Chapter 13 I Hate It When Carly Is Right
I HATE IT WHEN CARLY IS RIGHT
Last person you kissed?
Cole: I’m not talking about that. Are we done here?
brIDGET
I’d taken the hottest shower I could manage, but after dinner with the team and Miguel’s not-so-gentle ribbing about what our kayaking skills might say about our leadership skills, I was still trembly inside.
I refused to delve into my feelings to determine if I was chilled after my swim in the cold river or rattled from examining every inch of Cole’s skin and getting a peek at the ridge in his underwear.
Shoving Carly’s too-revealing bikini to the very bottom of my suitcase, I put on my old, reliable blue suit, grabbed a towel, and went down to the hot springs behind our hotel for a soak.
The nearby volcano naturally warmed the water underground, and there was public access a little way down the road.
Our resort diverted some of the water into its own faux-natural setup with a swim-up bar and semi-private alcoves.
I picked a secluded spot, shielded by a giant bougainvillea.
The offshoot of the main pool was about the size and shape of a hot tub, including a rocky ledge to sit on while submerged.
I slipped off my flip-flops and dipped a toe into the clear water.
It was like a bath, so I stripped off my cover-up and settled into the water that, unlike a bath, would never go cold.
Leaning back against the rough stone, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, remembering the call to Mom and Dad that I’d made with my new phone.
They’d been worried about my twenty-four hours of silence, but I’d reassured them I was fine.
I hadn’t mentioned my lost passport. There was no sense in worrying them about something I’d be able to resolve when we got to San José in two days.
I hadn’t realized how much I relied on the connection to my family until I was away from it for a day.
It had been kind of Cole to replace my phone.
But what was his angle? Was it that he wanted me to owe him a favor, or was there more?
Was he trying to distract me? Maybe he was having a secret meeting with the others right now. I blinked open my eyes.
“Mind if I join you?” a deep voice asked from above my head.
It was a familiar voice, and I took a moment to breathe, to try to slow my racing heartbeat. Finally, I looked up into his eyes, which were almost black against the starry sky. “Okay.” How had he found me back here?
Cole reached down to the hem of his Apex T-shirt. To keep myself from ogling his bare, tick-free chest again, I turned my head away so fast my neck popped. I glared at the bougainvillea like the hussy had somehow beckoned him over.
There was a slight splash and a sigh as he settled next to me.
I stretched my legs and lifted my toes above the surface of the water. They didn’t look pruny yet. Then I stared up at the half moon, anywhere but at his muscular form beside me.
“Feels better than the river,” he said.
“Fewer snakes and leeches too.” I examined my fingertips.
“We saw zero snakes or leeches.”
“The operative word there is saw. How many didn’t we see?”
“If you hadn’t tipped the kayak—”
“Cole. For the hundredth time, I’m sorry for tipping us over. Can we not talk about it? A one-night truce.”
“Okay,” he agreed, far faster than I’d expected.
I looked over at him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
His elbows rested on the side of the pool, stretching his broad chest. I knew the moon would spotlight every gray hair on my head, but the thick hair on his chest was dark, like the waves on his head.
His face was unlined, and like some of the other executives, he hadn’t bothered to shave in the three days we’d been at the resort.
Despite the dark stubble that shadowed his chin, he looked young and vulnerable as he relaxed, the way he never did when he glared at me in the office.
“You should take a picture with your new phone. It’ll last longer.” He cracked one mocking eye at me.
I ripped my gaze away and stared straight ahead at the bougainvillea. “I wasn’t staring,” I lied.
“You can stare. It’s only fair since I couldn’t keep my eyes off you earlier with your shirt clinging to you.”
When I looked back at him, he’d turned toward me, his shoulders so close I could’ve gripped them. My heart thumped, and he could probably see it through the thin fabric of my swimsuit. “Is this another game?”
“You tell me. You scheduled all the competitions. You’re in charge here.”
A spark of electricity started at my lower back and buzzed along my spine, tingling out to my fingernails.
Nails I wanted to rake across those solid pecs to see if I could startle the smirk off his lips.
Fascinated, I watched my hand lift from the water and hover over the glistening drops on his skin.
I was a toaster, dangling by its cord above the water, ready to light him up and destroy us both.
