Alice glared at her sister and Cindy got up from the table, an innocent look plastered on her face. Cindy knew exactly how she felt about healthy breakfasts on vacation.

“Oh, and don’t forget to stop by your room and change,” her sister added.

“Change?” Alice tugged at her shorts. “Is this some sort of weird, dressy volleyball?”

Cindy laughed. “Don’t be silly. It’s pool volleyball.”

If looks could have killed, Cindy would have been rolling around the floor in agony. But they couldn’t, so Alice simply glared. Noah was quiet on the way back to the room and seemed resigned to his fate. Alice changed quickly in the bathroom, wishing she’d spent a few more hours a week at the gym.

The sexy bikini had seemed like such a good idea in the store—a way to show Brent exactly what he was missing. But now she’d kill for a one-piece. She wrapped a poolside-robe around herself in the bathroom. Maybe she could toss it at a chair as she flung herself into the pool.

The volleyball courts were outside in one of the pools, but the temperature was still quite nice, and the water made diving for the ball a real possibility, if one didn’t mind a face full of water. Cindy had booked two courts, and created brackets for all of the couples who played.

Alice watched the first sets of couples play and clutched at her robe self-consciously. One set was Robert’s cousin, Tom, and his wife versus two of Alice’s cousins. Unlike Cindy’s soon-to-be husband, Tom was slight, and it became obvious very quickly the match wouldn’t be going their way. On the other court, her mother and Jake played a couple Alice didn’t recognize.

Jake was actually pretty good, and what her mother lacked in volleyball skill, she made up for in enthusiasm.

Alice cheered her family on, but wasn’t feeling as into the game as she should have. Noah enveloped her thoughts. His touch, his spicy scent, the obvious desire on his face when she’d broken their kiss.

Not to mention how he looked in his swimming trunks.

The well-defined muscles that were only hinted at under his clothing flexed as he moved. And it took every bit of her self-control not to stare. It helped that his eyes were firmly averted from her. She sniffed. She wasn’t unpleasant to look at in a bathing suit; she was self-aware enough to know that, even if she didn’t feel totally comfortable in the two-piece. If he didn’t care for a peek, it was his loss. Besides, she was still wearing the short robe.

The crowd had pulled away from them, getting closer to the games to call out of play balls and cheer on the competitors. She and Noah were alone, or at least as alone as they were likely to be until they retired for the night.

“Hey,” she said, and he turned to face her. God, his eyes were so blue. So striking. And for a brief second before his expression closed to her, they were expressive. “You’re enjoying yourself,” she said, shocked.

“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked, and the last bit of enjoyment was squashed from his face by his normal, guarded expression.

“Sorry, that’s not what I was going to say.”

“What were you going to say?”

“You’re allowed to enjoy yourself. I didn’t mean that how it sounded. I was just surprised.” Great. That sounds so much better. Why not just call him cantankerous and be done with it?

He snorted. “I can see that. Is this deep discussion of my happiness what you wanted to talk about?”

“I—I thought we should talk about last night.”

He crossed his arms and turned his attention back to the game. “That’s wholly unnecessary, Alice.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he refused to look at her. Instead, he took a couple of steps forward, getting just close enough to the crowd of onlookers to make a private conversation impossible.

The urge to grab his arm and drag him back came over her, and she shoved it down. What a scene that would make. She couldn’t afford word getting back to Brent that they were having problems. He’d use the slightest inkling to try to worm his way back into her good graces. Not to mention the snake was likely hovering around nearby.

Her stomach dropped at the thought and she scanned the crowd. Sure enough, Brent and Kristen stood on the other side of the pool. Expensive sunglasses adorned Brent’s face, and Kristen stood stiffly in a bikini that had to be illegal in at least eleven states. It made Alice’s look positively matronly by comparison. Maybe she could do this after all.

Annoyance flashed through her and she frowned. Kristen had always favored slinky swimsuits.

“You sure got your gold goose,” she murmured. Sure, Kristen’s family wasn’t quite as well-off as Alice’s was, but her family would keep Brent in style.

Noah, although too far away to hear her quiet aside, turned his head to glance at her over his shoulder. He grinned and pulled his sunglasses off his head and over his eyes. She frowned at him. What was he so happy about?

