“Huh. Then there’s only one other explanation. It must be all the blood in your body is moving away from your brain into your poor neglected lady parts, because you’re thinking aboutDr. Deaconall the time.”
My face grew warm, but I knew it wasn’t thanks to the sun beating down on us. “I think you’re being ridiculous, Jen. I don’t have the hots for Dr. Girard. And my lady parts are just fine, thanks. They have just the right amount of blood, and they’re hardly neglected.”
“Oh, really?” Jenny pushed on the edge of her chair and sat up. “Who’s giving them attention, then?” Before I could answer, she added, “Your own hand or vibe doesn’t count, either. Lady parts need appreciation from man hands, man mouth and man cock.” She paused, tilting her head. “Unless they prefer lady lands and lady mouth. But I don’t get that vibe from you.”
“My lady parts are interested in man parts, but they’re not looking for any particular man parts.” I trailed my hand in the water and splashed some of the coolness onto my bare midriff. I wasn’t about to tell Jenny this, but all the talk about lady and man parts was making me a little . . . heated. “They’re happy to wait for the right man parts to come along.”
“Hmmmm.” Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “Strange, because all of you seemed pretty keyed up on Friday night when you were telling me about meeting Deacon and the way you felt when he looked at you. When he said your name.” She waggled her brows at me.
“Fucking margaritas,” I groaned. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into that third round. I have no idea what I said after that much tequila. I probably would’ve claimed that I had it bad for anyone at that point.”
“Tequila is like truth serum. Or maybe it’s more like an aphrodisiac, where the more you have, the hornier you get.” She dropped her head back. “I’ll admit that I was all revved up on Friday night, too. After three margaritas and all the talk about how Deacon’s eyes burned, or his broad chest, or his long, muscled legs . . . I was so turned on. Lucky I didn’t meet any man on my way home.”
“What would you have done? Kidnapped him and brought him home to be your sex slave?” I giggled. “Tied him up in your bedroom and used him for your pleasure?”
“Oooooh.” She grinned lasciviously. “Thatdoessound promising. I was just thinking that I need a cabana boy. I mean, I’ve got this beautiful pool area with lush gardens, all of these comfy lounges and chairs . . . don’t you think I need a couple of super-sexy men to fan me, to hold towels for me when I get out of the pool or the hot tub, or to bring me frou-frou drinks with umbrellas in them?”
I considered. “You know, you might be onto something here. But would you have to pay them? Feed them and clothe them? Offer them health insurance and other benefits? Because if so, it might be more trouble than it’s worth. Also, do we need more men around to try to give us their opinions and tell us what to do?”
“Maybe they’d be mute cabana boys,” Jenny decided. “They wouldn’t say anything. They would exist only for my pleasure. Oh, and yours, too, because I’m a sharing friend like that.” She winked at me. “They wouldn’t need any clothes—just loincloths. Possibly. I wouldn’t mind feeding them—I guess they could eat whatever they cooked for me—and they wouldn’t ask for any pay or health insurance. They’d just be grateful to be my cabana boys, right? And as for benefits . . .” Her smile stretched across her face. “Oh, the benefits for themandfor me would be manifold.”
“And just where do I apply for this position?”
I was so surprised by the deep voice coming from the other side of the small bed of lush greenery that I rolled off the raft and into the pool. As I struggled to keep my head above the water, my neck craned toward the bushes. I couldn’t see who was standing there speaking, but when my eyes darted to Jenny’s face, I had a hunch I knew who it was.
Her fingers curled around the edge of the lounge chair, her mouth dropped open, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. After a moment, she made as though to stand. Before she could, though, a man with dark hair, sun-kissed skin and the physique of a demi-god under his faded jeans and skin-tight T-shirt strode over, coming to a halt a few feet away from her.
“Because if the job as you describe it is open to anyone, I’d like to present my case . . . explain why I’m the best man you could hire. Actually, I’d like the chance to convince you that I’m the only man for the job.”
Jenny wrapped her arms around her middle. I could see the tremor in her hands. “You left me. You . . . we made love. And then you were gone. Just . . . gone, with no explanation. You walked away from me, Nico.” Her shoulders squared. “No, you fuckingranaway from me, like what we did—what was between us—like it didn’t matter at all. Like it meant nothing.”
