“You can say tits, Jack.”
He looked hard at her. “The only breasts, the only tits—the only anything—I want to see are yours.”
The way he looked at her—he wasn’t smiling. He always offered a hint of charm with his words. Maybe he turned serious like this on missions with his team, but—
“And I don’t cheat, Natalie. I’m not like my brothers. I played the cards I was dealt, plain and simple. Your tricks and that woman’s breasts had nothing to do with my loss. Understood?”
“Yes.”
He dropped his hand and turned to the cabana. A few of the guests still lingered out front. “I’m going to change into dry shorts,” he added. “Then we’ll shop.”
She’d hit a nerve. There was a lot she didn’t know about Jack Barnes. But she had a feeling that his past cut deeper than she’d first suspected.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” she whispered as she picked up her bag and headed for the women’s bathroom.
Inside, she quickly swapped her wet suit for dry panties, shorts, and an oversize green T-shirt. One glance in the bathroom mirror and she knew she looked like a ragamuffin compared to the well-groomed women in their itty-bitty bikinis. What kind of man would choose shopping with her over a pool filled with beautiful women?
One hell-bent on winning the bet against his brothers.
Or—
One who looks at me and likes what he sees. Who honestly wants me.
God. She wasn’t sure which one would be the bigger problem, but she knew which one she wanted and, thus, which one she was desperate to avoid.
“This better be about your brothers, Jack,” she said as she left the bathroom. “Because you can’t have me.”
Chapter Ten
Bang the bartender yet, shrimp?
Jack scanned Colton’s text message and debated tossing his cell phone into the pool. He should have walked away from the bet the second the words crossed Colton’s lips. He should have said I want her too damn much to pretend this is just about beating you, jackass.
The minute he’d said yes to his brother’s challenge, Jack had admitted the past still had power over him. And yeah, maybe it gave him an excuse to spend time with the woman who’d held the spotlight in his fantasies for years. But it had also left her wondering if he’d choose a pair of big tits over her. He’d seen the question in her eyes—without the bet, would he try to talk the blonde into a trip to the topless pool to make her boyfriend jealous?
Maybe last week he would have done just that. Though he’d probably have hit on the dealer, not the drunk woman with the x-large boyfriend. But now that he had a chance to get to know Natalie? The woman wasn’t just in his fantasies. She was his fantasy, and any other woman would be a distant second trying to match the satisfaction he’d experience finally feeling Natalie’s body against his. Another one-night fling with someone who didn’t give a damn about him wouldn’t do anything for him now. He’d rather have the woman who listened closely, who called him on his shit, and who stood up for him when his brothers reminded him of just how much the past still hurt.
Jack looked down at his phone and started to type. He was tempted to call the whole thing off. But dammit, he couldn’t give up. And he sure as shit couldn’t hand Colton a victory.
You’ll know when I win.
Natalie walked out of the bathroom and spotted Jack standing in front of the cabana. His flip-flop-clad feet were planted hips distance apart, and he’d shoved his hands into the pockets of his tan cargo shorts. At first glance, he appeared relaxed. But the muscles in his jaw remained tight. Where was his smile?
She moved to his side. “Let’s go. We have a lot of shopping to do before tonight’s dinner.”
He gave a curt nod and fell in step beside her. As they exited the pool and headed for the labyrinth of shops located in their hotel, she turned to him. “How bad was it?” she asked. “Growing up with your brothers.”
His lips formed a thin line. “By the time I was born, Patrick, the youngest of the bunch, was already seven. I was a surprise. And the rest of them were close in age. My mother called them her ‘gang of little men.’ They took that to heart. And Colton was their ringleader.”
“He’s mean,” Natalie s
aid as they breezed past the designer stores in search of more affordable shopping.
“Yeah,” Jack said, easily keeping pace with her. “I think he had a rough time of it in school. He was always a big guy. He played football, but he was never a starter. I think the popular kids made fun of him.”
“So he turned around and picked on you,” she said.
Jack nodded. “At first I couldn’t take it. I was too little. I ran crying to my mother, which only made it worse. But as I got older, I toughened up and fought back. It wasn’t long before I was faster. And it sure as shit didn’t take much to outsmart Colton. But sometimes—”