That’s probably for the best. Feeling Cade’s strong arms wrap around me would stoke the dying embers of my hopeless crush. As it is, I try not to look at his handsome face for too long.
“Did you bring your suit?” Ryder asks when he releases me.
“Sure did.” Living on an island, I usually have a bag in my car with a suit, towel and sunscreen in it at all times. Today I have a new two-piece I bought for the occasion.
The Evanses live on the mainland, but they’re on beachfront property, only ten minutes away from Four Points Island, where I live. Their massive house is adjacent to a golf course and driving range that their father owns.
My dad took me to the driving range last year to introduce me to the sport, and after spotting a sexy groundskeeper with unruly brown hair and the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, I decided I needed more practice. Returning alone, I had the opportunity to meet both Cade (the sexy groundskeeper himself) and Ryder in the course’s pro shop.
I now know that Cade is extremely friendly to everyone he meets, but at first, I mistook that friendliness for flirting. When he and Ryder started joking around, reciting lines from the TV show The Office, I recognized their references and jumped in with my favorite Michael Scott quote.
One thing led to another, and Ryder invited me over that evening to watch the series with them, which they were about to start over from the beginning.
I didn’t find out until later that Cade has a girlfriend, but by then I’d met their two older brothers, Knox and Logan, and had become friends with all four of them, hanging out at their house, bingeing Netflix (We eventually moved on from The Office to Parks and Recreation and Stranger Things), hanging out at their pool, and getting tips from them on the driving range.
Despite my crush on Cade, it was friendship from the start, and that’s all it’s ever been. The oldest brother, Knox, also had a girlfriend when I met him – they’ve since broken up – and I’ve always been careful not to flirt with any of the men, not wanting to overstep the bounds of our friendship or interfere with their relationships with other women.
I’m not the type of woman to try to steal a man away from someone. Not that I’d know what to do with a man if I did steal him. My complete and utter lack of experience is beyond embarrassing.
I grab my bag from the backseat and follow Cade and Ryder up to their house. “Thanks for inviting me today.”
Always a gentleman, Cade holds the front door open for me. “Yeah, of course. We love celebrating birthdays.”
“Any excuse to have a good time.” Ryder gives his older brother a playful punch on the shoulder as he passes.
“Knox and Logan are already in the pool,” Cade says as we cross the large entryway. “Come on out after you get changed.”
I duck into the guest bathroom, not for the first time noticing its stark features: white pedestal sink, chrome fixtures, dark gray hand towels. There’s nothing on the walls, no candles, no decorative soaps. This room, like most of the house, is evidence that no women live here.
According to the brothers, their dad has been married and divorced three times. Their mother lives in New York and they don’t see her very often.
I strip off my clothes and pull on my new suit. The bright red fabric of the bikini top catches my eye in the mirror and gives me pause. I fell in love with this celestial-patterned suit when it arrived at my family’s shop, but now that I have it on, here at the Evans house, it seems like a bit much. Or rather, not quite enough.
I adjust the fabric on the bikini cups, unbunching it so that it covers the maximum amount of skin, but that still isn’t much.
The revealing cut of the suit makes me feel like I’m screaming for attention. I’m not, but the idea makes me wish I had someone in my life who would appreciate my body.
I dig down into my bag, hoping there’s an old suit somewhere in the bottom, but of course there’s not. Maybe I’m worrying for nothing. Since the guys don’t look at me that way, they probably won’t notice this swimsuit as being different from any other that I’ve worn.
After pulling my hair up into a bun and smoothing on sunscreen, I find the brothers at the pool. Three of them are already in the water shooting baskets with a bright orange ball, but Ryder is sitting on the edge. Apparently, he was waiting for me, because as soon as he sees me, he yells to the others and rises to meet me.