“Sure.” Cole shrugged, probably making the same resolve. “Did you catch the Niners score?”
Ugh, sports talk signaled the time for me to exit. I stood. “I’m ou—” Feeling a breezeon my ass,I splashed back down into the water.
Cole turned to face me. “You okay?”
As discreetly as I could, I felt along the back of my suit. There was a rip across the middle of my butt, probably from when I scraped the ledge getting away from Cole. Carly had warned me—or had she jinxed me?—when she’d told me my suit was toothreadbare to survive the trip.Shit!With my ass hanging out, how could I get out of the pool without flashing Stan and Cole?
“I’m fine,” I squeaked. I cleared my throat. In as calm a voice as I could manage, I said, “Could you hand me my towel, please? I think I’ll turn in.”
Cole glanced into the water at my hand clutching my suit. Immediately, he reached behind him for my towel. “Here, take your T-shirt too.” He handed me my towel and his black T-shirt.
I took them from him. “Thank you.” Was he helping me? He could’ve let me waddle through the resort, clutching my towel over my bare butt, one strong breeze away from becoming the company joke. He didn’t have to give me his shirt.
I stood, whipping the towel around myself, then stepped to the side. A hand grasped mine to steady me on the wet rock.
Cole’s. He stood next to me, his enormous body shielding me from Stan.
“Thanks,” I muttered. I dropped his shirt over my head and tugged it down. No one would believe it was mine, since it fell to the middle of my thighs, but my ass was covered, and I was grateful. He’d saved me again.
In the dark, I couldn’t interpret his expression. Maybe he regretted helping me. Or maybe he was nicer than I gave him credit for. Whatever. It was confusing.
“Night.” Finally, he released my hand.
“G’night,” I said, clutching it to my chest.
“Night, Bridget,” Stan said. “Think you can send a server over here? I’d like a nightcap.”
I ripped my eyes from Cole’s. “Sure, I’ll find one.”
“Thanks. Sit down, Cole. We’ll have a drink.”
Cole hesitated before he turned and sank back into the water.
I slipped on my flip-flops and clacked away, clutching his shirt to my butt. I owed him. Again. And I hated it.
14
MY DOWNFALL
Favorite game?
Cole:Risk.
Bridget:Among Usis my favorite! I play with my niblings all the time.
COLE
In the end, capture the flag was my downfall.
Tuesday morning started out innocently enough, with breakfast and a planning session for next year. But that afternoon, Bridget gathered the team and directed me to haul a gym bag and cooler to the resort’s soccer field. I dropped the gear next to the goal, hoping we were playing a pickup game of soccer. After a night tossing and turning, haunted by images of the fine hairs at her nape curling in the steam and the curves revealed by her swimsuit, plus my thwarted desire to touch her, I needed to reclaim my body with a sprint or twenty.
When she bent to unzip the bag, I ripped my eyes away from her curvaceous backside in her khaki shorts. (Stan was here, goddamn it. The last thing I needed was for him to catch me ogling my co-CEO.)
“Capture the flag!” Bridget waved a Frisbee in each hand, one red and one blue. “Or maybe it’s capture the Frisbee? Either way, I hope you wore your running shoes.” Her eyes sparkled as brightly as her grin. “Let’s split into teams.” She chopped her arm straight down the middle of our group.
“No!” I protested. “We have to have captains and pick sides.” Had she never played a sport at recess or in gym?
“Okay.” A line creased between her dark eyebrows. “Who are the captains?”
