Page 32 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“You weren’t looking!” She rushed over. “Are you all right?”
His accusatory frown in Robbie’s direction was answer enough, but it fell from his face as Clarice gently ran her hands over the spot where she’d nailed him with the ball. “That’s much better. You have a woman’s touch.”
“Oh, for the love of…Pete!” Robbie mumbled. “Let’s play!”
“Maybe we should call it,” Summer offered, walking to the net. “You don’t seem to be having much fun.”
Fun? Getting creamed by two gorgeous women in beach volleyball was supposed to be fun? They’d clearly never been to Southie. He and Billie would never live past the disgrace if his other brothers ever found out about it. They would have to hang Tim upside down from his fingernails or something and get him to promise to never share the details of this horrendous butt kicking.
“No way,” he called back. “We agreed to play, so we play.”
What Clarice’s serve didn’t take care of, Summer’s net play did. While she wasn’t as tall as either Billie or him, she was plenty tall enough and the most wicked fast female he’d ever met. And strong. Laser strong.
He caught a few more balls to the chest, and while they didn’t sting as badly as other injuries he’d sustained—like taking a bullet with a bulletproof vest—it still competed with a jellyfish.
By the rally for the winning point, he was sucking in air and downright pissed off. At himself. Summer was serving, of course. He dug his feet into the sand, determined the game wouldn’t end on an ace.
She jumped and slapped her palm to the ball. It sailed over the net, wobbling erratically. It fell well short of her other serves, so he and Billie weren’t prepared. They both lunged for it, colliding with each other as the ball bounced off the ground.
“Winner!” Tim shouted as Clarice let out a cheer. “Now that was some final serve. Whatwasthat?”
Robbie looked up as Summer walked over to the net and ducked under. “A float serve. I thought it might catch you by surprise.”
“Well, it sure did.” Robbie shook his head ruefully, pushing past his own anger and frustration over losing.
His mother had been wise here.Be a good loser. Just make sure you don’t do it too often, okay?
God, he wondered what she was thinking about them from her perch in heaven—out here talking big while being run ragged by two little girls who wore more than their fair share of glitter. She would probably laugh herself blue. He was smiling as he came forward. “Good game, Summer. Clarice. Looks like we owe you two dinner.”
He’d been raised to be a good sport, so he stuck his hand out for extra measure. Summer glanced down before extending her hand to him. His was sweat-slicked while hers was positively cool in comparison. His palm sparked at the electricity of her soft touch, and he was pleased to feel her fingers contract around his. Their eyes locked, and he watched her pupils dilate, the gold around the iris surrounded by green.
Holding her hand and her gaze a moment more, he felt his heart pumping faster in his chest. Awareness of her gold-kissed skin in nothing but a blue bikini filled his awareness. He wanted to touch. He knew he couldn’t. “You played some game.”
“When I have to, I play to win,” she answered, no smile on her face now.
That sounded practically cryptic, but before he could search her features, a small hand touched his hip. “Okay?” Cassidy asked, patting him with her shovel. “You did great!”
What kind of bullshit was Tara feeding these kids? He picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “No, sweetheart. Billie and me stunk to high heaven. Like one of your hurricane diapers. But we don’t need to dwell on that.”
“Hurricane diapers?” Summer asked.
Now she had a smile on her face, one he shared. “Inside joke.”
Then he not only heard Cassidy give a trio of farts but felt them against his arm. He winced. “Is that the power of suggestion or something?”
“Magic!” Cassidy declared, dropping her shovel and clapping her hands.
Summer bravely fought laughter. Instead, she nodded with a serious expression. “That’s incredible, Cassidy! Can you do magic anytime?”
Her little head nodded, and Robbie shot Summer a hard look. Was she purposely encouraging more of Cassidy’s so-called magic? Her whole acupressure thing had already delivered one diaper disaster. She’d better not be trying to bring on another, because changing a stinky diaper after getting their butts kicked would only make him more surly.
“Hey, Robbie!” Billie jogged over with Clarice. “Since we owe the ladies dinner, do you want to take them out or invite them to the BBQ you were planning tonight?”
Right. He’d justified that wager and gotten burned. Now he was cooking dinnerandvisiting temptation alley, all in one night. Part of him grew excited, realizing he’d have an excuse for spending time with her, time he’d been refusing himself. Surely one night would be all right…
“A BBQ here would be better. The girls will probably be tired after all this excitement.” Plus, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go out to a local restaurant. Going out publicly would be a risk.
“I’m not tired,” Cassidy mumbled, putting her sweaty head against his shoulder.
