Page 93 of Mr. Dangerous

"That is because you haven't thought about it yet. ButifRob--"

"Don't! This is why I think Rebecca is anxious about me canoodling with Rob. Because she's worried I'm going to take advantage of hismoney."

"Well, I'm worried he's going to take advantage of you being smart, hard-working and beautiful. You're an evenmatch."

"That'ssweet,but--"

Alice leveled a finger at me. "Don't. Don't buy into alltheirshit."

"Dad doesn'tlikehim."

"But he's good enough to canoodle with, so you clearly don’t care." Alice shook her head. "That is a ridiculously immature word, by the way, for a very grown up thing that you're doing. With real grown-upconsequences."

"Believe me, I know that. I'm the one who was almostkidnapped--"

"You should talk to Rob." Alice cutmeoff.

Apparently I was not getting sympathy for the elevatorincident.

"Yes, yes, you should," Rob said. With his tall, broad-shouldered frame, he filled the doorway, and I couldn't believe I hadn't seen him there until he spoke. How long, exactly, had he beenthere?

Was Rob aware of the wordcanoodle?

"Hey," I said, and then, because sometimes Rob made me short-circuit like a robot, I saidagain, "Hey."

Alice gave me that pitying look again, damn her, and wandered off to put thesilverwareaway.

"I was thinking about going for a swim,"Isaid.

"Yes," Rob said. "I need to blow off somesteam."

I wondered where Rob had been that morning, since he had woken me up to kiss me goodbye—"I won't make that mistake again," he'd promised me— and then left quietly with Liam. I had thought maybe he was picking up one of his brothers from the airport, or visiting Mitch, but he was back too early and without any additional tall blue-eyedgods.

"I'll get my suit,"Isaid.

Fifteen minutes later, we splashed into the surf behind the house. I felt my troubles drop away, at least for the time being, at the shock of the cold water lapping at my stomach. I splashed Rob playfully as he waded in front, sending a spray of white water across his broad shoulders and the lean V of hiswaist.

He turned around, grinning, and tackled me into the water. My feet slid out from under me, his arm catching me around my waist, and I caught my breath just before my head went under the water. Rob pulled me up again, the two of us bobbing in the water as he wrapped that powerful arm around mylowerback.

"Best to get wet all at once. Just get itoverwith."

"What are you, fifteen?" I asked, but I couldn't helpsmiling.

"I would be scared to do that with most girls," he said, pressing his nose against mine. The intimate contact made me smile helplessly. "You're somethingspecial."

"Because I'm a goodswimmer?"

"No," he said. "Not becauseofthat."

Then, as if he'd said too much, he stepped away from me. My bare feet touched the rough pebbles at the bottom, seaweed briefly twining around my legs and thenslippingaway.

"Race you to the buoy,"hesaid.

"Why?" I asked. "There's nothing atthebuoy."

When he started to answer, I threw myself forward, his words getting lost as my head slipped underwater. I'd bought myself a lead. As I surfaced, I saw him, laughing, start tofollowme.

Rob swimming was a thing of beauty, all lean grace, his broad back muscles rippling as his arms parted the water. I would have liked to watch him, except my competitive impulse took over. I swam hard forthebuoy.

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