She resisted making a silly face at him, and finally decided she couldn’t leave the robe on without looking odd. She tugged it off and set it on a nearby chair, then looked back up at Noah. His grin was gone, and he looked truly expressionless with his eyes covered by the dark glasses. But he looked at her for a smidgeon longer than was comfortable. Heat crept up her neck, but she ignored it.

Less than five minutes later, her mother and Jake proved victorious, and it was Alice and Noah’s turn. She waded into the water, which was cool enough to send a shiver up her spine. The smell of chlorine grew stronger, and she glanced at Noah, who walked beside her. He looked about as happy as she felt to be in the pool.

She slapped water at him playfully before she could think better of it.

His mouth dropped open for a split second before it snapped shut and he splashed her back. Water flew into her face, and a laugh bubbled out of her chest. She splashed him again and Noah burst into laughter, too. Her heart twinged. The man looked so different when he laughed. So much more open. They were soaked by the time they got to the net hanging over the middle of the pool, even though the water only came up to Noah’s waist.

Under the quickly heating sun, they won their first two matches. Noah was good, his reflexes fast, and he seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. Alice did her best, managing to save a few balls herself and even score a few points.

During their third match, which pitted them against Robert and Cindy, Alice dove for the game-saving point. She coughed out water from where she’d slid into the pool with her fist leading the way and her face not far behind. Wiping at her mouth, she laughed around the water.

Cheers sounded from the sides of the pool, and a loud whistle split the air. Her mother had mastered the art of whistling with her fingers in her mouth, something Alice had never been able to manage.

A shadow appeared over her as she tried to spit water from her mouth in as ladylike a manner as possible. “Did I get it?” she asked the shadow.

Noah pulled her up in the water. His strong grip made her already-weak knees weaker, and once he got her up, he held her by her elbows.

“You did. Nice save,” he said. But his voice was low and quiet, and when she looked up, the amusement was gone from his eyes. Intensity flared, and she flashed back to the night before. He’d looked at her like that just before kissing her. She licked her lips, unable to look away. And managed not to make a face when she tasted chlorine.

“Nice job, dear,” her mother said, voice coming from only a couple of feet away.

Then she could feel hands at her back, leading her out of the pool. Noah’s eyes were still fixed on her, but she looked down at her suit. Thank goodness it still covered everything.

“Thanks, Mom. Yikes. Did I leave any water in the pool?” She straightened her swimsuit and ignored the way Noah’s gaze followed her movement. A few seconds later, his attention shifted away.

“Congratulations,” Cindy said, handing her a towel. “You two have made it to the championship.”

Alice smiled at her sister. The dramatic way she said championship made it sound like they were in the Olympics.

“Good job, partner.” She held up her hand for a high-five from Noah and some of the tension left his face. His hand slapped against hers, sending a tingle down her arm.

“All right, who’re we taking down next?” she asked Cindy.

Cindy smiled, but the expression didn’t touch her eyes. “Brent and Kristen.”

Kristen had been, among other things, a champion high school volleyball player. And while she hadn’t pursued it as hard in college, she’d remained on the team for all four years. And Brent might have been a lot of bad things, but sucking at sports was not one of his faults.

Brent, a competitor to his core, played hard. Alice did her best to keep up, but ball after ball escaped her, and she enviously watched her sister drink a pina colada on the side of the pool. She gasped for air and glanced at Noah. He wasn’t sweating, but he did seem a bit wearied around the eyes. His sun allergy? She didn’t see a rash, but his skin had definitely reddened. “Prepare to go down, Noah.” Brent grinned on the other side of the net.

Noah remained silent, a strangely intense look in his eyes.

Needing to fill the silence with something, Alice yelled. “You two are the ones going down. Prepare to eat some pool water, Brent.”

Brent laughed, and Kristen frowned.

“Zero serving zero,” Kristen called.

Sweat beaded on Alice’s brow by the third volley, and she could sense the wear of the sun on Noah, too. He still moved fast, but his eyes were half closed between rounds, and his jaw tense.

But Brent and Kristen were showing signs of wear, too. Sloshing around in a pool was hard work. Not that Brent let it show in his attitude.

“Not getting tired over there, are you?” He rolled the ball on the surface of the pool, then pushed it under the water and caught it as if flew back up. “Come on, Alice. You’re a tougher fighter than that.” He laughed. “Remember that time in the Bahamas? We rolled over that couple.”

She grinned before thinking better of it. It had been a fun trip. A big group of college friends, a lot of alcohol, and she’d been in love.