Thank You, Next (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection #9)

Chapter 9

Molly was lying on a lounger by the pool, making the most of the warm July weather. HEA Towers was every bit as awesome as it appeared on the TV. It was like living in a high-class hotel, only with strategically set cameras. Beside her, Maya stretched out her long, slender legs, looking not only gorgeous, her rich brown skin a stunning contrast to the red bikini she wore, but elegant, too. Molly was glad she’d kept her shorts on, but seeing her short pale legs next to those of Maya’s, she wished she’d worn trousers instead.

‘Marcus is trying to impress you,’ Molly murmured, watching as the man in question powered through the water.

Maya smiled. ‘Maybe. Or maybe he’s just swimming.’

Molly burst out laughing. ‘I see he’s got a way to go yet to win you over.’

Maya’s gaze travelled towards the man in the pool. ‘I like him. He’s good-looking and friendly, but it’s early days yet.’ She gave Molly a sidelong glance. ‘How about you? Must be really odd having to spend time with your ex. How did you get on yesterday?’

‘It was okay, actually.’ He called you captivating. Her heart gave an involuntary flutter at the memory. ‘I think we can probably be civil to each other for the next couple of weeks, but I’ll definitely be planning to swop partners.’

‘Anyone in mind yet?’

Molly couldn’t help but glance at the man lounging on the opposite side of the pool, his muscles glistening in the sun, thanks to the generous application of suntan oil by Jasmine. And ouch, it hurt to watch another woman running her hands over him. Hurt even more to see him look up from his prone position on the lounger and give that woman a grin. ‘Maybe.’

He’d not once looked over in her direction though.

It was hard not to feel inadequate, being in daily contact with not just one, but apparently now two men who’d rejected her.

‘Wow, you’ve got to love the sun, and the way it makes the men take off their shirts.’ Chloe dropped down onto the lounger the other side of her, and Molly watched as her gaze skimmed first over Duncan, then over to Marcus, who was hauling himself out of the water, before finally landing on James. ‘Though in the case of James, he’d have done better keeping his shirt on.’

Molly winced. ‘Wow, that’s harsh. And we’d be really cross if they made similar remarks about us.’

Chloe shrugged. ‘I say it like it is. James is good-looking, sure, in that lean-hipped kind of way, but Marcus and Duncan are hotter, body-wise.’ She scanned the pool area. ‘Where’s Ben? I notice he didn’t join us last night, and he’s not here now. You must be really pissed off with him.’

She was more … disappointed, though that was really hard to admit. There was Duncan, getting lathered up by Jasmine, and yet the man who claimed to have never stopped being interested in her, couldn’t even be bothered to come out of his room to join her. Never mind rub sun tan lotion all over her pasty white body.

‘It’s up to him.’ She forced her voice to sound casual. ‘I’m not fussed what he does. It’s not like we’ll be heading for marriage and an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii.’

Chloe gave her a calculating look. ‘What do you think of James? ’Cos I’m thinking we could swop, you know, when we get the chance after two weeks.’

No. The word bounced immediately into her head, unsettling her for a moment until she reassured herself it wasn’t the swop she was against, but the swop to James. She wanted Duncan. ‘I think it’s too early to know yet.’

‘Umm, maybe. But for me, Ben has that whole dark, broody vibe which I really dig. James is more of a cocky bastard. Works for some girls, just not sure it’s my thing.’

‘What do you think of Duncan?’ Molly was careful not to look at Chloe in case she gave herself away. ‘Ben and I are down to cook with him and Jasmine tonight.’

Chloe gave Duncan a considering look. ‘He’s a bit too focussed on himself. I mean, look at him now.’ Molly took the opportunity to survey her hopefully temporary ex, who’d just jumped up from the lounger and was sauntering towards the other end of the pool, flamingo pink shorts tight against his heavily muscled thighs. ‘Sure, he’s got a great bod,’ Chloe continued, ‘but seriously, dude, stop preening. It’s a total turn off.’

Well, that was one less woman she had to fight off, Molly reasoned, watching as Duncan put his hands on his hips and flexed his pecs. Maybe that did look a bit show-offy, but then again, he did have a body worth showing off.

