Page 29 of Cole

“I’m going to get in the water, Annie,” Benji said as he peeled off his shirt.

“Okay. Be careful.”

He rolled his eyes. “I will.”

Cole watched as the young man joined the other teens on the back of the boat. There were some large inflatables there that they jumped into the water with.

“How long are you home for, Cole?” Wilder asked. He and Lexi appeared to have their swimsuits on, so they’d probably be joining the others in the water at some point.

“Not quite a week,” Cole said. “Gotta get ready to report to training camp.”

“Are you playing in the pre-season games?”

“Yep. We’re going to be playing in Dubai.”

“Really?” Wilder sat forward. “I would have loved to visit Dubai, but just never got around to it.”

“I’ve never been there either,” Cole said. “Not sure I’ll get to see much of the city. Lots of PR stuff going on, I think.”

“Have you travelled much, Annie?” Lexi asked.

“Nope. Honestly, I haven’t travelled out of Idaho.”

“A homebody,” Wilder said with a nod. “We’ve got a couple of those in the family.”

“Who besides Charli?” Cole asked.

“I think Kayleigh would prefer to stay home.” Wilder leaned forward to look at his sister. “Right?”

“I don’t mind traveling with Hudson on occasion, but I definitely prefer being in our little home. It’s where I’m happiest, to be honest.”

“How about you, Hudson?” Wilder asked. “Do you enjoy traveling?”

“Pre-Kayleigh, I did alotof traveling, and for the most part, I didn’t mind it. Now that we’re married, I much prefer being where Kayleigh is.” Hudson gave Kayleigh a look that was filled with his love for her. “So if I have to travel now, I like her to come with me if she can. But if she can’t, you can bet I’m trying to get home as soon as possible.”

Cole liked to see the affection between Kayleigh and Hudson, and he was happy that they’d found each other. They didn’t have kids yet, but he wasn’t sure if that was by choice or not. And it didn’t feel right to ask.

“Let’s swim,” Wilder said as he got to his feet. He turned to Lexi and held out his hand. “Wanna go?”

“Not yet,” she told him with a shake of her head. “You go ahead.”

Wilder didn’t argue. Instead, he peeled off his shirt, then headed for the back of the boat, where he dove into the water. When Aiden decided to join Wilder, Cole stood up and removed his tank top to follow them.

He should probably put sunscreen on, but he didn’t bother. In the past, he hadn’t burned too easily, so he hoped he wouldn’t that day either.

Glancing over at Annie, he found she was looking at him. When she met his gaze, her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly looked away.

Cole grinned as he headed for the back of the boat. He didn’t want things to be awkward between them, so he’d refrained from making a cheeky comment. Though he had been sorely tempted to tease her.

With two long strides, he dove off the boat and plunged into the cool water. When he broke back up through the surface, he shook his head to get rid of some of the excess water in his hair.

Glancing around, he spotted Wilder and Aiden holding onto an inner tube and he stroked in their direction. The teens were also clustered around another inner tube and a floating chair.

“You managed to talk Annie into joining us this time, huh?” Aiden said as he ran his hand through his hair. “Guess she’s falling victim to your charm.”

“Or your money,” Wilder added.

“I don’t think it was either of those,” Cole said as he flipped onto his back and hooked his arm under the inner tube. “Pretty sure her main reason for coming is Benji. Plus, her other two friends came.”

---