Page 56 of The Kissing Part
I shriek as I’m suddenly airborne. Owen just scooped me up in a sneak attack. Mmm…I’m cradled in his arms against his bare warm chest. This reminds me of how he romantically carried me to bed.
Wait, where’s he taking me? I look back to the women, who wave bye.
“You won’t get any help from them,” he says.
We’re almost at the pool.
“Owen! I’m wearing my coverup. Don’t you dare dump me in the water.”
“I would never…” He walks to the deep end. “Take a deep breath.”
I give in to the inevitable and comply, but he doesn’t drop me. He jumps into the deep end with me!
We surface near each other. I push my hair back and splash him in the face. He ignores the splashes, steadily advancing on me until he finally grabs me and kisses me. A rush of heat goes through me in the cool water.
“Payback, Campbell,” I say in my most menacing voice before swimming to the side.
He follows me. When we get to the side, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. I put a hand on his chest and push, but he doesn’t budge. “You soaked my coverup.”
He dips his head, bringing us kissing close. My pulse accelerates. “Maybe I don’t like you covered up.”
His lips meet mine with a soft brush and then another before finally settling on mine in a tender kiss that undoes me. This man. This wonderful man.
A splash of water hits the side of my face. We break apart to find his cousins splashing us.
“Who’s up for a chicken fight?” Finn asks.
Owen turns to me in question.
“Hell yeah, we’ll kick your ass,” I say.
Owen laughs.
“Where’s Olivia?” Finn asks. “I want her on my team.”
“Olivia!” I wave to her, where she’s reading a book next to Claire and friends. “Come in! We’re playing chicken.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not wearing a bathing suit.” She told me before she doesn’t own one because she hates the way she’s crammed into the tight material and would never dare wear a bikini. Instead she’s wearing a loose navy sundress that ends at the knees. At least she traded her steel-toed boots for flip-flops.
“What you have on is fine,” Finn says. “Come on. You’re on my team.”
Olivia’s hand goes to her throat. “Me?”
“Yes,” he says with a laugh.
“No, thanks.”
“Why not?”
“I’m reading.”
“You can read anytime. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Yeah, come on, Olivia,” I call. “What are you, chicken?”
Finn gestures for me to settle down. “Who brought you your favorite double espresso on SaturdayandSunday morning? You owe me one.”
Ooh, this is new info. He was probably painting at the house and brought it then.
