Page 19 of One Unexpected Gift

Damn. She had her there. “I guess.”

“Well then. Let’s go introduce her to the crew.” Charlie called her bluff. She was good at that.

Sky rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’m attracted to Nick but I’m not ready to date again.”

“We all know he’s interested in you. You think him knowing about Gabriella is going to scare him away?”

Sky laughed. “You’ve known him a lot longer than I have, and you know he’s not the settling down and raising a family type of guy. As soon as he’s done with me, he’ll be off on his next adventure.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, you’re heading back to Virginia in seven weeks so it’s not like you have to worry about that, right?”

Not exactly, but she couldn’t tell Charlie that. She’d either need to give her friends a good reason why she wasn’t interested in Nick—so a flat out lie—or she could suck it up, go out with him a few times and be done with it.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Would a double-date make you more comfortable? Or a group date? I can arrange it.”

“No way in hell.” Sky laughed. “You and Brooke would concoct a way to lock him and I in a room and not come back until morning.”

“Would that be so bad?”

No. No it wouldn’t. If he could turn her world upside down in fifteen minutes, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what he could do with an entire night.

“By the pink in your cheeks I see you’re game.”

“Yeah. It’s all fun and games until my breasts become so engorged I blind him with milk spray.”

“You have a point. We’ll start with a few hours for your lock-in and work our way up from there.”

“You stay out of it.” When Gabby slowed her nursing, Sky draped her over her shoulder and patted her back. “I’m a big girl. I can handle this on my own.”

“You sure you can handle Nick Pierce? Because from what I heard, there’s a lot to handle.”

Sky picked up a throw pillow and tossed it at Charlie.

***

It was nearly two hours after getting out of the lake before Nick saw Skylar again. All the volunteers had left, and Drew was helping him load the empty coolers into the back of his truck. Brooke came out of the mess hall and down the steps, a basketball tucked under her arm.

“Bryce and Owen are taking down the nets on the hoops. Feel like sticking around for a game of four on four before they finish?”

Nick lifted a brow mentally doing the math. That meant Skylar was around unless Brooke meant Sarah. She’d practically fallen on him when he got out of the lake, her intent clear. Even if he hadn’t been so hung up on Skylar, he wouldn’t have been interested in a woman who so blatantly flung herself at him.

He could argue Skylar had done the same the first time they met. They’d been flirting at the bar for nearly thirty minutes before they found their way into his office. And even then, it hadn't been planned. She’d been on her way back from the restroom when he literally crashed into her with a tray of empty glasses.

He’d taken the brunt of the spill, but she’d gotten some soda on her light blue top. He’d invited her back to his office where he had a laundry stick and a change of clothes for himself. One thing led to another and—

“Nick? You want to play?” Brooke tossed the ball at his chest.

He caught it and nodded. “Sure.”

They headed past the parking lot where there were four tennis and three basketball courts. He spotted Skylar instantly, her red ponytail highlighted by the sun.

“I rounded up another player so we have even teams now.”

Nick dribbled the ball at his feet and made no effort to hide his interest in Skylar. She smiled shyly at him, which he found enduring since she was anything but shy.

“Shirts and skins?” Owen stripped off his shirt and flexed.

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