“Can I come, too?” Brennen asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Christian shoved him under the water again, then followed Zoe to the shallow end and sat down on the ledge next to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his security team encouraging paparazzi to stay away. He directed his attention back to the woman sitting beside him.
She swung her legs back and forth in the water.
“What are you doing?”
“Exercising.”
“While seated?”
Wrinkling her nose, she stuck her pink tongue out at him. “Leave my vacation workout alone.”
“I give up. There’s no understanding the female of the species.” He flicked water on her arm. “Start talking about your family, sweetheart.”
“Let’s see, I’m next to the oldest of six. Four brothers and a sister. My parents are still married and don’t have lovers.” She gave him a sidelong glance.
“Are you the mother of the group?” He imagined Zoe straightening ties, combing hair and fixing bows, all while her own hair was mussed and completely sexy.
“I used to be, but since Carter, he’s the oldest, married my best friend, she’s taken over the duties. They have a little girl with another on the way. Luke and Logan are the twins. Don’t get me started on their personal lives. Heath’s a baseball player involved in a love triangle while Evangeline has her music and Reece. They’re all extremely talented and know what they want out of life.”
Her voice softened as she talked about the family she loved and obviously loved her, too. He envied her, her family, but he didn’t begrudge it. Life worked out that way. It was best to deal with the hand you were dealt. Or so he tried to convince himself.
“Cannonball!” Brennen yelled as he made a run for the pool, interrupting their conversation.
Christian moved to shield Zoe, taking the brunt of it. He spit out some water and shook his hair out of his eyes. Oh yeah, the ladies always loved it when a man spit.“You okay?”
“Yes.” She wiped the water off of her face, then laughed as Brennen did a handstand in the pool, his legs waving in the air.“Your friend is such a clown. He’s the like the old court jester. Seeing everything, but distracting all with his antics so they won’t notice.”
“Anyway, what about you?” Christian wanted to know about her not Brennen. The man was a bloody open book. Whatever he thought, he said. No filter. No three second delay. Five second delays had been instituted because of Brennen McGowan’s lack of brain to mouth filter.
Green eyes regarded him warily. “What about me?”
“Everyone in your family has someone and a career.”
“And?” A smile wobbled on her face.
“Your career is writing. So, who is your someone? Is there a man back home waiting for you? A secret lover that will be video messaging you on Skype?”
“I wouldn’t have kissed you last night if there were.”
He stroked the soft skin inside her elbow, pleased to see goose bumps appear. “It wouldn’t have made you a horrible person if you were involved with someone else. Things happen.”
“Things don’t just happen,” she said, sliding her arm away. “Besides, I don’t need a man to be happy.”
This conversation was quickly going downhill, even with the confirmation that she was entirely single. “Neither do I. In fact men get on my nerves. They’re sloppy. They belch, fart and scratch their balls in public. Then there’s the leaving up of the toilet seat issue. Honestly, the list could go on and on.”
Zoe laughed so hard that she slipped off the ledge and went under. He sighed and shook his head. She had to be the most accident prone woman in existence. After helping her back up, he grabbed one of the towels to wipe the water off of her face. “Zoe, love, have you considered that the outside world is too dangerous for you?”
“Not everyone is meant to have gravity work for them all of the time. I’m convinced it means I would be a superior astronaut.” Her eyes danced. “If it weren’t for one or two pesky problems.”
“Lack of rocket science degree?” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Or is it the suits aren’t flattering on anyone?”
“How ever did you know?” she asked, scooting closer to him. “Your turn. I already know about your parents, but what about the rest?”
“Older brother, Sebastian, and he’s a pain in my arse,” he said, making her laugh again. “What’s so funny?”
“You said arse and it made me giggle a little.”
“You say y’all and that makes me want to shag you a little.” Actually, he wanted to shag her a lot.
“Do you know I can’t get any regular tea out here? It’s peach or raspberry or some other god-awful flavor.” A delicate shudder ran through her body. “Y’all don’t know what you’re missing.”
He knew exactly what he was missing. So did his cock. His board shorts grew tight and he leaned forward slightly. “What made you write your first novel?”
“I had these two characters in my head that appeared out of nowhere one day. They had a story and chose me to write it.” Her eyes got a faraway look to them. “Katrina and Dimitri are destined to be together. No matter the odds or what side of the spy world they’re on.”
He kind of liked that, but wasn’t Dimitri the villain? “I have a confession: I read your book…and liked it.”
“Then why do you look like you’ve eaten something vile?”
“It’s a girl book.”
“That’s being made into a movie you want to be in,” Zoe reminded him.
“As the villain.” He frowned. Why was she so insistent on him playing that particular role?
“He’s my favorite character to write,” she sighed.
“Really?” He rolled his head to one side, then the other.
She stretched her arms above her head, her br**sts treading the flashing line of her silver top. If she stretched just a little bit more, he’d be able to see her ni**les. “You’re doing really well by the way.”
He jerked his eyes back to her face. “Er, thank you.”
“You have no clue what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
The corners of her mouth pushed up. “We’ve been having an honest-to-goodness conversation for a while now and you only hit on me once.”