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He pulled the waistband of his shorts down to reveal bright green fabric. “It’s not a Speedo, you’ll be happy to know.”
“Darn it!”
“This is my suit,” she said, holding out the sides of her board shorts. I usually wear the T-shirt, too, but I want to get a little sun today.”
She pulled the T-shirt off to reveal a well-filled bikini top. Teasing her, he exaggerated a look with mouth hanging open, panting, and she roared laughing.
“Now you know all my secrets,” she said.
“Well, they don’t exactly hide when you’re dressed. Not that you should hide them. I’m putting my foot in my mouth again. Stop me before I make a bigger jerk of myself.”
“I’m glad you like them. I’ve spent a lot of my adult life trying to minimize my breasts. The whole body thing for a woman is exhausting. I’m surprised you’re interested in someone like me after being with a model.”
“I think you’re gorgeous. You’re exactly what I like. You’re strong and kindhearted, too. I saw you flipping that weed whip around. The men complained all afternoon, and you never made a peep.”
Although she found it difficult to believe, her goal was to take what he said at face value. If he said he found her attractive after being with that skinny actress, then she was going to believe it.
“One of the motivations for the job was to get some exercise. I had a good workout this week. I can’t say all the crew leaders were as considerate as you were.”
“Oh, is that so. In what way?”
“Sexist comments, that sort of thing.” She seemed unwilling to elaborate and changed the subject. “I’m getting in. The heater is on, so it should be nice and warm.”
“Will you tell me what was said to you?”
“No. I’d like to keep the job all summer, and if I make a scene now, it will be unpleasant. It’s unfortunately something women put up with to a degree.”
“It was inappropriate of me to come on to you on the job,” he said apologetically.
“No, it wasn’t. You just accepted my invitation to swim. It was perfectly fine. I’m so glad you did.”
She watched him undress, taking the Hawaiian shirt off first, and not one hundred percent teasing, she whistled. “Your abs.”
“Yeah, I got them from my dad,” he said. “We have to work out to stay strong for the job, too, or I’d probably be flabby.”
“Well, keep up the good work,” she said, looking away when he pulled his shorts off, laughing.
“I’ll do my best.”
Fortunately, the bathing suit he wore was baggy.
“This is nice,” he said, getting up into a floaty chair. “I can see why you don’t want to leave.”
They floated around the pool, talking, and she tried not to get body-conscious in spite of her inner dialogue pep talk, when the refrain echoed in her head,Why would a guy who looks like Paul Saint even look my way?
It was the same old thing. She’d get cocky and think that she’d finally accepted who she was. But comparing herself to theaccepted standard of beautyalways backfired. Now, it would take all of her energy to try to get over Bethany Behnig so that it didn’t become an issue between them. One of the methods that had worked for her in the past was to focus all of her attention on the other person.
“Did you always want to be a firefighter?”
“Always. My dad’s one…”
“Right, you said he’s a battalion chief.”
“His brother is one, six of my cousins, a couple of their wives. It’s definitely a family thing.”
She got him to talk about going to fire academy and why he’d choose to work up there rather than down where his family all worked.
“I guess if you want rural, this is the place to be,” she said. “But it’s pretty rural down by where your dad works. I’ve been to the Safari Park, and it reminds me of this area.”
