“Evanisa handful, but also very intelligent, and funny, and?—”
“And look at him?”
He laughed harder. “I mean, seriously. Do you see that?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I do. He makes it impossible to ignore.”
“Whoever gave that man a Speedo needs to be flogged. Lauded, but then flogged.”
“It wasn’t you?”
“Lord, no! I wouldn’t have let him out of the house if I’d known those were under his shorts.”
She smirked as they took a moment to admire the man standing on the floating dock about twenty feet from shore. It was the first time Heath had allowed himself to gawk without guilt or caveat, and he found enlightenment. Yes, Evan was painfully attractive, but beyond the symmetry of his face and the obscene hours he must spend at the gym, Heath saw a man who was happy and relaxed.
His shoulders were loose and his smile huge as one of the cousins tossed a football his way. He leapt for it, crashing into the water with a splash that took out Penelope, who’d picked apoor location for a conversation with one of the aunts. When he surfaced, ball held overhead in victory, his attention briefly panned their way. A giddy shiver ran through Heath as Westin’s smile broadened and he saluted them both.
That’s for Isabella. Not for you.
“His shameless flirting doesn’t bother you?”
Heath hedged, then sighed. “A little, but he is who he is.”
The honesty made him shift uncomfortably. He had no business feeling any sort of way about Evan Westin’s incorrigible behavior. Not only had he made a promise to avoid irrational emotional entanglements, but he’d implied Andres and Manuel were terrible friends for not believing he could avoid them.
He could only imagine their reaction were they to learn he’d gotten himself mixed up in a pretend marriage with a straight millionaire. Though he’d tied his oath to see the vacation through to the proclamation that he wouldn’t have fun, and that was a complete bust.
Evan strode out of the water and directly toward them, his grin still in place. “You see that catch? Hall of Fame.”
“It was very impressive.”
“Penelope is going to bottle the water you sprayed her with and sell it online.”
“If I get a cut, she can bottle whatever she wants.”
“Be careful what you wish for.”
He had his own chair, but Evan plopped on the end of Heath’s now crowded lounger as though it was the most natural thing to do.
“You’re dripping on my book.”
“You have fifty more in your luggage.”
“This is the one I’m currently reading.”
“It’ll dry, pookie. How about you give it a rest and join us on a kayak cruise?”
Isabella brightened and nudged Heath in the ribs. “That’s a marvelous idea.”
“That sounds like a great deal of effort in this heat.”
“You can share with Evan. It’ll give him even more opportunities to flex.”
“Was that a complaint? That sounded like a complaint.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes at him. “Just an observation.”
Evan leaned his way, lips curving into a half-smile. He was absolutely flexing his arms more than necessary and Heath couldn’t find it within himself to be mad about it. “Whaddaya say, pooks?”
