Olivia blankly stared at him, wondering at how oblivious he could be sometimes.
He flashed her a smile and made a show of stretching his arms in a way that flexed his bare chest right in her face. Thesight of the toned grooves she’d once loved sliding her hands and lips over made something snap into place so sharply, she almost gasped.
It was payback.
He knew perfectly well that the music would wake her up and she’d come storming in to tell him to turn it down only to find him right in the middle of her favorite exercise to ogle.
He’d played her like a fiddle.
The stunt was retaliation for making him sleep outside, probably also for their fight last night, and not only did he wake her up early, but he also left her needing to dialyellow bikinifor help.
Damn you, Charles Walsh.
She narrowed her eyes, and instead of letting him know she was on to him, she said, “I’m going for a morning swim,” and padded off toward the bedroom.
She felt his gaze on her backside and smiled to herself, thinking two could certainly play this game.
•••
For good measure because shehad in fact packed it, she changed into the notorious yellow bikini. Once dressed, she made sure to slowly and completely needlessly walk back by the gym on her way to the pool. She could have left through the back bedroom door, but what would be the fun in that? Chuck had turned the music down to a reasonable enough volume that she could hear what sounded like a weight being accidentally dropped, perhaps slipping out of a distracted hand, when she passed the door. Her smile widened.
She had second thoughts when she stepped outside into thebrisk morning air, but she wasn’t going to let a little chill ruin her retaliation plan. The sun had nearly reached the peak of the house and would soon spill over and warm the backyard, and much to her pleasant surprise, the pool was heated.
The clear, clean water welcomed her, and she found herself enjoying swimming a few laps. The pool was designed for floating and splashing, not exercise, but its rectangular form allowed her to get in several strokes before she flip-turned into another glide across its long center. Her heart rate was noticeably elevated when she came up for air to find Parker and Benny the cameraman standing on the pool deck.
“Morning!” Parker called with a wave. He held a to-go coffee cup in the other hand.
Olivia swam to the edge of the pool and gripped the wall. “Is the front door even locked?” she deadpanned in greeting.
Parker chuckled. “Yes, but we have keys. I’m here to see how things are going and to remind you that— Oh, good morning, Chuck.” He cut off when Chuck emerged from the back door, still shirtless, still sweaty.
“Hey,” Chuck greeted him, and swept his hand through his damp hair.
Even from down below in the water, Olivia could appreciate the intricate network of veins and muscles, the artwork, really, that he’d just further chiseled his body into.
She wasn’t the only one suddenly unable to stop staring.
“Um, yes. Right,” Parker said, seeming to have lost his train of thought.
Olivia took the cue to swim over to the ladder and hoist herself up out of the pool. Instead of reaching for the towel she’d draped over a lounge chair, she stayed soaking wet and walked over to join Chuck, Parker, and Benny, who’d lifted hiscamera. Her hair dripped down her back and her feet left little puddles with each step. She casually rested her hands on her hips and tried not to smile when she noticed Chuck bite his bottom lip. A small, strangled sound came from his throat.
“What were you saying, Parker?” Olivia innocently asked. “You wanted to remind us of something?” She made a point to squeeze out her hair and shake it so that it slapped against her back. Of course this made her chest bounce in a way that summoned another strangled sound from Chuck. Something close to a pained groan this time that almost made her smile.
Parker looked back and forth between them and grinned. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I like it. You getting this, Benny?”
“Yep,” the cameraman said.
A flush burned Olivia’s cheeks at the thought of being on film dripping in her swimsuit, but it was nothing compared to the heat she felt from Chuck’s gaze. Whatever game they’d been playing, she’d won. She knew it by the look on his face like he wanted to take her bikini off with his teeth.
She smugly grinned and kept her attention on Parker to spare them all from having to edit out explicit footage. “What’s the reminder you have for us?” she asked him.
“Ah, right. TJ and the crew will be back this afternoon for another sit-down interview.”
Olivia winced at the mention of another interview given how their last one had gone. She hoped TJ would behave himself.
“Is he not going to be an ass this time?” Chuck voiced her exact thought.
Parker made an exasperated snorting sound and half shrugged. “I rein him in as much as I can, but TJ will be TJ, unfortunately.”