Page 39 of Ace My Heart

“The guy from the tennis,” Brad mouthed at me, before pulling off his t-shirt and leaping into the pool.

Amanda dragged off her sun dress, speaking quietly with the guy, who shifted uncomfortably.

“Hey,” I called out to him, and he glanced up, a hint of pink on his cheeks. “I’m Mel, nice to meet you …”

“Thomas,” he replied, a small smile pulling at his lips. Amanda nudged him with her elbow and leaned in, saying, “I told you she wouldn’t mind.”

And the pair of them joined us in the pool.

“We figured that if you weren’t going to have a chance to see us before you left, we’d make an effort to come see you.” Brad said, swimming towards me.

“I’m so glad you did!” I replied, splashing Brad and laughing when he shrieked. Amanda and Thomas introduced themselves to Ben as he dragged a couple of pool loungers into the water.

Joel brushed past me on his way out of the pool, his lips pressed together, shoulders tight. Amanda swam over to me.

“What’s up with Joel?” she asked, watching his dripping body with wide eyes as he stalked towards the cabana.

“Don’t stare at him like that when your new boyfriend is right over there!” I hissed, smacking her lightly on the arm. “He’sprobably annoyed; this is our last chance to train before we get on a plane for fourteen hours.”

“Why does he care so badly? I mean you train so hard, what’s wrong with an afternoon off?” she persisted.

I narrowed my eyes. “He’s got a lot on his mind at the moment, with everything that happened with Steve, and putting his training business on the back burner to help me out, and leaving Sandra alone while he flies overseas to support me.”

Oh God. My bad mood, my lack of focus, me snapping at him, and now distractions in the shape of Ben, Brad, Amanda and this Thomas guy. Joel was stressed and I was making it worse.

“Joel!” I called out. He turned, water still trickling down his washboard stomach. “Come back – we haven’t finished training.”

He sighed, but half smiled as he dove elegantly back in, swimming underwater until he surfaced right in front of me. I moved back – my boobs were touching his chest, which was just way too personal.

I turned to the others. “Sorry, guys, we’ll only be another twenty minutes or so.”

Amanda shrugged and hopped back out of the pool, Thomas in hot pursuit, but Brad looked from Joel to me, his brows furrowing ever so slightly.

Ben stepped in to save the day. “Hey mate, come on, let’s leave the professionals to do their thing. I’ll get you all a beer.”

Brad gave me a tiny nod and swam to the steps. I threw Ben a grateful smile. He winked at me.

I turned back to Joel, who set the pace for another twenty minutes of solid swimming that left me shaking at the end. Joel, hardly even puffing, grinned wickedly at me. Damn he had some stamina.

Sandra invited my friends to stay for dinner. She’d put together a buffet of foods – salads, cold meats, sweet potato bake. Brad looked like he was in seventh heaven; his parents rarely ate at home, so I think most of the time he existed on pizza and two-minute noodles. He grinned at me around a mouthful of food.

I watched with a warm heart as Thomas took Amanda’s hand and smiled at her. He seemed smitten; it was adorable.

We watched the sun set on the harbour, letting our food settle. When it was dark, Joel jumped up, rubbing his hands together.

“Okay, Ben, let’s see how you fare against a pro.” Joel sounded way too keen for this match. I wondered what he had up his sleeve. I went inside to change. Amanda followed me.

“So … this Thomas guy seems nice,” I commented, climbing the stairs to my bedroom. A smile split Amanda’s face.

“He’s amazing!” she gushed. “He works in IT, he has a really cute apartment, he’s –”

“You’ve seen his apartment?” I exclaimed. “Amanda, are you two …”

She flushed prettily, flicking a strand of blonde hair out of her face. “Of course not! You know I’m saving the V card for my husband.”

I opened the bedroom door.

“Oh, Connor’s here!” Amanda commented. The cat circled her ankles – he had a soft spot for Amanda, being his designated feeder whenever I was out of the country. She picked him up and held him to her as I stripped out of my now dry swimmers and pulled out a sports bra, singlet and some training shorts.

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