Page 21 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“Me either.” He watched as Miss Purrfect gave them another glare, put her tail in the air, and grandly swept past them to the kitchen.
“Talk about the cold shoulder,” Billie joked, clutching his heart playfully. “Maybe I’ve lost my sex appeal.”
“I can’t stand to look at you.”
Robbie grabbed the football Billie had bought and followed his brother out onto the beach. Tim and the girls were already up a ways flying the kite. Summer and her friend were sitting on their towels, talking, clearly checking them out.
Her obvious regard gave him permission to admire her. Summer made quite the picture with the ocean breeze ruffling those long blond locks. Sunlight kissed her tall, slender frame and all the places that brought men to their knees. Her slow smile seemed in response to his appearance, and God help him, he felt the urge to smile back.
Billie ran over to them, grinning that “sex appeal” smile he was famous for. Summer—he still couldn’t believe her parents had chosen that name—smiled as his brother started talking, but her friend leaned forward in her black bikini and swept her hair over her shoulder, clearly interested. She was so Billie’s type, sexy with a voluptuous body to match, and Billie puffed up like a rooster when she laid her slender hand on his forearm. Idiot.
Robbie sent the football flying, knowing it would annoy his brother. Billie’s head jerked to the side moments before the perfect spiral nailed him in the shoulder, and he caught it one-handed. Sending back a raised brow, he refocused on the ladies and said something to make them laugh.
Only Summer snuck a peek Robbie’s way…
Their eyes locked, and his heart picked up speed. So, he appreciated a beautiful woman. He was still a man. Didn’t mean he was going to do anything about it. But God, he was tempted, seeing her lying on her side, her bare legs a feast for his senses. She was gorgeous and nice. What stranger would help a screaming child and then handle an explosive diaper with humor? This was not a Friday night pickup kind of girl. This was a woman who was comfortable with herself, clearly good with kids, outgoing—
She wasn’t smiling now. What was she thinking as she looked so seriously at him? That he needed a good woman to soften him? Make him happy? Right. Until she decided to start changing him and the life and career he’d made, one he was proud of, one he’d hoped his woman would be proud of.
He let his gaze sweep over the nice line of her trim shoulders and back. Her blond hair was windblown and a little frizzy. Oddly, it made her look sexier. She had a trim waist to go along with those endless legs. When she’d come to stand beside him earlier, he’d noted she was tall, coming to his shoulder in bare feet. Five-ten, he’d bet.
Her eyes had been as green as a shamrock and warm with compassion. He could feel himself wanting to look more, and that was a problem. At one time, he might have decided to pursue a vacation fling, but he was older and wiser, and he had a serious job to do, protecting Tara’s girls.
But damn, she made it hard for him to concentrate, which Billie proved easily by sneakily throwing a pass back to him when he was admiring Summer.
The football nailed him in the face.
CHAPTERSIX
Robbie O’Connor didn’t looklike he was going to give in to his attraction and cozy up to her.
Sure, she’d known he was going to be a hard nut to crack, but she’d thought she’d laid a brick in the foundation of rapport between them when she’d helped Cassidy. But while he’d looked his fill and earned a bruised cheek for his trouble, he hadn’t come over with his brother to strike up a conversation.
He’d simply walked away with the football to where his other brother, Tim, was flying the kite with the two ecstatic girls jumping up like colorful little pogo sticks at the edge of the glittering aquamarine water.
“Don’t mind my brother,” Billie said, catching her glance, his shadow looming large as he stood beside Sheila. “Robbie’s a great guy. He just has a lot on his plate. But tell me more about you ladies. How long are you here?”
Sheila tipped her oval face up and gave him a beaming smile that showed off the pink lip gloss she’d carefully applied. Billie leaned in closer as she delivered an account of their cover story. Two childhood best friends. Yada yada. Billie said he thought it was great how tight they were. That good friends—like family—were what mattered most in life. Yeah, he was selling them a story too in his own way.
Lily let her friend do her thing, her attention drawn to the others as Reagan and Cassidy screeched in delight. A smile snuck across her face. Robbie had boosted Reagan on his shoulders and was running as she flew the billowing orange and turquoise kite. Tim scooped Cassidy up and jogged behind them, the little girl waving madly in encouragement. The football lay forgotten on the beach, the tide flirting with it on each rush toward the sandy shore.
Lily rather liked the fact that Robbie wasn’t going to let himself be distracted by single women on a beach holiday when he had a bigger goal—protecting those sweet girls.
Ironically, he seemed to be exactly the sort of guy she really wanted to date. Because the FBI preferred for their agents to have had previous work experience before joining the Bureau, she’d chosen to be a kindergarten teacher in the Bay Area, knowing she wanted to ultimately work on cases involving children. During that time, she’d been in a two-year relationship with a tech engineer. He’d known she was planning to apply to the FBI once she’d reached the “magic” entry age—thirty years old—but when the time came, he’d told her he liked things as they were and wasn’t interested in being involved with someone who worked in a high-stakes profession that involved plenty of moving around the country as part of climbing up the career ladder.
Even though she’d loved him, she’d wanted to be in the FBI since she’d been a young woman. She was not going to give up her plans, especially not for someone who didn’t truly understand how important they were to her.
It turned out he wasn’t the only one who felt that way about dating an FBI agent. While she was never without invitations to go out, most guys didn’t call her back for another date once they learned what she did for a living.
Sheila liked to say it was akin to wearing flea repellant instead of perfume.
As she watched Billie crouch down onto his haunches next to Sheila, flirting like it was his job, she wondered what the Vin Diesel doppelganger would think if he ever learned the truth. Would Sheila still be making him grin, or would he feel threatened? Hard call. As a successful mechanic, he likely hung around men all day—much like Robbie. Men who worked in alpha male hives were often threatened by strong women.
The FBI was the perfect example. She’d been asked out by other officers, but most of them were arrogant and used to getting any woman they wanted because they were FBI officers. Fit. Hot. Cocky.
Some women really got off on that, and while Lily saw the appeal, she’d made it a policy to never date a fellow officer. There was enough sexual harassment regardless, and opening that door to being seen as “easy” or “available” was a good way to cause even more trouble, not to mention professional suicide. She was known for being an effective officer but reserved, despite her Sunshine nickname. That was fine by her.
Women at the FBI needed to work harder to prove themselves, much like women in many professions. While her superior female officers said the FBI had gotten better, it was still an old boys’ network. She navigated that as best she could by busting her butt and keeping up with her cases. Collaring the bad guys and bringing in money were two things that got you promoted and left alone.
