Roxie
The sun was too bright, the chaise was too hot, and Sebastian Whittaker was way too close.
I flipped the page of my book even though I hadn’t absorbed a single word. My sunglasses shielded my eyes, thankfully, because they kept drifting to the lounger beside me. Where he was basking in the sun like he didn’t have a care in the world.
He’d ditched the suit, but of course he hadn’t ditched the ego.
Linen shorts. Half-buttoned shirt. Tan skin and tattoos on full display.
I now had an answer to the question I’d wondered about when I’d seen his tattoos in McGuire’s.
They started at his elbows and climbed all the way down his arms to the backs of his hands.
They were hot, and I hated to admit that.
He looked unfairly relaxed, reclined just far enough to show off a few inches of abs, a smirk playing at his mouth like he knew I was looking at them.
And maybe he did.
I couldn’t tell where he was looking behind those stupid sunglasses.
I adjusted my own and shifted further away on my chair, dragging my towel with me like a barrier. He didn’t say anything. Just reached for his water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a slow drink. I watched the way his throat bobbed up and down as my own mouth grew dry.
This is so stupid.
“Don’t you have somewhere better to be?” I asked flatly, turning away like I hadn’t been admiring the way he’d been drinking his water.
“Are you offering suggestions?” His voice was a lazy drawl laced with cockiness. It set my blood on fire.
“Literally anywhere but next to me would be a start.”
He chuckled. Chuckled.
The absolute audacity.
I flipped another page.
“Are you always this pleasant when you’re on vacation?” he asked after a beat.
I didn’t answer.
The tension stretched between us like a tightrope. If I moved too fast, I’d fall off. If I stayed too still, he’d win. And I couldn’t have either option.
But I had no idea how I’d possibly win when he looked this good. Better than I remembered since the last time we ran into each other—if you could even call what happened at McGuire’s “running into” one another.
“So,” he said, stretching his arms behind his head, bringing my attention back to his longer hair, “how long are we pretending we don’t know each other?”
I hated that I remembered how soft his hair had felt under my fingers. Hated more that I wondered if it still felt that way.
“I’m not pretending anything.”
He raised a brow. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“You think just because we emailed a few times, that suddenly erases the last ten years?”
He didn’t even flinch. Just held my stare, his green eyes far too clear for the treacherous territory this conversation was diving into.
“No,” he said simply. “But I thought it might mean you’d at least say hello without looking like you want to stab me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. If I wanted to stab you, I would’ve done that already.”
Another smirk. Like he was enjoying himself. As if my fury was just foreplay.
I turned my attention to the pool, trying to focus on the water’s rippling surface instead of Seb’s devastatingly handsome face. But I could feel him beside me, still watching. Still just … there. And for all the anger twisting inside me, I hated that a very small part of me liked it.
Sebastian Whittaker had always had a way of slipping through my defenses, whether I wanted him to or not.
And that was what terrified me more than anything.
After rereading the same page for the third time, I sighed and closed my book, tossing it on the table between our chairs. “Look, can we just keep things civil this weekend? For Hallie and James? They clearly have something going on, and there’s no need to ruin a perfectly good weekend for them.”
Instead of relenting, Sebastian’s infuriating smirk reappeared. The one I’d been itching to wipe off his face. He rose from his chair, his body stretching upward as he undid the few remaining buttons that remained fastened on his shirt.
He took three big steps and jumped into the pool, headfirst.
Water exploded into the air. The splash hit the edge of my lounge chair, misting my legs.
I let out a long sigh as I reached for my sunglasses, pulling them down an inch so I could glare over the top of them.
Sebastian surfaced with a shake of his head, his dark hair slicked back and water dripping down his annoyingly perfect face. He ran a hand over his mouth, wiping it clear, then blinked up at me like he wasn’t the human embodiment of a Greek god.
“Something you want to say, Roxanne?” he called, voice teasing.
“Oh no,” I said, lifting my towel to dab at the droplets of water on my leg. “Just wondering if there’s a polite way to drown you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” I replied, my eyes full of fire.
He swam toward the edge of the pool, forearms propped up on the ledge as water cascaded off his shoulders. “You used to like my attention.”
“I was a teenager. I also used to like vodka Red Bulls and glitter eyeliner.”
“That was a good phase.”
“For you, maybe.”
Sebastian’s gaze slowly swept over me as he tilted his head. “You know what I think?”
“God, please don’t.”
“I think you like sparring with me more than you like being mad at me.”
I tried to let out a sharp laugh, but it came out more like a choking sound.
He always could read me so easily. It had been more than just curiosity that made me respond to those emails.
Part of me had missed the verbal jabs, the push and pull, the way he could get under my skin with one look and take up all the oxygen in the room.
But I’d be damned if I’d ever let him know that.
Which is why I was glad when I came to my senses and stopped responding to those stupid emails of his.
“You always did have an over-inflated sense of your own importance,” I said coolly, reaching for my water bottle and taking a slow sip. “It’s impressive, really. You should teach a class.”
“Only if you promise to sit in the front row.”
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” I muttered, turning my face back toward the sun.
“Every second.”
My hands curled into the towel at the sound of his voice—low and amused. It was the same tone he always took when he knew he was about to win. When he was about to tip me over the edge.
But before I could snap back, regain some control of the conversation, Sebastian hauled himself out of the pool.
Water sluiced down his chest and stomach, drawing my eyes down to the ridges of his abdominal muscles.
I turned my head before he noticed me staring, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
But the outline of his body still flashed behind my eyelids like a taunt.
How in the hell did he look even better wet?
