Her brows rose at the sight of him shirtless.

He smiled as he strode past her and grabbed one of the pizza boxes and the pitcher of lemonade. “I say we eat this pizza in the hot tub. You in?”

Her slightly dazed expression turned into a grin. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“Great. Grab the glasses since I’ve got the pitcher.” It was impossible to be sad in a hot tub eating pizza. He opened the slider with one finger, then shoved it back with his hip. His feline senses picked up her pulse increasing like the beat of a distant drum. He hoped that was because she was happy and not worried about anything.

He guessed he’d find out soon enough.

The lemonade was a great idea, because Roxy needed something to cool down the fire burning inside her. Alex with his shirt off was almost enough to make her pass out. It was like one of her cover models had stepped off of their book. But better.

She stared at the open sliding door, the sounds of sloshing reaching her ears. Alex was already in the water. Waiting for her.

Her heart was racing, her palms were sweaty and she was about to strip down to her bathing suit and get into the outdoor equivalent of a bath with him.

She swallowed. Then remembered the cold drink in her hand. She downed a couple of long gulps, happy to let the chilly liquid take the edge off her nerves. Didn’t hurt that it was delicious, too. She could do this. And not just because it was exactly the kind of thing Thomas would think her incapable of.

She grabbed both of their drinks and marched outside, using her hip to close the door just like Alex had to open it.

He was indeed already in the hot tub. He sat at the far side, facing her, the pizza box balanced on the wide lip. Steam rose up around him, glazing him with a sheen that made him even more irresistible.

She might be in trouble here. Then she reminded herself that she was technically still married. And that whatever attraction she might be feeling toward Alex, he was definitely not feeling it for her. This was just a friendly get-together.

And then there was the thing where he was crazy hot, and she was just short, curvy Jane Average.

At least it was a little darker out here. She might be in his direct eye line, but there were enough shadows to give her some comfort at the thought of ditching her sundress.

“I put the towels on the chair.”

She set the drinks on the edge closest to her and glanced over her shoulder. They looked like bath sheets. Plenty to cover up in when she got out. That was nice. “Great.”

He turned to open the box of pizza.

She took the opportunity to shuck her dress and climb down the steps to slide in. The water was hot, and she would have liked to adjust to it a little more slowly, but cover was cover. She sank in to her chin in the bubbling water and took a seat that put her at a right angle to him.

Little ripples headed her way as he came back around with a slice in his hand. His expression took on a humorous bent when he saw she was already in. “That was fast.” He tipped his head toward the box. “Trade you a slice for my drink.”

“Deal.” Of course, that meant she had to leave her seat. She resigned herself to the fact that he was going to see her in her suit sooner or later and stood so she could make her way back to the lemonade without drowning.

She handed his tumbler to him and put hers closer to where she was sitting.

“Thanks.” He lifted the box so she could take a slice.

She did just that, sinking back into her seat, but this time on her knees so the pizza wouldn’t get waterlogged. It meant exposing a lot more of herself to him, but the warmth of the water was already relaxing her and making her feel like that wasn’t such a big thing to be worried about.

She bit into the pizza and groaned as the saucy, cheesy goodness melted over her tongue. “I know it’s not polite to talk with food in my mouth, but this might be the best pizza I’ve ever had.” She finished her bite.

Alex nodded as he swallowed one of his own. “It probably is. You can’t go wrong with Salvatore’s.”

“You eat this a lot?”

“At least one night a week. Actually more sometimes, because we order it at the department, too. And it’s all Diego knows how to cook.” He stared at what was left of the slice in his hand. “I guess I do eat this a lot.”

She pointed at him as she finished another delicious mouthful. “How do you look like that when you eat so much of this? It can’t just be the running.”

His eyes narrowed, and a sly gleam lit his eyes. “Look like what?”

She picked up her tumbler and drank before answering. “Like you own shares in Gold’s Gym.” The water bubbled around her, popping and spitting. “Like you’ve been gifted with Greek god genes. Like you could pose for one of my covers.” She took a long, slow sip of the lemonade in an attempt to cool herself off as the water got inexplicably hotter. “You don’t look like a guy who eats a lot of pizza, that’s all I’m saying.”

Something gleamed in his eyes. Almost like…gold. He tossed the crust of his pizza back into the box and stood.

He took her pizza and lemonade and set them aside, then pulled her to her feet to stand in front of him.

That put them face to face. It wasn’t a small hot tub, but it wasn’t an Olympic-sized swimming pool either. He felt very close. So close the only thing between them was a little air and a lot of temptation.

She tried to back up. And almost slipped.

Alex caught her and pulled her against him, his hands firm but gentle on her arms. “You okay?”