A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(35)

“Sorry, what?” Sarah asks.

“I kissed him,” I mumble.

There’s a shared intake of breath.

“Oh Jesus,” Halley curses. “Big mistake.”

“I know, right?” I pry my face out of my hands and sip my wine. It tastes like battery acid, but that’s probably just the remnants of my hangover talking.

“Sounds like you two have some old issues to sort out,” Raven says. “Maybe it’s a good thing he showed up in Colorado again.”

“Maybe,” I grumble. “But good for whom? Reed is working through some unresolved grief, which is probably healthy. But I’m just forgetting how to be angry at him.”

“You’re right.” Sarah titters. “And forgiveness is so destructive to the soul.” She aims a playful splash in my direction.

“It is!” I argue, splashing her back. “My anger keeps me warm at night.”

They all laugh. “But what happened afterwards?” Raven asks.

“Um, guys,” Sheila whispers.

“Was it awkward?” Raven ignores her. “Or did it escalate?”

Underwater, Sheila knocks her ankle into mine. And since I’m not a total idiot—except when Reed is nearby—I turn my head to try to figure out what’s captured her attention. It takes me a moment, because I’m not expecting to see anyone at the top of the eight-foot wooden privacy fence.

Reed climbs neatly over the top, like a sexier Spiderman. He hops down onto the patio with a catlike grace that is simply unfair.

“Ladies,” he says in that husky voice. “Didn’t know I’d be crashing a party. Even Sheila is here. Did my invite get lost in the mail?”

“You were busy with the Sharpes!” I sputter. “What are you doing here, anyway?” He’s wearing a workout shirt and running shorts. And he’s incredibly, deliciously sweaty.

He peels a backpack off his shoulders and drops it onto a lounge chair. “I used to sneak in here as a teenager. I see that’s still a thing. And drinks with the Sharpes ended early, so I hit the hotel gym.”

“You work out?” Halley asks drily. “Couldn’t tell.”

He smirks. When he removes his shirt and tosses it down, too, there’s a collective intake of breath from the women in the hot tub.

I lose another fifty IQ points as his arms flex.

“Is there an easier way in here?” he asks, toeing off his shoes, leaving nothing on his ripped body except his shorts. “We used to keep a ladder in the bushes.”

“Yes, it’s called the front door. You should try it sometime,” Sarah says with a dreamy look on her face. But not so dreamy that she doesn’t point to the outdoor shower along the fence. “Rinse first. My spa is a sacred space.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Reed grabs his gym bag and disappears into the stall, while all my friends exchange funny little smiles. He emerges way too soon, wearing swim trunks and shaking water from his hair as he struts on muscular legs toward the hot tub.

“Wine?” Raven asks cheerfully.

“Sure, thanks,” Reed says. “Just don’t let Halley pour it. She’ll add chlorine.” He reaches the edge of the tub.

At the last second, Sheila scoots to her left, vacating the spot next to me.

Just when I’d decided I liked that girl.

Reed lowers his glorious body into the water beside me, and my blood pressure spikes. He’s noticeably filled out in the last decade. Not that I’m looking. In fact, I’m trying so hard not to look that I’m probably going to strain something.

“So this used to be a teenage hangout?” Halley asks.

“Sometimes. So what are we discussing on this fine evening?” He sips his wine, studying me over the rim of the cup.

I hold his gaze, because turning away would look guilty. My face begins to burn, and as I’m wondering how much he heard as he scaled the fence, his knee moves beneath the water to rest against mine. It might be just a coincidence. Or it might be intentional torture.

Either way, I vow to ignore it. Although he’s watching me with those deep brown eyes, and my whole body flashes with heat.

Maybe the water temperature is cranked up higher than usual? I make a mental note to ask Sarah if the thermometer has been acting up.

Sheila clears her throat. “We were just talking about the accounting review. Heard it went well.”

“The accounting review, huh?” A slow smile spreads across Reed’s face. “It went fine, but…” Reed shakes his head and finally breaks our staring contest. “I still can’t figure out what those evil fuckers are up to.”

Sheila wrinkles her cute little nose. “You think the buyer is hiding something?”

“I know they are. I just can’t figure out what.” He makes a gesture, and his biceps brushes mine.

Suddenly, I have goosebumps. It’s so unfair. Also unfair? His constant meddling in the Sharpe deal.

All my frustrations bubble to the surface. “Is it really so hard to believe they’d want this place just the way it is? You haven’t spent time here in a decade. Maybe they can see something you can’t. And you don’t even work in the hospitality industry. You had to ask Sheila to pull up sales data for you.”

“Uh-huh,” Reed says in a tone that’s entirely too self-satisfied. “And did you ask her what she thought about it? Sheila? Enlighten us.”