Page 28 of Billionaire Protector

Now she was ignoring him, after so adorably trying and failing to escape him earlier. He’d been telling himself he only wanted to find out the truth to make sure she deserved her badge, but perhaps something else was driving his behavior. Maybe it wasn’t impossible to imagine something between them. Something that deserved to be explored.

“Our first event is the water balloon toss.” Sarah retook his attention, looking up from the festival pamphlet as they walked from the sign-in booth. “It’s like catch with water balloons, and the team that breaks the fewest wins.”

“Sounds fun.” With their athletic backgrounds, it should be easy. They set off toward the open field with the big banner “Water Balloons Toss” in the center. By the time they arrived, festival volunteers were already arranging the teams into two lines, the men on one side and the women on the other, with teammates facing each other. They put enough distance betweenthe lines to make it a challenge, but most tosses should reach their targets.

With so many events planned for the day, the organizers didn’t waste any time. Once the dozen or so teams were set up, Carl Rivers, Harmony Creek High’s football coach, addressed them, “Each contestant has a bucket of water balloons. The ladies will go first by grabbing a balloon and tossing it to her teammate. The guys will then toss them back. If the balloon breaks, take another. In the end we’ll count how many balloons are left in your buckets, and the team with fewest broken balloons wins.” He winked. “We also have a special prize for the team that breaks the most balloons.”

That wasn’t going to be them. Cole was an expert marksman, and no doubt Sarah was as well. He stretched his arms and legs, then held his hands in a ready position. The coach lifted a timer. “You have five minutes. Keep tossing the entire time. Ready, set, go!”

Cole locked eyes with Sarah. She held a plump yellow balloon, wobbling with water. She hesitated for a sliver of a second, pulled it back and gave a huge thrust.

It was his only warning.

The balloon hit him in the stomach, about a foot under his hands. Not enough to hurt him, but more than enough to douse him in frigid water. He stared at her.

The corners of her lips slowly rose. Then…

She smiled.

So that’s how she wanted to play?Game on.

Shaking the water droplets from his soaked shirt, he grabbed a balloon. He juggled the bright red globe, filled so full its skin was taut and streaky. Sarah squatted, holding up her hands, but it didn’t matter. With a controlled toss, it burst into a splash on her shoulder.

She was quicker than he anticipated. Two seconds later, a balloon burst on his lower stomach. He copied her strategy and sent one flying immediately.

She almost caught it, but it managed to hit her thighs.

She narrowed her eyes.

He narrowed his.

He dropped down at attention, like a football player ready to intercept a ball meant for the other team. This time, he managed to get his hands right to where the pregnant purple balloon flew. The sphere met his hands, but it was simply too fast for how full it was. Water splashed all over his arms.

And there it progressed, back and forth, tit for tat, each of them getting wetter and wetter. They lobbed them too hard for the other to actually catch, but never hard enough to injure. When Sarah ran out of balloons halfway into the exercise, he made the mistake of looking at the other contestants, most of whom had full buckets. The next second a balloon was gently tossed on top of his head, spilling water all over his hair and face. Shaking his head from the icy water, he blinked at Sarah’s full bucket of balloons. She must’ve gotten a replacement. Thirty seconds later, so did he.

Just as he was about to throw his last balloon, the judge blew the whistle. Sarah turned away, and Cole took the opportunity he’d been waiting for all game. He tossed his last balloon at her very adorable derriere. She gasped and sputtered, speared him with a look that said she was ready to arrest him then and there.

He couldn’t have asked for a better reaction.

“Great game, everyone!” the judge called from up front. “Let’s see how everyone did.”

As the volunteers spent a few moments counting the remaining balloons, the men and women reunited. Sarah glared as she joined him. “Did you see where that last balloon landed?” she demanded.

He couldn’t stop a wide smile. “Oh yeah.”

She flushed even deeper. “I assume it was on purpose?”

“I have excellent marksman skills.” Cole grinned wolfishly. “I never miss.”

She crossed her arms, most certainly not realizing it lifted her chest to distracting proportions. He didn’t see the need to mention it. “I thought we were keeping things professional,” she sniffed.

Her insistence on keeping things professional made him want to do anything but. “If I recall, you’re the one who started it. I was ready to play when you threw the first balloon a foot below my hands. You can’t start something without expecting me to finish it.” He stepped so close he could see her heart beating in her neck. He barely restrained himself from delving even closer.

“Two teams tied for first,” the judge spoke before Cole could test the strength of his willpower. He tilted his head, but stayed close, as the announcer continued, “Congratulations to Leonard and Joan and Suzanne and Sam with only two broken balloons. You guys get five points going into the next round. James and Tina get four points for three broken balloons, and Ali and Chris get three for breaking only four. Almost everyone else was close, so you each get a point for participation. Great job!”

Everyone clapped, but before they could disperse, the coach gestured for them to stay. He walked forward, splitting the space between Sarah and Cole. “Hold on. I saidalmosteveryone was close. All teams lost seven or fewer balloons, except for you guys. Sarah and Cole, do you know how many balloons you broke?”

As the crowd watched him, Cole watched Sarah. She was once again turning that shade of pink he found so appealing. “Eight?” he ventured.

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