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It was that obvious? “She’s amazing.”
Logan shoved him in the shoulder, because admitting to romantic feelings and bros should not mix. Especially when one of the bros was still entirely naked.
“I caught plenty of fish. You and Toni are welcome to have some.”
“Only if you gut and clean them,” Logan said. “We’ll throw it all on the grill. We brought burgers.”
“But no tofu?”
Logan shook his head.
“Eggplant?”
“Seriously?” Logan snorted. “Why the fuck would I bring eggplant? I think we have a tomato for the burgers. One.”
Steve was going to have to plan better the next time he brought Roux to Dick Island. The poor woman was going to starve to death at this rate.
He found her—now wearing her bikini top and gauzy cover-up—standing under a grapefruit tree, trying to reach a ripe-looking fruit. He plucked it from the branch and handed it to her.
“Not that I don’t love the view,” she said, a hand sliding over his bare flank, “but I’d rather other women didn’t get to enjoy the same privilege.”
Steve spotted Toni next to the papaya tree trying not to be obvious about stealing glances. “Hey, Lo!” he yelled. “Could you tell your woman to stop ogling my junk? R— Erm, Katie doesn’t like it.”
Roux smacked his ass, which made his junk even more interesting to ogle when his cock stirred to life.
“I meant that you should put on some shorts,” she said.
“Hey, I was here first. I should be able to walk around naked if I want.”
Roux covered her mouth with one hand and spoke just loud enough for him to hear. “I don’t share well with other women. Remember?”
He did recall her saying that, but she didn’t have to worry about sharing him. He had no interest in Toni or any other woman. But he did want Roux to be comfortable.
She patted his butt. “Now, please put on some shorts before I jump your bones and forget to entertain our guests.”
“I didn’t invite them. And I’m sure they’d be entertained if you jumped my bones.”
“And Logan could get another good look at my tits,” she said.
Steve scowled and went to rinse sand from his body in the rainwater shower beneath the house before donning a pair of shorts for Toni’s benefit. Logan took the quad to pick up supplies from the boat and bring them to the beach house, while Steve fired up the grill. Toni was upstairs in the house nesting in what had been his and Roux’s cozy, private space, and Roux was gathering more fruit. He tried not to be too obvious about watching her, but the woman was breathtakingly beautiful and so at ease with the natural world around her. He remembered how uncomfortable she’d seemed at the after-party in New York. Would she even like being on tour? He ate up every minute of the attention and craziness that surrounded the concerts, but Roux was all about tranquility. When she was near, he felt relaxed and at peace with the world he usually raged against.
“Take a picture; it will last longer,” Logan said behind him, and he jumped at the unexpected intrusion.
“What?”
“You’re staring at her.”
“Can you blame me?”
“She doesn’t seem your type at all.”
Logan knew Steve’s usual type quite well. Steve gravitated toward party girls—loose and loud with no boundaries and no filters. Even Bianca had pursued a perpetual good time. Back then he’d thought being with someone like himself was ideal. He’d been wrong.
“Maybe that’s what I like about her so much,” he said. “She’s different from me. Besides, you can’t talk.” He gave Logan a hard shove. “You’re dating a geek.”
“Toni isn’t a geek.”
“She’s totally a geek. And so sweet my teeth ache when I look at her.”
“She is pretty sweet.” Logan grinned and bent to open the cooler at his feet. “You better get busy cleaning those fish.”
He figured Roux wouldn’t want to watch him eviscerate any animal, so he gathered his bucket of fish, a cutting board, and a knife and carried it all down the beach to where the strip of land bent sharply toward the dock. He’d be out of sight there.
By the time he returned to the others, Roux was standing next to Logan at the smoking grill, dropping thick slices of fruit on the grill top and laughing at something he’d said or done. Logan was likely telling her stories about his and Steve’s misadventures, adding the usual bias in his own favor. Steve frowned, but then shrugged. He didn’t have anything to hide. Especially now that Bianca’s stupid tabloid had dug the biggest skeleton out of his closet. Roux seemed okay with his brief marriage and subsequent annulment to Meredith. He’d been more than a little drunk when they’d taken Zach up on that bet. Who hadn’t done some incredibly stupid things when they were drunk? Roux. That’s who. Maybe she was too straight and narrow to fit neatly into his crazy life. He wasn’t looking for a neat fit, though. He just wanted her.