As if aware of her eyes on him, Duncan looked over and winked.

‘Looks like someone is trying to impress you,’ Maya whispered.

‘Maybe he’s just going for a swim,’ Molly countered, waiting for the rush of pleasure. It never quite arrived though. Possibly because his wink had felt forced, like he’d known she was watching and felt he had to pacify her.

‘Warning, warning. Sex on legs alert.’

At Chloe’s announcement, Molly swivelled her head round. And her breath caught in her throat.

Chloe was not wrong. Not wrong at all.

With a towel thrown casually over his shoulder, Ben strolled towards them in the same confident, fluid gait that used to make her heart race. Unconsciously she placed a hand on her chest, concern niggling when she felt the scampering beat. His trunks were an unfussy plain black and he wore them with a simple grey T-shirt, tight enough to emphasise what she knew was a leanly muscled chest. Loose enough to make it clear he wasn’t trying to impress. His legs were long and well defined, dusted with dark hair. A pair of green tinted shades completed a look which reeked of understated assurance. The brooding model to Duncan’s bodybuilder.

Ben paused, gaze skimming the pool area. When it collided with hers, he changed course and headed towards them.

‘He told me he sold his company last month,’ Chloe murmured. ‘Bet he’s loaded. I mean, as if his sex appeal wasn’t already off the charts.’

Molly frowned, irritated to realise Chloe knew something about Ben she didn’t.

‘Ladies.’ Ben stopped a few feet away from them and slid the shades onto his head in the way of film stars. And apparently brooding ex-company owners. Though he addressed them all, his gaze was riveted on her, and her alone.

A hot flush rushed through her. ‘Finally decided to leave your room?’

His jaw tightened briefly at her barbed comment, but then he smoothed his expression and gave a wry glance at the nearby camera. ‘Apparently it doesn’t make for good television.’

‘Of course not, the viewers will want to see you. Especially the female ones.’ Chloe gave him a playful look and patted the lounger next to her. ‘Come and join us girls.’

His eyes locked on Molly’s, perhaps asking permission, and she shrugged in what she hoped signalled her indifference. Let Chloe flirt with him. Maybe a swop with her would be okay. James might not be Duncan, but at least he wasn’t a man she knew would be a mistake.

After throwing his towel onto the lounger, Ben pulled his T-shirt over his head. The single, fluid movement brought the muscled ridges of his pecs and abs directly into her sightline. Ditto the dark trail of hair that disappeared into his shorts, a trail she vividly remembered following with her fingers, her lips…

She jerked her gaze away and deliberately sought out Duncan who was now seated on the edge of the pool, feet in the water, signalling to Jasmine to come and join him.

* * *

Ben let out a silent sigh as he threw his T-shirt onto the floor. He was going to have serious words with his sister when this damn month was over. She’d lured him here on the pretext of it being the perfect place for him to take a break.

Then hounded him out of the sanctuary of his room. The one place he could relax.

He certainly couldn’t do it here, by the pool, with Molly and her dynamite curves on display just the other side of Chloe. He wouldn’t mind if she’d look at him now and again, show some sign that she was as affected by him as he was by her, yet all he’d received so far was a barbed comment.

And now she was staring at the guy flexing his muscles by the pool.

Ben could only hope Duncan’s big head would prove too heavy for his body and topple him into the pool. Though probably the git would do a neat somersault first, and arrow in like some pro diver.

And yes, it was painful to admit that some of his judgement of the man was based on pure jealousy.

‘What have you been doing holed up in your room all morning?’ Chloe gave him a sly smile. ‘Or shouldn’t I ask?’

He dragged his focus back to the woman who was paying him some attention. ‘Sleeping. Thinking.’

‘Sounds mysterious.’ Chloe batted her eyelashes. ‘Thinking about what?’

He wasn’t in the mood for small talk, but at least Chloe wasn’t ignoring him. ‘Work. What I’m going to do next.’

‘You didn’t make enough money with your last company?’

