“Mmm.” She was functioning, but not enough for manners. “And you are?”
“Baxter McNab, the scuba instructor.”
Her eyes flared. “This joint has scuba diving?” More to herself than him, she whispered, “Fascinating.” Maybe it was time she took up lessons.
“We have a great many entertainments, Ridley.”
Oh, there was something quite delicious in the low, suggestive way he said that. She stepped back. “I probably shouldn’t keep standing in the doorway.”
He made no move to leave. “Looking like you look, probably not.”
She wrinkled her nose at his rudeness. “It’s called bedhead and lack of caffeine. Since I just woke, and I’ve only drank half the coffee, it’s to be expected.”
“Not exactly what I meant, but okay.”
She eyed him. What had he meant, then? She enjoyed confidence in a man, but his was a bit overblown. “Did you want to come in?”
“One hell of a temptation, but I’m making up a scuba class that I missed yesterday. I’ve only got a few minutes—and that wouldn’t be nearly long enough.”
If dictionaries were picture books, cocky would have an image of this dude next to it. “What did you say your name was?”
“Baxter McNab.” He gave her a knowing smile. “Feel free to ask around about me—or to look me up.”
She planned to do exactly that. “I’m not usually good with names, but I doubt I’ll forget yours.”
“Good to know.”
Waggling her fingers at him in dismissal, she said, “Run along, then.”
Instead, he straightened away from the door. “I take it you’re used to giving orders?”
Cocky and sexually charged. Her temperature rapidly rose a few degrees. “As a matter of fact—”
“Because I’m not great at taking them,” he said softly, deliberately interrupting her.
“Is that so?” She hadn’t been awake long enough to accept a challenge—but accept it she did. “Strong women threaten you, do they?”
His gaze went over her. “Is that what you are?”
She stiffened at his skepticism. “Yes.”
As if placating her, he nodded. “Orders tend to get lost when they come from half-dressed women who look like you—and no, in case you’re still not clear, that’s not an insult.”
Obviously, he was a player.
Since her divorce, so was she. Trying not to look affected, she cocked out a hip and sipped more coffee. “Okay, I’ll bite.”
“Better and better,” he murmured.
She had a little trouble breathing. “If it’s not an insult, what is it?”
“It’s me trying to figure out how a woman wakes up looking so fucking hot.”
Well, damn, he just might be better at this than she was. More dangerous, too, given the provocative glitter in his stunning green eyes. “You have me at a disadvantage,” she said—and hastily gulped more caffeine.
The smile turned predatory. “In what way?”
Setting the now-empty cup aside and donning her best, boldest smile, she stepped toward him. “I have no idea how sexy you might look first thing in the morning.” She braced one hand on the doorknob, the other on the door frame where he’d been leaning.
He reached out and touched a long lock of her hair. “We could remedy that.”
Against her intent, she swayed toward him. “I suppose we could.” She eased the door halfway closed. “As a strong woman, I’ll let you if—or when—I’m interested.” She grinned. “Goodbye, Baxter. Thanks for the coffee.”
She shut the door in his face—but not before she saw his eyes narrow...and his mouth curl into a smile.
If she wasn’t mistaken, he’d just accepted the challenge, too.
*
Phoenix felt utterly limp. After coffee with the gang this morning, she’d gotten right to work. Hour after hour, the temps rose and the sun baked down through a cloudless sky. The humidity was through the roof, but she still had an area to work on.
Most of the vacationers were in the water—either the pool or the lake. Even from where she worked near the more primitive tent camping, she could hear the splashing and laughter.
More than ever, she wished she felt comfortable taking a quick dip.
Twigs and branches were everywhere they weren’t supposed to be, flowerpots were overturned, some plants damaged. She had at least two more hours to go before she could call it a day.
Waking before Ridley had given her a chance to have coffee with Cooper in relative privacy. They’d sat on the picnic bench out by the lake and talked quietly. That hadn’t lasted long, though. They both had a lot to accomplish today.
“There you are.”
Phoenix glanced up and saw Ridley walking toward her. Her sis had her hair gathered at the top of her head in a casually sexy topknot that no matter how she tried, Phoenix couldn’t replicate. She looked great in a loose sleeveless top with a floral print, light blue shorts, flip-flops and big sunglasses.
As Ridley went past, vacationers stared. Her sister had always gotten that reaction. There was just something about Ridley that drew immediate attention.
Standing, Phoenix used the back of one glove to wipe her brow. “Did you get the coffee?”
“Yup, thanks. The delivery boy was nice, too. At least, nice to look at.”
Uh-oh. “Did Baxter do something?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
Phoenix couldn’t see Ridley’s eyes, but she had the odd feeling her sister was insulted over something. “He’s always been really nice to me—”
“He’s nice to you because Big Sexy already staked a claim.”
“—but I understand he flirts with every woman.”
Ridley pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and scowled. “You mean I’m not special? Gee, I’m crushed.”
She said it sarcastically, but Phoenix suspected there was a hint of truth behind the words.
Had her sister finally met her match?
That is, her match since the divorce?
Before that, before Robbie shredded her confidence and stomped on her devastated heart, Ridley had been a fun-loving, happy, very sweet woman.
With a sarcastic wit, sure.
But there’d been more to her than that. Now it felt like the sarcasm was all Ridley cared to share. It was almost as if she packed away her other, softer emotions...and only unpacked them for Phoenix.
“Last night was nice.”
Ridley smiled. “Smooching with Big Sexy?”
“I meant talking with you in bed, just like we used to do as teenagers.” Growing up, they’d equally squabbled and confided, competed and shared. In the end, though, no matter what, she knew Ridley was her backup.
Ridley dusted off a landscape boulder and sat down. “It felt like old times, especially with you falling asleep first, and getting up earlier than me.”
Memories had her mouth twitching with humor. “You were always a terrible slug in the mornings. I remember how hard it was to get you up for school.”
Ridley grinned. “It was cruel of Mom to go off to work and delegate the chore to you.”
“I think that’s why she liked the early shift.”
They laughed together. Ridley sobered first. “It really was nice. I’ve missed you a lot.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just... I needed that time alone.”
“You’re feeling better now, though?”
Lifting a hand to shield her eyes, Phoenix looked up at the blazing sun. It was easier than looking at her sister. “I’m not yet where I want to be, but I finally feel like I’m getting there.”
In a burst of anger, Ridley growled, “It’d help if they’d catch those miserable—”
“It might.” Phoenix bent and started picking up the debris she’d raked into a pile, dropping it into her wheelbarrow. Knowing the men were still out there, still a possible threat, plagued her. She couldn’t deny it, but she didn’t want to think about that right now.
Usually, she didn’t want to think about it at all.
Sometimes she didn’t have a choice.
Maris drove up in a golf cart, pausing beside the sisters. “I hate to interrupt your visit, but with all the rain, guests need extra towels and we still don’t have a damned housekeeper. I swear, if Coop doesn’t hire someone soon, I’m going to do it for him.”
Phoenix grinned. “He’s been trying, right? But no one works out.”