Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“The pump in my pool died,” he tells me. “They’re coming in the morning to fix it. I spoke to the pool guy myself, as you call him. I call him Martin because that’s his name.”
“Aha!” I snap that off my tongue. “I know for a fact the pool guy is named Paulie, so you’re busted. Get out of here now before I call the police.”
He cocks one eyebrow. “Martin is Paulie’s dad.”
“Yeah, right.” I point the umbrella right at him. “Out now, mister, or I’m calling the police.”
He holds both hands up as if he’s surrendering. “No need to call the police, but you might want to turn around before I get out.”
I gesture to the right with the umbrella, hoping he takes the hint to make his exit right now. “So you can tackle me? No way.”
“Tackle you?” He huffs out a deep laugh. “Why would I tackle you?”
“I. Don’t. Know,” I say each word with purpose. “Why do you swim in random people’s pools?”
“For the third time, I’m the neighbor.” He rakes a hand through his hair, and holy bicep, that thing is huge when it flexes. This man could have me up and over his shoulder in no time flat if he wanted to. He could cart me off to his kidnapper’s lair, and I’d never be seen or heard from again.
I take two steps back to get closer to the sliding glass door. I kick off my flip-flops, too, so I can bolt back inside if he charges at me. “Get out of the pool now, or I will call the police. That’s the last time I’m saying it.”
“I warned you,” he says before he walks toward me.
I inch back again. “Warned me about what?”
“This.” He moves toward the pool’s edge before he starts to make his way up the ramp that leads out of the water.
With each step he takes, more of him is revealed, until… oh, my God.
He’s completely nude.
He does nothing to hide anything, and I can’t stop myself from staring.
Everything below his waist is just as impressive as everything above.
I’ve seen a few naked men in my life, but this guy puts every one of them to shame. Speaking of shame, I should not be staring at him right now.
I drop the umbrella and cover both of my eyes with my hands. “Grab a towel or something.”
His laughter flows around me before I hear movement, and then, “Feel free to look.”
I inch my fingers apart so I can peek. A white towel is wrapped around his waist, so all the good parts are covered. Impressive parts better describes what I saw…no, magnificent parts.
“I’m going home.” He jerks a thumb toward the left. “Because I am, in fact, the neighbor.”
“Okay,” I say, because what else is there? He’s not making a move to knock me out cold, so maybe he really is who he says he is.
“Don’t trip over that umbrella.” He tilts his head toward where I dropped it. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Maybe you will.”
He shoots me a brilliant smile before he crosses the lush green lawn as he heads toward the sprawling grounds next door.
“Maybe I’ll run out of sugar, neighbor,” I whisper as he disappears from view. “Scratch the maybe. I will run out of sugar.”
CHAPTER THREE
Holden
“Put Morgan on the phone,” I demand of my younger brother.
“To do what?” He chuckles. “Drool all over it?”
I stifle a laugh. “To hear my voice, Jameson. You know how much he loves his Uncle Holden’s voice.”
My nephew is barely three months old, but the little guy has a penchant for smiling whenever I talk to him. I admit it’s become an ego booster for me. If work feels like hell, I’ll play one of the many video clips I have on my phone of baby Morgan.
I can’t help but favor the ones where he’s listening to me talk to him.
“He loves your face,” he corrects me. “I have no fucking idea why.”
“You bastard.” I laugh. “When you grow up, you’ll realize how great-looking I am.”
“I’m twenty-six, old man,” he tosses out his preferred nickname for me, even though I’m only seven years his senior. “You’re a five out of a ten on a good day. I, on the other hand…I’m a ten every day.”
I won’t argue his ranking for himself, but I have a few things to say about where I land on that scale. “I’m so good-looking the woman staying next door couldn’t take her eyes off of me just now.”
I don’t add that I was nude when the woman spotted me in the pool. If Jameson got wind of that, he’d never let me live it down.
“Mrs. Frye has to be raking in a bundle renting out her house all summer,” he comments. “You must be making new friends since you’re there every other weekend.”