Page 26 of Off the Post

Rossy’s loud hoot of laughter brings me out of my reverie, and something thuds against the back of my head. It’s a cold, wet, spongy Nerf football that has bounced off my head and landed in the water next to me.

“What the hell?” I rub the spot against my scalp and whirl around to find Rossy swimming ungracefully toward the ball, racing to grab it before Henry does.

Henry beats him to it and hollers in triumph while Rossy pouts with an overdramatic reply.

“I let you beat me, kid.” He says swims up to me and nudges his shoulder against my arm. “Henry’s fast; I’ll give him that.”

Shielding his eyes with his hand, he not so subtly glances around the pool deck and then turns to me. “So, where’s his MILF?”

I give him a deadly glare, splashing him with water. “Don’t fucking talk about my sister-in-law like that. Perv.”

Rossy lifts his shoulders haplessly. “What? She’s a fucking sexy woman, even if she’s older than me and has kids.”

Leaning in close, he murmurs near my ear, “Come on, Wolf. You can’t tell me you don’t think she’s smokin’ hot.”

Just before I dunk him, my hands having settled on top of his head to push him down, I say, “I thought you said sisters are specifically off-limits.”

Dunk. Dunk. Dunk.

Rossy comes up sputtering, his laughter rippling off the water like rays of sunshine.

When he catches his breath, he acquiesces. “Yeah, yeah. Okay, bro. You’re right. No sister action. That means you too. Ali’s off-limits as well.”

I scrunch my brows together as if I haven’t been thinking about his sister for over a week.

After my conversation with Anna, I may have done some internet stalking. I sneaked peeks at her LinkedIn profile and checked out her picture and profile on the foundation’s website.

Truth be told, Ali’s the first woman in years that has sparked any flicker of interest in me or given me any physical thrill.

What’s worse? Admitting that Anna’s right about my crush on Ali? Or breaking the bro code with Tanner?

Either way, I’d be doing something I’ve never done before.

I’d be going after a woman I like.

13

Ali

“You have a visitor here to see you, Ali.”

I glance up from my laptop to find our office coordinator, Luna, standing in the doorway wearing a look that says Wait ’til you see who it is.

It’s no secret. I’d reached out yesterday to see if Soren would have time to stop by today and check out the photos Joelle took of him and his family.

Regardless, knowing he was coming doesn’t stop the nerves from crashing around wildly in my belly or the neurons in my brain from sending out pulsing chemical signals throughout my body. I’m about to see Soren face-to-face again.

And I remember exactly how he looks without a shirt. This time, however, he’ll likely be wearing a bit more clothing.

“Thanks, Luna. You can bring him in.”

I reach for the tumbler of water on my desk and take a drink to cool my throat and loosen my tongue, but it doesn’t help. The moment I raise my eyes, they land on his broad chest, the one that I know from experience feels incredible under my roaming fingertips. I’m mesmerized by the stretch of his black T-shirt, so tight and fitted that it’s practically indecent. Remembering the firm rise of his pecs and the corded rope of his thick arms, I can scarcely breathe from his proximity now.

My hand trembles and the bottle slips from my hand, plopping on its side before taking a rolling dive off the edge of my desk.

“Oh, shit,” I mutter, scrambling up from my chair to rush around the corner of my desk, where water is gushing from the bottle’s opening.

“Here, let me help.”