Page 20 of Marring an Athlete

“Are you with the resort?” McKenna asked.

Javier introduced himself again and then waved at them to follow. When they got outside, he loaded their luggage into the back of an open Jeep as they climbed into the seats.

Javier smiled at Anna again when he climbed in and turned around. “It’s a twenty-minute drive to the resort. Sit back and enjoy the sights,” he said.

Anna felt Michael’s arm rest on her shoulders as he pulled her closer. She glanced over at him to see him studying her. He gave her a smile, and her insides melted.

“How did your flight go without me?” he asked.

She shrugged. “McKenna started it off by throwing up. But things got better.”

He winced. “Sorry to leave you with that. It was probably better than Mr. Stoic over there.” He motioned in Sam’s direction with his head. “I couldn’t get two words from the man. I’ll probably stay up for two days straight with all the sleep I got.”

Anna giggled. “Yeah. I wouldn’t know how to talk to him, either.”

Michael grew silent, so Anna peered over at him. “Well, you don’t seem to be having a hard time talking to Javier. You two were standing pretty close to each other.” He emphasized the syllables of their guide’s name.

Anna parted her lips as she studied him. Was he jealous? No. That had to be her imagination. There was no way Michael Jones could get jealous of any guy. He was about as perfect as they came. Problem was, he would never see her as anything more than his kid sister’s friend. And she was okay with that.

“I would be lying if I said Javier didn’t intrigue me.” She gave him a mysterious smile.

He faked hurt as he pulled back. “But Mrs. Jones. Think of the children.” He laughed as he pulled her closer to him. “I know the first thing we are going to discuss in therapy.”

Anna forced a smile as she turned her attention to the bright blue ocean that spanned out in front of them. This place was incredible. The beaches were white, and the green vegetation contrasted against it in a way that Anna had never seen in New Jersey. It was as if she’d jumped through her computer and was living in her screensaver.

“Thanks for coming with me and helping McKenna.” Michael’s voice had grown serious. She could feel his breath on her ear. She wanted to turn around to look at him but feared what being inches from his lips would do to her.

“I’d do anything for McKenna. . . and you. You have to know that,” she said, hoping he heard her whisper above the rush of wind around her.

“I do. You’ve always been an amazing friend to McKenna and me.”

Anna swallowed. In that one sentence, her feelings for Michael bubbled up inside of her. Why was she allowing herself to hope? Michael Jones was not available to her, and she was pretty sure she was not even a blip on his radar.

Even if he felt this way about her, it was only in a friendly way. He had no deep feelings, even if she wanted to read his body language to mean he did. He was just flirtatious and impulsive. He never thought about what his actions would do to someone. He lived in the moment, and right now, she was that moment.

“Thanks, Michael.” She reached out and patted his knee. “You’ve always been an amazing friend to me, too.” She pulled back so she could turn to look at him without the chance that they might be close enough to kiss.

Their impromptu kiss in the airport had been a mistake. As much as she wanted to say it hadn’t meant something to her, she knew she was lying. And she was never good at continuing a lie. So, avoiding any situations where another kiss could happen seemed like the best idea.

She smiled up at him. Her heart skipped a beat when his gaze met hers. There was a change in his expression that caused her stomach to flip, but she pushed that away. There was no way Michael Jones liked her that way. It was time she moved on and stopped analyzing everything.

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