Mack’s voice sounded like it came from a long way off, but it still warmed her from the inside out.
“Yeah. I’m getting there.”
Mack came over and took the hand that Skye had held a moment before. Her touch was so much softer. So much warmer. Maybe Skye hadn’t been out in the sun as long as Mack? Her skin hadn’t felt like this, that was for sure.
Kayla smiled up at her. “You were pretty amazing there. Did you plan the whole thing?”
“Not all of it. I was just being a jerk like usual at first.”
“You’ve never been a jerk in your whole life.” Mack pulled a skeptical face that made Kayla laugh. “Not to me, anyway.”
“Well, Skye wouldn’t agree with you. Especially this morning.”
“You are good at poking the bear.”
Mack swelled to her full height, which was also significantly taller than Kayla. “She’s a yappy little dog, not a bear. Anyway, I realized I was being a jerk, but then I thought I could use it to your advantage. Did she kiss you while my back was turned?”
“Only on the cheek.”
“Good. Then I won’t have to kill her.”
Kayla laughed and wrapped her arms around Mack’s waist. “You’re my hero. You know that? That was a stroke of genius. It went so well, I could kiss you.”
“It isn’t me you want to kiss.”
Mack shrugged when she said it, but there was a note in her voice Kayla couldn’t quite place. Sadness? Regret? No way. As much fun as it had been to prove they had great kiss chemistry the night before, Mack didn’t really want to kiss Kayla. She had never made a move. Not once in almost twenty years of friendship. If she really wanted to kiss Kayla, she would have before now. And the worst part was, Kayla did actually want to kiss her. It confused her more than she could say, but God, did she want Mack to kiss her again. But she wouldn’t be the one to make a move. Not when she’d hurt Mack with her unexpectedbalcony kiss. She would be gentle with Mack’s heart and body, just like she promised, even if her own body protested.
She must’ve imagined the sadness anyway, because Mack sounded like her old self when she said, “Come on. I’m starving. We need to go shower and get into our suits so we can get to breakfast.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kayla showered first andhurried through dressing while Mack sang Chappell Roan songs off-key over the sound of the spitting shower head. She laughed as she tied the bikini strings behind her neck. Between the neatly-folded pile of dirty clothes in the corner of the closet and the terrible shower singing, it could have been a normal morning back in her house when they were both teenagers.
How had Mack changed so little and so much in all those years? She was still the stalwart friend who punched Becky Chambers in the right eye for calling Kayla a slut during gym class, but now she was also witty and confident and strikingly sexy. No wonder everyone was falling into the pool when she walked by. No wonder her tender hug still fixed ninety percent of Kayla’s problems. Now she was helping Kayla get her future back—to get Skye back. By the end of this week, Mack might turn out to be the one who could fix all her problems.
The water shut off in the next room, taking with it a blessed end to the brutal murder of “Pink Pony Club.” Kayla marched over to the bathroom door and called through it. “I’m headed down to breakfast so you can change out here.”
“Why? You don’t have to do that.”
“Mack, your elbows are permanently bruised from trying to change in that tiny bathroom.”
“Okay, that’s true.”
Kayla laughed at the hesitant admission. “I’ll see you down there.”
The scraggly tortoise shell cat was waiting on their balcony railing, but she scampered away when she saw it wasn’t Mack there to greet her.
“I like you, too, you know. You could at least accept my pets even though I’m not her.”
The cat ignored her with the disdain typical of the species, but Kayla shrugged it off. She loved all animals, but this aloofness was why she preferred her dogs. She scrolled through the pictures Tara had sent of the boys as she walked down to the poolside restaurant. Mr. Pebbles looked like he’d already gained a few pounds, probably from all the junk food crumbs, but other than that, they all seemed happy enough. Before she could get too mired in missing them, she dropped her phone into her pool bag and focused on her mission.
The Plan of Seduction felt like it was stalling out, but this morning’s developments were definitely a positive sign. Skye had always been a passionate person and any spike in emotion was a good sign. This morning’s jealousy had led to flirting, then hand-holding, and a kiss. Okay, sure, the kiss had been on the cheek, but Kayla was patient. She had been the queen of the slow build play on the soccer pitch. That’s what she was doing with The Plan of Seduction, too. She would never score on her first touch of the ball. She had to sit back, make a few passes, fake outa defender, then, before Skye knew it, she would leave part of her goal exposed, and Kayla would score.
Success clearly bred success, because when Kayla arrived at the restaurant, it was to find Skye and Amy already there, seated at a four-top table. Without hesitation, Kayla invited herself to join them.
“Good morning, you two,” Kayla said as she arrived behind an empty chair.
To her annoyance, Amy was the first one to look up with a massive and seemingly genuine smile. “Good morning, Kayla. Please join us.”
