Page 22 of Chasing the Sun

Molly came toward him with her arms outstretched, and Chloe said, “You’re going to get him all wet…”

But it was too late. Molly had already wrapped her arms around his legs, and she gave him a tight squeeze. He was too happy to be greeted so lovingly and enthusiastically to let damp pantlegs bother him.

“Here, sweetie,” Chloe said, approaching them with a towel in her outstretched hands.

Bryce swallowed hard. In her haste, Chloe had forgotten to cover herself. She stood there, dripping wet, in her neon-pink bikini and wrapped Molly in a towel.

“Thank you,” Molly said sweetly.

Then Chloe looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Welcome home.”

“Thanks,” he replied stiffly.

Chloe looked down and realized she was dripping water all over the place. Either that or she suddenly felt as uncomfortable with her semi-nakedness as he did.

Living in Florida meant there was no shortage of hot women in bikinis. However, this situation called for him to be strictly professional and basically ignore the fact that he was a red-blooded male. Why was he finding that so hard to do?

“I’ll be right back,” Chloe said. She turned and hurried over to the other side of the pool where she’d left a towel.

In the meantime, Molly started to tell him about their day. He had difficulty concentrating since he was still acutely aware of the lovely woman wrapped in a towel who was walking toward them.

Now she looked like she’d just gotten out of a shower or bath, and he wasn’t sure if that idea was better or worse than the pool. In any case, he’d seen more than he needed to.

“Miss Chloe rode your bike, but her feet didn’t touch the pedals,” Molly was saying.

“I’ll have to adjust it,” Bryce said, his eyes fixed on Molly.

“I’d appreciate that,” Chloe said.

“And I played with Sadie at the playground.”

“I heard. Was it fun?”

Molly nodded.

“What did you have for lunch?” he asked.

“McDonald's!”

Chloe scrunched up her nose, and he found the expression oddly adorable. “It was our first day,” she said by way of explanation.

He chuckled. “It sounds like you had a good one.”

“We did.”

“Molly, why don’t you go inside and get changed, and then we’ll make dinner.”

“Okay,” she said, her little teeth chattering.

He half expected Chloe to follow her, but she didn’t budge. Great! Now he was truly alone with a beautiful, half-naked woman.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, looking slightly nervous.

Uh-oh. “Don’t you want to change first?”

“It’ll only take a minute, and I’d rather Molly not be around.”

His mind flew through a list of possibilities, none of which were good. Maybe she’d decided the job wasn’t for her or she’d gotten a job offer back in Michigan. Had he said or done something to upset her? She’d looked so happy when he’d first gotten home, but she wasn’t smiling now.