Page 42 of Marring an Athlete

He smiled and the glanced down at his watch. “It’s nine. You are meeting with your therapist first and then your snorkeling excursion is after that. I’m to bring you and Michael to the boat.”

Anna brought her hand up to her forehead. “Right. I completely forgot. Long night.” As she said the last words, heat rushed across her skin. What was Javier going to think?

When she turned around to see him smiling, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “Not like that. We didn’t spend the night together—I slept on the couch.”

Javier held up his hand. “No need to explain. I understand. Couples come here with differing relationships.”

Anna sighed. Well, this conversation was off to a great start. So instead of pinching her lips shut and stopping any more stupid things coming out, she opened her mouth and said, “Michael and I aren’t technically married. We’re here to help his sister and my best friend. You know, McKenna?” Anna waved toward the hut down the boardwalk.

Javier’s gaze followed where she motioned, and then he turned back to her. “So, you and Mr. Michael are not married?”

Heat flushed her cheeks as she studied him. “No. Is that a bad thing?” She leaned closer. “They’re not going to kick us out, are they? I mean, the brochure did say married couples only.”

Javier laughed. It was a deep, smooth laugh. Like chocolate with a hint of heat. “Ms. Anna, we are a twenty-first century resort. We know not every couple feels like getting married is the route for them.” He leaned closer to her and suddenly, she became very aware that she was only wearing a robe. Plus, his cologne was wafting around her in the breeze causing her head to spin.

“Would it be wrong if I said that I’m happy to hear that you are single?” He glanced up at her and for a moment, she forgot to speak. She was too focused on getting lost in his sultry blue eyes.

“You are?” she breathed out. What was happening to her?

“Yes.”

Just one word, and she melted a bit.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind her snapped her out of the trance that Javier had put her in. She whipped around to see Michael standing there, his hair damp from the shower. He had a pair of shorts on and nothing else. What was with him? Didn’t he own any shirts?

“Can I help?” he asked, approaching the door and resting his hand on the wall just behind her head.

“Javier.” Nope. Her voice was still too muddled. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Javier is here to take us to the therapist and then snorkeling.”

“Snorkeling?” He turned his attention over to Anna. “And you’re going in a bathrobe?”

Anna shook her head. “No. Of course not. I’m going to go change.” Anna turned away from the door and headed back into the room. She needed a second to gather her thoughts.

Javier stepped forward to say something, but Michael had already slammed the door on his face.

When she got to her suitcase, she rummaged around until she found her swimsuit. When she looked up, Michael was standing next to the bed with his arms folded. He had a scowl on his face.

“What?” she asked as she walked past him.

He grabbed her elbow to stop her. She hesitated and then turned.

“What was that?” he asked. There was an earnestness to his gaze that caused her breath to catch in her throat. As if she’d betrayed him or something.

“What was what?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Javier? You two were standing pretty close to each other.”

A feeling of relief rushed through her when she realized that he hadn’t heard their conversation. There was no way that she wanted him to know that she’d just confessed to their guide that she wasn’t technically married.

“I can’t help it. I think it’s his background. You know, some people aren’t as concerned about personal space as Americans are.” She forced a smile in his direction. Why did he care? It wasn’t like he was chomping at the bit to get closer to her. He’d all but rejected her yesterday. Why would he care if she was trying to move on with the exotic resort guide?

“I guess. . . well, we made rules for a reason, right? This kind of breaks the whole, no flirting with people here rule.”

Anna hesitated. He did have her there. She glanced over at the door and then sighed. “You’re right. I agreed to no flirting. There’s no reason to get confused when we’re here to help with McKenna and Sam.” She raised her hand. “I promise, I will not flirt with Javier.” What she didn’t say was, if he flirted with her, she wasn’t really going to stop him. If anything, focusing on another guy just might be what she needed to move on from Michael.

Michael studied her and then nodded. “I’m really just thinking about McKenna here. She really deserves to have our full attention.”

Anna sighed. That was true. She was here to help and nothing else. “Got it.” She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out her swimsuit and cover-up. Then she made her way into the bathroom and shut the door.

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