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He didn’t feel sorry for T, and he was sorely jealous now.
He brushed water off his face and watched Macey do ‘motorboat’ with Kiera. It was silly because Kiera was probably too big for such a game.
Macey and Kiera spinning, singing, dunking under water, and laughing together wasn’t silly at all. It was the prettiest view he’d seen in a long time. Miles prettier than their exquisite castle, mountains, and valley. He was fascinated by Macey’s laughter and loved seeing her with their little sister.
“Bedtime, beautiful princess,” T said as they finished a round. “Your nanny will be ready for stories.”
“No!” Kiera protested.
“I know. But Macey and I have a press conference in the morning, and she needs her beauty sleep.”
“She couldn’t possibly be more beautiful,” Ray said, then his eyes widened to match Macey’s. He should not have let that slip out.
“True,” T agreed, not skipping a beat or even giving Ray a look. He definitely knew. “But I need my beauty sleep.” He winked at Kiera.
“Okay, okay. Nanny Lisa will be waking me up at the butt crack of dawn too.”
Macey’s tinkling laughter washed over Ray. It was the soothing balm that eased the agony from his mum’s death. He’d hardly dealt with the pain and definitely hadn’t healed, too busy trying to find her murderer and keep everyone safe.
“Probably not the best expression, wild child,” Ray told his sister. All the brothers also felt duty-bound to parent Kiera. Their father had always been indulgent with her, and it had gotten worse since their mum died. Ray had never heard his dad give her any sort of correction firmer than a simple, ‘Be careful.’
“You taught it to me,” Kiera said, blinking innocently at him with her wide blue eyes.
Macey and T both laughed. Ray let out a roar and sprung at his sister. She shrieked and ducked behind Macey. Ray could’ve just gone around her, but he wrapped his arms around Macey’s waist and lifted her out of the way instead. It felt so good to hold her trim waist in his hands he almost forgot his purpose. Luckily Kiera was splashing water at him and trying to push through the water to get to Tristan for protection.
He forced himself to release Macey, leap at and grab Kiera, and lift his sister above his head. She alternated giggling with begging for help until he dunked her in the water. She came up sputtering.
Ray hated to end the fun, especially as Macey was staring at him like he was the ‘best man in the kingdom.’ He needed to get Kiera into bed at a decent hour, but more importantly, get some space from Macey and pray hard for heavenly help to get his head on straight.
He carried Kiera out of the pool as if she were a toddler, set her on her feet, and wrapped her up in a huge, soft towel. Her blue eyes sparkled at him. “I love you, Ray,” she said.
“I love you too, wild child.” His heart softened. Military leader or not, he was almost as soft for Kiera as his dad was.
Tristan and Macey walked over and wrapped up in towels as well. They all grabbed their clothes, slipped into flip-flops, and walked slowly down the stairs. They met Lisa at the door to Kiera’s suite. The twenty-year-old nanny always seemed shy around Ray, but she had an obvious crush on T. Unfortunately, she’d told T she loved him when T had taken Kiera and Lisa on a hike through the mountains a couple years ago. He’d had to gently explain she was far too young for him. It should be awkward, but Lisa didn’t seem ready to give up. She currently had an annoying boyfriend who’d tried to climb the hill to the castle a few times to ‘prove his love.’ At least it kept her from bugging T.
After multiple hugs from her brothers and Macey, Kiera finally let Lisa lead her into the suite for stories. He and Ray walked Macey to his suite. It was odd, this threesome. Ray longed to shove his brother out of the way, but he couldn’t. He needed to shove himself out of the way.
Macey grabbed the door handle and peered up at them. Her gaze flickered between them. “Thank you for making my first day comfortable and fun. I thought I’d feel like an imposter, but you both have welcomed me and put me at ease.”
Her cheeks went red, and Ray’s mind spun back to their initial meeting and that beautiful kiss. It seemed like longer than half a day had passed, yet he could feel and remember every touch of her lips and hands.
“Of course,” Tristan answered because Ray couldn’t find his tongue. “We’re grateful to you for being here. I know it’s your job, but you’re putting yourself in a dangerous situation for our family and we really appreciate it.”
“I think you would fit in well anywhere,” Ray rushed to add. “You’re warm and brilliant and people are naturally attracted to you.” Attracted wasn’t the right word—shoot. “Drawn to you,” he corrected, but from the look on his twin’s face, he’d made the situation even worse.
The look on Macey’s face was what he wanted to concentrate on—sweet, grateful, and a little shy.
“Thank you both,” she murmured. “Goodnight.” She pressed down the door handle and was gone.
Ray should face his brother, but one glance told him T was reading him like a book. He hurried to T’s suite and pushed inside, rushing for the bathroom. “I’ll shower quick,” he called over his shoulder.
T closed the suite door behind him and sprinted to cut Ray off. He grabbed Ray by the arm. Ray punched him in the shoulder, and he let go. But T darted in front of him and blocked the bathroom door. He looked determined, but sadly he didn’t look like he wanted a physical fight. Ray could really have gone for a brotherly brawl about now. If he kept throwing punches, would T comply? Ray had more training and twenty pounds on T. His brother hadn’t won a fight with him in years, but T was strong and put up impressive resistance every time.
“What is going on?” T demanded. “She’s been here all of nine hours and you’re acting like a hormonal teenager swooning over my fake fiancée.”
Ray clenched his fist. How to play this? Throwing punches would just reinforce the ‘hormonal teenager’ and ‘swooning’ assessment. He didn’t swoon. He’d never heard his brother use that word.
“Macey is a very impressive lady,” he muttered.
