Page 6 of Slapshot Summer
Matt bailed her out.At leasthewas a good guy.“May I fix you another piña colada?”He might have put a little too much emphasis on the drink’s true name, but she wanted to hug him anyway.
“That would be lovely.Thank you.”Her calm voice was probably betrayed by her face, which had to look like she’d been sitting by the pool all day without sunscreen.
“Coming right up.”Matt pointed at her neighbor’s half-empty glass.“Refill for you, sir?”
Mr.Smartass held up two fingers.“Thanks, and make it a double order for the lady.On my tab.”
Onhistab?The guy was rudeandpushy.More proof he had pegged himself well with the smartass label.A moment too late, his entire drink order registered.
“Oh no, I can’t drink that much.”
Mr.S.shrugged.“You don’t have to finish them.I just thought I’d save our bartender an extra trip for refills.Plus, his tip goes up.”
Well, that sounded logical—considerate, even.Lexi gave a nod of approval and twisted on the stool so she partly faced Mr.S.“I can’t keep thinking of you as ‘Mr.Smartass.’What’s your name?”
More people had filled in, and the din had grown louder.He leaned in close to her ear, taking a bite out of her personal bubble.The scent of citrus and something smoky—soft but undeniably male—drifted pleasantly up her nose.His fragrance was completely at odds with his prickly personality and faded T-shirt.She refrained from angling in to breathe it in more deeply.
“Youthinkabout me?”he purred.
Flustered, she waved her hand and brushed his shoulder by accident, causing him to straighten.At least he was out of her private space.“Oh, sorry.And no, I wasn’t thinking about you until now when I thought it would be polite to exchange names.I’m Lexi Campbell.”She held out her hand for a shake.
“Nice to meet you, Lexi Campbell.I’m Josh Wylder.”The name suited him.He accepted her proffered hand in his much bigger one.It was warm and rough and so big it engulfed hers.The sensation sent a shock wave to her core, and she wriggled on the stool.If he noticed, his eyes didn’t reflect it.“What brings you here?”
He let go of her hand.Unsure what else to do with the suddenly lonely appendage, she dropped it into her lap.“To this barstool or to this resort?”
“Both, I guess.”
Should she tell him the truth about her lost honeymoon?She didn’t care what he thought of her, but her ego still sported the fading bruises her ex had inflicted on it.
“R and R.”She sipped at her cocktail.
“Are you meeting up with a friend?”
“Unfortunately, no.She got pregnant after I booked the trip, so she couldn’t come.Since it was already paid for and I had set the time aside, I decided to come anyway.”
“No other friends?”
She’d considered asking someone else—her mother, even—but in the end, there hadn’t been anyone she would have felt comfortable spending the entire week with besides her bestie.
“None I wanted to invite.”She shrugged as if being here by herself—without the man who should have been her husband by now—was no big deal.As if the permanent “time aside” wasalsono big deal.“I’ve always dreamed of staying here, so why not have a solo adventure?”
Matt delivered their drinks, and Lexi immediately nibbled at the pineapple chunk, sliding it off the skewer with her tongue and teeth.She gobbled it down.Josh Wylder’s eyes followed her every move, expanding, then darkening.Lord, had she dribbled on herself?She looked down but didn’t see any traces of pineapple juice on her white dress.
When she raised her eyes, he was taking a hefty sip of his drink.“So what brought you to this particular barstool?”
“I wanted to reassure you I’m not normally as oblivious or as clumsy as you might have assumed after our first meeting.Also, I was curious about your, um, friend.”
His brows knotted together.
“The man whose seat I’m in,” she prodded.“Dark hair, dark eyes.You were talking to him until a few minutes ago?”
One corner of Josh’s mouth hitched up.“Oh, I get it.”
She took another prim sip to hide her flush.
“Sounds like you’re interested in him.”There was a mocking quality to Josh’s tone that made her squirm.
She lifted her eyes to the ceiling.“It’s possible.”