I was frozen to my spot in the pool, both arms resting on the raft, my eyes wide as they darted from Jenny to Nico. I knew that this was an intensely private moment, and I should get the hell out of here, but I was afraid of what might happen if I reminded either of them of my presence. There wasn’t any way for me to get out of the water gracefully. My only other option was to sink underwater, and call me crazy, but I wasn’t prepared to drown to give them privacy.
“Jen.” Nico reached for her hand, and with some effort, pried it loose from where she was gripping her arm. “Jenny. Please. Listen to me. You’re right, I did run away, but it wasn’t because what was—what is between us didn’t mean anything. I left because it meant everything to me. Because you matter too much.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all. It sounds like a really lame-ass excuse.” Jenny turned her face away from him, but I noticed that she didn’t pull away her hand.
“I know. You’re right. But what can I tell you? I’m an idiot.” He dropped to his knees, holding her hand between both of his. “I know you probably hate me. I knew when I left that morning . . . that you would probably never forgive me, but I had to go. I hated myself even more than you ever could.”
Jenny rolled her eyes away from his, blinking rapidly. I had a feeling that she was staving off tears, but she wasn’t going to give in that easily. “Easy for you to say. I’ve spent the last month beating myself up for asking you to pretend to be my boyfriend, for putting you in that position. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was worried about where you were, what you were doing . . .” She shook off his hand and stood up, skirting out of Nico’s reach. “I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, if you were ever going to talk to me again—I thought I’d done something wrong. I was afraid you . . . felt sorry for me.”
Nico was shaking his head even before she finished speaking. “Never. That was never it, Jen. God, babe, it was just the opposite. I was so fucking furious with myself for . . .” His voice trailed off. “I was screwed up, Jenny. I thought I’d done the one thing that I’d always told myself that I couldn’t ever do. The one thing that I knew wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Jenny turned back to face him, confusion etched on her face. “What was the one thing? What are you talking about?”
He was quiet for a moment. “I wasn’t supposed to love you. I knew I couldn’t tell you how I felt . . . and I sure as hell was never allowed to touch you. Not like that. Not like I did.”
“Who said that?” Jenny demanded. “Who told you that you couldn’t love me or . . . wait.” Her cheeks went pink as realization dawned in her eyes. “Wait just one fucking minute. Nico . . . did you say . . . do you love me?”
He climbed slowly to his feet, resting one hand on his hip. “Why does that surprise you? Of course, I love you, Jen. Couldn’t you tell that night? God, woman, I’ve been in love with you for . . . well, longer than I should have been. Longer than I want to admit. But I knew it was wrong, because you’re Kyle’s sister. Shit, Jen, I’ve known you since you were a toddler. What the hell is wrong with me? I thought it was just a stupid crush before, and I figured once I moved away, got out of your life, what I felt would fade. But then you came down here . . .” He stopped talking and shook his head. “I didn’t want to leave that first day. And when I knew I was coming back, I didn’t know if I was strong enough to live in the same house with you. I walked in the first night, and you laid that kiss on me . . . I was gone.”
“I thought you were going to be furious.” Jenny brought her fingers to her lips, as though she could still feel the kiss there. “You walk into the house you’ve so graciously opened to me, and I basically attack you with my body and then ask you to pretend that we’re dating and in love . . . I thought, well, this will kill any chance that we might have of getting together. But you were so good to me. And we had such a great time that I began to hope, maybe . . .” She sighed. “And then the morning after the most incredible night of my life, you were gone.”
“It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.” Nico took two long steps until he was close to Jenny. He gripped her upper arms. “Leaving, I mean. Not that night. That night when we were together, it was the same for me—amazing. It was like finding what I’d been looking for, like coming home, in the best way. It was so right.” He bent his head over hers. “And I was enough of a moron to talk myself out of realizing that I finally had everything I ever wanted. I let the fear drive me away. But I’m done being afraid. And I’m finished with worrying about what anyone else might think.”
With that, Nico hauled Jenny up to him, lifting her entire body as he took her mouth in a kiss so hot, I was almost afraid the pool might boil with me in it.
At some point, her arms rose up to wrap around his neck, and she pressed her body to his. Nico slid his hands down her sides to her hips, and I thought that I’d better get out of here before they moved this party to the lounge chair for some real action.
