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Josh’s anger was deflated. “It was my fault—I shouldn’t have been staring. I knew it would make her uncomfortable.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Derek said.
“No,” said Josh, climbing out of the tub. “You can’t ask.”
“I just wondered which girl you’re in love with. Because... I thought you might at least give me a shot at the other one.”
“I said no,” Josh spoke over his shoulder before he jerked the door open and slammed it behind him.
Chapter Ten
THE REST OF THE EVENING was a miserable affair for Charlie. Spencer did the cooking, so Charlie volunteered to help him and clean the dishes, simply to stay away from Josh and Derek. She was so mortified. Why did she have to be so shy about her body? She was extremely confident around guys about everything else. It all went back to her teen years when she’d grown so tall and thin. The boys at the swimming pool had teased her about being so skinny and flat she looked like a boy. That was part of the reason she changed her name from Charlotte to Charlie and competed with guys all the time. If she looked like a guy, she might as well compete with them. And beat them. Even though she’d gained weight in the right places now, she still felt self-conscious when she wore anything slightly revealing. She usually wore a one-piece, but Grace insisted she needed to take a bikini on the trip. “All the rest of us will have on bikinis. And anyway... You only have a few years where you look good enough to wear one. You need to take advantage of it.”
Charlie breathed out a heavy sigh. “What’s wrong?” Spencer’s eyebrows drew together.
She smiled at him. Her brother-in-law was such a sweet guy. And he treated her sister like a queen, absolutely spoiling her rotten. Of course, Emily wasn’t complaining. “Nothing,” she lied. “I’m just tired after skiing all day.”
“Why don’t you go sit down and rest with everyone else? I’m fine by myself. You know I love cooking.”
“No!” she exclaimed, before she caught herself. “I mean... I wanted to spend some time with my favorite brother-in-law.”
“I’m also your least favorite brother-in-law. Right?”
“No, you’re only my favorite.” She hugged him with wet dishwater hands.
“Hmmm... I don’t know about you, but when your sister says nothing is wrong, it means something is definitely wrong. And somehow I’m supposed to magically know what that something is.”
“That’s right—you’ve got her down pat.” She laughed, but her mood quickly deflated again. She’d set out to do everything possible to help Josh and Olivia get together, but she seemed to be failing miserably.
“So what is it? It’s Derek, isn’t it? Is he moving too fast for you? If you want, I’ll beat the guy up.”
Charlie smiled. Spencer had never hit anyone in his life, but she could tell he was sincere in his offer. “No Spencer, don’t beat him up—he’s not moving too fast. It’s more like I’m moving too slow.”
“So what happened in the hot tub?” Emily asked Derek, pulling him aside before dinner started.
“Nothing really.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I was sitting next to Charlie, and Josh and Olivia were on the opposite side. I gave Josh a hard time when I caught him staring at Charlie, and she left crying. It wasn’t really a big deal, and I don’t even know what made her cry.”
“I guess it could have been her shyness. But I bet she was more upset she’d hurt her cause. You know, trying to convince Olivia that Josh is in love with her.”
“Yeah, about that... Are you really certain Josh loves Olivia? Because I’m feeling almost as skeptical as Olivia about the whole thing. It seems to me he likes Charlie a lot.”
“No, they’re only good friends now. He used to be crazy about her, but that’s been over for at least a year now.”
“Then why does he look like he wants to kill me whenever I touch her?”
“That’s nothing,” Emily declared. “Spencer looks at you like that, too. It’s just brotherly protectiveness.”
“Then I think Josh has got a whole lot of brotherly protectiveness going on.”
“SO WHAT HAPPENED IN the hot tub?” Grace asked Olivia, catching her in the hallway.
“All in all, I’d say things went pretty well, although Derek was getting a little fresh with Charlie near the end. But then Derek called Josh out for ogling Charlie, and she left crying.”
“Oh,” said Grace. “I’m sorry for Charlie, but on the other hand, it’s good Josh was looking her over. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but it may backfire if Charlie decides to pull back. She’s just so darned shy. I don’t know how we’re going to get her together with Josh.”
“Ah-ha!” said a female voice. “I knew you were up to something.” Hannah emerged from a nearby doorway. “I want in.”
