Page 10 of Slapshot Summer
He shook his head.
“So you’renotfriends?”
“We’re as friendly as two guys can be when they just met at a bar an hour before.”
She tapped her chin.“Oh.Why did I get the idea you guys came to the resort together?”
“No idea.”Except I might have tried to lead you down that path.
She thoughtshewas awkward?He was outskating her by miles.Maybe he could salvage whatever low opinion she must have of him by now.He pulled in and released a fortifying breath.“Actually, the real reason I’m here alone isn’t so different from your story.My brother was supposed to join me, but he got sick and had to bail.It was so last-minute I couldn’t find anyone else to take his place.The money was nonrefundable, and I hated to let the trip go to waste, so here I am.”Sounding evenmorepathetic.
“Well, why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
“I have no idea.Maybe because I’m going for a man-of-mystery vibe?”
She burst into a fit of laughter that made him chuckle in spite of himself.Soon he couldn’t stop, but neither could she, and she bent over at the waist, gripping her sides.
When they came up for air, she fizzed, “God, I needed that!”
“Me too.I can’t even remember what got us started.”
She pointed at him and started giggling again.“It wasn’t even that funny, but it tickled my funny bone!It was y-you being a m-man of mystery.”
“Hey!I think I’ve just been insulted.”
“That’s fair.I don’t know you well enough to make that call, do I?”
Suddenly, he didn’t want to be alone, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “No, but youcouldget to know me better over dinner tonight.”
“With or without Neil?”
“Whatever your heart desires.I’m fine either way.”
A devilish gleam came into her big green eyes.The look should have scared the shit out of him, but somehow he found himself pulled a little tighter into her orbit.This girl had some intriguing layers underneath that goody-two-shoes exterior.
“You know, this could work.If Neil sees you and me having an intimate meal together, maybe it’ll pique his interest.”
He didn’t bother asking how that was supposed to work when Neil was nowhere in sight to see her spending time with someone.Instead, he said, “So you want to pretend we’re into each other to make him jealous?”
“I don’t know ifjealousis the right word—”
“Semantics.”A blur of motion over her shoulder caught Josh’s eye.“But you know what?Let’s ask him.Here he is now.”And exactly why Neil’s sudden reappearance bugged the shit out of Josh, he couldn’t say.It might have had something to do with the big smile on Lexi’s face as she turned toward Neil.
“Ask me what?”Grinning like a fool—and standingwaytoo close to Lexi—the dipshit looked between her and Josh.
“Lexi and I were talking about going to dinner.”Josh clenched his jaw.“Want to join us?”
“I’d love to,” Neil replied in an oily voice.
Josh had taken one for the team, and suddenly he wasn’t so hungry.
Chapter 5
Calling Mr.Chivalrous
Theysatatatable overlooking the shimmering blues and aquas of the infinity pool and the powder-white sands beyond.Across the sky’s deep blue canvas, the sinking sun splashed vivid corals and pinks in a breathtaking array.A light breeze ruffled Josh’s hair, bringing with it the fresh smell of the surf and sand.A short distance down the beach, a band played, and the music tucked itself pleasantly into spaces between the burble of conversation and laughter surrounding them in the restaurant.Tension slipped from his body on a silent sigh.
Lexi sat between him and Neil, twirling the stem of a mostly untouched glass of pinot grigio.They had finished off plates of appetizers and now awaited their meals in stuttered bouts of conversation, so different from the easy banter Lexi and Josh had exchanged before Neil had joined them.Words that passed between Lexi and Neil seemed forced, with long stretches of quiet interrupted by Lexi directing another question at him.Not necessarily probing ones, but the kind that come up naturally in the course of getting to know someone.Neil’s answers ranged from the one-worded to the nonsensical, as though he weren’t tuned in at all.
