Page 74 of Best Kept Secret

“It can wait,” he said, shooting her a brief smile.

She studied him for a moment and then started unloading the beach bag. They spread their towels on two lounge chairs facing the sun.

He took off his slides and shirt, and then he plucked his baseball cap out of the beach bag and put it on his head. He’d still been thinking about his phone, so it took him a moment to notice that she was watching him. He thought she was admiring his physique, but that might have been wishful thinking.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, sounding concerned. She tilted her head, and her glossy brown hair, freshly washed by him, swung over her shoulder. She’d donned a straw sunhat, but she still wore the patriotic T-shirt and shorts over her bathing suit—the bathing suit she wouldn’t let him see until they went swimming.

“Yeah. I’m good, but I’ll be even better when you take off your clothes.”

She glanced at the family in the pool, but they weren’t paying them any attention.

Lounging back in the chair, he folded his hands behind his head. “C’mon, let’s see it.”

She laughed and gave him a sexy smile, or at least, that was how he chose to interpret it. Then she tossed her hat onto the chair and toed off her flip-flops. Her toes were painted a deep purple, presumably to match her swimsuit. The anticipation was killing him.

She put her hands on the hem of her T-shirt and slowly began to lift it. When she bared her stomach, he licked his lips. A bikini, then. Lucky me!

Thank goodness so many people were out of town. The apartment complex was teeming with single guys, and surely, they’d have been ogling her. Then again, she probably wouldn’t be giving him a striptease if the pool was crowded.

She slipped off her shirt and tossed it on the chair. When she straightened up, he admired the view. The purple bikini top was fairly modest, but it couldn’t hide her generous curves. The fabric gathered in the center, which drew his attention to her cleavage, one of his new favorite places. A mere hour ago, he’d buried his head in it, and he was anxious to do it again.

Smiling at him, she continued to disrobe. He glanced at the family of three in the pool and was glad they were facing the opposite way. The guy was probably around his age, and Hudson assumed he was the child’s father. Just because he was a dad, it didn’t preclude him from noticing a beautiful woman. After all, Hudson was a dad too.

She slid her white shorts down her tanned legs and revealed her bikini bottoms. He’d seen her in a bathing suit once before, when she’d gone swimming with Jared and him; however, she hadn’t worn a bikini. If he recalled correctly, she’d worn a conservative one-piece that was probably for Jared’s benefit.

It gave him a thrill that she’d worn a bikini for him and that he now had intimate knowledge of what was underneath it.

She added her shorts to the pile and then did a little turn so he could see the back. The bottoms were modest too except for that sexy curve where her butt cheeks met her shapely thighs.

When she turned back to face him, she placed her hands on her hips and said, “Well? Do you like it?”

He crooked his finger at her. “Come here, and I’ll tell you.”

She glanced at the family in the pool and then came a little closer. “Hudson…” It sounded like both a warning and a tease.

“I’ll whisper it to you,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she stepped up to the side of his chair. “Okay, but no funny business. There’s a child here.”

“I promise.” He already had practice restraining himself in front of a child—his own.

She leaned over him, and he hooked her hair behind her ear. Then he whispered, “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to tear that bathing suit off you later.”

He expected her to immediately back away, but instead, she put her lips to his ear and whispered, “Not if I tear yours off first.”

Then she gave him a smug smile and sashayed back to her chair.

I think I’m in love, he thought as she put her sunhat back on and stretched out. Correction. I know I’m in love.

This woman was the one for him. He’d suspected it before, but after this weekend, he knew it. And the best part about it—the feeling didn’t scare him. The only thing he was afraid of now was losing her.

He glanced over and saw she’d pulled out her book. It was obviously a romance novel based on the cover, which featured a man and woman in a sexy pose. Her fingers covered some of the title, but he saw the words second chance. They gave him hope since he might be needing a second chance too.

“How’s the book?”

“Great. Jenna picked it.”

“She’s Stacy’s sister, right?”