If only he could push past his songwriting block, damn it!
In the backyard, Ashley’s voice floated over to him from several feet away. Just like always, the sound was much-needed music to Drew’s soul. He had wanted to keep Ashley by his side until he was sure that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by meeting Hollywood royalty, but Valentina and Ashley had immediately hit it off when Smith’s fiancée found out that Ashley was working on her application to business school. Smith had scored big-time with Valentina, and from the smile on the guy’s face every time he looked at her, it was clear that he knew it.
Drew hated to bring Smith and Valentina down today, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t come clean about his inability to write a decent song for the soundtrack. He was heading over to them when he noticed one of the party guests who looked like he’d had a little too much to drink was gesturing in a crazy way as he spoke. If he wasn’t careful, the guy was going to knock Ashley into the pool.
A couple of people tried to stop him to chat, but Drew was focused on getting to her before disaster could strike. But before he could, the guy with the wild arms knocked Ashley in the shoulder so hard that she started to topple over toward the water.
Drew leapt the final few feet over the cement patio that surrounded the pool and got close enough to catch one of her hands. But there was already too much momentum to her fall, and instead of keeping her out of the pool, they both plunged in with a huge splash.
Not sure if she could swim, he put his arms around her to pull her to the surface. As they came out of the water, her arms naturally moved around his neck.
“Do you know how to swim? Are you okay?”
“I do and I am.” She wiped water out of her eyes before she opened them, her hair slicked back from her beautiful face. “Thanks for trying to keep me from falling in. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course I did.” Everyone was staring at them, and he figured it wouldn’t be long before people started taking pictures with their phones, if they hadn’t already. In that moment, however, he couldn’t focus on anything but how good it felt to have her in his arms again. Still, even though he couldn’t keep holding her forever in the pool, he really hated having to say, “Ready to get out?”
She made a little face. “Actually, I’m pretty sure my dress has gone completely see-through.”
Drew fought like hell to keep his arousal under control. But it was already difficult enough when she was wet and soft and so damned perfect in his arms. Knowing her cute white dress was now translucent? There wasn’t enough self-control in the world to fight what that vision did to him.
“Only I could do something like this at a fancy Hollywood party.” She closed her eyes in mortification. “And now I can’t even get out because it will be like everyone is seeing me naked.”
He was about to tell her he’d get out first and grab her a towel to cover up with, when he looked up and realized Valentina was already on it. “Valentina’s waiting by the shallow-end steps with a towel. I’ll come out of the water behind you so that between the towel and me, no one will see anything they shouldn’t.”
Ashley nodded, but she didn’t let go of him or start swimming. As if she didn’t want to let go of him any more than he wanted to let her go. Finally, however, she said, “I guess we should swim over there, shouldn’t we?”
Unfortunately, the longer they stayed wrapped around each other in the pool, the more people would talk. And if pictures of the two of them holding each other ever got back to her father? Well, Drew could only imagine how angry he would be, even though there was a reasonable explanation. Especially when something told him Professor Emmit would quickly see through the “reasonable explanation” and straight to Drew’s unstoppable attraction to Ashley.
Fortunately, between Drew and Valentina, they were able to get Ashley out of the pool with only the two of them seeing the way the white dress clung to her gorgeous curves. A true gentleman wouldn’t look, but Drew’s control was already hanging by such a thin thread that he didn’t have a prayer of not drinking her in. If Valentina noticed the way he was clearly losing his mind over Ashley, she didn’t give anything away, but simply helped wrap Ashley up in the thick beach towel and took her into the house through a side door.
Smith came over with a towel for Drew a couple of seconds later, grinning as he said, “Valentina and I have been too busy to enjoy the pool. Glad someone is.”
“Thanks for the towel.” Drew ran it over his face and hair. “I was actually just heading your way to see if I could chat with you and Valentina for a few minutes.”