Page 26 of Trust Fund Baby

But I had no idea how I’d possibly win when he looked this good. Better than I remembered since the last time we ran into each other—if you could even call what happened at McGuire’s “running into” one another.

“So,” he said, stretching his arms behind his head, bringing my attention back to his longer hair, “how long are we pretending we don’t know each other?”

I hated that I remembered how soft his hair had felt under my fingers. Hated more that I wondered if it still felt that way.

“I’m not pretending anything.”

He raised a brow. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“You think just because we emailed a few times, that suddenly erases the last ten years?”

He didn’t even flinch. Just held my stare, his green eyes far too clear for the treacherous territory this conversation was diving into.

“No,” he said simply. “But I thought it might mean you’d at least say hello without looking like you want to stab me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. If I wanted to stab you, I would’ve done that already.”

Another smirk. Like he was enjoying himself. As if my fury was just foreplay.

I turned my attention to the pool, trying to focus on the water’s rippling surface instead of Seb’s devastatingly handsome face. But I could feel him beside me, still watching. Still just … there. And for all the anger twisting inside me, I hated that a very small part of me liked it.

Sebastian Whittaker had always had a way of slipping through my defenses, whether I wanted him to or not.

And that was what terrified me more than anything.

After rereading the same page for the third time, I sighed and closed my book, tossing it on the table between our chairs. “Look, can we just keep things civil this weekend? For Hallie and James? They clearly have something going on, and there’s no need to ruin a perfectly good weekend for them.”

Instead of relenting, Sebastian’s infuriating smirk reappeared. The one I’d been itching to wipe off his face. He rose from his chair, his body stretching upward as he undid the few remaining buttons that remained fastened on his shirt.

He took three big steps and jumped into the pool, headfirst.

Water exploded into the air. The splash hit the edge of my lounge chair, misting my legs.

I let out a long sigh as I reached for my sunglasses, pulling them down an inch so I could glare over the top of them.

Sebastian surfaced with a shake of his head, his dark hair slicked back and water dripping down his annoyingly perfect face. He ran a hand over his mouth, wiping it clear, then blinked up at me like he wasn’t the human embodiment of a Greek god.

“Something you want to say, Roxanne?” he called, voice teasing.

“Oh no,” I said, lifting my towel to dab at the droplets of water on my leg. “Just wondering if there’s a polite way to drown you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” I replied, my eyes full of fire.

He swam toward the edge of the pool, forearms propped up on the ledge as water cascaded off his shoulders. “You used to like my attention.”

“I was a teenager. I also used to like vodka Red Bulls and glitter eyeliner.”

“That was a good phase.”

“For you, maybe.”

Sebastian’s gaze slowly swept over me as he tilted his head. “You know what I think?”

“God, please don’t.”

“I think you like sparring with me more than you like being mad at me.”