Page 32 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

“I’m not being weird.”

“Yes, you are. Ever since we got here and you saw someone you knew in the lobby. You ever going to tell me who that was?” Veronica’s eyes could have drilled a hole through Ty’s face had he been looking at her. Instead, his eyes were fixed on me in Chase’s arms.

“It was nobody,” Ty growled.

“Don’t you lie to me,” Veronica snapped. “Tell me the truth, or I’m walking out of here now.”

I knew exactly who that person was, and so did Ty. But to his credit, he turned to the woman he planned to marry with nothing but sincerity in his gaze. “I swore never to lie to you, and I’ll keep that promise. I thought I saw a woman I dated a long time ago. But my eyes were playing tricks on me, because it wasn’t her. And it wouldn’t have mattered if it were, because I have you now. You’re incredible, my everything. Together,we’reeverything.”

I’d pulled slightly away from Chase to overhear the conversation next to us, so I forced myself back into his arms before Ty could notice.

Veronica cocked her head. “Aw, Tycie. You sure she isn’t on the island, then?”

“Baby, she isn’t even on the same planet as you.”

Smooth, Ty. Very smooth.

Chase swore under his breath, barely loud enough for me to hear. It pulled my attention back to him. “What?” I whispered.

His eyes were full of mischief. “I don’t want to be on whatever planet those two are on.”

I threw back my head and laughed before I could help it. The tight grip he’d held on his smile slipped a bit at my reaction, making me laugh even harder.

It gave me great satisfaction to note that Ty watched us both as he cradled his fiancée, his eyes positively blazing.

I recognized that look. It was the expression he’d worn right before launching a baseball into a catcher’s mitt and winning a league baseball game two years ago. He’d also worn that look one night after losing an important court case, a rare occurrence for him, before picking up the phone to ask—no, demand—that the client let him file an appeal. He’d won the appeal by sheer iron will and the persistence of a toddler with his eyes on the blue cup rather than the green one.

Whatever Ty wanted, he got.

And now, more than ever, he wanted me.

SIXTEEN

Early the next morning,I was going over the inventory and staff lists for a third time a text arrived about a staff sand volleyball game at 10 a.m. I’d considered spending most of the day stalking Ty, but the text contained a very important word. One I couldn’t resist.

Volleyball. I hadn’t played in way too long.

Thoughts of Chase leaped into my mind. Would he be there?

I tried to imagine the guy running around, hurtling himself at a ball before it hit the ground, and laughed. Nope. He seemed like a sidelines-and-taking-pictures kind of guy. Probably a good thing, because I tended to get competitive at these things.

I reached the sand volleyball courts only five minutes late, but the rest of the wedding staff had already started playing. I stripped my shirt and skirt off to reveal my deep purple bikini and left my denim shorts on. They’d constrict my movement slightly, but the last thing I needed right now was a wardrobe malfunction that included my butt hanging out for all to see.

To my surprise, Chase was here too. He’d made himself captain of one team and Agwe captain of the other.

Even more to my surprise, he’d taken his shirt off and stood just in front of the net, the usual sunglasses covering his piercing eyes and his skin glistening ever so slightly. Sunscreen? Tanning oil? Perspiration? I’d have to touch him to know…and Ireallywanted to touch him right now.

It wasn’t my fault. He looked like a swim suit model. Seriously. The guy must spend hours in the gym every day. He didn’t seem like the protein shake-guzzling, egg-swallowing, weightlifter type. Then again, he hadn’t seemed like the sand volleyball type either. But who would have thought that under his stuffy suit and tie, Chase Everett would look like that? And tanned, no less.

The ball sailed over the net, just beyond Chase’s reach. He leaped backward, got his fingers under it, and managed to lob it into the sky before landing in the soft sand. A woman I didn’t recognize tried to get it over the net but failed. The others laughed, and a guy stepped forward to offer Chase a hand out of the sand pile that currently held him captive. Without hesitation, he accepted it and rose to his feet, brushing off his glistening skin that now held patches of rough sand.

He took his place at the net and paused, turning to catch my gaze. I couldn’t see what lay behind those sunglasses, but I did note how his lips parted slightly as he took me in. I could practically feel his gaze sweep over my body as his smile froze.

He wasn’t the only one looking at me now. Both teams stared. I’d forgotten that Ty and Veronica weren’t the only ones who’d seen us together last night. The “news” was officially out now, and I’d be using my best acting skills for the foreseeable future.

“Hey,” Chase said, coming over to give me a hug. He planted a light kiss on the top of my head. Even that sent a jolt down my body clear down to the sand.

“Daphne,” Agwe called in his accented English. He wore a knowing grin. “Join us. We are shorter.”

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