Page 68 of The Rebound Plan

Shame slams into me as a bedroom door opens above us, and footsteps come running down the staircase.

“Good morning!” Emery says brightly. “Is everyone golfing?”

“I should pack.” I pat Max on the chest and force myself to make eye contact with him. “We’ll head out after your golf game?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He twists as he hears Malik say something about the flex of the hockey stick in the videos they’re still looking at.

Suddenly it’s just me and Emery standing together at this end of the island.

She gives me a friendly smile before sliding past. “What’s for breakfast, Russell?”

He hesitates for a beat before answering. “Turkey sausage, fried mushrooms, and eggs to order.”

“Need help?”

“Nah. Are you coming golfing with us this morning?”

She slides a glance back at me. “Might stay here and go for a final swim in the lake. How does that sound, Shannon?”

Like fair and just punishment.

“How many of us are golfing this morning?” Malik asks.

Max does a quick count. “We’ll take two cars. I’ll take Russ in mine, and you can drive everyone else.”

I force myself not to react, not to tense up, but what the fuck?

Russ doesn’t react, either. He just serves everyone breakfast, as if nothing happened last night at all.

His cleaning lady arrives as the guys are getting ready to head out the door, so I take that opportunity to escape upstairs and start packing.

Through the front window of our suite, I watch most of the guys pile into Malik’s SUV, and then Max leads Russ to our car.

Max gets into the driver’s seat with his usual restless speed. Russ moves slower, his shoulders rolling back and his face tipping up to the sky for a moment before he slides into my side, disappearing from view.

I pull out our suitcases, prepared to fold everything very, very carefully, just to delay the inevitable swim with the girls.

“Hey, Shannon?” Emery calls from downstairs.

I smooth my hands over the top of my folded clothes, take a deep breath, and lift my voice. “I’m upstairs.”

Her footsteps fly in my direction, then she rounds the corner. “Can you take this back to Harper? She left it behind.”

She holds out her hand, and a black bikini—my bikini, I’m pretty damn sure—swings from her fingers.

“Umm…” A dull roar starts in my ears. “Where—yes, I can?—”

I snatch the two small pieces from her and fling them toward my suitcase.

She smiles broadly. “Good. The cleaning lady found it in the suite above the garage when she was collecting the laundry, and I wasn’t sure how Rusty would feel about being on bikini delivery duty.”

Heat pools low in my belly. I can picture Russ returning that to me in private. The tiny scraps of fabric dangling offhisfingers in a very different way.

You left this on my terrace.

“He’d manage.” The two words sound strangled. “But I can… Thanks.”

She hitches her thumb over her shoulder. “I have to go find my own swimsuit now. See you down at the lake?”