Page 50 of Clean Finish

“Oh. Nice.” Suddenly I couldn’t stop smiling, and this party was starting to feel fun. “How many nieces do you have?”

“Two. My older sister’s kids.” His smile grew affectionate, and he paused to thank Holt when boss man appeared to hand over a bottle of beer and place a bowl of water by my lounger for Cora. “They’re eight and four.”

“Cool. You have another sister too, right? Is she younger, then?”

“Yep.” He sipped his beer, and I tried not to stare at his Adam’s apple bobbing in his strong throat. “I’m the middle child.”

I snuffled a laugh. “Is that why you’re so quiet?”

He grinned over at me. “Maybe. My older sister, Maeve, was very protective and a little overbearing when we were younger. And Polly is the wild child. She’s the loudest and was always a bit of an attention seeker, but she’s great. They both are.”

“My little brother’s a total d-bag, but I guess I love him or whatever,” I grumbled. “I’d love him more if I didn’t have to share a bathroom with him.”

Seb chuckled. “How old is he?”

“Seventeen. Like, the worst age.”

His smile widened. “I bet you were a nightmare at seventeen too.”

“No way,” I said innocently. “I was a total angel. I mean, I didn’t do all that well at school…”

He shrugged. “That kind of structured learning isn’t for everyone.”

“Yeah.” I grinned at him, leaning back against the lounger as I relaxed more. “But I’m really good at falling down a rabbit hole online and learning a tonne about some random subject that pops into my head.”

“I bet you are.” He side-eyed me, bringing his bottle back to his lips. “You’re excellent at learning new stuff when you’re interested in it. And highly motivated.”

My breath caught, stomach twisting with pleasure, because I knew exactly what he was referring to. I guessed that meant I was a pretty good ‘student’ in our lessons. I wanted to puff my chest out with pride.

I opened my mouth to speak, wanting to keep the conversation going, but Ludo suddenly appeared in front of us, twisting the cap off a fresh bottle of beer. He gave me a friendly grin, then turned his easy-going smile on Seb.

“You didn’t even come say hi, you ass.”

I sensed Seb tense slightly, before he relaxed again and shot Ludo a crooked grin. “Didn’t see you.”

“I’m chilling in the hot tub with Brian and Kenneth.” He gestured with his bottle at the deck behind us. “Come join. Both of you. Might be a little too warm in there for Cora, though.”

Seb hesitated, then sat up. “Alright.”

As Ludo wandered back off to the hot tub, Seb set his feet on the ground and looked at me. His eyes looked almost like gold in the sunlight.

“Uh, so, want to go in the hot tub?” His gaze drifted down my frame again, taking in my sweats and T-shirt.

I wanted to keep hanging out with Seb, but I really, really didn’t want to strip down. Anxiety filled my belly, making me fidget as I glanced back at the hot tub.

I knew I was being silly. He’d see it eventually. He’d have to, if we were going to… do more stuff together. But the thought of everyone here—literally everyone from work—potentially seeing it too was… too much. No way. I wouldn’t survive the embarrassment.

“Uhhh…” My voice wavered a little, before I fixed a grin on my face. “I’m okay here. I’ll hang out with Cora.”

Seb hesitated, glancing over at the deck. After a few seconds, he sighed and nodded, then peered at me with a slight frown. “You okay?”

“Totally fine,” I said brightly, then gestured at the wrestlers splashing around in the pool. “Just gonna… watch the guys.”

Seb’s lips turned down slightly as he glanced at the pool, a hint of tension stiffening his shoulders. He gave another terse nod, then set down his beer and stood to strip off his T-shirt.

My mouth dried out in an instant.

He was… big. And strong. But not impossibly cut like most of the wrestlers—he looked more real. His skin was tan, almost golden, like he’d already spent some time in the sun. His shoulders were wide and dotted with freckles. His biceps were huge, and his chest was defined and sprinkled with dark hair that made my tongue feel too thick in my mouth. A line of it trailed down between his abs to his navel, then continued lower to disappear under the waistband of his trunks.