Tony’s stomach twisted.Kyra?His Kyra? Calling on every ounce of strength in his body, he managed to maintain a bland expression as he turned to look at her climbing the steps to the pool area.
She was a vision, her honey-colored hair loose in the breeze. He watched as she impatiently pushed a long strand away from her face as she looked around to see who was calling her.
This time, she wasn’t in a dress, but was wearing a pair of flower-print shorts with a jacket over what looked to be a matching swimsuit. The shorts hugged her hips, the top accentuated the swell of her breasts, and Tony tried to keep his breathing steady as he rememberedthe heavenly feel of every delicious inch of her pressed against him.
“Over here,” Stuart called.
She waved, then headed in their direction—in his direction. Every muscle in his body stiffened, and he fought the urge to run, afraid somehow she’d recognize him, and then any chance that Michael Moretti might have of spending another night with her would be ruined.
Disgusted with himself, he stifled a groan. The truth was, she probably wouldn’t even look twice at him. Surely she wouldn’t recognize him.
With a determined tug, he pulled off his sunglasses and tossed them on the table. Then he pulled up the back of the lounge chair, and sat up to face her, determined to hold his own.
She headed right over, flashing a smile at his companions. “Hi, C.J. Hi, Stuart.”
He was just about to mentally congratulate himself on reading her just right—shewasgoing to ignore him—when her sleek gray eyes met his. She held out her hand, her head cocked slightly.
“Hi. I’m Kyra.”
“Tony,” he said, more gruffly than he intended. He took her outstretched hand. Any fantasy he’d held out that the sparks between them last night had been due to the lightning storm faded. Suddenly, there was just the two of them, her flesh against his, and he wanted to pull her close to him and wrap his arms around her almostas much as he wanted to yell at her to go away and never look at him again.
“Tony?” Stuart kicked the end of the lounge chair, and Tony realized he was still holding her hand. He dropped it.
She rubbed her hands together, her eyes still on his face. He could practically feel his scar burning under her critical stare.
“It’s just a scar, okay?”
She blinked. “What?”
He pointed at it. “It’s just a scar.”
Her face cleared and a horrified expression crossed her face. “Oh! No. I’m sorry. I wasn’t staring at… I mean…” She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s just that you seem so familiar. Have we met?”
“No,” he said quickly, shrinking to about two inches tall. “I’m sure I’d remember you.”
Idiot, idiot, idiot. Not only had he completely misread her, but now what if she put two and two together?
Her forehead furrowed. “Maybe in the restaurant. I don’t know. There’s something…”
“Couldn’t have been the restaurant,” Stuart said, and Tony could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Tony spent all of yesterday on one of the other islands. He only came back this morning.”
“Scoping it out for a friend,” Tony added, pleased that Merrilee’s promise that Stuart and Danielle would back his alibi had held fast. “Perhaps we’ve seen eachother earlier in the week?” he suggested, knowing that was impossible, since she’d only just arrived.
She shook her head. “No. I got here yesterday.” Her smile was bright and sunny. “Well, at any rate, it’s nice to meet you now.”
“Very nice,” Tony said, relaxing against the chair. His alibi was solid. Even if she wondered about his scar and Michael’s patch, there’s no way she’d catch on now. Merrilee did her job well.
“The game, you guys,” Stuart said, almost pleading. “It’s waiting.”
Kyra frowned. “What game?”
Stuart sighed, then jerked his head impatiently toward the pool, his mop of hair flying like a member of a sixties band. “Volleyball. You’re on my team.”
“Volleyball,” she repeated, sounding almost horrified. “Oh, no. I don’t know how.” She dug a cell phone out of her mesh tote bag. “Besides, I was going to make a phone call.”
“Can’t it wait?” Stuart asked. “Where are you calling?”
“Excuse me?” She glanced at C.J. then Tony for help. He just shrugged, not at all opposed to watching Kyra in the pool.
