He was her sister’s ex-husband. He was probably Oliver’s biological father. Under no circumstances could the mention of sex triggering thoughts of Brian Kowalski in response be allowed to become a thing.
Of course the man had to choose just that moment to laugh at something Kyle said, so putting him out of her mind wasn’t that easy. She loved his deep laugh, and when he relaxed around people whose company he enjoyed, he laughed alot.
“How long have you been in?” Steph asked.
Talking to her friend gave Siobhan an excuse to turn her body farther away from Brian while still keeping Oliver in her peripheral vision. “Not long. We got to watch the end of a Water Ball of Doom game.”
“I can’t believe I missed it. Maybe tomorrow.” Steph’s face lit up. “You know Gram and the others would love to keep an eye on Oliver if you want to play.”
Siobhan laughed at the thought. “I absolutely donotwant to play. I’ll cheer you on, even though I might cheer at the wrong time because I have no idea what’s going on.”
“That’s okay. Nobody does.”
When two heads popped out of the water not far to her right, Siobhan yelped and instinctively headed toward Oliver. It was Kyle and Brian, who had apparently decided to swim the length of the pool underwater, and she caught herself before actually snatching up her son and racing out of the pool.
“Speedboat,” Steph said, taking Oliver’s hands and pulling him through the water.
Siobhan started to reach out, intending to stop her, but she withdrew it when he laughed his big joyful laugh. Kyle took Nora’s hands and did the same, only faster, and both kids squealed.
She retreated to the steps, sitting on the top one so she was still in the water. Brian floating over and sitting on the other end of the same step surprised her, but she kept her eyes on Oliver.
“I’m sorry we startled you,” he said quietly, looking at her in that way that said he saw more of her than she was comfortable having be seen.
“No, you’re fine. I don’t love pools, so I overreact sometimes. They make me nervous and I try not to put that on Oliver, so here we are, but it’s hard sometimes.”
“Does he take swim lessons?”
She chuckled. “We’re trying again soon, I hope. We went once, but I couldn’t do some of the things I need to show him in a group class. I can’t afford private lessons, so my friend Robin’s going to take him this winter if we can work out a schedule that fits.”
“It’s awesome that you still want him to be comfortable in the water and don’t just avoid the pool. Some people would.”
The compliment pleased her more than it should, getting a small smile out of her. “My mom used to take us to a town pool when we were kids and there were always bullies who’d splash and dunk you, or grab your legs and pull you under.”
His scowl was deep and immediate. “They should have been banned. That won’t happen here. I mean, you might see us do it to each other—and you saw Water Ball of Doom, of course—but none of us would do it to anybody else. Especially somebody who doesn’t look comfortable in the pool.”
Her cheeks heated again. “Does it show that much?”
He gave her that crooked grin that, no matter how much she hated the feeling, sent warmth curling through her body. “We can be a little rowdy in the water, obviously, so we were taught very young to be aware of who was in the pool with us at all times.”
“Your parents really had their hands full with four of you.”
“Yeah. They definitely did. When we were kids and acted up, we’d get a time-out and have to do multiplication tables.”
She laughed. “Seriously?”
“Yup. Sometimes we weren’t too bad and it was just low numbers, like one through three, but other times we’d work our way up to twelve.”
Imagining Brian and his brothers sitting in a row, reciting math problems, made her laugh again. How did she laugh so much around in this man? “I’ll make a note of that one.”
As she watched, Kyle lifted the buoy line across the middle of the pool, towing Nora—who had a noodle under her arms—under it and into the deep end. Steph and Oliver followed and, for a moment, Siobhan tensed up. But despite the fact that he was wearing a little life jacket, Steph never took her hands off of the child. Oliver was clearly having the time of his life, and with Mike also nearby as Kyle pulled Nora around, she had nothing to fear.
Instead, she made herself enjoy the sun warming her muscles while the cool water kept her from overheating.
It would have been a lotmorerelaxing if Brian wasn’t sitting so close to her, the breeze carrying the beachy scent of his sunscreen to her. He was utterly distracting on every level, and it made no sense.
Nothing did anymore.
* * *