“You know,” he said, walking over to grab his towel from his lounge chair and rubbing it through his hair. “If you really didn’t want me here, you could have told James to uninvite me.”
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Oh.” He raised his eyebrows, towel hanging loosely from his shoulders. “Hallie didn’t tell you?”
“She said James invited someone. She didn’t say it was you.” I left out the part about not having told Hallie about him.
He smirked. “And now here we are.”
I rolled my eyes so hard I practically saw my brain. “I swear, if you give me that look one more time, I’m going to put your sunglasses in the blender.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time you hurt my feelings,” he said after a minute, voice low.
The hot summer air felt like it dropped a few degrees.
“You did your fair share of hurting feelings, too, Sebastian.”
That landed between us like a lit match dangerously close to a bottle of kerosene.
The tension, which had been mostly teasing until now, suddenly tilted in a very different direction. It was like reality coming back into the picture. Unspoken history lodged like glass between our ribs.
I stood quickly, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here. “You know what? I need a break. Preferably one that doesn’t involve you acting like this is some kind of summer camp reunion. So don’t follow me this time, alright?”
“I was just trying to be friendly,” he said, suddenly standing close. Too close.
“Well,” I said, tilting my head up to meet his eyes, “stop.”
Seb sucked in a breath like he wanted to say something else. And there was no way I was going to stand there and listen to him apologize.
“We’re back! And James forgot the chips. Can you believe that?”
I seized the moment like it was a life raft.
“Thank God,” I muttered, stepping around Sebastian and making a beeline for the kitchen. I didn’t even glance back as I called over my shoulder, “Maybe the groceries will have better manners than you.”
Inside, Hallie was unloading bags onto the marble island. James was beside her looking half-apologetic, half-annoyed.
“Hey,” she said, catching sight of me. “You good?”
I plastered on a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Great. Perfect. Got my sun in for the day. What more could I ask for?”
James handed me a bag to unload. “I’m sorry in advance for whatever Sebastian might say this weekend. I know he can be a little much to handle, but he means well. He just needs to learn to tone himself down a little when making new friends.”
I took the bag, grateful to have a distraction to help minimize the emotions that were sure to show on my face. “I barely even noticed he was there.”
Hallie smiled at me, completely oblivious to how Sebastian had turned my world completely upside down. “This weekend is going to be fun, don’t you think?”
“The most fun,” I replied through the fakest smile I had ever given my best friend.
I wasn’t sure how much longer I could pretend to Hallie that I’d just met Sebastian.
I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the guilt.
Keeping my past in the past seemed way easier when I thought McGuire’s was the extent of our reunion.
Since it looked like we’d be seeing a lot more of each other, I wasn’t sure that could happen.
The whole truth was bound to come out, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell Hallie about my upbringing.
I wasn’t ready for her to look at me any differently.
Focusing on unloading each grocery item, I tried to calm my racing mind.
My hands moved on autopilot while my mind replayed every second of the poolside interaction with Sebastian.
His smirk. The way he’d looked at me like he still knew me.
How a dangerous turn was taken in the conversation, revealing the raw, open wounds of emotions from all those years ago.
I grabbed the bottle of wine Hallie had picked out—something crisp and overpriced surely—and carried it to the fridge.
“Dinner reservations are for seven,” James said as he dropped the last bag on the counter. “So we’ve got like, an hour. I’m going to shower.”
Hallie caught my eye as soon as he left the room. “If you want to skip dinner …”
“No,” I blurted. “No, I’m not giving him the satisfaction. Besides, I want oysters.”
That got a smile out of her. “There she is.”
I tried to return it. But it felt off. Crooked. Hollowed out.
“I’m going to change,” I told her. “I need something to help me feel like I’m in control.”
Hallie laughed, but I could still feel her eyes on me as I left the kitchen and climbed the stairs two at a time.
Once in the primary, I stripped out of my bikini and rifled through my suitcase until I found a sleek black sundress that was simple but sharp. I only hoped it said I am unbothered, I am immune to your charm, I am not at all thinking about how you looked dripping wet with those damn tattoos.
After brushing my hair, I applied mascara and lip gloss, then looked in the mirror.
“You’ve got this,” I whispered to my reflection, which looked far too unsettled for my liking. I hated that he could still get under my skin.
A knock on the door made me jump.
“I brought wine,” Hallie’s voice came through the door.
“My savior,” I told her as I ushered her inside.
She handed a glass to me and leaned against the dresser.
“I’m not asking what happened,” she said.
“Yet. But just know, if you need to ditch this whole dinner thing and hide up here for the rest of the night, I will absolutely cover for you. I’ll tell them you’re not feeling well, and you can have some room to breathe. ”
“I love you,” I said, taking a long sip from my glass. “But I’d rather show up and look better than him.”
“Well,” she said, coming to stand behind me. “I think you’ve accomplished that.”
When the two of us finally met the boys downstairs, I’d smoothed out the tension in my shoulders and had opted for a darker red lipstick for a boost of confidence just in case I needed it.
James whistled as Hallie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Damn, you two are going to make everyone at the restaurant very jealous.”
Sebastian looked up from his phone. He was wearing a short-sleeved button-down, crisp slacks, and that signature lazy smirk.
His eyes lingered on me, and for a moment, I thought I saw a spark of something in his gaze.
As I walked out the front door, I could feel his stare, a burning sensation, as I headed toward the waiting car.
Fine.
Let him look.
Let him think whatever he wanted.
This weekend wasn’t about him.
It was about Hallie, oysters, wine, and proving that I wasn’t the same girl he tossed to the curb.
Even if some part of me was scared that it was becoming obvious that she hadn’t gone anywhere at all.