Chapter Five #4
“Besides, who would I even bring with me?” she continued. “My mom? Eddie?”
Theo’s stomach swirled. He had to know.
“What about your beau?” he said, mimicking the words of her father. God, that sounded so stupid coming out of his mouth. He’d never used the term beau before.
“My beau?” she said with a laugh. “Oh my God, I never call him that. He would die if he heard you refer to him that way. Who even told you about him?”
So he did exist. “Your dad.”
“Well, this isn’t really his sort of thing. He’s much more of a beach vacation sort of guy. Plus, it’s a pain in the ass when we’re both gone from work at the same time.”
“You work together?”
“Yeah, that’s how we met. He started working with me a little over a year ago, and we hit it off right away.”
A little over a year ago? Right around the time of their last night together?
The realization slapped him in the face. What would have happened had he not taken his time to get back home?
Theo was about to be sick.
“Do you travel together often?” he asked.
Theo didn’t know why he was asking so many questions. To torture himself, apparently.
“No, not really. You know I’m not really a beach girl.”
“That’s because the only beaches you ever go to are the ones on the Great Lakes. You need to check out the beaches in Naxos. Best beaches in the world.”
“I’ll let him know. I’m sure he’d love it.”
Sonny and Cher, kill me now.
“Does he…does he like micheladas?” he asked.
“God, no. He’s like you,” she said with a laugh. “He says the words ‘clam’ and ‘juice’ have no business being involved in his beverages. But what can I say? Opposites attract.”
With each comment, another tiny piece of his heart broke off.
“And he’s still around?”
“Yeah. I told him he’s never allowed to leave, which is great because he said he’s not going anywhere.”
The hits kept coming, but it didn’t quell Theo’s curiosity.
“I wonder if there is anything to eat, here,” Dani said, clearly not noticing how the discussion of her boyfriend was affecting him.
“Louis got that food earlier, so I’m sure there’s more.”
“Well, I’m going to look.”
She started to push off from the edge, but something caught her attention in the corner of her eye, and she spun back around, facing the sea.
“Oh my God, Theo, there’s a boat,” she said, pointing out in the distance.
He shot his gaze toward the Mediterranean. “Where?” he asked.
“Right there!” She pointed, then stood on the ledge below the water, wide enough only for half a toe.
With her torso now out of the water and her arms flailing about trying to get the boat’s attention, Theo stared up at her.
And he really shouldn’t have. Because his gaze was bouncing all over Dani’s body, Dani who was very much taken and unavailable, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.
Suddenly, Dani lost her footing and came crashing back into the water.
Without hesitating, Theo rushed underneath her, catching her body before she hit the edge.
But now…now that he had her in his arms, he didn’t want to let go.
He hadn’t ever touched Dani, not like this.
Sure, a hug here and there. And of course there was the slow dancing at her prom when his hands were wrapped around her waist. But that was young Dani, who still wasn’t comfortable in the body gifted to her by her parents’ flawless genes.
This? This was Dani, the woman. Dani who turned heads wherever she walked.
Dani who didn’t turn Theo’s head because he couldn’t ever bring himself to look away whenever she was near.
Despite the pool around them, her skin was warm. And soft. With one arm underneath her thighs, the other wrapped around her back, reaching around under her armpit—with his fingers grazing ever so slightly below that spectacular side-boob.
“Shit,” she said, wrapping her own arms around his neck and shoulders, seemingly oblivious to their skin-to-skin contact. “Do you think they saw me?”
Theo’s mind went blank. What was she even talking about? Oh right…the boat. How could her mind be on anything other than what was happening between them in the pool?
“I doubt it,” he said, more disappointed by the fact that she had a boyfriend than the fact that they’d missed a possible opportunity to get out of this mess.
“What’s going on out here?” Maurice asked from the edge of the pool. How long had he been there? “I heard splashing.”
“Oh, you know, two lovebirds taking an evening swim,” Dani said. “Hey, know where we can get something to eat?” she asked, releasing her hold on Theo.
Physically speaking, at least.
“Kitchen’s that way.” Maurice pointed.
“Oh good. You coming, honey?” she asked Theo, swimming over to the stairs and slowly walking out of the pool like a Bond girl. Theo watched Maurice’s eyes practically bulge out of his head, staring at Dani as she strutted over to her towel.
Theo rushed to join her, glaring at Maurice when they finally made eye contact. Don’t even think about it, Theo’s eyes told him.
But as his eyes fixated on Dani’s swaying hips, Theo wondered if maybe he should be saying the same to himself.