totally adores—his eyes are dropping out of his head. I give him a light dinner of mac and cheese and tuck him into his bed. He instantly falls into a deep sleep and I take a moment to kiss his sweet face before heading back downstairs, our wet bathing suits in my hand.
I round the corner to the kitchen and find a restless Jamie opening and closing the back patio door, like he can’t decide whether to stay or leave. Either that or the latch is broken and he’s trying to fix it. Although I get the sense it’s the former and not that latter. But after we had such a good day together, I can’t quite understand why he’s so anxious to leave. Hot date? That thought hits like a brick, and dammit, it’s insane how much that sours my stomach.
For God’s sake, get yourself together, Fallon.
He turns when he hears me entering the kitchen, and he’s so handsome, his rock-solid presence so warm and comforting, it’s all I can do to breathe. My gaze rakes over his face and in the dark depths of his eyes I catch hints of pain, uncertainty.
“I should go,” he says, his voice a harsh whisper.
“Oh,” I say, not wanting think too hard on the disappointment taking up residency in my gut, or how much I really and truly missed him…need him. He inches back, and as the quiet of the house closes in on me, a sense of loneliness weaves its way through my body. For the last year it was just Chase, Mom and me and I got used to the quiet. But now, after spending just a short amount of time with Jamie, I hate the idea of being in this big old place alone. It comes right down to the fact that I like spending time with him. I always have.
“Date?” I ask, not sure I want to hear the answer.
“No,” he says quickly. “I just… It’s late.”
Trying to make light of the dark mood hovering like a foreboding rain cloud, I tease and say, “Not too late for a barbecue. You’ve mentioned those steaks a few times since you bought them.” But as soon as the words leave my mouth, I berate myself for my selfishness. If he doesn’t want to be here, he should go. I shouldn’t be trying to entice him for my own needy reasons.
I shake out the bathing suits, wanting to drape them over a chair outside. Jamie takes in a fast breath as his gaze travels down the length of my sundress to the skimpy suit in my hand. A suit I must have looked ridiculous in, judging by the way Jamie tore his gaze away as my plump breasts spilled from the too-tiny top. Talk about bulging in all the wrong places. Did I repulse him in it, like I did his brother?
Dammit, Fallon, stop thinking about the negative things Ethan once said. The past is the past.
“Are you sure you’re up to cooking?” he asks, once again avoiding my direct gaze. What the hell is going on with him?
“Of course.” I step toward him and he stiffens. “Um, I just need to get by you to put these wet clothes outside.”
His face relaxes, relief apparent in his eyes. “Oh, yeah, sure,” he says and steps to the side.
Jeez, what did he think I was going to do? Jump him? If so, it’s easy to tell he’s pretty opposed to the idea. I open the door, and a blast of warm air hits me as I step out. My body brushes Jamie’s as I go, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think the quick intake of his breath had more to do with wanting me than not. I drape Chase’s small suit over a chair and my bikini top slips from my hands. I bend to snatch it up, but when a tortured sound reaches my ears, I slowly turn to find Jamie staring at me, his nostrils flaring, his gaze narrowing like he’s visually stripping me bare. He runs agitated hands through his too long hair and looks like a skittish animal about to flee.
“Jamie?”
“Yeah?” he grumbles.
“Why…why are you looking at me like that?”
He shakes his head, and steps outside, closing the distance between us with three long strides. “This suit,” he says, running the damp material of my bikini top through his thumb and index finger. My body comes alive as I watch him, imagining him touching me with such intense focus.
“I know,” I say quickly. “I looked ridiculous in it.”
He laughs, a deep hoarse sound that goes through me and zeroes in on the needy spot between my legs. “Oh, is that what you think?”
“I noticed the way you looked at me in it earlier.” I lower my head, self-conscious. “Ethan told me I should have ditched it if I could no longer fit into it. It’s just that it’s pretty, and I can’t seem to bring myself to part with it…I guess I should have gone shopping.”
His head rears back. “Wait, what the fuck did you just say to me?”