Ridiculously sexy.
Theo wanted to respond, but he could already feel his voice getting trapped in his throat, so he stayed quiet.
“It says it’s my size, but I swear they made this at least two sizes too small,” she said, tugging at the hem around her thighs.
Fits just right, he thought.
He cleared his throat and tried to clear his mind of dirty thoughts. God, looking at her was dangerous.
“I doubt they knew what sizes we wear,” Theo tried to explain, ignoring the fact thathisswimsuit fit him fine.
Dani descended into the water then sat on the stairs across the pool from him.
“You’re going to need to get closer than that,” Theo said from about twenty feet away. “Honey,” he added, quirking an eyebrow.
“I’m fine right here…babe,” she said, ticking her head to the side with attitude for emphasis.
“Sound carries over water,” he then pointed out.
She let out a breath, then stood and pushed off from the stairs, gliding through the pool with minimal effort. Once she reached him, she leaned back against the edge of the pool, then turned to face him.
“Explain,” she said, not wasting any time.
But Theo still hesitated, scanning their surroundings. “Did you see Maurice and Louis around?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes at him, sending a chill over his skin despite the heated pool water. “Quit stalling,” she said.
If looks could kill.
But she didn’t understand. They may have been surroundedin opulence, but his reality for the past year couldn’t have been further from luxury.
“I’m not stalling. What if they’re watching us?”
Dani sighed and rolled her eyes. She then inched closer to him, reaching her arms around his waist under the water and causing him to flinch.
“What are you doing?” he said under his breath, gazing down at the top of her head as she rested it on his shoulder.
“Pretending you’re my babe,” she whispered. “In case they’re watching.”
He let himself relax, then stretched one arm along the edge of the pool steadying their bodies and placed the other around her back, delicately resting his fingers on her bare skin. Surprisingly, she didn’t recoil, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was touching her so…intimately. Funny, seeing as the only thinghecould focus on was the placement of their hands upon each other’s bodies.
They stayed in place for a few moments, quiet save for the water spilling over the rim. For the first time in months, all the noise in his head—the fears, the what-ifs, the strategizing—subsided. He could have remained that way forever, even allowing his eyes to close briefly, when her soft, silky leg brushed against him, bringing him back to attention.
“Theo…please tell me what’s going on,” she pleaded, finally breaking the silence.
He blew out a breath. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Then start with Grand Rapids. When were you there? And why did you leave without saying anything? I thought you wanted—”
She stopped herself and pulled away. But he knew what she was going to say.I thought you wanted to talk.
Fries and micheladas. That was the plan. Until it wasn’t.
No, he couldn’t start there.
“I’d planned to stop by,” he started, “but right when I arrived, I got an email from an old schoolmate, Dr. Ford Matthews. He was looking for someone to help with an expedition on the Peloponnesian peninsula, said that some Minoan artifacts had been discovered. Which didn’t make any sense since the Minoan civilization was centered on Crete. Because of my expertise in Minoan antiquities, he asked if I could come to verify their find. I’ll admit, I was fascinated. A cache of Minoan artifacts on the Peloponnese? I had to see it. And it had been a while since I went to a dig site.”
Plus, it was a convenient excuse to get away.
