“Besides, I’m Lilah Moore. I can do anything I want.” She glanced at the dirty dishes in the kitchen, the pan from breakfast caked with scrambled eggs, the pile of plates that had migrated out of the sink and consumed every bit of counter space. “And I don’t want to do you.”
They would just have to keep waiting because it was just past noon, she had an interview at four, and the pool was calling. That was the one decent thing about living there. The pool. Even if she did have to share it with all the other people who lived at the Seaside Apartments.
Ha! Seaside. She couldn’t even smell the ocean they were so far inland.
Lilah ran upstairs and changed, slipping into a hot pink bikini that gleamed against her sun-kissed skin, then pulling her hair into a high bun. She grabbed her sunscreen, a towel, a bottle of water, and her Kindle then trudged to the pool in the oppressive July heat.
Wondering how her cheap flip-flops hadn’t melted to the pavement, Lilah pushed through the gate that was somehow supposed to keep non-residents out of the pool and cringed. The water seethed with screeching children splashing about while swarms of parents stretched out in lounge chairs, ignoring their offspring. Lilah made a beeline for the last available seat, eager for a place to stretch out, even if there were towels draped across the chairs on either side. Obviously she would have preferred something more isolated, but everything about the last week had been about accepting less than she was accustomed to.
“I’ll have earned a sainthood when this is over,” she muttered.
She pulled her towel from her bag and laid it over the seat then sat down to lather sunscreen on her legs. Her gaze settled on the one adult occupant swimming laps, somehow oblivious to, and completely undeterred by the herd of children churning the pool into a frothing mess.
He attacked the water with a singular focus, his long arms stretching out in front of him and pulling his body forward. His legs kicking with confident determination. His skin was bronzed from hours in the sun and his body had the long muscles of an Olympic swimmer. Lilah leaned back in her chair, eyes locked on him.
He didn’t seem like he was a parent to any of the rug rats in the pool. Nor did he have the same, go-with-the-flow, distracted appearance of the adults lounging around the water. He was determined. Single-minded in his exercise. And for some reason, the children stayed out of his way, leaving his lane clear, as if they knew better than to get in the way of where he was going.
As Lilah watched, the man came to a stop, grasping the wall and shaking water out of his sun-bleached hair. He ran his hands over his face and took several long breaths before pulling himself out of the pool. Her mom always said it wasn't polite to stare, but she’d never let that stop her.
Why start now, when the view is so good?
The man walked toward her, his long strides causing the muscles in his torso and legs to twitch and flex. His powerful arms led to strong hands that she imagined running along her body, setting her skin on fire. He shook out his hair again as he plopped onto a chair directly beside hers, rubbing a towel over his head to finish drying.
Of course, he looked up just as she was staring directly at him. Their eyes locked and she gasped at the hardness in his gaze. His eyes were a stormy blue, the color of the restless sea and cold as steel. They glinted with something she couldn’t understand and left her feeling exposed as they raked over her body. Like he cut through to the very essence of who she was and cast judgment on all her doings, past, present, and future.
It was raw. Personal. Almost crude.
It set Lilah’s teeth on edge and she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
People didn’t look at her like that. When someone got her attention, they smiled. The look in their eyes practically begged her to like them and smile at them and want to be with them. This judgmental hardness wasn’t going to fly.
She scowled, her eyebrows and lips pursing together in a pout.
To make matters worse, the jerk smiled at her discomfort. Actually smiled!
A broad, vibrant grin stretched across his face, transforming his eyes from stormy to vivid. His straight, white teeth contrasted his tanned face and a hint of blonde stubble peppered his chin and jaw.
Great smile or not, Lilah was not impressed and intended to make sure he knew. She yanked her gaze away from Mr. Chiseled-Abs McJudgy-Pants as she pulled her phone from her bag. What this moment needed was a soundtrack. She unlocked her phone and launched Spotify, flipping through her favorite channels until she found the perfect one for sitting in the sun on a lazy Sunday. As the swimmer strutted past her chair on his way back out to the pool, Lilah popped in her ear buds and stretched out, her eyes plastered on his perfect ten of an ass.
Just because she didn’t like him, didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the view.
* * *
Ready for more?
One-click ENEMIES-TO-BLISS now!
The Hutton Family
Beyond Words
Beyond Love
Beyond Now
Beyond Us
Beyond DreamsBrookside Romance
Wounded
Inevitably You
This Is Why
Along Comes Trouble
Come Home To Me
A Brookside Romance - the Complete SeriesWilde Boys Series with Will Wright
Taking What Is Mine
Claiming What Is Mine
Protecting What Is Mine
Defending What Is MineThe Moore Family Series
Finding Bliss
Faking Bliss
Instant Bliss
Enemies-to-BlissThe London Sisters Series
Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)
Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)
Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)
The London Sisters - the Complete SeriesImmortal Memories
Immortal Memories Part 1
Immortal Memories Part 2As Wren Williams
Bad, Bad Prince
Woodsman
Website
Facebook Fan Group
Want to be one of the first to know about new releases, get exclusive content,
