Trying to play dumb, she frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
Jenna leaned her hip against her car door. “Look, I’m the absolute best at trying to deny what’s right in front of me, and I wasted a lot of valuable time with Ty because of it. Do you have feelings for Garrett?”
Alicia could deny it, but what would be the point? She was closer to her family than anyone. They were better than girlfriends at keeping her secrets. “Honestly? There’s physical chemistry between us. Crazy chemistry. But it scares me because my job is to rehab him, not jump him, you know?”
“Yeah, I get that. You’re afraid for your job.”
“And his. I need him to concentrate on his shoulder, not on getting into my pants.”
Jenna laughed. “But if he’s relaxed—and we all know sex can be relaxing—wouldn’t that aid in his concentration?”
Alicia wagged a finger at Jenna. “You are no help.”
Jenna winked at her then opened her car door. “Have fun in Florida, cousin.”
*
ALICIA ARRIVED IN FLORIDA, GRABBED HER RENTAL car, and headed toward the beach house, though she was tempted to veer off course and just park at the beach for a few hours. It was gorgeous here and totally different from the cold weather at home. Preparing in advance for the abrupt weather change, she’d shed her coat and sweatshirt, shoes and socks, and rolled the window down to breathe in the fresh sea air as she made the drive along the coast highway.
When she arrived at Garrett’s beach house, she parked and grabbed her bags. He came outside, already looking tanned in his shorts and sleeveless muscle shirt.
She ignored the flutter in her stomach as he greeted her with a wide smile.
“How was your flight?” He took her bags and hauled them toward the front door.
“It was good, thanks. You look tan.”
“Do I? I’ve been doing beach runs twice a day.”
“That’s good.”
He led her inside.
“Come on in. I’ll take you on the tour.”
Alicia was certain she’d stepped into paradise. A one-story, fully furnished house, it was open, expansive, airy, with wood and marble floors and more windows than she’d ever want to clean in her lifetime. There was so much light, and it was so warm here. She was so tired of cold weather she wanted to walk out onto the back deck, park her butt in one of the comfortable chaise lounges, and not get up for at least a month.
She turned to Garrett, trying once again not to notice his legs and his arms and his—oh, God, his everything. So much skin was exposed here.
Maybe she liked winter better. Though she knew what was underneath those clothes, at least the top half, and she’d spent more than enough of her personal time fantasizing about the bottom half, something she shouldn’t be doing at all.
She’d also spent the past few days thinking about that kiss they’d shared, despite her vow to eradicate it from her mind forever.
Deciding that train of thought would get her nowhere but in trouble, she turned to face him. “It’s . . . amazing. Do you stay here every year for spring training?”
He set her bags down. “Yeah. I know the people who own it. They’re big baseball fans, so they’re accommodating.”
“How convenient.”
“It’s a good vacation spot. Unfortunately, sometimes they boot my ass out when they want to come down to watch a few games during spring training.”
“Gee, that’s tough.”
He laughed. “Well, it is their vacation place.”
Unfortunately, as she reminded herself, this was work, not her vacation, so as she wandered through the house, she found the workout room. It was huge and filled to her specifications with all the equipment she’d need.
“Really nice gym.”
“Yeah. We brought in the extra stuff you asked for. The owners are going to do a remodel later this summer, turn this into some kind of yoga or meditation room or something, so they were fine with it.”
“Excellent.”
“There’s a problem, though.”
She turned around to look at him. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“The guesthouse has been gutted.”
Disappointment made her stomach tighten. Now she’d have to stay at a hotel. She’d really miss sitting out on that deck. “Oh.”
He leaned against the wall leading to the backyard. “Yeah. I didn’t know that when I made the reservations for this place, but Bill and Margaret—the owners—basically dismantled it since they weren’t using it. They’re going to use the space for some organic-gardening thing they’re putting in.”
Alicia folded her arms. “Okay. I can move to a hotel.”
He frowned. “Look, Alicia, there are four bedrooms in this place. You can stay in one of those. One of the rooms has its own bathroom. It’s the same thing as you would have had, only it’s in the house instead of a few feet away from it. But if you’re uncomfortable with that, I understand.”
Relief washed over her. Commuting back and forth from a hotel to here would have been a logistics problem. She liked Garrett’s solution better.