“What have you been telling her?” Steve asked as he joined them at the grill.
“Stories of you acting stupid when you’re drunk.”
Well, that could provide endless entertainment.
Steve set the board of cleaned fish on a small table covered with various barbeque tools and everything he needed to season the fish perfectly. He and Logan took grilling seriously. He sloshed olive oil and a splash of white wine into a bowl and gently rolled each fish in the mixture to coat both sides before setting them aside to marinate.
“Are you really going to eat something that’s staring at you?” Roux asked, cringing at the fish that still had their heads. And their eyes.
Steve began chopping fresh herbs to stuff inside the fish once they’d sat in the oil for a while. Fish could be tricky on the grill if they stuck to the grate and flaked apart. “Yep, and I’m going to enjoy every bite. Would you mind slicing up some lemons?” he asked. “They don’t have eyes.”
“But potatoes do,” Logan said. “Do you eat potatoes?”
Roux stuck her tongue out at him. “Yeah, I eat potatoes.”
Toni deposited a bag near the table, darted over to Logan’s side, and looped her arm through his. She rose up on tiptoe and looked at him all doe-eyed. Logan kissed her until something fell through the grate and sizzled in the coals.
“Save me some of that for later,” Logan said, his grin crooked as he patted Toni’s butt before he turned back to the grill.
“The grilled mango is ready,” Logan said, rescuing chunks of fruit and dropping them onto a waiting platter before they ended up in the coals as well. “This actually looks better than I expected, um, Katie. Now I wish we had a pineapple to grill.”
“Mmm, pineapple does sound delicious,” Roux said, slicing lemons on the end of Steve’s cutting board.
He loved how her arm brushed his as they worked side by side.
“Did you really bring only one tomato?”
“I’ll grill half of it for you. How does that sound?”
“Heavenly,” Roux said, offering Logan a friendly smile. “I love fruit and all, but that’s all I’ve had to eat today.”
“Technically, tomatoes are fruit,” Toni said.
“If you want to get really technical, tomatoes are berries,” Roux said, reaching for a second lemon to slice.
“I didn’t know that,” Logan said with a little snort.
Steve looked up from the
fresh thyme he was dicing and noticed Toni giving Roux the evil eye. He wondered what he’d missed while he’d been down by the water cleaning the fish. Or maybe Toni didn’t like to have counterpoints tossed in her direction. Whatever the reason, he got the distinct feeling that Toni didn’t like Roux, which made absolutely no sense, because Roux was kind and charming—the epitome of perfection.
“Are you on the rag or something?” Steve asked, pointing at Toni with the tip of his knife.
Toni’s jaw dropped. “What kind of question is that?”
“Just wondering what you’re so cranky about.” Toni was also typically kind and charming, but she was coming across as downright prickly this afternoon.
“I’m not cranky.”
“I think she needs to get laid,” Logan said, slapping burgers on the grill. They sizzled and sent flames shooting upward, which Logan doused with beer from an open can.
“Logan!” Toni said, planting a fist on both hips. “You don’t really think I’m cranky, do you?”
“Well, you didn’t want to have sex on the boat. Maybe I should hand the grill over to Steve and take you upstairs to remedy that cranky problem now.”
She glanced at Roux for some inexplicable reason and then turned a death glare in Logan’s direction. “Is that all I am to you, an easy lay? You, you, incredible ass!”
“My ass is pretty incredible,” Logan teased.
Toni set her jaw in a harsh line and stomped off toward the beach.
“What did I say?” Logan said, handing Steve his spatula as he hurried after Toni. “I was just joking. Of course you mean more to me than an easy lay.”
Steve lost track of their argument when the ocean breeze kicked up and scattered their voices. “So . . .” he said as soon as they were out of earshot. “Why did you tell them your name is Katie?”
Roux didn’t even bother to look guilty for lying. “That’s the woman who leaked that shit about the band all over the tabloids, isn’t it?”