He had. If he was careful, he didn’t need to work again. ‘It’s not about the money.’ It never had been. In the beginning it had been for the distraction. A reason to keep going when everything inside him had wanted to close down. Later he’d enjoyed the challenge, the desire to prove he could do it.

‘Hey, Ben.’ Marcus waved over at him from the other side of the pool. ‘Are you up for a game of water polo?’

If it meant getting away from the lure of Molly in her green bikini top and tiny denim shorts, and the pain of Chloe’s questions, he thought he’d do pretty much anything. ‘Sure.’

As he stood, he was aware of Chloe’s eyes looking him up and down.

‘Umm, I spy a sexy little tattoo.’

Instinctively he wanted to clasp his hand over the initials he’d had tattooed near his left hip.

‘It’s the initials of an old girlfriend,’ Molly supplied, her eyes darting up to his in a way that made his chest clutch. Did she remember the first time she’d set eyes on it? The way he’d distracted her from too many questions by pulling her back up to straddle him?

Did she remember them making love for hours that night? And then again in the morning, when he’d managed to persuade her to stay in bed with him for most of the day? Did chocolate chip ice cream bring back memories of him licking it off her skin like it did for him?

‘Do you have Molly’s initials tattooed on you as well then?’ Chloe asked unhelpfully.

Molly snorted. ‘Of course he doesn’t. We didn’t even last long enough to plan a birthday.’

‘Birthday?’ He frowned over at her but she studiously avoided his eyes. It was then that he began to feel a heavy sense of dread. ‘The tickets for the concert … you were planning them as a surprise for my birthday?’

‘It hardly matters now.’ Before he could ask anything further, she waved towards the guys in the pool. ‘Looks like they’re waiting for you.’

He’d never felt so dismissed. Or so deserving of it. She’d once cared enough to take note of when his birthday was, and plan a surprise for him. How had he responded when he’d come across the tickets by accident? In a knee jerk reaction caused by blind panic, he’d pulled the plug on their relationship.

As shitty as it sounded, he still stood by the decision. Molly had deserved far more than he’d had to give at the time. Yet now fate had offered him a second chance. Was he terrified he’d mess this up, too? Absolutely. But that didn’t stop him looking at her, and wanting her. Not that it mattered, because the bridges he might have wanted to build looked like they’d already been burnt to the ground.

He darted her a final glance, but she wasn’t looking his way. Instead her gaze was fixed on Duncan. The bridges weren’t just burnt, he realised. She was set on a whole new direction.

Fuck that. Determinedly he marched towards the pool. No way was he going to stand aside and let her make an even bigger mistake with that arsehole than she would do with him. Ben knew his faults: too blunt, he’d been told; too black and white; cold, apparently, though he disputed that one. He liked to get the measure of someone before he let them in. Once he did though … he shook away his thoughts, unwilling to head down memory lane. Fact was, nobody had ever accused him of being arrogant.

He slipped into the pool next to Marcus. ‘What are the rules?’

Marcus nodded towards the other end, where Duncan and James were standing in front of an inflatable goal. ‘Throw the ball into the goal.’

‘That easy huh?’

Marcus flashed him a grin. ‘Piece of cake.’

Ten seconds later, Ben was nearly drowned as Duncan came hurtling towards him, swiping the ball from his hands with all the grace of a rhinoceros. And laughing in his face with all the charm of a crocodile. ‘That’s the trouble with you office types,’ Duncan crowed. ‘Too soft.’

It took him until the last minute of the game to get his own back. Marcus looked around and threw the ball to him. Fuelled by adrenaline and anger, Ben leapt into the air, caught it, then whipped it into the back of the net for the winning goal. For once, he was grateful to see the camera crew filming on the other side of the pool.

‘That’s the trouble with you gym bunnies,’ Ben murmured to Duncan as he swam past him. ‘You forget it’s not all about muscle.’

Duncan laughed it off, but as his teammates gave him a high five, Ben felt a lot better than he had before he’d climbed into the pool.

Sadly, by the time he’d dragged himself out and back to the lounger, only Chloe was there to congratulate him. He had to stop himself from asking her if Molly had stayed to the end.