NINE

Mia

“Thanks,” Jordy says with a smile, when I hand her an iced tea. “It’s getting pretty steamy out here.”

I drop down in the second deck lounger and put my own glass on the small side table.

It’s hot all right. Has been for a few days now and doesn’t show any signs of letting up. I haven’t slept much. There’s no air conditioning in my cottage and the nights haven’t cooled off like they usually do. The last cool one we had was Tuesday, when we found the bear in my compost bin.

Today is Friday, and as usual, traffic on the lake has picked up since midafternoon. Weekenders driving up from the city to enjoy their little corner of heaven for a few days, before heading back to the rat race.

I take a sip of my drink and watch a boat, pulling a tube with a bunch of screaming kids behind it, going by. A little breeze coming off the lake makes it bearable to be out here, under the large umbrella, and I sigh as I lay my head back.

“Tired?” Jordy asks. I turn my head to face her, smiling.

“I am,” I admit. “But I’m pretty sure not as tired as you are.”

Ole had hit a bit of a growth spurt, and with Jordy still feeding on demand, she’s been up every two hours or so during the night. Both her and Jared looked a little the worse for wear when I came over to check on her. I watch as a little smile tugs at her mouth.

“Exhausted,” she shares. “But I don’t mind. I sleep when he does. It’s harder on Jared. He can’t sleep during the day.”

“I don’t need sleep.” The subject of discussion walks up to our loungers, setting the baby monitor on the table between us. “The kid is diapered, burped, and down for the count, however long that is. I’m going for a dip. Anyone game?”

Without waiting for an answer, he saunters to the end of the dock, giving me full view of his large body, clad in just his swim shorts, with a towel draped around his neck. He drops the towel beside him before stretching his arms above his head, the muscles in his back moving—mesmerizing. His legs push off as he dives into the water with a splash. The memory of that body protectively wrapping around me recently has goosebumps rising on my skin, despite the heat of the sun. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been touched by someone other than my best friend, and even those moments of brief connection have been few and far between. So being held by his big body, firmly placing himself between me and the world, had a greater impact than I’ve been comfortable acknowledging. It’s been on my mind—especially in those sleepless moments the past few nights.

“He likes you, you know.”

My head whips around to Jordy, who is staring after her brother, before turning to face me with a glint in her eyes.

“Okay?” I hesitantly say, not quite sure what to do with that information. It makes her chuckle.

“He always has his eyes on you,” she clarifies. “My brother is—or maybe I should say was—a bit of a manwhore, never lacking for female attention, but I’ve never seen him ogling anyone quite as closely as he does you. You’re nothing like the groupies he’s used to. I think it’s throwing him off his game.” If that isn’t the understatement of the year. Despite the blush heating my face, I can’t help snort, remembering the stacked blonde of my first encounter with him. She’s right on that account, I am nothing like what he’s used to. “What?” she prompts me.

“It’s just that I think you’re a little delusional,” I tease her. “I’ve seen his usual, and believe me, I saw more of it than I cared to.” I feel a little pang of guilt at the partial lie. I have seen his usual, but I’ve also come to the conclusion that I had him pegged wrong. He’s done nothing but show me that every day since. And I haven’t seen enough. Not nearly.

“Pray tell,” she urges me, as she leans over her armrest, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

“Fine,” I bite off with a sigh. “Your brother was buck-assed naked, the first time I saw him.” I tamp down a laugh when Jordy’s eyebrows shoot up in her hairline. “Right here, on the dock, in the middle of the afternoon. She was tall, blonde, and carried around her own impressive, built-in, floatation devices.”

“No way!”

“Way,” I confirm, smiling at her shocked expression. “The second time I saw him was when he was hugging a brunette in his driveway, and I just knew he was a player.”

Jordy’s loud laughter bounces off the water as she throws her head back and lets loose.

“Oh my God,” she gasps, holding her stomach. “You thought he was stepping out on me?”

“Well, yeah,” I defend myself. “What else was I supposed to think, when one moment he’s making waves on the dock with the leggy blonde, and the next he’s welcoming his very pregnant woman home?”

“I’m so gonna torture him with this,” Jordy snickers, before turning to me with a serious expression on her face, putting her hand on my arm. “You know he’s a good guy, right?”

“I’ve come to that conclusion,” I reassure her with a smile. “But it doesn’t change the fact I know that whatever you think you’ve seen is a figment of your imagination. I’m pretty much the polar opposite of his type.”

She doesn’t respond, but simply leans her head back on the chair and closes her eyes, a little smile playing on her lips, when the baby monitor crackles to life.

“I’ll get him,” I tell her, with my hand on her arm when she makes a move to get up. Ole’s angry cries indicate he’s not likely to fall back asleep, and I quickly make my way inside.

“What are you making such a fuss about?” I coo as I lift him out of his crib, his little legs pumping in frustration. “Oh, good grief. You’re soaked right through, kiddo.” His little romper is drenched and judging by the smell, I’m bound to find a mess when I peel it off him.

Instead of putting him on the changing table, I grab a clean towel from his dresser, and take him straight into the bathroom. The trough sink is perfect for his baby bath, as we’ve come to discover. In no time I have him stripped, sinking him carefully in the warm water. Before long, his crying stops as he floats contently, his little head firmly in my hand, and his eyes intently on my face as he appears to enjoy the nonsense I babble.

A noise from the door has me lift my head to the mirror, and a little gasp escapes my lips as I watch Jared push away from the doorway in the reflection. I don’t know how long he was standing there, but his hair is still wet, and he’s wearing only the towel he brought outside earlier. With his eyes focused on me, he walks up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder as he leans his chin on the other.

“He smells,” he concludes, a smile in his voice as he looks at his nephew.

