Page 43 of Power Play

“Homemade lemonade sounds great. How much is your dad giving you?”

“Ten bucks,” she said. “Which isn’t fair since I had to make the lemonade.”

“You’re not wrong,” I said. The two kids ran off, presumably to get my lemonade, and I followed the sound of the party through the house. The living room opened up to a kitchen that was full of women in swimsuits and sundresses. The wives and girlfriends. They gathered around a huge black marble island.

“Hello!” said a beautiful woman with long thin braids hanging down her back. Harrison’s wife, I was pretty sure. “Welcome, I’m Denise.”

“Hi Denise,” I said, feeling self-conscious in my Target clothes. The whole crowd of women had turned to look at me, half of them owl-eyed over their glasses of white wine. I could feel their attention like a sunburn.

“I’m Kit, I’m with…” I trailed off, mad at myself for even opening my mouth. I wasn’twithLiam. I didn’t want any of these women to think that I was.

“Kit! Right. Liam and Tess are over by the pool. He said you’d be joining them.”

“How do you know Liam?” A beautiful red head to my right asked. She wore a sarong that probably cost as much as a mortgage payment.

“Stop,” one of the other women whispered, and the red head shrugged.

“You know Liam doesn’t bring randoms around,” the red head said. “If she’s here, she’s someone.”

“Trust me. I’m… no one,” I said, and never meant those words more.

Ugh. This party already felt like a mistake.

“Are you the nanny?” The red head persisted and then dropped her voice. “Tell us the truth, is that little girl his daughter? I’d swear they have the same smile.”

“Ignore Selena,” Denise said, casting a cutting glance at the red head who looked properly chagrined before taking a sip from her glass. Denise was the Queen of the Wags, then. Lovely. Nice to have a sense of the hierarchy. “Can I get you a drink?”

Before I could answer, the little bartender from the door was suddenly there with my glass of lemonade.

“Fifty cents,” she said in a voice so low I could barely hear her.

“I’m sorry?” I said, leaning down.

“Fifty cents. If you give me a dollar, I’ll bring you a refill.”

“Neveah!” the woman cried. “You are not selling that lemonade!”

“She’s totally selling that lemonade,” the red head said with a laugh. Frankly, the fact that this girl was going to make a few bucks off this party only endeared her to me. A girl had to take care of herself in this current climate.

“Mom,” Neveah said. “You’re the one who told me I have an entrepreneurial spirit that I should embrace.”

“What you’re going to have is trouble if you don’t knock it off.”

Neveah sighed as if she’d been robbed of all her life goals and wandered out towards the pool.

“Sorry about that,” Denise said and I laughed.

“No problem. I’ll just…” I made an awkward gesture towards the pool. “Go check in.”

“Of course!” Denise said with a warm smile. “Shout if you need anything.”

Outside the sliding glass doors, it was a patio and a pool full of beautiful people. Gorgeous professional athletes without shirts, lounging around on deck chairs or sitting on the side of the pool with their feet in the water. It was nothing but thick thighs and bare chests.

And in the middle of it, tossing a football in the air, wearing a pair of Burberry trunks that were frankly borderline indecent, was Liam Locke. The golden boy. His smile glittering as much as his gold chains and diamond earrings.

Water splashed into the air around him, sparkling in the sunshine like diamonds. It landed against his skin like glitter. His teeth gleamed white as he laughed and talked to his teammate Harrison.

I was only human. Only a human woman surrounded by such gorgeous male flesh. I forgot myself for a second and just stared.

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