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I grinned down at him, my heart melting at the smile on his face. He was gorgeous when he was all broody, but happy suited him even better. I loved seeing the carefree expression on his face.
“Not sure you’d be able to throw me up into the air.”
He pulled himself out of the pool, and we stood toe-to-toe, wet drops landing on my body. “Now that sounds like a challenge.”
Before I responded, he’d yanked me to him, his arms tight around me, and we were airborne. The scream that escaped me could rival Sofie’s.
We went under, Archer pulling me back up with him. Gasping, I wiped the wet strands of hair out of my face. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Nuzzling his face into my neck, causing my whole body to tremble and forget the cold water, he placed a kiss on my shoulder. “Hold your breath.”
That was the only warning before he threw me into the air. If I thought my scream was loud before, this one was close to piercing eardrums. I hit the water and came back up, spluttering. “How about a little warning next time?”
He swam up to me, but I backed up, having no intention of getting thrown into the air again. “Oh no. Don’t come any closer.”
A little body latched on to my left side. “That was so much fun.”
Sofie’s giggles were infectious, and any annoyance I might have felt disappeared. “You should go again, then. But I’m too old to be thrown around.”
Sofie scoffed. “You’re not old. Ever always says age is just a number. What’s your number?”
“I’m not telling you,” I said, then tickled her until she let go with a laugh. Then I chased her around the pool, splashing Archer each time we went past him. He was leaning against the side, a smile playing on his lips as he watched us.
Sofie suddenly stopped, throwing up her arms. “Let’s play volleyball.”
“Did you and Archer get the net and ball out?”
She was already on the steps, getting out of the pool. “We did. It’s just over there.”
Sofie pointed at the other end of the pool and speed-walked to get there. We’d told her she wasn’t allowed to run, so now she walked as fast as she could.
Archer’s hungry gaze followed me as I swam up to him while Sofie was busy. The need to touch him was overwhelming.
When I was almost in front of him, he leaned forward, pulling me the rest of the way to him. After a look over my shoulder to where Sofie was gathering the net and ball, he touched his lips to mine, the contact brief. My hands went to his sides, trailing over his warm skin.
His eyes were burning with need, and I was sure mine looked the same.
A splash at the other end made us both look over to where Sofie was throwing everything in the pool. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his chest. “I better help her or we’ll never be able to detangle the net again.”
I moved back but didn’t get far, because his hand shot out and pulled me back in, taking my lips in another brief kiss. “I just needed one more to get me through the rest of the day.”
Chuckling, I ran my hand along his jaw. “Thanks for hanging out with us.”
His eyes lost some of their heat, and his face went soft on my words. “You don’t have to thank me. I—”
“And here I thought I’d find you crying in your room because you’re off the job.”
I looked up at the person who’d interrupted us but didn’t recognize the guy walking up. He was wearing a suit, sunglasses, and a cocky smirk.
Archer released me and pulled himself out of the pool, dripping water on the tiles. “Carter. I wasn’t expecting you until later.”
“If that’s a comment on how efficient I am, I’ll take it. If you’re asking me to turn around and come back later, I’ll tell you to fluff off. Because playtime is over, lover boy.”
He turned to me with a dimpled grin. “We met when you had the unfortunate incident on your yacht. I’m Carter.”
Forcing a smile on my face, I dug deep for my manners. After all, it wasn’t his fault that Archer had to leave. “Hi, Carter.”
Archer stepped in front of him, blocking his line of sight. “Let’s get this over with.”
