Page 61 of Risky Game

“Nope. It’s too hot for them to be close to us. They like the dark water to stay cool.”

“So if I’m swimming, they’ll bite my toes?”

She sounded thrilled at the possibility.

“Maybe. But you’d scare the big fish away, so it’d just be those little baby fishies at the shore.”

“Would their bites hurt?”

I reached forward and tickled the back of her arm. She squealed and rocked the kayak from giggling. “That tickles!”

“Those are baby fish nibbles. That’s what it’d feel like.”

“Hm. I might like that.”

She went quiet after that. Out on the water, the heat didn’t feel nearly as blistering as the walk to the lake had been. Course, I wasn’t carrying fifty pounds of gear anymore either. We were several houses away from ours, Amelia still letting her fingers trail in the water, bending over to watch them when she said, “I think Ruby would like this.”

“Yeah? You think?”

It was the first time she’d brought her up. Usually, it was Mommy, though.

My chest swelled with hope that Ruby truly had broken through with Amelia. It’d make the next several months so much easier.

“Yeah. She said she loves the water. Says it’s peaceful.”

“It is peaceful, isn’t it?” There was barely a breeze, but the tops of the trees swayed gently. Birds swam in circles in the air and on the opposite side of the lake were two ducks swimming.

“I think it’s my favorite place.” Amelia sighed. “Think Ruby and I can kayak?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” She brought her hand out of the water and set it in her lap. We finished the kayak ride shortly after that, the small trek enough for one day, and on the way back to the house, she made us stop to water the gardens.

“Since Miss Ruby isn’t here,” she said, “we should take care of them.”

“I thought you didn’t like them?”

“Maybe I do.” She pouted the words, not sounding really happy with herself over the idea, but I let it go.

Maybe, maybe what she needed to hear from both her mom and me, together, was that we were not getting back together. We were not going to live together again. As much as it’d hurt to say it and hurt to watch her pain, was it possible it was the best thing for her?

Chapter 17

Ruby

I shouldn’t text him. It’d made me too needy and came across as too desperate. I couldn’t have the man I’d made a just sex deal with twelve hours ago thinking I was already wanting more than that. I already knew Logan wasn’t going to fall in love with me. I didn’t want that, either.

My heart had been put through the wringer once before and I was in no hurry to put it on the chopping block again.

But that didn’t mean I didn’t spend the whole afternoon thinking about him. Thinking of the things we’d done. The things he’d said. The things I followed.

Hot. So damn hot it was scorching, and I’d be lying to myself if I wasn’t counting down the hours until I could have that again.

Maybe leaving for the weekend was the worst thing I could do.

No, it was the best for Amelia, and she was my priority. She was who I was concerned about.

Which left me wondering how the call went with Vanessa.

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