Fake Wife (Taming The Bad Boy Billionaire 8)

“I adopted him from the shelter because he was hurt. They almost had to put him down, but I just couldn’t let them. He needs hydrotherapy, and the public pool won’t let him in, and my bathtub is too small.”

“Hmm. Well, in that case, feel free to come over anytime you want,” he said. “Tell me more about this hydrotherapy though. I can tell what it means from the sound of it, but what’s it entail?”

“Well, it really means ‘water healing’ in Greek. Dogs benefit from it just like humans do, and it will make a huge difference in his recovery.”

“Need any help?”

I should’ve said no. Should’ve put my foot down and said I could handle it, but the tension between us sparked to life the second he opened the damn door, and I was hopeless once again to turn him down, the man who used to be my best friend and the one man I hoped would’ve been more one day. “Sure. Put on your trunks.”

“Great. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“I’m good, but thank you.”

Charlie led me to the pool, then left to get into his bathing suit. I slipped off my clothes a

nd put a special vest on Max to help keep him afloat. I slowly walked down the stairs into the pool, sighing at the perfect temperature, and took my time helping little Max to get acclimated to the water. After a few minutes, I could tell he really loved it, and it didn’t take long for us to master all the exercises his canine rehab specialist, Katy, had shown me.

“He looks like a natural,” Charlie said and I jumped as he chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“Just in the zone is all. Max is loving this. Thanks, Charlie, really.”

I couldn’t help but stare at his strong, powerful body as he strolled around the pool to the deeper end. I loved his tattoo of an eagle on his chest with open wings and crystal blue eyes. The man was nothing but pure muscle, and every one of those glistening contours glistened and flexed. The perfect V shape of his abdomen twisted my gut and I licked my lips as the realization hit me of just how little we both wore right then. He jumped into the pool and swam over to where I was. Droplets of water beaded on his eyelashes like glitter, then dripped down his face. He glanced down at my generous cleavage and then gave me a good once-over sending a tingle through my body until my knees quivered.

“What exercise are we doing?” Charlie asked.

“Let’s walk across the pool and see how he does.”

He petted Max as we went, and the dog’s little face perked right up.

A grin crept up on my face the more we walked and the days we used to spend together floated to the forefront of my mind. “You know, being in the water with you conjures up lots of memories.”

He winked as he gently took over steering Max for me, the puppy wagging his tail and wiggling with happiness. “Like the time we went skinny-dipping in Old Man’s Johnson’s pond?”

I laughed. “We were such rebels.” I playfully nudged him. “Then again, maybe you were just a bad influence on me because it was you who talked me into that, you know.”

“I swear I thought he wasn’t home!” he argued, mischief flaring to life in his eyes. “How did I know he was going to bum-rush out the back door in his plaid boxers with that shotgun?”

“We lost our clothes!”

“Well, I sure as hell wasn’t about to swim back and get them. Rumor has it he always kept that thing loaded, and he was fucking crazy, always babbling about aliens coming to get him.”

“Aliens! I remember that, but why would they want him?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t think of any creature in any universe who’d want to anally probe that.”

“Yuck!”

“Yuck is right,” Charlie agreed with a nod.

“I was scared shitless though. We ran like bats out of hell.”

He chuckled. “You tried to cover yourself up with those ferns like Eve in the Garden of Eden. It didn’t help one bit.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t seem to mind my nudity or your own. You just strutted around like some kind of Greek god in your birthday suit.”

My body tensed remembering how we’d promised not to look at each other, but I wasn’t about to pass up what might’ve been my only chance to see Charlie naked. From the sudden heat in his eyes, he’d checked me out then too.

“Hey, I embrace the body God gave me.”