“You have a thing for Alex. It’s clear as day.”
“Uh… I do not. I’m just enjoying watching my girls.”
“Yeah, all three of them.” Rory laughed again as I shifted uncomfortably on the seat.
“Funny,” I murmured as I lost myself in the way Alex gently comforted Eloise when she got water in her eyes.
“My brother is looking for you. Apparently, you’re not answering your phone.” Rory rocked the cell in her hand. “He said he had to head back to Knoxville but could reschedule the double date.”
“Oh… well… that’s good,” I replied.
“Hm… I see it now.”
“See what?” I asked the sister who was becoming increasingly irritating. I told her so, and she smiled while shaking her head.
“Something, apparently, you’re far too blind to see.” She stood, tossing her phone and towel back on the lounger, then made her way to the edge of the pool. She was a bit closer than Alex had been standing.
Before I realized what was happening, Rory completed a perfect cannonball into the pool, surprising everyone. The splash soaked Alex and the twins. Droplets of water fell in my direction, coating me in the cool chlorinated water, and Rory surfaced with the biggest shit-eating grin. I guessed even the good ones could have a wild streak every now and then.
“I’m going to dry off and get the steaks started,” I said to the group, who weren’t listening. They were too busy playing mermaids in the water.
Before heading inside to grab the steaks, I checked over the grill in the oversized outdoor kitchen. Colton had gas lines running to the grill, so with a quick click of the button, it came to life. I perused the cabinets and drawers, finding everything I’d need and setting them on the stone countertop.
Inside, I darted into the powder room, using the hand towel to dry my hair. It was shorter than I was used to, but that made it easier to maintain. Now that the purchase of my patent was complete, I considered growing it long again.
Within the vanity, I found a stack of clean hand towels, replacing the one I used. Unsure what to do with the one in hand, I opened the powder room door in hopes of finding the laundry room, only to collide with a she-devil in a blue bathing suit.
“Oomph!” she grunted as I reached out to grasp her bare arms just below the shoulders to steady her.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
“No, no. It was my fault. I was coming to help with dinner. I just needed to use the restroom first.”
“You don’t need to help,” I explained, my thumbs rubbing small circles on her arms of their own accord. At this point, I couldn’t control a single part of my body when she was around.
“I know that.”
It took a few seconds before recognition dawned. “You want to make sure I don’t screw it up, don’t you?”
Alex giggled, her eyes brightening like a freaking anime cartoon. “Can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I joked as I released her. The towel she wrapped around her chest slipped an inch, and she reached up to retuck the material. “I’ll have you know that you can find just about anything on the internet.”
“I’m well aware of that. I also needed to get the vegetables. So, you see, it wasn’t all about you.”
“Sure, it wasn’t.” I gestured for her to enter the powder room, letting her know I’d meet her outside.
Alex joined me just as I set the steaks on the grill. That was after I spent a solid five minutes making sure the temperature was exactly where the instructions specified. I’d always been a perfectionist, and it seemed that included grilling.
“Is everything exactly the way you wanted?” Alex asked as she slipped through the sliding glass doors with a plateful of aluminum foil pouches.
Startled, I spun toward her with the tongs pointed in her direction. Like they’d save me from an attack. “Sorry. And what do you mean?”
She lifted the grill cover and set the pouches on the upper rack of the grill before closing it and turning toward me. Even doing something as mundane as grilling, she looked effortless. Her damp hair clung to her upper body in a way I wished I could.
“I watched you from the kitchen window.”
“Okay…?”
