Page 44 of Taking Chances

ANNE

Too bad Noah offered, maybe Lennox could have skinny dipped. A chuckle bubbles out of me, and heads turn my way. Guess I drank more than I thought.

“Come on, we’ll get ready together.” Natalie grabs my arm and leads me upstairs. She grabs the bag from her room, and we get undressed in the room Rina and I will be sharing.

I take out my modest one piece, making her wince. “What is that?” Her face scrunches up in disgust.

The bathing suit is, admittedly, old fashioned, but the ruffles cover most of my areas of insecurities.

“I feel good in it.” My shoulders sag.

“You don’t feel good in it, you feelcoveredin it.”

“Well, covered means good.”

She sighs. “No, it doesn’t. I know Bryce and your family ruined your self-esteem, but you need to see yourself for the woman you are. You need to feel sexy and attractive, not try to blend into the background.” My eyes sting with tears approaching. She sits down on the bed next to me. “Remember how you felt in that dress. Besides, it’s only us here. We’re your real family, anyway.” She’s correct, there’s no reason to hidefrom them. “And Lennox,” she adds, like she just remembered he exists.

Lennox. He already saw me naked, not that she knows that. And I would dare say he liked what he saw. Releasing a deep breath, I say, “Fine, let me see what you got.”

She claps her hands, practically squealing, and rummages through her bag. “Got it,” she says, extracting two deep blue pieces of string. That’s the only way to describe it.

“What’s that?”

“A bikini.” My brow lifts, and she says, “Just put it on.”

She helps me make sense of the strings, which barely cover my ample cleavage. And it’s a good thing I recently waxed my lady parts since they’re mostly visible in the miniature bottoms. Taking a deep breath, I step to the full-size mirror, but Natalie grabs me by the forearm.

“Nope. Not letting you overthink this. You can look at yourself after the hot tub, but I won’t let you hide from us.”

I gulp, but I guess the liquid courage coursing my veins helps. “OK.”

Natalie flashes me a blinding grin in her own tiny bikini, and we head downstairs, wrapping ourselves in bathrobes.

We obviously took too long to get ready, because everyone except for Rina and Connor are already laughing in the tub. Natalie grabs us both a drink as I move the sliding glass doors and step outside. The freezing air prickles my skin instantly.

“Here.” Natalie hands me my glass and I take a big sip of the amber liquid, trying to calm my nerves. She’s already jumping in, landing directly on Matt’s lap, while I slowly set down my glass and untie my robe. Alex, Noah, and Lennox are engrossed in their own conversation.

No one is even paying attention to me; I’m being an idiot.

But the second my robe falls down my shoulders, Lennox’s eyes find me. His jaw tightens as my nipples poke through theskimpy top. The light blue of his irises quickly disappears as his pupils dilate with hunger. Heat rises to my face. I stand there like a marble statue as my nerves and his gaze have me frozen in place.

“Come on, get in. You’ll freeze,” Natalie says, giggling with Matt.

Her words snap me out of it, so I step into the heated water, barely containing a moan. The scorching temperature of the water is a shock to my cooled skin, making it feel almost like a caress. I settle into a free space across from Lennox, but my nipples haven’t gotten the memo they’re not freezing anymore, still poking their way out of the bikini.

I try to cover up a bit more, but the fabric isn’t having it, there’s no way to cover up. And to be honest, I’m not certain if insecurity is what I’m feeling. It’s a knot low in my stomach, yes. But it’s less of an uncomfortable knot and more of a pulse. A need.

Taking another sip of my drink, I join the conversation, pretending not to notice Lennox’s eyes that are still glued to me. Eventually, he looks away and the knot turns to disappointment.

It’s silly. But it’s nice to feel wanted. At least that’s what I think was happening.

“Interesting suit, Anne.” Noah smirks. He’s not much of a talker, but he notices everything, so it’s not a surprise he noticed this isn’t my usual get up.

“I was forced into it.” Alex and Noah chuckle at my response. Unlike Matt and Natalie, who are practically making out in front of us, Alex and Noah are a more modest couple, but their love doesn’t run any less deep.

“My body is sore,” Alex groans, positioning their back on the tub’s jets.

“Mine, too.” I chuckle. “But this here is doing wonders for me.”

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