I gazed at his lips, soft-looking and parted.
What would it be like to lean forward and touch them with mine? I tilted toward him.
“There you are,” Stan said.
Jesus Christ! I propelled myself as far away from Cole as I could get in half a second. He did the same, splashing suspiciously. The rock dug into my butt cheek.
“Fuck, Stan,” Cole drawled, but I heard a tremor in his voice. “Way to give a guy a heart attack.”
Stan stood by the bougainvillea, wearing a rumpled white Apex tee, a pair of dark board shorts, and sneakers.
If he’d been wearing flip-flops like a normal person, we’d have heard his approach.
Probably. If lust hadn’t been surging through my system, blocking out everything that wasn’t Cole.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Thank Christ it was too dark to see my blush.
“How’s the water?” Stan asked.
“Warm,” Cole said. “Join us.”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, come on in. We can talk about the idea you had for an employee retention plan.”
He bent to untie his shoes. “It’s after hours, Bridget. Surely you don’t want to talk business twenty-four-seven? What were you and Campion talking about?”
“Games,” Cole said.
Exactly. That’s all this was to him. He’d brought his sexy body down here to see if he could distract me from the point of this trip, which was to show everyone that I deserved the CEO position solo. Not today, Satan.
“Right,” I chirped as Stan slid into the water. His chest was pale and covered in white hair, not at all sensual. And neither was Cole Campion. “Tomorrow is our last full day, so I thought we could try a game of capture the flag on the soccer field. Low-impact, of course.”
“Or we could play soccer,” Cole said. “Three on three.”
“Soccer.” I snorted. “Oh…you were serious.” It had been a long time since I’d run anywhere that wasn’t an airport.
And I’d never been strong with foot-eye coordination.
Back in my sloshball days, it had sometimes taken me a couple of attempts to make contact with the ball, depending on how many beers I’d had.
“Or football,” Stan suggested. “I bet the resort has flags somewhere.”
“That sounds like an injury waiting to happen,” I said. “We could do the ropes course again, see how our team trust and communication has improved.” I’d have to stay away from Cole since I wouldn’t trust him not to let me fall.
“Sure.” Cole shrugged, probably making the same resolve. “Did you catch the Niners score?”
Ugh, sports talk signaled the time for me to exit. I stood. “I’m ou—” Feeling a breeze on my ass, I splashed back down into the water.
Cole turned to face me. “You okay?”
As discreetly as I could, I felt along the back of my suit.
There was a rip across the middle of my butt, probably from when I scraped the ledge getting away from Cole.
Carly had warned me—or had she jinxed me?
—when she’d told me my suit was too threadbare to survive the trip.
Shit! With my ass hanging out, how could I get out of the pool without flashing Stan and Cole?
“I’m fine,” I squeaked. I cleared my throat. In as calm a voice as I could manage, I said, “Could you hand me my towel, please? I think I’ll turn in.”
Cole glanced into the water at my hand clutching my suit. Immediately, he reached behind him for my towel. “Here, take your T-shirt too.” He handed me my towel and his black T-shirt.
I took them from him. “Thank you.” Was he helping me? He could’ve let me waddle through the resort, clutching my towel over my bare butt, one strong breeze away from becoming the company joke. He didn’t have to give me his shirt.
I stood, whipping the towel around myself, then stepped to the side. A hand grasped mine to steady me on the wet rock.
Cole’s. He stood next to me, his enormous body shielding me from Stan.
“Thanks,” I muttered. I dropped his shirt over my head and tugged it down. No one would believe it was mine, since it fell to the middle of my thighs, but my ass was covered, and I was grateful. He’d saved me again.
In the dark, I couldn’t interpret his expression. Maybe he regretted helping me. Or maybe he was nicer than I gave him credit for. Whatever. It was confusing.
“Night.” Finally, he released my hand.
“G’night,” I said, clutching it to my chest.
“Night, Bridget,” Stan said. “Think you can send a server over here? I’d like a nightcap.”
I ripped my eyes from Cole’s. “Sure, I’ll find one.”
“Thanks. Sit down, Cole. We’ll have a drink.”
Cole hesitated before he turned and sank back into the water.
I slipped on my flip-flops and clacked away, clutching his shirt to my butt. I owed him. Again. And I hated it.