While Carter worked the rest of the day, he had a difficult time forgetting about Hannah that morning in his kitchen—the way she welcomed Addi with such sincere warmth, the way she didn’t take any crap from him, handed it right back when he teased her… the way her skin felt like silk to his touch.
That last part caused him to lose track of what he was doing more than once. When he was meeting with the real estate agents who were busy selling his condo units, reviewing budgets and marketing initiatives, or touring completed units to make sure they met his standards, he kept himself focused. Any time his brain had a moment to relax, however, like in the elevator, walking around the resort, or waiting for someone to answer his call, the memory of holding her would flash through his mind and carry him away again. He wasn’t sure what to do about it besides try to keep it all bottled up inside.
Later in the afternoon when he’d finished most of his urgent business, he stood at the window in his office. As he stared out at the gulf, he got a text from Hannah. It was a picture of Addi at the beach, standing in the gentle surf as it broke around her knees. Hannah had captured an expression of vibrant excitement and pure joy on his daughter’s face. He found himself smiling at his phone, grateful that of all the babysitters in the area, Hannah had somehow been the one Brenda chose. It was difficult for him in many ways to be in such close proximity to a woman he was so naturally attracted to yet couldn’t pursue, but it was worth it to have Addi so happy.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he decided to get back to work. When he turned around, however, and saw his desk, he groaned out loud. He couldn’t work any more today… not when he could be at the beach. With Addi. But as soon as he made the choice to ditch work the rest of the morning, a heady sense of anticipation hummed in his veins. Again, because he wanted to see Addi.
Soon, Carter had changed into swimming trunks and a t-shirt and left the cool, air-conditioned resort. He walked down to the beach, glad that it was nearly empty. He wouldn’t enjoy that luxury often after next week when guests and condo owners began pouring in for opening. It didn’t take long to spot Addi still playing in the surf or Hannah stretched out on a beach chair watching her through dark sunglasses. Charlotte lay next to her, but under the shelter of an umbrella with only her legs sticking out. Unfortunately, Charlotte wasn’t the only one keeping Hannah company.
Squatting next to her chair was a tanned, shirtless, heavily ripped guy with wavy hair blowing in the breeze. Carter halted in surprise, then clenched his jaw and strode forward to take stock of the situation. Trying to look unconcerned, he walked around in front of Hannah, flicking his eyes over the guy next to her.
“Oh, hey!” Hannah said, sitting up straighter in her seat. Then she yelled, “Addi, your dad is here.”
Addi turned and waved but was busy chasing fish in the shallows.
“Looks like she’s having fun,” he said, trying to keep his voice casual.
Hannah grinned. “She has a lot more fun when it’s calm like this. I have to say, I’m enjoying it more too because I can watch her from here and work on my tan.”
“Where are Nate and Taylor?” Carter asked Charlotte.
Charlotte waved a lazy hand out toward the water. “They’re out there, paddle-boarding.”
Carter looked around and saw a man and a little boy on a paddle board about a hundred yards down the beach to the east. “I’ve been meaning to try that myself, but I never seem to have the time.” Then he shifted his eyes to the guy who still crouched next to Hannah’s chair resting his elbow on the arm of it “I don’t think I’ve met you,” he said pointedly, holding out his hand.
The guy stood up quickly, shaking Carter’s hand. “I’m Brant Chessman. I’m the beach service manager.”
“Nice to meet you.” It wasn’t of course, but he could be polite even though he wanted to kick the guy off his beach. Too bad he was supposed to be there. An umbrella guy? Why was he so familiar with Hannah? It wasn’t surprising that they would know each other though since they were both locals, and he could hardly blame any man for wanting to be near her. Today she had on a red suit with a deep v-neck and cut-out openings on the sides. She still wore a profusion of beaded hemp bracelets on her wrists and ankles, but today, she also wore some sort of long, tasseled necklace that fell in the v of her swimsuit and nestled in her cleavage. Feeling a flash of resentment that she was so flagrantly unconcerned with how she affected him, he turned away.
Walking down to the water, he called out to Addi, “Hey, sweetie. Having fun?”
“Yeah. Look at all these fish. I want to catch some but they’re really fast.”
For the next little while, Carter played with Addi, helping her to finally get some minnows in her net. He stood in the water next to her, enjoying the cool water washing around his knees, facing the beach. He hoped his glasses were dark enough that Hannah wouldn’t be able to tell he was keeping an eye on the situation with Brant. The way the guy found every excuse to flex his muscles and flash his white smile at her was really starting to tick him off though. What really drove him crazy was the easy way Hannah accepted him, even laughing with him.
Even though he despised himself for doing it, he turned to Addi and said, “Hey does that guy talk to Hannah a lot?”
Addi turned and looked at the beach. “Oh him? Yeah. He’s here a lot. They were talking about how he moved in with Hannah this morning.”
Carter’s insides clenched at her innocent words. A fierce emotion like rage tore through him like a typhoon. Never in his life had he felt like this, but he had no problem realizing that it was jealousy. Paralyzed by the force of it, he stood completely still while his muscles bunched and flexed with the strain of controlling his reaction.
It couldn’t be true. Hannah hadn’t said anything about a boyfriend, and nothing in her demeanor hinted at one. He knew he hadn’t mistaken the hint of warmth in her eyes when she looked at him or the charge of attraction in the air between them any time they were together. But Addi wouldn’t make something like that up.
“Are you okay, Daddy? You look mad.”
Shaking himself out of his emotional stupor, Carter forced himself to relax…at least physically. Managing to smile at her, he said, “I’m fine. Sorry. I was just thinking. Hey, do you want to swim out to the sandbar with me and see if you can touch the bottom there?”
“Yes! Let’s go.”
“Okay. Hold on. I’m going to go take my shirt off so we can head out.”
He just needed to get away for a minute—to spend some time with his head under water and remind himself which girl really mattered in his life. Only Addilynn.
His intentions were good, but as he walked up the sand, he couldn’t help looking Brant over and comparing himself to the guy. He thought they were about the same age, but he was bigger than the over-muscled twerp. When they’d shook hands, he’d realized he had at least five inches on the guy. And even though he obviously spent more time lifting weights than Carter did, Carter knew his physique showed the hours he spent running and working out.
He wasn’t sure what came over him, unless it was just pure male competitiveness, but he made sure to stand in Hannah’s view when he pulled his shirt off. If Hannah was dating this guy, he felt no compunction about trying to make her feel dissatisfied with her choice. He strode over to an empty beach chair and tossed his shirt on to it. “I’m going to take Addi out for a swim,” he told Hannah. As he spoke, he realized that his voice was deeper than usual and tight with tension, but hopefully she wouldn’t notice. He nodded to Charlotte, ignored Brant completely and strode back into the water.
He picked Addi up, tossed her up onto his shoulders, and walked with her into deeper water. When he reached the sandbar, he reached up, grasped her by the waist, and hoisted her into the air. With a scream of excitement, she plunged down into the blue-green water with a splash. She popped up again a moment later, like a little mermaid.
“Did you hit the bottom?”
“Yep! But I can’t touch. Can you throw me again?”
He pulled her close for a hug, and then some of his tension flowed out of him. He threw her up in the air again, and while he waited for her to surface, he decided that he was a fool. A big, egotistical, greedy, fool. Why was he getting so bent out of shape that Hannah was dating someone? It wasn’t like he could have her even if she was single. No doubt this was for the best and he needed to just get over it.