God, even she knew she was the favorite.
“And second?” I continued, waving my hand over the empty cups and bottles at his and Knox’s end of the table. “You boys contributed the most to this mess.”
Knox let out an exaggerated, offended huff, though there was a hint of a smile on his lips when he said, “I’ve imbibed the least out of all of you, and my mess is very contained. So you can leave me out of this, Hallie.”
I almost spit out the last sip of my drink. “‘Imbibe’?” I questioned, licking the coconut rum off my upper lip. Warmth flooded through my veins, but I couldn’t be sure if that was from the alcohol or the way I had Knox’s full attention. “Who are you trying to impress with that vocabulary?”
Knox let out a husky chuckle, but before he could defend his word choice, Brooke stood up to leave. There were hugs and kisses all around, and then my mom announced she was ready for a shower. Sheadjusted her sarong, told everyone goodnight, and disappeared into the house.
Adrian wasn’t far behind, muttering something about an early shift as he pushed up from the table. Knox followed him in, both of them laughing and muttering to each other on their way into the main house.
I didn’t mind the sudden quiet. I’d brought my Kindle out earlier, fully intending to read while everyone swam, but I’d almost forgotten about it in the tote hanging from the back of my chair. I pulled it out and turned it on, suddenly realizing I was a little too buzzed to focus on the words.
I stared at the screen for a minute, rereading the wordcockover and over until it no longer felt like a real word. I’d just decided to give up and head to my apartment in the garage when the sliding door creaked open again.
Knox tugged a gray t-shirt over his head as he stepped onto the deck. “Everyone else gone?”
I watched his unfairly muscular abs disappear under the cotton fabric, dragging my eyes up to his face to answer. “Yeah,” I said, tapping a button on my Kindle and holding it against my chest like I’d just been caught doing something nefarious. “I thought you left, too.”
“I was throwing away my trash. And Adrian’s,” he said, nodding at the table. I’d been so distracted by hugging my sleepy little nephew goodbye, I hadn’t even noticed Knox had cleaned up half the mess.
My lips pulled up into a smile. “Trying to be the honorary Rutherford golden child?”
Knox cleared his throat, sitting back down in the seat across from me. He casually gripped the armrests, his twinkling eyes locked on mine. “Just trying to stay off your mom’s bad side.”
I twisted my lips in an attempt to suppress another smile, curling the ends of my hair around my fingers. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window, relieved to see my dark brown hair had dried into acceptably presentable waves instead of its usual poof. I was still in my black bikini top, but I’d tugged my jean shorts back on a couple of hours ago.
“Right,” I said, lowering the Kindle against my chest. “You’re already my mom’s favorite person, aside from Jon Hamm.”
“So there's still room to move up on that list.” Knox casually folded his hands over his abdomen like he didn't have a care in the world and nowhere else he’d rather be. “I'm thinking Bon Jovi tickets for Christmas.”
“And here I thought you treated us to all those concerts and shows because you cared. But all this time, you've just been trying to win my mom’s affection?”
He smirked. Knox was the assistant director of security at an arena in the city, which came with plenty of perks, including discounted tickets. A couple years ago, he gave us all Cirque du Soleil tickets for Christmas, and my parents were still talking about it.
I was still waiting for him to introduce me to the Blackhawks, but I decided not to remind him right now.
“You caught me,” he said. I shook my head at him as I reached for my sister’s unfinished wine cooler, relieved to find it still cold. I needed something to do with my hands besides clutching the Kindle like a shield.
Considering I was likely one sip away from saying something stupid, I probably should have gone off to bed like everyone else. But I wasn’t ready to give it up just yet, and Knox made no indication he was leaving, either, settling back more comfortably in his patio chair as he watched me finish off my stolen drink.
A few seconds later, a burst of color lit up the sky beyond the trees, followed by the distant pop of fireworks from somewhere down the block. Another went up, then another, red and white blooming above the treetops before fading into smoke. We watched in silence for a couple of minutes, as if we hadn’t already endured my dad’s own questionably legal pyrotechnic display earlier that night.
Knox broke the silence first. “Did you hear me telling Adrian about the college kids sneaking firecrackers into the arena bathroom last weekend?”
I pulled one leg up onto the chair, pressing my knee against the table. “No,” I said. “That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”
He huffed out a quiet laugh and launched into the story, describing the chaos and panic the firecrackers caused. He described it all casually, like it was just another night on the job. “One of the guys pushed past me and tried to make a run for it, and I had to restrain him until the authorities arrived.”
I held my breath, my mind stuck on the thought of Knox physically restraining someone. I imagined his big hand clamped around their wrists as he pushed them against the wall, and I could feel my nipples tighten under my bikini top.
It’s a good thing I could hide them behind my Kindle.
Heat was still buzzing through my veins, and my limbs felt weightless. My body was telling me it was time to call it a night, but instead, I found myself asking Knox about other security incidents they’d had at the arena.
And he kept talking, one anecdote leading into another. If he was aware his stories were turning me on, he didn’t let it show. He fidgeted with a bottlecap as he spoke, tapping it against the table and turning it over again and again with his long fingers. But his eyes kept drifting back to me.
Another round of fireworks exploded above the treetops, and our conversation paused again. As Knox stared ahead at the bursts of red and gold in the sky, I studied his sharp jawline and the subtle crease between his brows.
