Suddenly Sexy(27)

She blushed. Of course he knew. Sam Hennessy knew everything about women.

He stood.

"What are you doing?" She gasped. "You're not going in the water, are you?"

"Why not? I need to cool off." He grinned crookedly down at her. "You look a little hot yourself. Coming?"

She eyed the murky water. It wasn’t dirty but it wasn’t crystal clear either. She couldn’t see the bottom. "No thanks. I haven't got spare clothes."

"Don't worry about that. The sun will dry us off quick enough."

She glanced around. People milled on the banks and kids paddled around them in their boats. Some splashed in the water, others swam around after falling out, chasing each other and laughing. It looked refreshing and fun but not something she'd usually do, especially when wearing a short skirt and white T-shirt.

Then again, maybe that was exactly why she should jump in. Do something out of character once in her life. Hell, she was thirty, she'd been in the same job since college and never done anything more radical than sign a petition or two. She should do this.

Maddie stood, then remembered what she was wearing under her skirt and T-shirt. Very skimpy, very see-through underwear. If she got wet, everything would be on display.

She chewed her lip. On the positive side, at least someone other than herself would get to see her expensive lingerie. On the negative side, it might encourage Sam. She couldn't afford to encourage him any more, not when Pheramour was the motivator. She might not have the will-power to say no again.

"I don't think so," she said sitting down again. "People will see."

"So? Come on." He held out his hand. "Jump in."

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I think the question should be why?"

He shrugged. "Just for the hell of it." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, making the boat wobble.

Maddie gripped the seat and glared at him.

"Come on, Maddie, don't think so much about it, just do it."

She sighed. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal. The sun would dry her quickly. All she needed to do was cover herself until it did. And it was about time she did something to break out of her good girl image. She was getting tired of it anyway and it hadn't got her where she was supposed to be except in a job which paid her bills but no longer inspired her the way it once had.

Oh hell, she should jump in. She looked at the water again. Did doing something radical have to involve getting wet? Maybe she could try a different cuisine instead. Tibetan sounded interesting.

She glanced up at Sam. He looked like the devil with a wicked half-grin as he rocked the boat. It was only a matter of time before they both toppled in.

"Stop it, Sam." If she was going to get wet, it would be when she was ready and not by falling out of the boat and making a fool of herself in front of everyone. In front of Sam.

He sat down with a thud. "What's wrong, Maddie? Why are you being such a—"

"Nerd?"

"I was going to say—"

He didn't get a chance to finish. Another paddle boat, powered by two teenage boys, slammed into them. The boys thought it was hilarious. So did Sam when Maddie slid off her seat and into the water.





CHAPTER 9




When she surfaced, Maddie bit back every swear word in her vocabulary. The teenagers might be brats, and probably knew more expletives than her, but she wasn't going to let it rip in front of two kids.

Sam leaned down and lifted her up onto the paddle boat. By the time she settled into her seat, the boys had paddled away.

"You're lucky I don't know who you are," she shouted after them, "or I'd be calling your mothers."

Sam chuckled. "I'm glad I didn't do it. I wouldn't want you telling on me to my mother."

His eyes dipped from her face to her chest and a small, strangled sound escaped his throat. She crossed her arms over her breasts but not before she saw what he saw—white T-shirts and sexy lingerie were not a suitable combination for swimming.

Her face and neck heated. "I think we should go back to shore."

Sam cleared his throat. "Not yet." He handed her his T-shirt. "You might want to place this over your lap until you dry off."

She glanced down. Oh no! Her skirt was see-through too! And her panties were...oh hell. Sam had got his money's worth on this date. She snatched the T-shirt off him and placed it across her lap.

"Fine, we'll paddle around here for a while. But I am not doing any of the work." Ha! Take that, Pervert.

Sam didn't seem to mind. He took them from one end of the lake to the other. Neither spoke. That suited Maddie. At first. But after wallowing for a few minutes, her initial embarrassment ended and she wanted to vent some anger.