Page 110 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Hot? Anna had never imagined Aaron could be so shallow. But then again, she barely knew him. How could she know the sort of person he really was?

Anna frowned at Aaron, her irritation venting suddenly. “Did you share her, too?”

His eyes widened at her question and she could see the yes in his eyes. Spinning around, she hurried down the stairs and into the shadows at the side of the pool. She dropped her bag and stared at the tiny white flowers in the vine that lined the railing of the upper deck.

She pushed aside the ache in her heart. Why had she hoped Alex and Aaron were a different sort of man than she’d known before? All men were the same, and this proved it.

She crossed her arms and swallowed hard. She wanted to go home, to throw herself on her bed and have a good cry. Well, part of her did. The other part of her wanted to prove to Kirsty that she wasn’t the only attractive woman at the party. Anything Kirsty thought she could do, Anna could do as well, or better. Had Kirsty been trained in the art of seduction? Probably not the way Anna had been.

Anna lifted her chin. Alex said that he wanted Anna to flirt and have fun. Well, that was certainly something she knew how to do... at least the flirting part. And he’d also said he wanted her to act how she felt and not worry about what other people thought.

She spun around and saw Jenna watching her. “You okay?”

Anna nodded and lifted her chin a tiny bit more. Jenna grinned and a smile appeared on Anna’s face, lightening her heart.

“Hey, Jenna. Who’s this?” Two guys in their mid-twenties walked up to them. Both were tall and thin and walked gracefully, like dancers. One was blond and the other had dark hair.

“Hi, guys.” Jenna hugged them both. “Garrett, Bryce, this is my best friend, Anna. Anna, this is Garrett Salinas and Bryce Wilkinson. They’re Aaron’s roommates and company dancers.”

“Hi, Garrett. Hi, Bryce.” Anna forced a friendly smile.

“You going swimming?” Bryce asked.

“Of course.” Jenna grinned and pulled her shirt and shorts off. “Coming, Anna?”

Anna glanced at the pool. She hadn’t been swimming since she was a child. She wasn’t afraid of water, but didn’t know if she could keep herself from drowning. I’m going to be brave.

Nodding, she slipped out of her shoes and put them next to her bag. She pulled out her towel and put her cell phone on the top so she could hear if it rang. She didn’t want to be punished for missing a phone call from Devin.

Anna slowly pulled off her dress, meeting Garrett’s gray eyes with a soft smile as she dropped it onto her bag. She held his gaze as she adjusted the green bandeau top of her bikini, but when her hands moved to the skimpy bottom she wore, Garrett’s gaze moved downward.

“Man, I wish I was that confident,” Jenna muttered.

Garrett and Bryce looked Anna up and down with appreciative glances. She’d never had any complaints about her body and never expected to. Talking made her nervous. Being naked—or mostly naked, in this case—was nothing to her.

Anna lifted her head and stood in a seductive pose. She knew men. She knew how to handle men. This might not have been the wisest course of action, but she was angry and frustrated and wanted to do something about it. She gave Garrett and Bryce her special smile and instantly felt their attraction.

Jenna watched her, wide-eyed, as she walked past her, heading to the pool, but paused after a few steps and turned back around. “Shall we?”

Jenna hurried to catch up. “What just happened to you?”

Garrett and Bryce followed behind them. She could feel them watching her hips sway as she walked.

“What do you mean?” Anna whispered.

“You went from quiet, shy Anna to hot, sexy Anna in the blink of an eye.” She gave Anna a sideways look, then grinned. “I like it.”

They looked at each other for a moment, then giggled as they walked to the edge of the pool. Both Garrett and Bryce hurried to Anna’s side as she stepped down into the water.

Jenna made introductions as people swam up to them. Anna was charming and flirtatious, using her special smile to capture the attention of every man in the pool.

After a few minutes, Jenna nudged Anna and nodded toward the far end of the pool. If looks could kill...

The daggers in Kirsty’s eyes were sharp and aimed directly at Anna. She and Jenna had stolen away several of Kirsty’s admirers. Anna smirked at Kirsty, then turned back to the nearby conversation.

Seth and Tony swam up a while later, and Seth grabbed Anna around the waist, nuzzling her neck.

“Damn, you look hot, Anna,” Seth murmured, his breath tickling her ear. “I could eat you up.”

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