Cooper smirked and shook his head. “Mike here is a health nut.”
He was?
My gaze returned to Michael. He was studying me thoughtfully. I almost flushed under his intense regard.
“Really?” Jess asked.
Michael nodded and appeared reluctant to turn his head from me to her. “Body needs the right fuel.”
Michael wasn’t a health nut when we were younger, that was for sure, but it would explain his body. I’d seen Cooper running shirtless down the beach, and it was a sight to behold. The man had abs and muscles and all the yum. However, there was a rippling, steely hardness to Michael’s body. His abs and his ass were … ah, just thinking about them made me squirm in my seat.
Michael was a health nut.
It irritated me that Cooper knew that, and I did not.
It agitated me that Jess knew Michael was running down the beach every morning, and I did not.
What else didn’t I know about him that other people knew?
That other women knew?
God, his ex-wife must know so much more about him than I did. Why did that hurt so much? It felt like someone had shoved a shaft of metal through my chest. Breathing was momentarily difficult.
“If you’re looking for quality health food options, there’s a deli on the outskirts of Atlantic Village,” Jess said. “It’s a luxury apartment block about four miles away.”
“I’m renting a place there,” Michael replied. “The deli is good.”
Everyone, including myself, looked at him in surprise. Atlantic Village was not cheap. There was also a waiting list for those apartments. Considering the amount of gossip about Michael’s appearance, I was surprised we hadn’t heard about this from an outside source.
Michael’s beautiful mouth curled at the corners. “Jeff pulled some strings, got me in past the waiting list. It’s only temporary until I find somewhere more long term.”
“So, you’re staying, then?” Bailey piped up.
Instead of looking at her, he looked at me. “That’s the hope.”
Before I could die of discomfort, Jess intervened. “Emery, what are you staring at so hard?”
Emery blushed while Jess looked out into the crowded market.
“Nothing,” she mumbled, biting her lip.
Unfortunately, Jess’s words made us all strain to look—even Michael stepped aside to turn around—and while the guys continued to look perturbed, Bailey, Jess, and I zeroed in on our suspected source of Emery’s attention.
Jack Devlin.
Jack became kind of a leper in Hartwell society after betraying Cooper. No one trusted him, and he grew sullen. There was more to the story behind Jack’s defection to the dark side. Even Cooper knew that, but any concern he had for his friend had been overwhelmed (quite rightly) by his betrayal. Coop had moved on.
Bailey and I weren’t ready to. We both remembered who Jack used to be. We both had big imaginations, and we couldn’t help but wonder if there was some sinister reason for his change in behavior. Bailey was even more forgiving than me because she thought she witnessed a spark between him and Emery and had all these romantic notions of Emery redeeming him.
I loved Emery.
Emery apparently had no experience with men.
I did not want her near Jack Devlin.
That would be like pushing a baby panda into a tiger cage. The thought brought out the hotheaded mama bear in me.
No Jack Devlin for Emery Saunders.