“That he does,” I confirm. “It was up his back. I had no choice but to dunk him.”

“Thanks,” he rumbles in a low voice, his breath warm against my neck. “Appreciate all your help.” I feel him press a kiss where my neck meets my shoulder, before he backs away, leaving me swaying a little on my feet. I concentrate on not letting go of Ole when I hear his voice behind me, and I look up at his reflection by the door.

“For the record; I know you saw me. As fucked up as it is, the thought of you watching me—getting off on it—has been sweet torture since.”

I suck in a breath at his crass confession, and I want to turn away from the mirror as I feel heat flushing my face, but his eyes won’t let me go.

“So you see, you’re dead wrong. I can’t seem to help watching you, which makes you very much my type.”

Jared

I caught enough of their conversation when I leisurely swam back to the dock. I suppose the gentlemanly thing to do would have been to alert them to my presence, but my interest was piqued at what I was hearing.

“You’re a sneak,” Jordy says, when I pull myself out of the water. Her mouth is set in a straight line but amusement dances in her eyes.

“And you’re meddling,” I fire back, before picking up the towel and drying myself off.

We hear Mia’s soothing voice over the baby monitor, along with Ole’s pitiful cries, when Jordy reaches over and shuts it off.

“She’s nice.”

I look at my sister, who is clearly not ready to let it go.

“Yes, she is, Pipsqueak, but she—”

“Who’s the blonde?” she cuts me off, squinting her eyes at me.

“A distraction.” I look toward Mia’s screened-in porch before turning back to Jordy.

“Clearly.” Her distaste drips from that single word. “On the dock, Jared? Christ...what if...never mind.” She waves her hand dismissively. “I was gonna say what if someone saw you, but it seems a moot point. Someone did see you. Poor thing probably had to rinse out her eyes with bleach.”

I smile at that. I’m pretty sure Mia hadn’t been thinking about bleach.

“You know...” my sister starts, but I’ve had enough.

“Let it go,” I tell her firmly, before she can finish that sentence. “Not kidding, Jordy, drop it.”

Without waiting for a response, I head to the house, tying the towel around my hips. Instead of taking the hallway to my own side, I find myself heading left—toward Jordy’s quarters.

Mia’s focus is on Ole, murmuring soothingly as she holds him firmly in one hand and washes him with the other. She doesn’t notice me and I use the opportunity to let my eyes wander. She’s wearing cutoffs and one of her man-sized T-shirts, her standard getup, with little but her strong, firm legs visible. I’ve watched her move, though. Enough to know she hides generous hips and a full ass, and she rarely wears a bra.

I’ve caught myself staring, more than once, quickly lifting my eyes to her face. A more appropriate focus of attention, but no less appealing, with her slightly slanted, expressive green eyes—cat eyes— and full lips. Not a lick of makeup on her. No attempt to hide the fine lines on her forehead or around her eyes. No expert colouring job, masking the sparse silver threads running through her hair, either. Completely natural and uncomplicated, and fuck if I don’t like it better than the carefully put together women I’m used to.

Not my type—my ass.

I must’ve made a sound, because I suddenly find myself looking at those green eyes in the mirror.

-

When I walk into the living room after my shower, Jordy’s feeding Ole on the couch. There’s no sign of Mia.

I’d taken my time in the bathroom, needing to get a grip on my body’s response to Mia’s proximity earlier. The scent of her skin lingered in my nostrils; warm from the sun and fresh, with a hint of lemon. The brief taste, when I pressed my lips to her neck, only making me want to taste more. From the startled look on her face, I could tell I shocked her. Hell, I shocked myself. But it’s one of those things, once it’s out there—once that line is crossed—there’s no taking it back. I have a feeling there’s no way I can ignore the stirring of my cock whenever she’s around any longer.

“Where did she go?”

Jordy looks up as I plop down beside her on the couch, trying hard to hide my disappointment.

“Home. Did you say something to her? She just shoved Ole in my hands and took off, mumbling something about some work she had to finish.”

“You think he’ll let us get some sleep tonight?” I peek over her shoulder and swiftly change the subject to one I know my sister can’t resist. As expected, her face softens as she immediately turns her eyes to her baby, who is fighting to keep his eyes open while lazily nursing. She’s clearly observant enough, she doesn’t need more cause to get up in my business, especially since my anatomy is quickly rising to attention at any talk of Mia. 

“He’d better,” she says, a smile in her voice. “He’s going to go from hand-to-hand tomorrow, he won’t get much rest.”

Jordy invited a couple of her friends for a BBQ tomorrow. A couple of girls she’d known since high school and the three of them had stayed close friends since. They’d been blowing up her phone since Ole was born, wanting to come see him, until finally a few days ago Jordy declared she felt up to it. I don’t mind. This is as much her house as it is mine. Besides, Lesley’s husband is a good guy. The few times I’ve met Phil, we’ve hit it off. It helps he’s a bit of a sports fanatic, it always makes for easy conversation.

Tina, her other friend, is apparently newly single and heavily on the prowl. Doesn’t surprise me, even when she was married, she put out some strong signals. Yeah, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to fending her off all afternoon. I was hoping Ole would prove to be enough of a male distraction for her.

“Did you have a chance to see if Mia wanted to come?” Jordy cuts into my thoughts.

“I forgot,” I lie.

I didn’t exactly forget, but something tells me spending an afternoon among people she doesn’t even know, would not be her thing. She clearly likes her solitude, and after witnessing her reaction both in the hospital and the grocery store, I’m starting to understand why. We haven’t exactly shared life stories. The focus has been on Jordy and the baby, and there hasn’t really been opportunity for much sharing, but still I’m surprised how at ease she’s become around us these past few weeks.

I hope I haven’t just fucked it all up.